Direct Line Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Mar 2012 (took 2 months)

The first contact was a phone interview (I had been referred to the job) with the head of the department where he told me about the opportunities and asked general CV questions.

This was followed by one day of 1:1 personal interviews with the head of the department and 3 strategy managers. The first interview was a recap on the company and plans for the future, the second interview was a deep-dive on the CV (e.g., detail what you did here and there, outcomes, responsibilities), third a case study with typical consulting questions (e.g., number of phone booths in UK, a company XYZ is planning to invest X Million - is that a good idea? detail the thought process and do so quick calculations), the fourth was more of a Q&A session but didn't seem to have much purpose to be honest (probably a red flag there!)

I was asked to wait for 2-3 weeks before getting their final answer (no offer), I guess they were probably comparing candidates during that time.

Overall, I had a good feeling about the team (15-20 people) and the company. Everybody seemed very nice, engaged, and interested in continuing to develop the company as they split from RBS. The office has a canteen and the location is good (Bromley, 15-20min from London, 1stop by strain). On the flip side, I felt the roles were not clear for the strategy team members - everybody doing a bit of everything, in a pool environment -, and there didn't seem to be any women around (other than secretaries arranging for the meetings).