UBS Human Resources Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Jan 2008 in Stamford, CT (took 4+ weeks)

Handed resume to a recruiter in person, then followed up with an emailed copy. Received a phone screening about 2 weeks later that covered the basics: Why UBS, why this division, what area(s) interest you most, etc. Received two first round phone interviews each lasting about half an hour. Questions were fairly standard: education background, employment history, career goals, personal strengths and weaknesses, difficult situations you have overcome, time when you had to work in a team to solve a problem, etc. If you have internship/work experience, expect follow up questions that require deeper reflection than just an explaination of your daily tasks. Watch out for digging questions regarding your contributions to the company and whether you were successful in your role. Received a final round interview consisting of several 30-minute back-to-back 1:1 interviews with upper management and a group interview with 5 or so other candidates. The 1:1 interviews were all pretty much the same questions as in the phone interviews. My impression was that they were looking for a personality match more than anything, so try to be conversational and establish some sort of connection with each interviewer. The group interview immediately followed the 1:1 interviews and lasted for 1 hour. A case study was handed out and we had several minutes to read over the senario and supporting information. Afterwards we were expected to work as a team to come up with our top recommended solutions to be presented. Candidates sit around a conference table while several interviewers sit along the walls on all sides. Time goes quickly and it is important to keep the end goal in sight while trying to be engaging. Do take notes, do volunteer your opinion (tactfully), do ask for other's opinions and feedback on yours, do be a good listener, do smile a lot and be encouraging of others. Don't criticize other's suggestions in a mean way, don't sit quietly the whole time, don't interrupt others, don't be unwilling to compromise, don't ignore any feedback you may get. Received an offer the following week, the process took about a month from first phone screen to extension of offer.