I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Cornerstone Research (Los Angeles, CA) in Aug 2012
Interview
The application process was straightforward. 2 First round interviews with recently hired associates. The interviewers were incredibly nice and friendly and would help you walk through the cases.
The cases can be somewhat tricky. The key is to just think broadly, ask questions and get guidance. You might have to do small calculations to reach a solution. The cases are NOT typically structured. Reading Case In Point and other consulting cases will not help you prepare. The best way is to e-mail people who work there and ask for advice, and the peruse their website, which has sample cases.
2nd round interviews consisted of 2 case interviews with one interview with a director that tested me on economic graphs. This caught me off guard.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I did pretty well on the cases (they become fairly doable after some practice), but one of the senior members caught me off guard by having me analyze economic graphs. He gave me little direction, didn't ask for much and just asked me to analyze.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Cornerstone Research (New York, NY) in Dec 2012
Interview
In-office visit at NYC. I had two interviews with them. Each one was about 45 minutes. In each interview, we discussed a business case and they asked questions related to the case. People are very nice and the questions are very typical.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The questions were very typical and I had no unexpected questions.
I applied online. I interviewed at Cornerstone Research
Interview
The hiring process was pretty smooth. First round with two managers. Each interview was 30 mins with 15 min cases and 15 mins behavioral. Next round was 8 back to back interviews with an hour for lunch. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. Employees seemed happy with the firm except for the variability in work hours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Question about a specific research method was unexpected.