I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at PwC in Jul 2014
Interview
I applied for this positing early in June and had one of the best recruitment experiences. I submitted the online application and successfully passed the online tests. Soon after I received an email inviting me to a telephone interview. Additionally I received a call from the HR department asking me how I was preparing for the interview and offered to answer all my questions regarding the upcoming phone interview. I thought this was a very nice gesture and one that you rarely meet at a such an early stage in a recruitment process. Anyhow, the HR person suggested I read everything that is on the website and make sure I understood the new recruitment guidelines that had been updated this summer. The crucial thing for the telephone interview is to have answers prepared for all the competency based questions you can think of. There is a pdf on the PwC website that more or less has all the questions I was asked, such as: tell me about a time when you received feedback and what did you learn from this; tell me about a company that is currently doing well; what do you do to keep yourself updated with the financial news etc. This interview was one hour long and the lady was very nice. She was happy to repeat the questions if needed.
One week later I received the confirmation that I passed this stage of the interview and that I now had to book a slot for the Assessment Centre. Baring in mind that I had never been to an AC I was very nervous. I only had a week to prepare though. The HR department called me again to make sure I was happy with the AC and offered to explain what happens on the day. It was pretty straight forward. You have to resit the psychometric tests, you have to write a report and take part in a group exercise. There is nothing too complicated. Make sure you are being nice from the first moment you enter the room. They analyze absolutely every aspect of your behavior.
I was told that the report is the most time pressured test of the day, however I found it pretty easy and even finished 5 min earlier. You are given a booklet with information and asked to hand write a report in no more than two pages. Make sure you go through all the information, structure it very well and do not forget to write your recommendation.
The psychometric tests were harder than I thought. I had previously bought a package to practice as many as possible and this is what I suggest you do as well if you think you need a little bit more practice.
For the group exercise you are presented with a situation and each of the group members is given a separate brief to put forward in the discussion. During this conversation you are given 45 minutes to come to a conclusion. Make sure you speak, interact with the other group members, be polite and listen to what they have to say. I thought I didn't speak enough, however the feedback I received on this task was very good. Think outside the box and try to come up with one thing that nobody else thought about until that point in the discussion.
Good luck!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you were to work in this position, who would be your ideal client?
It was an okay interview session, in which it lasted for an hour. Mostly panels will ask about yourself so that they can better understand you as a person. There were only two panels which consist of Senior Manager and a Manager.
HR is really nice and 2 interviews (2 with manager and another with 1 director). Verbal offer and then written offer. Full pay on probation. Nice boss and team member. Hybrid mode
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is your experience and your technical competency.
I applied via the Pwc website and they emailed me to set up a meeting. The HR lady was very helpful and friendly. After she asked a little more about me they set up a meeting with partners and director. Best interview I've had.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What are some of your interests that you do in your spare time? Why do you want to work for PwC? How will you manage multiple tasks at once?