Most of the ones in Birmingham apparently…
Little update. Passed the video/phone interviews for Lloyds and Nationwide (unexpected in the latter case as it was a strengths-based interview with questions like “What does integrity mean to you?”/“How would you present an idea for a new process to your peers, and then to seniors?” rather than the usual “tell-me-about-a-time-when…” stuff).
Apparently there’s a little bit of a break now and then they get back in touch in January if you’ve been shortlisted for an AC (so I guess passing the phone interview means that you’ve reached a minimum standard but doesn’t 100% guarantee that you’ll be put through to an AC).
Anyhoo. Not much else to report. So currently the state of play is:
EY: Have passed tests. Waiting to be put through to the phone interview
RSM: Have been told I’ve passed the video interview and am waiting to be put through to the AC
BDO: Through to video interview and waiting to hear when that will be.
Kingston Smith: Done AC. Waiting to hear result. If successful will be through to final, partner interview a la PwC
National Audit Office: Done tests & app form. Waiting to hear back.
Lloyds: Passed video interview, waiting to be put through to AC
Nationwide: Passed phone interview, waiting to be put through to AC
HMRC Tax: Passed initial ‘Sift’ test and waiting to be put through to the maths tests etc.
So, still alive in all 8 of them but not a great deal to actually *do* at this stage.
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These interviews sound utterly bizarre, I assume it’s because they’re for grads, but Christ they weren’t like that when I did my E&Y ones 10 years ago.
Apparently, they’ve really increased the difficulty of these tests in recent years because they realised that, about 10 years ago, they were letting any old Tom, Dick and Shirty in.
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I find the whole applying for jobs and interviews a real pain. Look I did that very same job over there for several years and didn’t get sacked, had no complaints and was a team player etc. What more do you need?!
I once did the tests for the civil service whilst I’ll. Don’t think I’d have passed anyway and can’t see their relevance to day to day work.
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I’d automatically reject anyone who used the word ‘anyhoo’.
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Yeah, the Nationwide one was a load of cobblers. I’m glad I made it through, partly so that I can prove I’m not just saying that out of bitterness for failing - it really was a load of bunkum!
For most video/phone interviews, its pretty easy to go on Wikijob and find out what the questions are. Once you’ve done that, its simply a matter of scripting your answer and sticking it on the wall, or more-or-less memorising it/sticking it on a post-it on your computer screen to help you along during your video interview (you usually get 30-seconds or so between questions). They tend to be ‘competency-based interviews’; so essentially they ask a question which amounts to ‘tell-me-about-a-time-when you did XYZ’ and you give a little anecdote about how you ‘dealt with different opinions in a team’ or ‘produced a piece of work that was particularly outstanding’ or ‘actively sought out feedback from a colleague’ etc. etc.
For Nationwide however, they clarified that it was all going to be quite different, and was instead, a ‘strengths-based’ interview. As such, rather than asking the kinds of standard questions I’ve just described, all their questions were hypothetical. So “What-would-you-do-if XYZ?”, “Would your family describe you as a driven person?”, “What about teamwork is most important to you?”. Basically a bunch of weird questions with no obvious right or wrong answer. All I could do was answer as clearly as I could with a lot of cheesy ‘professional speak’ and a fair bit of ‘energy and enthusiasm’ I guess. Oh well, I guess I did enough.
The main issue at the moment isn’t so much the number of stages to the application process - its the sodding time they take. Once you’ve done your app form it’ll be a few days before you get invited to do your situational/verbal/numerical tests. After that it’ll be a week or two before you can do your phone/video interiew. You’ll then get booked in for an AC possibly a month later and potentially have your final interview a month or so after that.
PWC went App form; 12th July - tests done by ~18th July - Phone interview done by 1st August - AC on Sept 15th - Final interview Oct 14th.
A bit harsh TCK.
Anyone that’s prepared to go through all that just for the slim chance he’ll actually get a real face to face interview deserves a little bit of slack.
No, forget that. Anyone that said that facing me in an interview would be laughed out the room.
You don’t talk like that in real life Mr T. Do you?
Best (weirdest) answer to an interview question
me: what is your dream job?
him: to be The captain of the starship enterprise.
me: and in reality?
Ha! well certainly not in an interview at least!
Anyway, I can’t complain - the more formal, standardised tests actually work in my favour, as, being designed to measure raw ability, they eliminate subjectivity and prejudice from the recruitment process.
I’m really not doing anything special here though. My experience is very typical of most recent graduates these days. With so many graduates applying for so few jobs, employers can be as selective as they like - and if that means you have to jump through hoops like its Takeshi’s Castle, well, jump through hoops you must.
OriginallyOriginally posted by MrTrampoline
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
These interviews sound utterly bizarre, I assume it’s because they’re for grads, but Christ they weren’t like that when I did my E&Y ones 10 years ago.
Yeah, the Nationwide one was a load of cobblers. I’m glad I made it through, partly so that I can prove I’m not just saying that out of bitterness for failing - it really was a load of bunkum!
For most video/phone interviews, its pretty easy to go on Wikijob and find out what the questions are. Once you’ve done that, its simply a matter of scripting your answer and sticking it on the wall, or more-or-less memorising it/sticking it on a post-it on your computer screen to help you along during your video interview (you usually get 30-seconds or so between questions). They tend to be ‘competency-based interviews’; so essentially they ask a question which amounts to ‘tell-me-about-a-time-when you did XYZ’ and you give a little anecdote about how you ‘dealt with different opinions in a team’ or ‘produced a piece of work that was particularly outstanding’ or ‘actively sought out feedback from a colleague’ etc. etc.
For Nationwide however, they clarified that it was all going to be quite different, and was instead, a ‘strengths-based’ interview. As such, rather than asking the kinds of standard questions I’ve just described, all their questions were hypothetical. So “What-would-you-do-if XYZ?”, "Would your family describe yo as a driven person?",“What about teamwork is most important to you?”. Basically a bunch of weird questions with no obvious right or wrong answer. All I could do was answer as clearly as I could with a lot of cheesy ‘professional speak’ and a fair bit of ‘energy and enthusiasm’ I guess. Oh well, I guess I did enough.
The main issue at the moment isn’t so much the number of stages to the application process - its the sodding time they take. Once you’ve done your app form it’ll be a few days before you get invited to do your situational/verbal/numerical tests. After that it’ll be a week or two before you can do your phone/video interiew. You’ll then get booked in for an AC possibly a month later and potentially have your final interview a month or so after that.
PWC went App form; 12th July - tests done by ~18th July - Phone interview done by 1st August - AC on Sept 15th - Final interview Oct 14th.
What was your answer to the highlighted bit?
Surely that’s a trick question. If your family’s first thought when asked about you is “driven person” it means your a twat. That’s how people that love you respond when they don’t want to sound critical of a self centered twat.
Ever thought of going in blind and just being yourself? You have obviously done enough of that shit to have a good feel for what they might throw at you. Nothing to lose(passing all the tests, but still no job), and it will be more fun for you and us(Ok, more for us).
At the moment, i would guess you come across the same as every other boring fucker(with the wrong degree) they have to go through(don’t take that personally, it’s hard to be yourself when you’re under pressure and a bit desperate).
It would be more interesting for the rest of us on here if you do as i suggest, even if it doesn’t help you get a job.
Think of others as well as yourself, you’re a socialist at heart.
If he answered well i would have considered him ok. Probably put him through. You did say dream job, so i would instantly rate him higher than the people with the safe answer.
The world needs this kind of person.
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He might have survived had that not been his sanest contribution of the interview. The bloke was utterly certifiable.
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Originally posted by @Saint-or-sinner
OriginallyOriginally posted by @MrTrampoline
Originally posted by @Chertsey-Saint
These interviews sound utterly bizarre, I assume it’s because they’re for grads, but Christ they weren’t like that when I did my E&Y ones 10 years ago.
Yeah, the Nationwide one was a load of cobblers. I’m glad I made it through, partly so that I can prove I’m not just saying that out of bitterness for failing - it really was a load of bunkum!
For most video/phone interviews, its pretty easy to go on Wikijob and find out what the questions are. Once you’ve done that, its simply a matter of scripting your answer and sticking it on the wall, or more-or-less memorising it/sticking it on a post-it on your computer screen to help you along during your video interview (you usually get 30-seconds or so between questions). They tend to be ‘competency-based interviews’; so essentially they ask a question which amounts to ‘tell-me-about-a-time-when you did XYZ’ and you give a little anecdote about how you ‘dealt with different opinions in a team’ or ‘produced a piece of work that was particularly outstanding’ or ‘actively sought out feedback from a colleague’ etc. etc.
For Nationwide however, they clarified that it was all going to be quite different, and was instead, a ‘strengths-based’ interview. As such, rather than asking the kinds of standard questions I’ve just described, all their questions were hypothetical. So “What-would-you-do-if XYZ?”, "Would your family describe yo as a driven person?",“What about teamwork is most important to you?”. Basically a bunch of weird questions with no obvious right or wrong answer. All I could do was answer as clearly as I could with a lot of cheesy ‘professional speak’ and a fair bit of ‘energy and enthusiasm’ I guess. Oh well, I guess I did enough.
The main issue at the moment isn’t so much the number of stages to the application process - its the sodding time they take. Once you’ve done your app form it’ll be a few days before you get invited to do your situational/verbal/numerical tests. After that it’ll be a week or two before you can do your phone/video interiew. You’ll then get booked in for an AC possibly a month later and potentially have your final interview a month or so after that.
PWC went App form; 12th July - tests done by ~18th July - Phone interview done by 1st August - AC on Sept 15th - Final interview Oct 14th.
What was your answer to the highlighted bit?
Surely that’s a trick question. If your family’s first thought when asked about you is “driven person” it means your a twat. That’s how people that love you respond when they don’t want to sound critical of a self centered twat.
Ever thought of going in blind and just being yourself? You have obviously done enough of that shit to have a good feel for what they might throw at you. Nothing to lose(passing all the tests, but still no job), and it will be more fun for you and us(Ok, more for us).
At the moment, i would guess you come across the same as every other boring fucker(with the wrong degree) they have to go through(don’t take that personally, it’s hard to be yourself when you’re under pressure and a bit desperate).
It would be more interesting for the rest of us on here if you do as i suggest, even if it doesn’t help you get a job.
Think of others as well as yourself, you’re a socialist at heart.
I couldn’t agree more! - but hey, I spoon-feeded them the bollocks that they’re looking to hear. You’re speaking to an HR drone who has boxes to tick and soundbites you need to pipe up with. Sometimes the person you’re speaking to in the phone interview might even work for an outsourced company hired by whoever you’re applying to.
As such, I haven’t yet really failed any of the interview stages as yet, so the approach I’ve used so far has been fairly successful.
The reason I don’t have a job is because the application processes for these schemes can last several months. Once I’ve passed the phone interview I’m still only 3/5-3/4 of the way through
I helped out at another EY assessment centre today and so can confirm that there’s literally one every workday until mid-January, so you might not have to wait that long for one.
Speaking to some of the candidates (all for FS grad jobs), most of them only heard last week that they were through to the AC and then did it today, it was very short notice when I did mine as well so hopefully you’ll hear soon 
I turned them down!! £16k a year, with no expenses for petrol and doing 15k miles a year. No thanks.
Ah that’s good news. I honestly didn’t have much hope when applying for EY as they were so busy that I assumed it’d go much the same way as KPMG - so it’ll feel like a bit of a freeroll which will ease the pressure I guess.
Understand you have to jump through all the hoops, but at some point you have to stand out. You are applying for jobs that your higher education choices shout out “this is the last thing I want to do. I’d rather die”.
Next time you’re lucky enough to talk to a real person try being human(no joke, you only need to be noticed once).
You done philosophy, right? So don’t come across as a dull Drone. Show your abilities as a critical thinker(but keep it concise). Who cares what they want to hear. Make them question what they expected for an answer and they’ll take notice.
I couldn’t meekly accept what’s asked of you. Is there no fight or self believe in your generation? Do not answer “that’s just the way it is”. That’ll just make you an accepting coward(Mr philosopher).
Originally posted by @Saint-or-sinner
Understand you have to jump through all the hoops, but at some point you have to stand out. You are applying for jobs that your higher education choices shout out “this is the last thing I want to do. I’d rather die”.
Next time you’re lucky enough to talk to a real person try being human(no joke, you only need to be noticed once).
You done philosophy, right? So don’t come across as a dull Drone. Show your abilities as a critical thinker(but keep it concise). Who cares what they want to hear. Make them question what they expected for an answer and they’ll take notice.
I couldn’t meekly accept what’s asked of you. Is there no fight or self believe in your generation? Do not answer “that’s just the way it is”. That’ll just make you an accepting coward(Mr philosopher).
One of my favourite things about my job is challenging the way people work, and to try to make them think about what they’re trying to achieve, rather than what the process is. An answer I tend to get a lot is “because that’s the way we do it”. Whenever I get that, I send them the following:
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Originally posted by @Saint-or-sinner
Understand you have to jump through all the hoops, but at some point you have to stand out. You are applying for jobs that your higher education choices shout out “this is the last thing I want to do. I’d rather die”.
Next time you’re lucky enough to talk to a real person try being human(no joke, you only need to be noticed once).
You done philosophy, right? So don’t come across as a dull Drone. Show your abilities as a critical thinker(but keep it concise). Who cares what they want to hear. Make them question what they expected for an answer and they’ll take notice.
I couldn’t meekly accept what’s asked of you. Is there no fight or self believe in your generation? Do not answer “that’s just the way it is”. That’ll just make you an accepting coward(Mr philosopher).
This is exactly what I did for PwC and more-or-less what cost me the job.
A friend of mine knows someone who works for PwC and told him the story and recounted that he was instantly worried - saying things like “partners are Gods at the firm, he’d have been shocked at the idea that he was being questioned by a new grad” etc.etc.
Don’t get me wrong - I wish it weren’t so - but that’s simply how it is.
You say ‘don’t meekly accept it’ and that I should ‘fight it’ - but how? Ring them up as rejected candidate no 985146 and object to their hiring processes?
I try to be human and appear relaxed - begin with smalltalk and whatnot - but as I say, these guys have boxes to tick and protocols to follow. They’re all part of the same system that invariably treats large numbers of applicants as potential units of labour, and absolutely despises the ‘generation snowflake’ image of a youngster trying to be ‘different’ and ‘special’.
As I say, I wish it weren’t so. I wish every HR department was stuffed to the brim of duplicates of yourself, but it just isn’t the case. I’ve pretty much passed every single phone/video interview I’ve done so far and its all just been a case of spoon-feeding them what they want. It’d be nice to live as a rebellious young buck but I’m partial to earning my own food and shelter one day.