Anybody knows BDO's first round intervew

for questions see the wiki

you could be tested if you get selected

The BDO first interview feels very conversational, it's literally about going through your application form but you do get asked a few competency questions like ones relating to team work and leadership, and also why xx service line and why BDO..

Someone told me I need take the re-test ( numeracy or verbal) in first round interview, if my re-test goes through, I will have a face-to-face interview with the manager, is it true?

as the 'random' suggests - only some people will get picked to redo the test - I think they actually do it after the interviews and if you fail it doesn't matter how you did in the interview :/

I didn't get retested and, as the09 says, the interview is very conversational with a few competency questions. Be careful not to be too conversational though (like I was) because it's still an assessment.

hi guys, I've got a first round interview coming up too. I've been compiling a list of possible questions, and I was wondering if you would be as kind as to share with me the questions you encountered. Thanks in advance.

hey guys,

has anyone had a BDO first interview recently ? what competencies were tested? i have one soon and have no idea what questions could be asked!

thank you, any help is appreciated.

anyone got any up to date information about the first interview at BDO?
Thanks in advance

Hey, I have a first interview soon, can anyone share some advice? Thanks!

I have mine this week as well. Any advice would be amazing. Anyone had one recently?

Hey has anyone got any advice on the AC?

Thanks

Hey Masrr, once again thanks for this post, much appreciated!

One q, we were told that there will be NO psychometric exercise this year (I am applying for Audit in LDN by the way, not that I think it makes much difference to you)
so did they actually tell you before hand that you will be faced with this via email?

Ok thanks once again Masrr, you've been a real help!

Hi Guys,

Many thanks to all contributors so far. I have a first round audit interview in London next week, and was wondering if anyone could help on interview questions based on the "Accountability for Results" competency?

Thanks in Advance,

H

masrr, thanks so much for the info, been very helpful

I know its now a long time ago, but do you remember how your partner interview went? any odd questions or ordering of it? Ive heard they do delve into your application/cv, is this true? any (more) advice would be appreciated lol

Thanks
Am

masrr, thanks so much for the info, been very helpful

I know its now a long time ago, but do you remember how your partner interview went? any odd questions or ordering of it? Ive heard they do delve into your application/cv, is this true? any (more) advice would be appreciated lol

Thanks
Am

thanks masrr,
Its in London for an audit role! Had one at Lloyds Banking which I found very gruelling. How did you find the group exercise? Did they still play that card game, a few friends of mine said they had that last year!

I found the group exercise quite challenging. It is important to get your opinions heard without being bossy. Make sure you know all of BDOs services, as they can usually all be utilised by the company in question within the case study. As long as you don't sit there in silence and contribute frequently, this study is not really a problem. What is a little more demanding is how it is presented to the manager later in the day. You basically give a presentation of the case study, however they do not want you to simply regurgitate the same information. You need to think of something extra and take the proposed solution further (or change it altogether). You are also required to give feedback on how you thought the group exercise went and whether you would change anything next time.

Yes I had the card game. This is very tough! Not really because of the actual task, but because of the time frame. I only answered 50% of the questions (which seemed to be the least of the day after speaking with the other students). In my feedback I was told I got all the answers correct that I answered and therefore ended up in the 76th percentile. Like normal psychometric tests, whether you pass depends on the percentile, rather than % of total correct answers. We were told however that this test was the least important stage of the day and that by failing, you would not necessarily be ruled out, provided you did sufficiently well in the other areas.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Wow thanks for all the info! By BDO's services do you mean the list on their main website? http://www.bdo.uk.com/services

also, did you revise for the card game or just get on with it when you were there lol?

Youve been really insightful so far, thanks alot!

big thanks masrr, i will do!

All the info has been much appreciated

hi just wondering, do they give you your score for the card game thing there and then or do you wait until the end of the day?

I was at an ac quite recently, scores arnt mentioned there and then or at the end of the day either. One girl asked just before we did it would we get our results after and the hr person said we wouldn't. if you rang them after the ac they'd perhaps be able to give you it though as part of feedback.

oh okay thanks. did you find the task difficult? have you heard back from them yet as to whether you were successful?

I didnt find it difficult at all no, i finished with over five mins spare. Some others did find it difficult though, I think a big help for some of the sets is to group cards together which all have one variable in common to find what links them all and to help you see the patterns. Other people in my room laid them out in numerical order and didnt move them at all throughout and i really dont know how they did it ! Also i wouldnt say it neccessarily gets more difficult as you progress, they are all different, some of the sets are mathsy, some arnt at all. I dont think it matters too much anyway, the assessor said other parts of the day were more important, which ties in with what other people have said on here.

Really wouldn't worry about it !!

Yep i was successful they made me an offer.

Okay thanks! I am just worried about the pressure of it i guess.
And obviously the partner interview. So many mixed reviews about the partners on here! I'm not sure whether i would want a relaxed one or one of the interrogators. Might get too chatty if they're all relaxed i think! Did you find it was heavily competency based like the first interview or did everyone say their partners were relaxed and chatty?

i was worried about the SHL test it too, but it was nothing like as bad as i thought it would be ! I think so long as you answer a couple of sets right you dont have too much to worry about anyway, its not that heavily weighted.

My partner was really really relaxed and chatty. I was first to finish and leave so i didnt speak to anyone else after and cant comment on theirs. First he talked about himself then I got asked 2 competancy questions 1. a time when ive critiscised someone, given out negative feedback and 2. a time when someone criticised me and how it made me feel. I started to give an example from final year uni (about 2 years ago for me) and he asked for something more recent.

We chatted about my application, why I made some choices I made, asked me about both my current job and previous job - what do they do well, what could they do better. Asked why audit, I talked for a while and mentioned I find business really interesting. He asked me to talk about something interesting about business, a very sort of open ended question, and i just talked about a business story in the news i found interesting. He asked me a couple of questions about it, we discussed it a bit and It seemed to go down alright.

Also asked who else i had applied too, I was totally honest mentioned Big 4 and he said he didnt blame me but if i got offers from everyone what would i take, so basically 'why mid-tier and specifically why BDO?'. Then about 10mins of questions for him, he chatted a fair bit. All in all about 50 mins. He mentioned we had finished a bit early but didnt seem assed by it. I dont think they care too much about the competancies by this stage, theyve already assessed all that, i think its more personality, but i guess it will depend on the partner!!

Hey guys I have assessment centre next week at the gatwick office for audit. Any particular advice that you could give me?More info on the group work or the presentation? and what exactly do they want you to do on this cards logic exercise?I'm bit nervous hope my partner will be relaxed as was the one in my previous interview.

There isn't really a way of revising for the card game.

I might have read on here somewhere about the tests.

The first round interview went on for about 1.5 hours, however this was mainly because it was such a friendly atmosphere and we ended up talking about all sorts!

The assessment centre was fantastic. Although pretty daunting and busy, it gave the opportunity to speak to a wide range of people!

I did find that the partner interview was much more conversational than the first round interview.

)

Only a month ago lol.

My partner interview was very relaxed.

can anyone offer help on first round competencies that might come up :S

Hey I have BDO first interview coming up on friday, any advice on what sort of questions might come up?

Thanks

hey ays1990! Check the post: My bdo first round interview experience. I had mine recently and wrote my experience in a post!

Hi,

I have an assessment centre coming up for BDO. Can someone please guide me through the group exercise and the In-tray exercise. Actually I am confused about these two. Can anyone explain a bit about the group exercise and In tray exercise. What Group exercise and In tray exercise is all about and how should I approach to them.