Experience with Smith & Williamson?? Anyone??!

Have you had the interview yet by any chance?

sorry for the delay in replying...just checked my secondary email account.

yup had the director interview and it went well. surprisingly the director didn't ask me much...it seemed as if he really wanted to talk!

the conversation started, and he asked me two questions initially...why S&W and why the chosen service line (Audit)? thats pretty much it.

then he just started all about the company and how its diff. to the big four and stuff like that. id say the interview lasted bout 25-30 mins tops.

cause i had prepared quite a bit myself for this interview, in terms of commercial awareness and about the service line I had applied for...when ever the director was making a point or something, I'd try to add in some point of my own too...cause I was getting irritated that he hasnt asked me much, after all that prep!

I'll start a wiki for Smith & Williamson (Smith & Williamson | WikiJob) and Smith & Williamson interviews (Smith & Williamson Interview Questions | WikiJob).

..John, could you tell me what the interview process is for this firm and what happened at your assessment day? Was the partner round the last stage and where there other stages? What are your reflections on the interview process and the firm in general?

Many thanks!

Smith and Williamson start off with the online testing (numerical and verbal) standard SHL stuff.

If you pass the tests, you will be put through to the Assessment day. Before the assessment day however, you might be given the chance to attend one of their graduate open days.

At the assessment day, which starts at 9.45 am and finishes at 3pm, you will have a competency based interview, completion of the numerical and verbal psychometric tests (paper test), a written exercise and a case study/group exercise. You get to meet their graduates as well.

If you pass the assessment day, then you attend the second interview with a partner (I had mine with two partners). This interview with last about 1 hour and prior to this, you will; have been emailed an Occupational Personality Questionnaire which you have to complete online.

Following this, you'll find out if you're successful or not.

Interesting stuff.

According to the website though the process is :

The recruitment process - Search & apply - Graduate Careers at Smith & Williamson

Stage 1 - the application form

We know you may have filled in a number of application forms, but it really is worth taking care over it. It’s your introduction to us and our only way of knowing whether to call you to a first interview. So, don’t just give us uniform answers - make yours one to remember.
Stage 2 - the online aptitude test

If successful, you’ll be invited to sit our online aptitude tests to gauge your overall suitability for a career with us.
Stage 3 - the telephone interview

We’ll follow that up with an informal telephone interview for you to learn more about the company and for us to see how likely you are to succeed at Smith & Williamson.
Stage 4 - the assessment centre

If you’re still in the running, we’ll invite you to an assessment centre for another round of psychometric testing and to see how you fair in group exercises. The last input we have in the process is the second interview, conducted by a director. It’s your last chance to sell yourself, so relax, be confident and don’t hold back.
Stage 5 - the final offer and your chance to revisit the firm

Unique to Smith & Williamson, the final stage is all about you. Once you’ve received your final offer, we open our doors so you can revisit the firm and make that all-important decision. You get to chat to staff on an informal basis, without the pressure of the interview process. Then, all you’ve got to do is say yes.

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Currently, I've just had the phone interview which seemed to go ok.

Any other input people can provide would be hugely useful.

thanks Jungle Boogie, very useful. I've added some of the info to the profile - Smith & Williamson Interview Questions | WikiJob. Is there anything more I could add? ...where you given a telephone interview? Did any specific questions come up at any point during your assessments?

Jassm thanks for your info too. What questions came up during the phone interview? How long did it last? Were there Competency based questions | WikiJob etc...

Useful info people, thank you for donating it. . . :)

It was quite straightforward and business based over competency "Tell me about a time when...." although there were a few of those type in there to keep it interesting :)

They mainly wanted to talk about my school/uni/career in general and then why I was applying to S&W and why the particular area.

They were looking for a real interest in accounting and business in general I felt.

A few questions I can remember :

How would you deal with the pressures of study/exams and the working environment?
What can you tell me about the ACA?
What challenges are facing businesses at the moment, local and globally?
Where do you see yourself after training?
What other areas of accountancy interest you?

It was scheduled to last 30 minutes but went on a bit longer as I had lots of questions to ask :)

A more conversational style than other phone interviews I've read about.

The written exercise might have changed now but when I did mine, we had to choose one of three questions and write a 2 page report on it. The questions I remember were:

- Tell us about a company you have worked with in the past (or a company that you know of) and how you would improve their business.
- How would you invest £1M?

Hey Guys,

My application process was quite straight forward and didn't involve as much as what is mentioned above.

I applied late last year (2007) and heard back from them in Feb. 2008! I was invited to do the online reasoning tests and was told I had passed them in a week. Don't know why they were taking so long in getting back, but I guess it must have been because I was one of the early applicants.

Anyhow, I was then invited for a telephone interview which was meant to last 30 mins, and it more or less did. To be quite honest, the phone interview was just too straight forward and rather easy. The first 7-10 mins were literally spent just confirming who I am and the details on my qualifications and achievements I had mentioned on my application form. There onwards, it was pretty much the usual competency based questions. Bare in mind, they do ask you about the qualification, why this route, why S&W, why accountancy etc...and the thing is since you're being interviewed by HR, chances are they wont know that much about the qualification, so its quite easy to impress but speaking a little extra and telling them something they might not know.

After succeeding at this stage I was then invited for the assessment day. Again, I had to wait roughly a month in between. Quite frustrating, but from my research I quite liked the company and hence kept going. At the assessment day, the day started off with a brief hi hello type of thing. We were then told to start a group exercise (7 people) including me. Case study was basically, you've got 5 mins to come up with 3 business ideas each. Then, discuss as a group and choose one idea and make a business plan in 20-25 mins. Then, you've got 10 mins to present to the board (which were 2 people from HR). After this we had lunch, met with current trainees. Lasted about an hour. From there, we went on to the pyschometric tests. Here I would just like to add, that although I found the verbal relatively easier, the numerical was much more difficult than the online ones I was used to. A couple of other people said the same and a friend of mine from university who attended the assessment day also agreed with me. But then, maybe its just me!

Finally, after succeeding at this stage (was told a week later) I was invited to the Director Interview. An interview which was meant to last an hour, but only lasted 30 mins. The details for this can be read on my earlier post. But again, it was pretty straight forward. The director hardly gave me a chance to speak. But then again, he/she is a partner/director and thats not small post. They've got year's of experience with interaction with different people and I'm sure they can make out easily if a person really is suited for their firm or not. So my advice, do take time in getting ready, look the part and be professional, courteous. Everything makes a difference, from the way you sit, to your nails etc.

Hope this helps guys. And please do your research. It really does make a difference. Even if the interviewer doesnt ask you, it will definitely make you feel more confident and prepared. and that preparedness does show and come across when someone speaks to you. It's a great company from what I saw and researched, plus its the only accountancy firm in the UK with their own investment bank (£9bn under mgmt) or so.

All the best.

Excellent post John.

Really helpful since I have an assessment day coming up and so far I have found them to be an excellent company both in my research of them and application process.

What office were you applying to? Did you have the assessment day at the same location?

Any other tips for the assessment day? Was it a group presentation or individual?

Did you end up taking the offer with S&W?

FWIW, my experience of the assessment day was almost identical to John's and after 10 days was informed I'd been successful at that stage.

Have the director interview coming up.

I'd agree with John's points about S&W as well. They are very well rounded company and have just as much if not more than the other top 10 accountancy firms to offer although their appeal on here and other student sites seems to be less than the others.

Worth noting for the FAQ's that it's a Ltd (Limited company with shareholders - not listed though) rather than LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) so there are no partners - only directors. ;-)

Maybe, this could be a sticky?

...certainly keen on S&W jassm.. are you on the company payroll already?! :)

he he ;-)

Nah, have just been impressed by their professional behaviour and business.

I'm surprised graduates seem to flock to the big 4 without thought for the mid-tier players who IMHO have much more to offer.

I think for those looking to move on after the ACA and if you have a 2.1, it looks much better to have big4 on your cv, sure if u cant get in then look at these sorts of companies however you should aim high, as their entrance req seem same as the big4.

Does it really matter?

In all honesty, an ACA is an ACA no matter where you were working when you gained it.

Big 4 is a brand but a decent degree, an ACA and a perosnality (rare in accounting) is a golden ticket.

Hello guys,

I am a recent MEng Mechanical Engineering graduate and in very interested to apply for a graduate job with Smith & Williamson. From a science backgroud, I do not know a big deal about the business world but it is certainly a field that I would like to go into after taking some elective business subjects back in university. I am in a bit of a dilemma right now because I do not know whether should I apply for Assurance & Business Services of Investment Management. I have read a lot regarding both of them online but I still can't fully understand what do they actually do. Can any of you guys give me a bit of insight?

I need to improve my commercial awareness skills too. I tried to read some of the articles on FT but it is only limited to a maximum of 30 articles. Where can I really research and read the most recent news regarding the 2 deparments that I am interested in? Will it be enough just by reading the business section daily? Any inputs will be really helpful! PLEASE!

Andy

You need a decent understanding and commercial awareness of how finance and the economy works- how interest rates affect inflation, how inflation affects growth and so on.

You also need to have a very clear understanding of what these jobs are and what you will be doing. Audit & Assurance and investment management are very different fields- exactly which one is suitable for you really depends on your personality and what you want to achieve. In other words, what exactly do you want to become?

Sad to say I have no idea what exactly I want to become yet. I have been through some thinking and research and I personally think ACA is a very good qualification therefore I will go for assurance and business services. I took a look at some subjects under ACA and I find some of them are very similar to MBA but I would say MBA qualification is still a lot more better than ACA? yes? no?

Not true. ACA and MBA are very different qualifications- the ACA is a very practical and is about a mixture of technical knowledge and professional skills when giving clients advice. You also have to complete 3 years of technical work experience. MBA, on the other hand, consists of more general business topics, of which accounting is only one.

I believe ACA is much more prevalent on boards of directors than MBA. What you prefer is your opinion. In my opinion, I would hire ACA's, but I'm biased ;-)

Hi!

I have an assessment day with Smith and Williamson coming up and really really want to work for them.

My day consists of a case study, psychometric tests and presentation from a senior member.

Can anyone give me any advice on the case study and psychometric tests. Also can anyone who has been to an assessment day recently tell me if the case study is in a group?

Thank you so much I appreciate any help you can give me.

-)

can anyone tell how much time do smith & williamson take to get back with the test results? its been a while since i took the tests and havent heard back from them as yet..was kind of getting curious now..

I did mine in the first week of sept and I waited one and a half weeks for it before I finally called them since they didn't even reply my email. Honestly I felt the ppl at HR are pretty slow. The chances of you passing are pretty slim I guess because that is what happened to me. They didn't contact me at all so I called up them and was told I only missed out by a few percentile for my verbal test! Sigh...I was very disappointed because English is not my first language. I just have to look somewhere else I guess... Just give them a call...they will give you the marks...Good luck!

thats very unprofessional! have u given tests for any other firm?? how did you do in them?? U've got me worried now..as i thought my test went ok! well i emailed them today so what do you say shud i wait for a reply or call them up?

When did you do the test? I emailed them after one week but they didn't reply so I called them up. I think is better to give them a call tomorrow so you can move on quicker. Don't bother waiting for their reply. I actually emailed them again after I got the results telling them since I only missed by a few percentile on the verbal and did well on the numerical, will I be reconsider since English is not my first language and guess what? NO REPLY! My job searching is not going too well at the moment and I am looking away from the financial sector now...good luck to you!

thank you andy! I shall then give them a call tomorow..i gvae the test last tuesday i think..good luck with ur search!!