KPMG - From Application Form to Offer

This is an excellent post Jexxo - thank you very very much! Well done on your offer :) ..are you going to accept??

Truly excellent posting :)

Ed

[QUOTE=Redsuperted;889]This is an excellent post Jexxo - thank you very very much! Well done on your offer :) ..are you going to accept??

Truly excellent posting :)

Ed[/QUOTE]

No, I doubt I'll accept it. I think I'm going to accept EY; the application process seemed the most thorough of any of the firms I applied too and I was most impressed by EY.

I'll stick some info up about the EY assessment day later this week. :)

...that would be greatly appreciated :)

can someone tell me how long do you have to accept an offer once it has been made????

thanks!

When I received the formal offer I had a month to accept it. There were contact details for somebody to contact if you felt you would require longer to make a decision.

heyy..im applying for the KPMG Cadetship and im really stuck with two questions. i would honestly really appreciate it if sumone could help me??
these are the two questions:

Why have you applied for the business groups you listed as your first and second preference?
(I chose Middle Market Advisory and Audit)

Which of KPMG’s values have you most recently exhibited and how?

thanks heapss..
xx

Check out KPMG's values on their website.

Advisory & Audit

What they are really trying to do is see if you have correctly understood what you are applying for, and didn't just pick it randomly. Unfortunately, advisory and audit are world's apart. Both offer fantastic training in business. Audit is especially useful if you want to work in a finance department after you qualify. Advisory is really consulting, so if you are interested in helping businesses improve their performance, then advisory is for you. Audit is more client faciing- you will work on client sites. For advisory you will mostly work at KPMG's office. Obviously the fact you have applied for middle markets is worth mentioning too- middle market firms are mid-sized companies and for a Big 4 this is a specialist department as most of their clients are huge corporations.

Advisory work is much more interesting than audit work, and also more competitive to get into.

Values

This taken from the KPMG site here http://www.kpmg.co.uk/about/difference/values.cfm :Just try and fit a recent circumstance to these values and you should be OK.

We lead by example – at all levels acting in a way that exemplifies what we expect of each other and our member firms’ clients.

We work together – bringing out the best in each other and creating strong and successful working relationships.

We respect the individual – respecting people for who they are and for their knowledge, skills and experience as individuals and team members.

We seek the facts and provide insight – challenging assumptions, pursuing facts and strengthening our reputation as trusted and objective business advisers.

We are open and honest in our communication – sharing information, insight and advice, frequently and constructively and managing tough situations with courage and candour.

We are committed to our communities – acting as responsible corporate citizens and broadening our skills, experience and perspectives through work in our communities.

Above all, we act with integrity – constantly striving to uphold the highest professional standards, provide sound advice and rigorously maintain our independence.

Does anyone know what the implication is of declaring you know a KPMG employee in the 'Contact' section? Would it work against you or for you? And at interview stage, would they bring it up and quiz you on their role?

In theory it shouldn't work for or against you. In practice it might work for you. Their name might get brought up at interview, but you probably wouldn't be expected to know too much about what they did, unless it was a similar position to the one you're applying for.

Use this contact to your advantage. Find out EVERYTHING you can about the firm from them, and the job you are applying for. This kind of information is unbelievably useful for your interviews.

Good luck.

Usually employees get a £500 bonus or something if they tell somebody to apply and they actually join. The candidate usually has to fill this in on the application form, so that's probably what it is.

Furthermore, it's a good thing you've talked to someone about KPMG, which has helped dispell any myths you might have about working in accounting.

Thanks Jexxo..very thorough.

My first interview was similar to yours so will not go further and am now on 2nd.

I'm a bit concerned about the business presentation (I'm appplying tax).

I feel I should be briming with ideas but I am not.

How much detail do I need to go into? Do I need to use figures and projected growth etc?

I'm a law grad with a genreal interest I am hoping to grow..I think my skills a probably fairly limited at this stage!

L_L

In pratice it shouldnt work against you but i think that before you walk into an interview the interviewer has an expectation of you such as you know more on the role and have "inside info" on the company. I have found a few ppl who put in down for bigger firm didnt get the job. I would advise dont put them down and surprise the interviewer with more knowledge that you have gained from your friend ;) But thats my opinion!

Hi,

I was just wondering, I have been invited straight to the e-tray exercise after submitting my application and passing the tests. Does anyone know why this is? Any advice? Also will I only do the e-tray or the whole assessment centre - they have told me that it'll only take 3hrs.?

Are you applying for an internship? Because that's the case for internship programmes.

Hi,

I had an assessment centre last week and got through so I thought I would share my experience of the presentation/partner interview which is the part I think most people get nervous about (well that was the case for me anyway!). I did my presentation on an little-known hotel company and after finishing the partner told me that he was actually the senior auditor for the hotel industry! Fortunately, he was really nice about it and just asked me a couple of straight forward questions about the presentation e.g. what is the future of the hotel industry? I have to stress that it does not matter if you just prepare notes or write the entire presentation out (as I did because nerves sometimes get the better of me!), just remain calm, confident and make sure you know what you are talking about!

After that, he looked through my application form and just asked me some general questions (e.g. why did you pick those specific A-levels? Why did you apply after you graduated?) and just had a bit of a chat really. I then got asked a couple of commercial awareness questions like 'if you woke up tomorrow as the governor of the Bank of England, what would you do?' Just make sure you justify your view. Also if you get stuck on a question like I did, just take your time to think about it and don't be scared to ask for any further clarification. I wasn't asked any of the typical questions why kpmg? why the service line? etc. but I gues it just depends on the partner you get. Finally he asked me if I had any questions for him and that was the end of it. I'd say the entire process lasted around 50 minutes. I can't stress enough that it is really important for you stay true to yourself as partners will see through you if you pretend to be someone you're not!

Hope this helps.

p.s. one final piece of advice: remember to SMILE!!! :)

hi seabreeze87,

I have read the post you wrote on the website describing your AC in KPMG, that is very helpful as I am currently preparing for my AC as well.

Would you please tell me a little bit about the e-tray you did on that day, is it the same as the one described in the website - The scenario was you are about transferred from Newcastle to Manchester, and the three client companies are a Credit Card Company, a travel agency called “coastline” and finally an online multimedia retailer.

And it will be very helpful if you could share some of your experience on what sort of data you have to analyse in the etray to approch the correct answer.

Thamk you very much

Hi
I'm having an AC soon but there is a problem is that in my application form I chose ACCA as my lecturer said to me it is more internationally recognised?! However, it turned out to be not true?!

I asked KPMG that if I can change from ACCA to ACA route at the location I already chose, however they have closed ACA applications for that location and thus if I want to change to ACA I would have to choose a different location and change my AC date. They gave me options of choosing either Cambridge or Southampton. If I didn't change then I would have to stick with ACCA in Bristol n if I want to convert to ACA in the future, it will take me an extra 1 and a half year after I have finished my ACCA.

Personally I like Bristol but also want to do ACA instead of ACCA. I have never been to Southampton or Cambridge so don't know how life over there is like and how big the offices are.

Could anyone advise me plzzzzzz

Autumn..

My tuppence is get in as soon as you can...places are getting scarcer everywhere....all the time....I got through AC and seems my start date is already later than had been suggested to me at first iview....and maybe later than advertised start date! I also get the impression from other threads a very few but growing number of people are being asked to change service lines/locations, and potentially even to defer.

ACA IS better imho....but if it means waiting a year to get on the contract I'd say not worth it...especially if you only need an extra year to "upgrade". On the other hand there are plenty of reliable sources on this forum and others which sat the ACCA is catching up tot he ACA in terms of employability/desirability although I don't think anyone could say it's quite there yet. Once you are in employment/qualified anyway however, you will have plenty of time to prove yourself on your work/rep and still do the upgrade if you feel it is necessary.

Make sure you get through the AC first and see what they offer you...and keep applying other Big4 for ACA?

L_L

Hi everyone,
Im having an AC with KPMG soon and I get really nervous about the Presentation task
I am not really sure about how much details should the contents be and actually what they expect from from it. Any one has tips on doing this good?
And another thing im wondering is the technical knowledge, how much are we expected to know...
It would be much appreciated, i saw brilliant postings from above, i just wonder a bit more details about specific tasks- i hope you guys would help me out... i need this job so badly, it is like my only chance left

Thanks a million....
Nancy

Hi Nancy,

I had my AC with KPMG last week and the partner presentation and interview was the easiest bit (relatively speaking!) My understanding is that they want a few facts and figures to show you've done your research i.e. turnover, profit, no. of employees etc, and that your recommendations for growth are more to test that you understand the factors influencing the company you've chosen and the market they operate in. My advice would be to have as much technological knowledge as you can but to save most of it for follow up questions. My presentation was short and sweet (about 6 mins), I didn't get bogged down in too much detail but I actually had all the figures etc to hand incase questioned, just make sure you fully support your suggestions with logical arguements.

There are loads of really good threads on here to let you know what to expect.

Oh, and relax ;)

thanks so much Hardy, i was reading your post on "my KPMG recruitment experience" and found that really helpful..
what u said about the group exercise was so true and that's what im so scared of also. I had a really bad experience of a group exercise with UBS AC and till now it still makes me not confident about this. there were 6 ppl in my group and what i experienced was that everyone was aggressive+ time pressure i didn't get chance to talk much and i got put off by ppl jumping in and talking all the time, which in the end i gave up and this part let me down as i failed the AC... I am quite shy in a group as well i don't know if im gonna be okay for this.
and do u think i should prepare presentation slides on A4 papers and hand it to the partner?
thanks so much for your kind help!

Yeah, group exercise is a bit fake. If people are being aggressive and jumping in then they are not going to do well for themselves so don't try to compete with them. If you aren't speaking as much as you'd like then make sure you listen. If you read KPMG's website it says under 'making an impact' that its as much about listening as speak (or something like that). But don't just give up and shy away, make sure you do speak and just say something like 'I think we're losing focus, maybe we should get back to the question set', they're not assessing one thing at a time, its all of the values, i.e. your teamwork yes but also that you are organised and focused on the job in hand. My group just seemed overly polite and if you are in a similar group you will definately get a chance to speak but make sure you don't just wait til you are asked to speak and that you show some initiative etc, all the advice has been given on here before.
I think a slideshow would be really useful for you to understand the structure and content of your own presentation but I wouldn't hand it to the partner, Just do a side or 2 of A4 to sum up I used the following layout

Company - Est. , turnover, profit, what it does

problems - the top 3 or so problems it currently faced (if you mention credit crunch mention how it directly affects this company!!!)

recommendation 1 - what it is and reason behond it and a sentence on what KPMG to do to help

Recommendation 2 - etc etc

Summary - "The solutions I have outlined will help company X grow by getting costs under control, focusing on customers needs and looking toward the future" (something like that anywhere)

I'm sure you'll be fine, as I said its much less about how good you are at presenting and more about your business understanding (well that was my view anyway)

Good luck!! any more questions just ask.

Hi Hard87 & Jexxo,

Both of your information is really helpful - thank you. I'm actually applying as a school/college leaver for Audit/AAT & have just been invited to first round interview. Do you think it will be similar to yours? Also I had the choice of either Weds 3rd Dec or Thurs 11th Dec and I chose the latter as I wanted a bit more time to prepare....Do you think this was a mistake as I know they go by first come, first serve kind of thing?! Also any advice or information you can give me about KPMG, Interview tips & Audit/AAT would be much appreciated. Sorr to be such a pain!!

Thank you,

X

Hi Dani,

All the information on interviews is on the forums, you just have to kinda sift through all the threads. Check out the wiki site for all the info for questions etc. Did your e-mail tell you what competencies you will be tested on? The ones for Graduate positions do so thats a bit of a clue. As for advice, read their website, check out the wiki about KPMG, and make notes on it, can be a bit labourious but only you know how much you want the job. Personally I would have gone for the sooner one, as you said it is a first come first served basis. That said, they probably wouldn't have later dates if they were expecting to fill up before then so...

As for interview tips, you gotta be yourself, so relax (a few deep breaths and a smile works surprisingly well) also, know what your going to say first, they'll ask how you are, or how your journey was something of that nature. I always knew what I was gonna say to start with (kinda like a presentation, once you've got the first line outa the way the rest just sorta flows) and also remember to ask them a question back!! and listen to what they say, that is how you build a good rapport. Make sure you are polite, smartly dressed, easy to talk to (but not a joker who obviously isn't going to do any work). Also don't be too afraid when answering a question to say summint like 'KPMG ha the best traingin most awards (list them) and then say 'but that can all be read from the internet, the real reason I want to work for KPMG is ... the people, the training, the atmosphere (whatever the real reason is) That shows that you know what they're looking but that you've thought it threw and have your own motives and are an individual.

Thats all I can say really, I got through with a good rapport and a bit of luck to be honest, I'm nothing special on paper, or CV, but I knew it was what I really wanted and that I am capable. Other than that just read every thread on this site with the word 'interview' in it.

Any other questions I'll do my best to help.

Jexxo and everyone.
i read fr above that you (Jexxo) did your presentation on Morrison. I am going to talk about Tesco and got caught up with this question: I read from Tesco's annual report that its current auditor is PwC! Bearing that in mind if in the end after I talk all about how KPMG could help to provide effective expansion etc..., there is a question like "what can KPMG offer to Tesco so that it could be better off from current Auditor PwC?" I honestly don't know how should I answer....
Anyone got an idea?

Seabreeze: what was your answer for the question"what would u do if you wake up tmr morning being the governor of BoE"? I am just curious :)

Hmmm I don't know about the answers yet but also curious about ur questions.

When n where r u having AC? It seems that they have quite a number of AC in London at the moment

I applied for Audit Cambridge, my AC is in London Dorset Rise office on the 26th. r u having one soon also?

26th?
Mine is 24th... it's funny that they have so many AC in London at the moment...

I actually did my presentation and partner interview today already (i applied 4 Audit Bristol). Then will head to London on 24th for my e-tray n group case study...

Dont know what to expect...

then i guess the hard bit has been over for you, I heard fr a friend who just went to the AC, she said the group exercise should be relaxing, u don't need to have too many ideas, but just to work well in a team...
how did ur presentation go? what company you talked about? what did the partner ask in the end? anything unexpected/ hard commercial awareness question?
...im just really nervous....
Best of luck on your e-tray and group case study.
Nancy

thanks so much autumn, i appreciate that!
U shud be fine with the e-tray as long as u manage your time and concentration well... I look forward to hearing your good news on the 25th ;)
Best, Nancy

Thanks Nancy

I think the presentation went alright, I managed to finish it in 10mins. My partner was very nice as she reminded me how much time I had left so I made sure that I could finish it on time.

Then they would possibly ask about why you chose this business (I chose WH Smith). There was 1 question about how they got their finance from.

Commercial awareness... not much being asked, just 1 question about what u r interested in at the moment.

Some conpetency ones, eg leadership, pressure. And there's another question which I didnt expect... tell me about a time when u had to give up?!

I'm quite worried about e-tray coz that's the one I failed last year when I applied for KPMG internship :(

Good luck to u too n hope that help

Just edit abit :)

Hey people just wanted to know about the etray from ppl who just had it recently? thankss

Hi, I read the very first post in this forum about the etray and Jexxo said he answered 23/24 of the emails etc...
Just wanted to let anyone who hasn't done the etray yet know how I got on. I only answered 18 of 24 emails. For the second part, I wrote a very lengthy reply to the first email and only managed a few sentences on the 2nd email before my time i ran out. I still passed the etray and have an interview next week. They told me it was quality and not quantity that was important :)

Hi Glasgow-accounts-08,

Just wondering, what service line are you applying for and is it for an internship or graduate job? I've just had an offer from KPMG but I'm having to go to Aberdeen for it as Glasgow and Edinburgh are full!

I've applied for an audit internship in Glasgow. Just waiting on them letting me know my interview date now! x

Ah right, mine is for a Graduate place, that'll explain it! Well if you need any advice let me know, the interview isn't bad! Do you have to do a presentation?

Nope only an interview! So pretty lucky that way I suppose! Any advice would be much appreciated, i'm absolutely terrified!! lol xx

So was I, honestly, I was shaking in the taxi on the way there. But the partner that interviewed me was so lovely!! I honestly felt more like we were just having a chat!!

I'm guessing you've not done the competency based interview yet either? That was totally fine too, although I got asked for 3 examples on each competency, and I think it was about 4 competencies. But the questions differ slightly, its not the exact same situation each time. So I would be prepared for that. She also asked about what situations I feel are affecting the accounting profession at the moment, and why would I chose KPMG over other firms I'm applying to. Know why you want to do audit, like mention working in a team etc. Honestly, it is nothing to worry about if you're prepared. Good luck!! Are you doing accounts at uni? In glasgow?

Hi guys,

Having just received an offer from KPMG for a Grad Programme in Audit, I thought it was only fair I posted all my experiences on here too. If you do have any further questions then please just post something on here or PM me and I’ll surely get back to you.

Application Form & PAPI
There is not much advice I can offer for this, as long as you meet the requirements for your intake the Wikijob walkthrough pretty much explains everything. I used all my characters available to show some effort but generally I think if you meet the requirements and pass the PAPI then you will be invited to take the ability tests. The PAPI is simply questions on some working environment scenarios and asks you what you think might be the most appropriate action. It’s really quite simple.

Number and Verbal Tests
I would agree that these tests are the hardest out of any of the big four. As a consequence their pass marks are lower. The Verbal is not too bad and you could probably do 95% of it if you work very quickly. The Numerical is harder and you need to work very fast. When I did mine I thought I had failed … I only answered 13 out of 24 question. That put me in the 62%. The trick to these is working fast but ACCURATELY. Definitely use the practice ones available and even pop down to your local bookstore and get a career book with these tests in it. That will give those of you who are really worried some much needed confidence.

First Interview
This is a competency based interview. You will get questions like;
- Describe me a time when you worked as part of a team?
- Describe when you acted as a leader?
- Describe when you need to persuade others?
- Describe when you used your initiative?
- Describe a time when you were criticised and what did you do?

There was then – Why KPMG? And; tell me about a company that interests you at the moment. If you’re anything like me, you will find this interview really “rigid”, I didn’t have the opportunity to make much conversation with the senior but you do get the opportunity to ask some questions at the end. Definitely get a vast amount of competency questions and practice answering them. You need to be confident when you talk and be prepared to be asked for more than one example. They also like it when you manage to use a variety of examples such as work, studies, hobbies that sort of thing. Just be prepared with your answers and this will also help you manipulate answers when you get asked something that you haven’t prepared for.

Assessment Day

E-tray In my opinion, this is the hardest part of the assessment day. In the first part you get 70 minutes to answer roughly 24 emails. You cover somebody who’s ill at another office and need to send information to his clients, feedback and that sort of thing. My advice is spending roughly 10-12 minutes making sure that you know where the information is. You can use either the handout they give you or info on the PC, whichever is easiest for you. That will leave you with roughly an hour to answer the questions and you do need to work fast. There are a couple of questions that will require you to do some number crunching. It’s very easy, probably easier than the numerical test questions. I had 2 or 3. I left one email unanswered and it was one of the maths questions as I thought I would do it last!!! The second bit is 50 mins to answer two emails. They want you to make a recommendation for developing a client within a budget, and recommending how to market your own business services. The options are laid out for you. I listened to advice on here and spent more time on the first. WRONG IDEA. I would try do them equally, neither is more important. I did a comprehensive first email but my second was REEAALY rushed. Try and balance them out, keep your SPAG tidy and offer some good justification for your decisions.

Group Exercise You use a company from your e-tray. You are given 10mins to read your booklet and take notes, 35minutes to discuss and then 5-10 minutes to present as a group. Just extract the relevant bits of the book and anything you notice or believe you should recommend. During the discussion, don’t overpower people too much, give people time to talk, but make sure you have the chance to get your points across too!. When you finished saying your bits, try and involve other people as they won’t want to interrupt you, say something like – what do you think xyz? Or even, do we all agree with that?

Partner Interview & Presentation The presentation does NOT need to be really heavy on figures. Just know it well and present it clearly. I did a discount supermarket and there was hardly any financial information on them. However, make good proposals and the justify them. It doesn’t matter the size of your company, and I don’t think you need to know it off by heart. I had my whole thing written out, printed it twice and that was my hand out (of course, made it look great). It didn’t have any charts or things like that. I just engaged with the partner, she could tell straight away I didn’t rely on the handout too much but I also proved I could learn something and present it too! Stay clear and make eye contact.

    I then got some questions on the company, why I made those proposals. Just be ready to justify each of your ideas and what KPMG can offer them in the way of services.
    Then your likely to have some competency questions, same as the first interview really. Just use your work for that. Then come the conversation bit…Why KPMG? Why your line of service? Why is KPMG different? What you might find good/difficult about the job? Try and smile! Be calm and work through your responses slowly. Their really nice people so you will quickly build a relationship with them. Prepare a good question…Throw in that you had questions answered in your first interview so it looks like your really engaged in the WHOLE application process.

Edit - Dont get bogged down with reponse times! They get back to you quickly, after your tests it may take up to two days generally because its electronically! After my first interview I waited **6** days!!!..to hear I got through. After my partner however they got back to me the next day.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your help emmag, my interview is next tuesday! Yeah I do accounts at Glasgow Uni, the summer placement this year is only 3 weeks long but figured it would still be good to do anyway!! I don't have to have a first interview because its a placement, just one interview so i'm assuming I'll get asked everything then!
Thanks for your advice, will let you know how I get on!
xx

Could someone please help ?

I applied to Deloitte but got reject at the first interview. Maybe because I didnt properly justify why I chose Deloitte over the other big 4 firms?
If asked in my interview with KPMG, and I am sure they will, would you suggest I mention I got rejected by Deloitte? I am a bit confused on this.
I have read in the posts that I could be asked 3/4 questsions per competency and read something different elsewhere. which is true?
Also how could the competencies making an impact and building relationships be tested? What kinds of questions can be asked?

I have my AC soon and was wondering where i can get all the financial about a company for the presentation?

@lobvot2 The questions throughout the forum helped me prepare for the interview, and everything came up. I'd suggest reading those threads and preparing for those. I was never asked throughout the process who else I have applied for. If I was however, I was going to explain "in the current job market, I had to apply for other companies as a backup to KPMG rather than putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak". Its best to have two competency examples prepared. One to use in first round, and a different one to use in the Partner interview. Shows a bit of variety in the skills you have.

Making an Impact is generally assessed at all stages apart from the e-tray. Building relationships is very much primarily in the group exercise.

@littlemiria Generally off their official website financial information can be gained. Many who publish their accounts will place them on there.

hi jexxo

thanks for your post. really helpful. i have got my interview on coming monday but i am struggling to answer these questions:

 (1) What is your understanding of the credit crunch and how is it affecting KPMG? (2) What is the biggest challenge currently facing KPMG?

i would really appreciate your help as i am really struggling with these questions.

At the assessment centre, are you asked to introduce yourself to the whole group? What is a good way of introducing yourself and standing out?

You just go round each person in turn and say your name, what you studied and where you studied. It's all over in 20 words so don't worry about it.

ps. You don't need to post across every single KPMG thread, if one shows up as having a new post it will get seen

Kev370 - Thanks. Sorry it's just that different people will be suscribed to each thread and will be able to offer different perspectives.

I always did Name, Grew Up, What University, What Subject, A Unique Interest (Sports). Kept it brief but showed that i had more to me than just random graduate. Also gave opportunity to chat to others about area of my interest and made it easier to chat to people. I think it worked quite well.

Lil.x

hi jexxo thanks for the post, very helpful

i have got a quick question, i have read in many forums that your should not do your presentation on a kpmg client but as you did on Morrisons which is already kpmg's client, what are your views on this? i really confused now as the company that i want to do is kpmg's client.

if anyone else has got some one, please share them as i am in diplomatic situation now of going ahead with the kpmg cleint or changing it?

hi i donno if its the rite place to put this but i am applying to the AAT(School leaver) program in KPMG and there is this question what attracts u to the programu have applied for!!!my first reaction was obvioulsy wrking in KPMG mate/ but i dont think that wud be a cool answer.
can anyone help me with this please. what exactly do they want u to say in such question!as i am just out of school so i dont have ay idea abt these application processes!!PLZ!PLZ!PLZ!help!

Get a piece of A4 paper and start doing a bit of brain storming. Presume that someone in school has talked to you about brain storming?
Well, start thinking what attracted me to look at accountancy for a career? To do this you will need to have researched accountancy in detail and I suggest ICAEW website is good for this.
Next. What is good about KPMG? So you will have fully researched that firm. The clients, the work environment, training on offer, reputation, good reports from other trainees you have spoken to etc. BUT also be able to say why you prefer it to it's competitors.
Next, and this is significant. Why the direct route from A levels and not Uni first? If you look at ICAEW website you'll see that about 80% of trainees are graduates.(Incidentally, I commend you for that but beware that not having a degree could be a drawback for some job applications after you have qualified ACA).
Your A4 page should be filling up with all your thoughts, ideas, knowledge etc. It can get really messy if you want.
The next bit is tricky. You sit and assemble your scribbles to produce a coherent, well composed answer to the application question. NB get a tutor, teacher or parent to cold review it for you.
Hope this has given you a starting point.

thank you very much for your help! atleast now i ve a starting point and an A4 paper infrnt!
thanks once again!!cheers

No problems. PLEASE make sure your grammar, syntax and spelling is all spot on. Sorry if that is rather patronising but I have seen some disgraceful scripts from supposedly well educated graduates!!

yeah i understand that!!unfortunately my first language isnt english either!so i wud rather get it checked by two or three ppl before i send it!!and i ve read that it makes the worst impression if u have mistakes in application, i think three mistakes r allowed or sth!but i wud rather make none!!
thanx once again!!!

once i finish my draft is it alrite if i send u a copy!

Well, I think it may be better if you sit down with a teacher or tutor as it is easier to talk through any points, yes?
I do not really set myself up on here as a personal tutor (despite the pen name) and so advise you go through your apps with someone who you know and who knows you.
Do you have a careers office in school or college? They would be good, too.

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to say thanks a lot for all the advice on here. I had my assessment centre for advisory (performance and technology) in London on Thursday and heard yesterday that they're offering me a place!
I'm not going to write all my experiences up on here as they're pretty much identical to everyone elses, but if you have any questions about anything, I'm more than happy to help!
Good luck!

Rhi

rhi1989, did they mention when you would be sent a formal contract?

No, all I've had is a phone call from the partner that interviewed me saying I got the job. I havent had any emails or anything else with any more information.

Hello everyone,
I'm having an split AC next week on Wed and Fri with KPMG Birmingham, just wondering any of you will attend the same one?