Deloitte Consulting 2012

Hi Chris,

I went through mine a few days ago and found out today that I was successful. It really is nothing to worry about, and not something that you need to prepare for because it tests you there and then, and not on any specific knowledge.

I've also applied to Consulting 2012 entry in London, and had my e-tray in Birmingham earlier this week as that office is closest to me. The day consisted of:

10:10 - I arrived, chatted to other candidates;

10:30 - Deloitte HR person came and collected us, took us into meeting room filled with laptops around the table;

10:35 - Process explained;

10:40 - First Assessment: e-tray: essentially a simulation of an inbox, requiring you to assimilate key information from 'folders' and respond to 'emails' with an appropriate response. Each email has three response options. Sometimes there are simple calculations, or organising - for example - who might be available to work on what project when, depending on expertise and availability.

11:40 - First Assessment complete: I had responded to all emails that needed a response and had about 7 minutes to spare at the end. So I went and got a coffee.

11:50 - Second Assessment: Written Exercise: Following in chronological order after the 'events' of the e-tray, we were then asked to 'write an email to our line manager' who has asked for a decision on what to advise a company board, at a board meeting, forty minutes from now. There was a choice of three companies, you had to choose one and argue for it. The test assessed your ability in terms of content, but also writing style and clarity of written language and all that.

12:30 - Assessment complete. Off you go.

Simple as that really, no messing about.

Hope this helps! There's even more stuff about the Deloitte e-tray knocking about on here so do have a look.

Best of luck,

Will

Hey Will did you pass the E-tray?

Yep, now waiting to hear when I go for the fast track day.

I got invited for a fast track day but Deloitte didn't confirm my place! So I've got to complete the etray before the partner interview and group exercise. Anyway hope you get yours soon.

Thanks so much for your help Will, I took my E-tray exercise and it was practically identical in nature to the one you described. I heard back within a couple of days that i'd passed, and i'm not scheduled in for a first round interview on Friday (they aren't running any fast-track days at the moment).

So, if anyone is worried about their E-tray exercise, it pretty much happens as described above. We were told NOT to use word to copy and paste (for spellcheck) as this would crash the system. With regards to strategy for the exercises (there are two, one responding to email queries and the other compiling an email to a senior member) its going to depend a lot on how you work under pressure. I like to work thoroughly, but in some cases (like this one) i knew i just didnt have enough time. They are clearly testing how you work under pressure, so just stay calm and work as efficiently and accurately as you can. I know for a fact I got at least one of the responses wrong, and I also left one email with no answer (I thought it better to leave it than to take a 33% guess... Its one i knew would take me several minutes to work out and by the end i just didnt have enough time...) In the second exercise, try and keep an eye on your spelling and grammar all the way through. I'd planned to come back through and double check but the final 5-10 minutes of the exercise blew straight by and by the time I signed off on my email i checked and only had 30 seconds left! I'm certain in the second exercise there are no right or wrong answers, its all about your argument. If you can provide a logical, concise argument for your choice (and a few points against the others) I'm sure your answer will be "correct".

-Chris

So now i'm scheduled for an interview on Friday. Is there anyone else on this forum thats going to be in London for a consulting interview on Friday 14th at 9am?

From what I gather from the information provided by Deloitte, I can expect a competency based interview and a group exercise. Will, could you give me any more insider information on this?! What will the group exercise involve? I'm guessing something like reading through some information on a company, and compiling some sort of a presentation in a small group? As far as the competencies go, i'm feeling fairly confident in all of them except the dreaded Commercial Awareness... Is this likely to come up? Any recommendations on the best way to deal with it? What are they actually looking for?

Again, thanks for all the help with my E-tray, and i'd really appreciate any further help with this first round interview.

-Chris

Hi again Chris,

Congrats on passing the etray. You seem to be right in there being little information out there about the nitty gritty details of the process. I had my first round interview last week, so here are the general details:

8:45am - Arrive, sign in, take a seat upstairs (I was in their London offices). I found that we were all there for consulting, but of varying sorts - some finance, some open applications, etc.;

9am - Get taken through in whole group briefed by HR guy about the group exercise. This was a timed discussion between the group, where we needed to come to a decision by the end of the time allotted. In our case, the members of the group represented different towns/cities and were advocating their use for a large upcoming sporting event, where we had to choose one. This consisted of 5 minutes of reading time, and 20 minutes of discussion. The assessors came in after the first five minutes and the only things they said during the whole process were that we needed to end and provide a decision. MANAGE YOUR TIME CAREFULLY - we were out by almost five minutes for some reason, I recommend using a countdown on a phone if you have that function. As it was, we rushed our decision.

9:45am - End of group discussion. Provided with a case study to read through describing a council wanting to merge services. Took notes on this on the document and on a separate sheet.

10am - Interview starts. First 25 minutes is competency based, based on their competencies. Next 25 minutes is career motivation (why consultancy, why Deloitte) and, yes, commercial awareness. Final 25 minutes is questions regarding the case study. If you're prepared for this, have notes and your wits about you, you'll be fine.

11:15am - Off you go, that's the end.

Times varied amongst us because we were all getting interviewed at different times because there were more to be assessed than there were assessors.

Commercial awareness is fine, because there's actually loads to talk about at the moment that would impact on the work that a firm like Deloitte would do. For example:

ICB & banking reforms Eurozone Crisis (Yet firms like Deloitte remaining bullish in their strategy, particularly in recruiting) PwC overtaking Deloitte as largest professional services firm EU Commission looking into whether or not regulation should separate consultancies from the audit sides of business...

Plenty.

Anyway, hope it all goes well.

All best,

Will

Hi Will, Thanks for the information, and for the couple of points to get me started with commercial awareness. I'll let you know how it goes on Friday!

Did you hear back Deloitte about the outcome of your first round interview?

hey will, nice one, this is really helpful!

i also have my a/c soon. what kind of commercial awareness questions were you asked?

Hellooo for anyone who has had their first interview how long did it take for them to get back to you? My interviewer said 2 days and it's been 4....

Hey Qwerty, I had my first round interview last Friday, and I heard from them first thing this morning (I was expecting to hear within 3 days, but I gather they are pretty busy at the moment. One of my friends waited nearly two weeks to hear he had passed so I wouldn't read too much into it.

Again, the first round interview was almost identical to how you'd explained Will, so thanks again... It really helps settle the nerves when you at least know the sort of structure to expect!

Will, (or anyone else who could help me for that matter!) I've been told I will be invited for the final interview, but to expect a wait... Did you have to wait for your partner interview? How long for?

I was told exactly the same thing. I was sent a holding email whilst, I suppose, they figure out dates and times their end.

I still have not heard yet two weeks later. So... I'll just have to wait some more I guess!

Hi, I know this thread is about applying for consulting but I am applying for Tax and have my competency interview on tuesday and guess it will be the same as the competencies for both are the same. Do all of the competencies get asked? or what are the most common ones that come up? Does decision making get asked for? Thanks for the tips on commercial awareness! I was also struggling to find these too. Where did you find was best to read about whats affecting deloitte and your service line? Thanks so much for the help! Zoe

Hey Will, Thanks for the update, I guess they've got a bit of a backlog now with candidates and the availability of partners to interview them! If you've been waiting a couple of weeks already, i'm guessing it can't be much longer? Best of luck with it, let me know how it goes! -Chris

Zoe, I can't really tell you with any certainty how it goes at the Tax interviews, but I guess the competencies are the same so i'll do my best... In my competencies interview for Consulting I was asked about pretty much all of them I think... Including decision making. Decision making may be more key for Consulting than Tax though, so there may not be such an emphasis? Just taking a quick look through the forums, there are lots of threads referring to Deloitte in the Professional Services area... http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services They all seem to refer to Audit, Tax, Financial Advisory etc, which is why I started this one for Consulting. Take a look through those threads and I hope they help you more than I can!

http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/deloitte-complete-walkthrough-guide http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/deloitte-got-offer-ask-me-anything http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/deloitte-2012-graduate

Also, I think this one refers specifically to Tax - http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/deloitte-graduate-tax

Good Luck tomorrow!

Chris were you interviewed on the fri morn or afternoon?

And zoe i didn't get asked annnny commercial awareness- but for consulting we had to do a case study so tried to get some commercial awareness stuff in there. i got asked about goals (i mentioned two.. a work related one and then a personal achievement), when i had to organise something and then i incorporated team work into that and then that kind of rolled onto me just talking about team work.. the interviewer just picks up on what you're saying and then uses that for her next question if that makes sense. as for what's affecting deloitte you could talk about pwc over taking them, the olympics, eurozone crisis (might affect importting/exporting etc). my interviewer was so so nice, we ended up just having general chit chat at one point so don't worry too much. like chris said read all the links on wiki job because they are really helpful and good luck!

Hi, I had my interview and it went fine, not as bad as i was expecting anyway. It was pretty much as you said because all the competencies are the same for all employees so thanks for the help! I'm hoping to hear by friday if I will be getting a partner interview and will probably get asked commercial awareness stuff then (i only got one commercial awareness question at first interview-what issues do you think deloitte faces at the moment?) Good Luck and hope you get good news! Zoe

Glad it went well. Good luck!

(I have a post above that lists some current issues. Since then, the OFT has recommended the Competition Commission look at the Big 4 in terms of audit competition fyi.)

W

Hey,

I have my First Round interview is this Thrusday. Will and Chris, the information you've posted is very useful. Thanks.

I am a bit uncertain how to answer the commercial awareness question. I can read up on the current topics and talk about them, but do they expect some suggestions to solve their problems? Should I end with a rosy picture of the future for Deloitte? I am unsure.

An in the group exercise, is the group suppose to come to a consensus on one town to host the event? Will the assessors ask the group to justify the choice?

Thanks a lot guys.

Hey,

Qwerty, I had my interview on the Friday morning. I had to wait about 90 minutes after the group exercise before being called in for interview. Was it you i spent that 90 minutes chatting to?!

Will, again, thanks for your advice and help! I've been trying to keep up to date with the relevant current events, but your suggestions certainly help me out a lot!

Zoe, glad to hear your interview went OK! Have you heard back from them? Fingers crossed for you.

Wikisher, the sort of way they approached it with me was to ask something like "give me an example of a current issue acing Deloitte" or something like that... The example I gave was the public sector cuts... With the huge budget deficit at the moment, the public sector is spending a LOT less money on consultants... So Deloitte has to try and make up clients in the private sector to maintain their workload... I'm not sure how good an answer this was, and the guy explained that the public sector work comes and goes... its nothing new. Their ratio of work is constantly shifting between the two... Also, this isn't necessarily very CURRENT... I mean it applies now, but its not NEW, its been this way for a couple of years... I don't think you'd be expected to come up with a suggestion to solve Deloitte's "problems"... Maybe read through the Annual Report, you can download it as a PDF file from their website. Its a long-ish read but it outlines some of the issues facing Deloitte, how they plan to overcome them, what they've done well in the past year... areas of the business that are expanding (like consulting!)... I found it really useful... And of course, I (not so subtlely) dropped into the conversation that i'd read it and the guy seemed impressed.... As for the group exercise, the assessors did absolutely NOTHING. They just sat there and listened to your discussion. You had some silent time to read, then you had some time for group discussion. Keep an eye on the clock, don't let anyone talk on for more than their share of time because otherwise people won't get their say. All the assessors want is to see you discuss it, hear your arguments (among yourselves) and see that you can agree on a decision. They didn't ask for any justification, but be sure that if you want your town to be chosen, the other people in your group will argue their case and make you justify it!

Hope this helps, and good luck!

-Chris

Hi guys,

Quick question. How long did it take for you to be scheduled an interview after being notified you passed E Tray Day. I did my E Tray day almost two weeks ago and found out that I'd passed 10 days ago. In the email it said that I would be contacted by a graduate recruiter and I still haven't heard from him. Should I just sit tight or call them? If so has anyone got the recruitment phone number?

Thanks

nooo i had mine in the afternoon, ha i was chatting to someone for 90 mins too!

a.g.e.s... don't worry they'll contact you soon, they must be getting 3908242 applicants at the moment. i had my first interview nearly three weeks ago and still waiting to hear!

Yes, it's taking a while for me to hear as well. If anything, this just means that it's slightly more synchronous with the BBM/OliverWyman/PA lot's milkround!

W

Yep, its taking quite a while. I heard that i'd passed my irst round interview almost two weeks ago. Just received an email (from msimmonds) assuring me I hadn't been forgotten, and they're working through applicants in chronological order according to application date. Will, I think you're a couple of weeks ahead of me in the process, you still haven't heard from them regarding an interview date?

Ha I got that same email today! I reckon they'll be in December at this rate..ooh well

Hey guys.. had my interview today. Thanks for all the help. Hoping to hear from them soon. I am assuming all of you got the mail informing whether or not you passed within one week of the interveiw? Fingers crossed.

Hi , i'm having an interview with Deloitte this week, for consulting- technology, I look for challenges facing Deloitte, but I can't find any challenges that affect directly to the position that I applied. Does anyone knows anything regarding the challenges? Your help is much appreciated, I'm so nervous, I read all the data of how many graduates they will employ next year and applications they received..it's so overwhelmed..

Hi zzz,

Sorry, i've only just managed to get online and see you post and personal message... Other than what has already been written on this page, I can't really offer much more in the way of suggestions of where to look for current challenges... Try not to be nervous, they want to get to know you so just try and relax and be yourself!

Also, i've just been given a date for my final interview?!

Its going to be THIS THURSDAY morning!? arghhh i've only had a few days notice... so now i'm also pretty nervous! (I guess i should try and take my own advice here!?)

Will, have you still not been given a date? Its strange that you're waitning and i've been given a date already... Maybe its from the day you submitted your application rather than passed the first round interview? I had to wait about a month before taking my E-tray after being invited because I was in the USA....

Can anyone offer any advice on final interviews? I'm guessing its much more flexible than the first round interview... Maybe more spontaneous? Do the competencies still come up or is it more of a "casual" chat with a partner to see if you'd fit in with the company?

-Chris

Chris -

Wow, my first interview also going to be this thursday morning tooo!! lol, , thanx for the advice, and good luck for your final interview !! I wish can get over this quickly - anyway, while I was doing some research for first interviews. and comment also mentioned about final interview which will be about 5 minutes presentation where its about Olympics 2012 - the good and the bad to UK and also to Deloitte - I'm sure you can do it -

Cheers zzz

Chris Thanks for starting this thread it's been so helpful all the way through this process. Good luck with your final interview. I have my final interview next tuesday and was hoping to ask that once you've done yours on thursday you might log in and give a quick post of what it was like to help through the process. Was also wondering if you'd seen this thread as it does have some stuff on it about the final interview. http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/deloitte-got-offer-ask-me-anything Good luck with it! knotts

Hey Knotts, Yep, i'd seen the other post... I'd actually been looking through that today for some information about the final interview. I sent a PM to a guy who got an offer for consulting, so hopefully he'll be able to help me out. I'll try to put a post here on Thursday evening to let you all know how it goes... I see a few people have theirs coming up in the next week or so... If i don't get around to posting on thursday evening (I may stay in London with a friend, so i'm not sure if i'll be able to get online) i'll certainly be able to get something on before your interview on Tuesday... Happy to help out a fellow UoN student! Glad you found the thread useful, but its not so much thanks to me as it is thanks to the people who were kind enough to take the time to help me out with my questions! Good luck next week, -Chris

hey all, i have my final round interview on friday as well! does anyone have any info on the type of questions you are asked and whether there is an additional case study?

thanks all! and good luck to those of you with assessment centres and in tray exercises to come.

also, according to my inbox, matt simmonds is my best buddy

Hi all, had my final interview yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't make it through. I should have rehearsed my answers, prepared more etc. I wasn't very happy with my performance.

It was very casual - more than I expected. The partner was a really good guy. It seems like they view the Olympic presentation as a necessary evil. I prepared for it with a structured speech and palm cards, but it became more of a discussion, so be prepared to depart from the script. Answer questions such as 'do you think olympics will have a big impact on businesses?'

Other questions were all pretty much like you can see on graduateconsulting . com for Deloitte.

Ones I can remember were:

Name three positives about consulting, and three negatives Why deloitte? Take me through your story/tell me about yourself what do you do for fun The other half of the time was spent asking the partner questions. It was a really pleasant experience, because he was really nice and seemed to genuinely want to help me learn more.

Sorry about the rushed post. Good luck!

I got my feedback today. It sounds like the final interview is easier that the first interview, in that you just need to meet the criteria from the partner's perspective. The 4 competencies they were marking were:

communication and social interaction challenge, change, self control commercial awareness career motivation and sector awareness

I let myself down in communication. Very important to make a rapport with the partner. Don't memorise your presentation either, as strange as that sounds. Though that could have been because I took some time to get back to my train of thought after he had stopped me to ask a question. Perhaps it would have been better if I had just lost my notes right before the interview (lol) but possibly that could have made it worse. Another important thing was showing evidence of a work life balance. I didn't take the question 'what do you do outside of work to relax' seriously enough - fine line between extra curricular activities that help you relax and those that are seen as work like, I suppose. Overall, don't be nervous. That helped me stuff up what should have been a simple way to get a job I was really looking forward to. Ah well.

Hopefully I'll be able to take my own advice for other firms. Best of luck all.

Sorry to hear about that Dimaggio. Sounds like you put in a good effort though. I'm sure you'll be snapped up by another firm.

I thought I'd drop into the thread because I haven't written here in a while, and I thought it would be interesting to see how everyone else is getting along!

So far I have had rejections from:

Oliver Wyman (after first round tests) BCG PA Booz

I have not heard from: Bain

I have had my final round interview with PwC, and my Deloitte one is coming up.

And, this morning, I took the PST at McKinsey in London. (It was, of course, super difficult.)

Big ol' mixed bag right there. What's more, I had my final round interview with PwC *9* working days ago. Nerves a bit shot now!

Anyone else finding themselves in a similar situation currently?

Best of luck to you all. Keep up the good work folks.

x

Happy to see you haven't forgotten us Will!

I had rejections from BCG, McKinsey, A.T.Kearney and PwC (I messed up their tests... my own stupid fault...)

Haven't heard from Bain

BUT I HAVE heard from Deloitte, and they've made me an offer! woohooo! I'm over the moon. Its such a relief to know i'll have something to start in the summer, and I couldn't have picked a better firm...

I was probably rejected from a lot of the others (especially PwC) because I didnt really put as much effort in as I should have... I always saw them as backups if Deloitte didn't work out... If Deloitte hadn't worked out i'd have been stuffed because the only other application I had in the pipeline was Bain...

So you took your final interview with PwC two weeks ago and still haven't heard back?! Thats gotta be killing you!? Best of luck with it, I really hope they come back to you with good news (and soon!)

Final interview with Deloitte went really well... It was VERY different from the first round interview. There probably isn't too much I can say that hasn't already been said, and its difficult to advise because its going to be different based on your partner... But i would emphasise a few things that have been said...

i) RELAX!!! Be yourself, and if they don't like you then they don't like you... They have a lot of experience, and if they don't think you'll fit in, you probably wont! (It sounds very negative, but at the end of the day, they might save you years of a job you hate?! Something better will come up...)

ii) Don't over prepare... I would strongly advise against learning your presentation word for word, or using prompt cards... It won't help you stay relaxed if you get off track (which the interviewer will almost definitely try and get you to do...) Make a handout, but keep it basic... One side of A4 with a few headings and bulletpoints... Make associations with each bulletpoint and add some meat onto it... For example, as an opportunity for Deloitte w.r.t. London 2012, you could simply put something like "increased business" as a bulletpoint, then use that as your prompt to talk about the unique insights Deloitte has as official prof. serv. provider, having some of its workers right at the heart of LOCOG... etc... I used a second copy of the handout I gave my partner as my prompt...

iii) learn a few key answers... They're almost certainly going to ask you at least a couple of the standard questions -Why Deloitte -Why Consulting -Why the particular division of Consulting -What do consultants do etc... If you know its coming, make sure you know what you're going to say... But again, don't prepare it word for word, be relaxed... just make sure you have a good answer. You'll kick yourself if you stumble on a question you KNEW was coming...

I'm not sure there is too much more I can say... Its certainly important to build a relationship with your partner...

Think about it... You're extremely intelligent, competent, hard working etc otherwise you wouldn't have made it as far as the partner interview... What the partner is trying to find out is whether or not you've got what it takes IN PERSON, instead of just on paper. He's going to see if you can communicate well... especially under pressure...

Think about what you'll be doing as an Analyst Consultant... You'll be: A) Doing research on companies B) Meeting with clients C) Interviewing clients D) Making presentations/reports E) Working in a team within Deloitte...

Now think about your Partner interview... A) You need to research Deloitte and the Olympics... B) You meet with your partner... Seems scary right? Its a partner... A pretty high up worker for a job you really want... You'll be doing this loads as a consulant, meeting with CEOs etc and discussing work with them... C) You have to be able to have an actual face to face discussion with some pretty important and powerful people... asking questions... (make sure you have one or two questions to ask your patner. e.g. what keeps YOU at Deloitte...) D) You have to make a short presentation in your interview... Think about the presentations you may give in the future... Its a balance between knowing the content, and HOW you present it.... Both are important - the content and the delivery. E) At the end of the day, there is every chance that you will have to work with the partner who is interviewing you... If they don't like you, and can't see themselves ever being able to work with you, they're not going to hire you...

When you think about it, it may just seem like a casual chat with a partner, but they're testing you across a huge range of things, essentially assessing a number of skills you will need as an analyst...

I hope this is helpful to some of you who still have partner interviews in the future. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

-Chris

Well... turns out PwC offered me the job!

Offer pack coming later this week...

W

Hey guys, I got a fast track day this monday on the 28th and was wondering if anyone else does as well? Also from anyone who has already done the final interview, when talking about the current and futures opportunities for Deloitte in relation to the olympics, is it a good idea to talk about all the work they have done and are doing for the actual olympics itself or is it purely about new business opportunities?

Thanks guys!

N

Hi Guys,

So I finally got a first interview date and it is going to be next week. First of all, thanks so much for all the information already provided, it's been really helpful. I have another couple of questions; how technical is the interview? For instance, I am applying for the Finance service line and I am wondering how technical the questions could be? Also, do you have any advice about the case study? I know it's about a council wanting to merge services but what were some of the things you guys said?

Thanks again,

Booms

Hi Booms,

What office have you applied to?

Newstart

Thanks for all the info guys and good luck for Friday Chris!

Hi there

I have my assessment centre coming up in a week's time and I was wondering if anyone could offer me a bit more information regarding the case study? How much info do they give you, what sort of thing is it on, and what do they ask you about in the interview regarding the case study?

Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

can anyone provide a list (or a link to a thread) of the questions asked in the first interview and the competencies tested?

Hey Everyone - Has anyone had their partner interview lately? I would be very grateful if anyone could give me some advice on the presentation

Hey all,

Ive just been given the opportunity to do a partner interview. I've got to do a presentation on the Regulatory impact on businesses – Present on the impact of increased regulation on Deloitte clients, investors and the public.

Please could anyone help me! Really would appreciate it! Xxxxx

Jason and Staussy, I'll try and briefly offer some advice, but my interview was a couple of months ago now and the system may have changed. Are you both applying for consulting? When I had my interview I had to give a presentation on current and future opportunities for Deloittr w.r.t. London 2012... It seems a bit different now so I can't really advise you on content... I think I posted some advice earlier with general advice, but try not to panic too much about the presentation... Stay calm, present slowly and clearly, try not to waffle and keep it succinct. Make a handout but again keep it brief. Bullet points are good because you can use it as a prompt-taking the point and adding more information to it. By the time you've reached the partner interview, they know you're smart, you've done some extra curricular etc and you're a worthy candidate... Bear this in mind. It works both ways, if you dont feel confident remember you've made it this far, so you're of the calibre they're looking for. On the other hand, try not to come across too arrogant, there are plenty of other, equally worthy candidates in the system and they're trying to judge if they could work with you. I realise this may not be he advise you're looking for, but having been through the process these are the key points I'd pass on to others... Good luck to you both. -Chris

Hi Chris - Yes I have applied for consulting (Technology). Thanks for your input! May I ask which competency did you apply for?

I have a Partner interview on Thursday and regarding the presentation, does it have to be done standing? Just those rooms at Deloitte Grad Recruitment are pretty cosy and don't want to make it seem like I'm towering over them/looking down on them constantly!