Strategy at PWC

Hi there, I currently work at a big strat cosulting firm. I believe from what I've heard (from friends in PWC Strat), their work is more focused on commercial due diligence rather than the more purist strategy consulting (although I believe they are trying to growth this part of their business as well). As a result, you will more likely be working for private equity / venture capitalists / banks etc rather than corporates.

As for the case interview, I don't think it will drastically differ from other strategy consulting interviews. I'm guessing here but from my experience, you are likely to be presented with a complex business problem and you will be required to outline your approach in going about solving it in a logical, coherent manner. Remember it's the thinking behind your approach and not the answer that matters here. Additionally, you may also be asked a random question like "How much money does the London Eye make per year?" - my friend was asked this question at another strat consulting interview.

Hope this helps!

PwC strategy only take on about 15 graduates a year I believe. It's extremely competitive to get into.

It depends what you want to do really. If you want to do consulting and you are a sufficiently good candidate, you should consider applying to the tier 1 firms, such as Bain, McKinsey & Company etc. Accenture also has a strategy division.

It's rumoured that the likes of Bain, BCG, Mckinsey take on around 10-20 grads a year. But they are DEFINITELY more competitive to get into compared to PWC.

If strat consulting's your thing, you could also consider smaller boutiques like Marakon, Mars, OC&C and also strat divisions of larger companies like Deloitte and KPMG.

I had applied to PWC Performance Improvement Consulting and am due for an interview shortly. They say the interview will last 3 hours. Does anyone know what questions they ask?

You'll definitely have to know about PIC and why you want to do it. It's funny- I had a friend from audit who did a six month secondment to PIC and hated it - she said it was boring - which is funny because I was particularly interested in it. They will probably give you a number of examples and ask you to suggest what the business could do to improve. I suspect the interview itself won’t last 3 hours all the way through – you’ll probably have an interview from HR/a manager and then a PIC partner.

Are you a graduate or are you already qualified (ACA etc)?

Not really, I'm a graduate and part qualified though and work in accountancy. Do they tend to prefer the fully qualifieds or is it very competitive?