Mercer

Hi,
I’ve got an assessment centre coming up with mercer!! Anyone been to it this year? What can i expect? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Thanks

Hi, how did your assessment centre go?

Any tips?

i had a mercer assessment centre this week,

I had to give a 15 minute presentation to members of the HR team, have 2 half hour or so interviews with members of the team i applied to (investment consulting), do a 35 minute verbal reasoning excersize, and do a half hour case study written exercize followed by a 15minute group discussion about it!

so quite a busy day! best tips are to be prepared and be confident!

How did your interview process compare to this - Mercer interview questions??

yeah very similar, first had a telephone interview which lasted about 25 minutes which was very structured....
- Why did i choose my A levels
- Why did i choose my degree
- Why did i choose my uni
- What do i know about mercer
- What do i know about investment consulting
- What do i know about the pensions industry
- What do i know about the professional qualifications i would take if i got a grad job

- Competancy based questions - When have i had an idea thats been met with opposition, When have i worked as a team player etc etc

Then i got invited to an assessment centre which involved

- 15 minute presentation on 'the rationale behind the government and bank of englands intervention in the UK economy in the last 6 months' which i had to prepare before hand, ( and present to someone with 'no prior knowledge')
- 2 half hour interviews with members of the investment consulting team - one on mercer/investment consulting/qualifications etc and one competancy based (theyre not as bad as they sound, its more like a convesation than question and answer interview)
- 35 minute verbal reasoning exercise (hardest part of the day)
- lunch with some people on the grad scheme
- 45 minute case study exercise (you basicly have to weigh up the pros and cons of a number of different things - ours was benefit plans for a company)
- 15 minute group discussion ( discussing the case study and deciding on a recomendation)

it all sounds quite daunting and i was very nervous but theyre really nice and in the phone interview and especially the AC they really want you to do well so its not nearly as bad as it sounds! Just be prepared is my best advice!

hi esuhhu, how did you answer the following question:

What do i know about the professional qualifications i would take if i got a grad job

well, on the mercer website there is a section:

http://uk.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1318260

which talks about the 2 main different routes (and qualifications) that graduates at Mercer take.

I then researched the 2 different routes (Actuary and CFA) by using wikipedia, google etc by looking at the number of exams, curriculum, career path etc

they dont expect you to know everything and they don't expect you to have decided which route you want to take, one of the main things i said/asked at the end of my interviews was that i wasnt sure which route i wanted to take....which had they chosen and why....things like that!

thanks a lot for that! very much appreciated!

have you had your results from your AC yet? what position where you applying for? internship or grad programme?

hope you did well!

yeah i was successful :)
i applied for the investment consulting internship in the london office!

hi everyone,

just had my telephone interview with mercer today. when do they usually let you know you if you are through to the ac?

thanks

Hi,

Do you need to provide 2 examples for each competency? I'm not sure how many graduates would have that much experience to draw from. Also, could anyone provide any details as to what the written exercise is and how to best prepare for it?

Thank you

hi, has anyone been to an assessment centre recently where they were told they had to give a presentation but are not given the subject before hand i.e. i have not been given any time to prepare! does anyone know what the subject of the presentation might be?! thanks all

Hi Bettyedw89,

Could you please share some details about ur AC with mercer?? Any tips and help would be much appreciated.

Thanks a ton,
PT

Hi guys, something very important in the application process, as I see in your posts and other resource, is the commercial awareness. I ma preparing my application now and was curious to know, how are you preparing yourselves about this part? I study masters in business, and my undergrad is in software engineering, so it is not that I am so into the financial sector, yet. THanks

I have been fortunate enough to be offered a role at Mercer, and I thought I would post on here to help all of those that have applied, as I myself looked on her whilst preparing for the assessment day.

Once you have completed the application form, and assuming Mercer are interested, they will arrange a telephone interview with you. Ensure that you have done a fair bit of research into the company, and that you are aware of what the whole company does, not just the particular area that you have applied for. As has been previously mentioned, you will be asked about your commerical awareness, so, for example, what issues should Trustees be currently considering? How are recent changes in legislation going to affect pension schemes? You will also get asked some competency based questions, for example, name a time you have used critical thinking. Or, how would you explain a difficult concept to someone? You can find a variety of websites detailing competency based questions. If you are serious about the role, it won't hurt to find answers for a variety of questions, as you will need the preparation for the assessment day anyway.

The assessment day itself is incredibly long, but also quite enjoyable in a weird way. I feel I need to say this after seeing my fellow applicants at my training day - please dress appropriately! It is an inverview, a suit (including jacket, no matter what the weather) and white shirt is essential! One girl was wearing a dress that barely covered her backside, and a few of the guys had mismatching suits on. Seriously, first impressions count! Especially if you will eventually be client facing!

The day is broken up into a number of sections, with free time in between to complete the individual exercises: Presentation preparation, document check (for grammatical and spelling errors), time sheet explaining what you did and why and drafting a response to a complaint.

You start with a case study. There are a few different sets of information, and using the information you have, you have to decide which benefits package you would recommend and why. You are then given 35 minutes to discuss this with the rest of your group. You must then decide together which package you would choose and why.

We then had free time until lunch, but during this free time we had to go off for one 30 minute interview. The other 30 minute interview is after lunch. One interview will be competency based, the other general. The competency based interview will be questions you can answer using experience from either university or a previous job, even if it is your part time bar job. You will be asked to explain a difficult concept, so prepare this. You will also be asked about your commerical awareness, so look at forthcoming legislation and how this will affect pension schemes. The general questions involve why you choose your A levels and degree. You will be asked why you want to work for Mercer. The interviewers are laid back and very friendly, my interviews were more like a conversation. Have some questions planned for both interviews.

You will have lunch with two graduates. This is a perfect chance to ask more general questions, and get a feel for whether Mercer is right for you. It is an excellent time to relax too, as the afternoon is quite tough.

The presentation itself is based around the case study and group discussion you had in the morning, so do take notes. You are given the option to use a flip chart which is also advisable. The presentation is only in front of one person, so is quite laid back. You have nothing to worry about regardining this.

The final part of the day is the Verbal Reasoning. After 7 hours of the day already this is certainly tough on the brain but is pretty standard.

And then you are done. I heard back very quickly, and then received my offer pack shortly. I am looking forward to starting in September.

If anyone would like more info, please ask.

I have been fortunate enough to be offered a role at Mercer, and I thought I would post on here to help all of those that have applied, as I myself looked on her whilst preparing for the assessment day.

Once you have completed the application form, and assuming Mercer are interested, they will arrange a telephone interview with you. Ensure that you have done a fair bit of research into the company, and that you are aware of what the whole company does, not just the particular area that you have applied for. As has been previously mentioned, you will be asked about your commerical awareness, so, for example, what issues should Trustees be currently considering? How are recent changes in legislation going to affect pension schemes? You will also get asked some competency based questions, for example, name a time you have used critical thinking. Or, how would you explain a difficult concept to someone? You can find a variety of websites detailing competency based questions. If you are serious about the role, it won't hurt to find answers for a variety of questions, as you will need the preparation for the assessment day anyway.

The assessment day itself is incredibly long, but also quite enjoyable in a weird way. I feel I need to say this after seeing my fellow applicants at my training day - please dress appropriately! It is an inverview, a suit (including jacket, no matter what the weather) and white shirt is essential! One girl was wearing a dress that barely covered her backside, and a few of the guys had mismatching suits on. Seriously, first impressions count! Especially if you will eventually be client facing!

The day is broken up into a number of sections, with free time in between to complete the individual exercises: Presentation preparation, document check (for grammatical and spelling errors), time sheet explaining what you did and why and drafting a response to a complaint.

You start with a case study. There are a few different sets of information, and using the information you have, you have to decide which benefits package you would recommend and why. You are then given 35 minutes to discuss this with the rest of your group. You must then decide together which package you would choose and why.

We then had free time until lunch, but during this free time we had to go off for one 30 minute interview. The other 30 minute interview is after lunch. One interview will be competency based, the other general. The competency based interview will be questions you can answer using experience from either university or a previous job, even if it is your part time bar job. You will be asked to explain a difficult concept, so prepare this. You will also be asked about your commerical awareness, so look at forthcoming legislation and how this will affect pension schemes. The general questions involve why you choose your A levels and degree. You will be asked why you want to work for Mercer. The interviewers are laid back and very friendly, my interviews were more like a conversation. Have some questions planned for both interviews.

You will have lunch with two graduates. This is a perfect chance to ask more general questions, and get a feel for whether Mercer is right for you. It is an excellent time to relax too, as the afternoon is quite tough.

The presentation itself is based around the case study and group discussion you had in the morning, so do take notes. You are given the option to use a flip chart which is also advisable. The presentation is only in front of one person, so is quite laid back. You have nothing to worry about regardining this.

The final part of the day is the Verbal Reasoning. After 7 hours of the day already this is certainly tough on the brain but is pretty standard.

And then you are done. I heard back very quickly, and then received my offer pack shortly. I am looking forward to starting in September.

If anyone would like more info, please ask.

Hi Uno2010. Thank you for your very informative post! I will be travelling down to London on Wednesday for my assessment day for an internship as a trainee consultant within retirement.
I've had a very good impression of all my contact with Mercer so far, and would really like to be successful with my application, so I am a bit nervous.

Will you be able to "reuse" examples you used in your phone interview for the competency based interview do you think? I have a very good example for explaining a difficult concept, which I was also given particularly positive feedback on at the end of my phone interview, and I'm not sure if I have another one that is as good.

Also, could you please expand on what you mean with "time sheet explaining what you did and why" - will you have to fill in a time sheet about when you did the individual exercises during the day and motivate why you choose to allocate a certain amount of time to eash task?

Again, many thanks for your immensly helpful post!

An additional query - I have not any experience of case studies and are a bit nervous about this part - is there any preparation in particular you think would help me prepare fpr that part of the day, or is it more about just applying logical reasoning and a sound thinking on the problem you are given?

Hi Katenao1,

Could you please share your experiences from the AC at Mercer. I have mine soon and really need to make it through. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Could you discuss interview questions and presentation topic please.??
Also did you receive an offer yet?

Regards,
PT29

Hi Uno210,

Firstly congratulations on your offer at Mercer. Your post on this thread is extremely helpful.

I have my AC very soon and would highly appreciate any more tips you could provide as it is my first and ONLY AC for any company and really need to make it through. Could you please discuss your interview questions and the presentation topic.

Thanks a ton.
PT29

Hi All,

Could someone please discuss their AC. I really wish to work for Mercer and would appreciate any help.

Thanks
PT29

Hi Uno210

congrats on the offer, i have an AC with mercer coming up and am at a loss about it. Do you have any further insight into the presentation and case study.

Also i feel i was pretty weak in my commercial awareness in my first interview. Are they looking for problems that clients would face, e.g. current economic conditions or something else like industry specific news, if so what industries.

With regards to the pension market, what new developments are they looking specifically for? new legislation for state pensions etc? sorry for all the Qs, just a bit confused.

Thanks

DF

PS above post applies to all too, just hoping for some insight. thanks guys!

Hi
The presentation is based on the group discussion you have in the morning, all the same facts and data, you only reiterate the arguments you had in the morning in a one person presentation, and then you're given some new conditions (e.g. if you could change on thing, what would that be), just to show that you can think and reason around the topic.

As for the interview, they're very friendly and it's not really anything to stress about. One interview is purely behavioural, after some welcome/introduction chat, e.g. around the basis of "can you tell me about a time when...". The other one focuses a bit more on your background, your CV, why Mercer and what they do.
I had pension news and facts discussed and mentioned in both of my interviews, and I threw in a few questions (e.g. when I talked about the new pensions bill, I asked a question about their opinions on how this would change Mercers client base).
It is pretty much an extension of your phone interview - but to know your stuff, technicalities and news around the pension market, is really good to have, as it gives you the confidence to talk and reason around pension, even if you'r never put on the spot and pressed about a specific topic.

The one thing I found a bit tricky was getting the written tasks done in time, it requires planning and discipline. And then the verbal reasoning at the end of a long day was quite tough. I think I got 27 or 28 out of 35, and I normally only miss 1-3 points in the verbal reasoning.

Do your reading, reflect on your phone interview. Wear a suit, put on your friendly professional face and good luck! :)