First Stage Interview - The interviewer was really friendly. The interview started with a case study. It is nothing you could prepare for in advance and they don't expect you to be prepared for it either. It lasts for about 15 minutes. They just ask you a question and what they wanna see is what your thought process is. I really couldn't tell more because I wasn't given any feedback, but I must've done well as I was invited to an assessment centre. The interview itself was a typical 'Give me an example of' interview. Again, just make sure you know their values and what their culture is, that will help you to tailor your answers to what they look for. I think they have a list of about 15 questions, but the interviewer selects a few of them. Some of the questions were: - Example of a time when you went beyond the call of duty - Have you been part of any societies - Why BDO (the culture is what they claim makes them different) - What skills can you bring to BDO? A week after my interview I was invited to an assessment centre. They ask you to prepare a 20-minute presentation in advance on a business or industry, the issues it is currently faced with and how BDO can help them. You deliver the presentation to two assessors who then ask questions like ''Where did you find this information''. My presentation was on HSBC - one of the assessors mentioned they BDO haven't worked with such a big company like HSBC yet, so he asked me if I was on the same plane with a manager from HSBC, what would I do to persuade them that they should work with BDO. Another part of the assessment centre was the lunch with current graduates and managers. They say it is not assessment, but I am sure the assessors paid attention to whether you were actually speaking to different people to see whether you are a talkative and friendly person. Some of the assessors come to speak to you too. My impression was that BDO is a tight-knit organisation, everyone was really friendly and it was nice to speak to so many different people. The group task - typical one for an assessment centre. You are given a case study - mine was about a hospital which is faced with several issues, and you as a team have to select 4 out of 10 options to implement. At the end of the exercise the whole team gives a short presentation. Make sure you look confident and DON'T read off your notes. During the exercise, stay confident, consult with people, ask for their opinion and support their views. I think the important part of the group exercise is to stay confident and relaxed. Individual exercise - you have to write a report. It wasn't complicated at all, just make sure you know how to write a business report before the assessment centre. Partner interview - my partner asked the questions which the manager that interviewed me at the 1st stage interview didn't have time to ask. The manager had also left some notes below my answers for me to clarify or expand on what I had said in my 1st stage interview. The partner was very very friendly, and again the questions were pretty standard - Have you made a mistake, Why BDO and not the Big 4, Why Management Consulting, What skills does a good consultant have, What are our values and your understanding of them. A day after the assessment centre I got a call from HR to inform me that I didn't get the job. I was told the partner thought I wasn't enthusiastic and energetic enough. When I asked what that meant the reply was 'We expect candidates to be like I WANT THIS JOB, I KNOW I WANT IT and I KNOW I CAN DO IT' ........ . . .. . .. ...... I was also told I started the group exercise very confidently, but then got silent and according to them I was looking confused. For my presentation, I was told that the assessors were unable to see the how what I said about HSBC related to BDO's services.