Business for Social Responsibility Interview Questions
& Process

I got past the recruiter screen and then they asked me to do a writing sample that would be unpaid and take no more than 30 minutes. It was a bit odd to be asked for a writing sample before meeting the hiring manager, especially since I have plenty of existing samples I could have sent. I heard back about two weeks after submitting it and was told I didn't get the job.

The recruitment process was overall pretty smooth, although a bit intense, and took a little over 3 weeks. I was first contacted by the HR recruiter for a phone call and was explained the conditions for the job (incl. salary disclosure) + who exactly was going to interview me next (5 more interviews planned). I disclosed early on that I had another offer I needed to reply to so the teams were quite accommodating, despite the time differences between NY and Paris. I actually ended up doing less interviews than planned. Most of the interview questions were behavioral and typical of consulting firms. No trick questions. There was also a two-hour at-home study case, followed by a presentation during one of the later interviews. Since I applied for the financial team, the case was essentially a deal review where I had to make an investment recommendation based on ESG criteria, with 2 deliverables (one ppt and a word paragraph). Whatever case you get, I recommend beefing up your analysis with references to industry practices. After presenting the case, the HR recruiter contacted me a couple of days later to offer me the job. She was very available during the entire process. Overall good experience, I had 3 interviews of 30mn to an hour with a manager, with an associate director and with a director. My questions were appreciated so I would recommend preparing some before hand.

First, I had a phone screen with HR where they asked me why I wanted to join BSR, went over my experience, and explained the Associate role and BSR's mission. Then, I had an hour-long interview with the hiring manager, who is a director. They asked about my experience, my motivation for applying to BSR, and my work style, along with other typical interview questions. After that, there was a writing assessment that took two hours to complete. Finally, I had three separate one-hour interviews with different team members over the course of about a week. The questions in these interviews were pretty much the same, focusing on my work style, why I'm interested in BSR, my past experience, and my interests. Overall, the experience was great, and I really enjoyed talking to everyone. It seemed like everyone there works hard but also likes their jobs, and I didn't pick up on any major issues that aren't common in consulting.

The interview process for the Associate role at BSR was quite long and took up a lot of my time. It felt unprofessional and disrespectful, not matching the company's stated values. It started with a 30-minute video call with HR where I had to go through my work history chronologically. Then, a Director interviewed me, asking similar questions plus a couple of practice ones. After that, I was asked about my availability for a two-hour assignment, with the company saying they were moving fast. I suggested the next day at 2 pm. Without confirmation, I got an email at 2 pm saying I had two hours to create a PowerPoint, which was unexpected since they hadn't mentioned it before. For this assignment, I had to pick a company and present its key sustainability issues. The next week, there were two more one-hour interviews with typical questions about self-introduction, research methods, project management, priority handling, managing managers, and colleague conflicts. Then came a supposed 'final interview,' another 30-minute session with the first Director, acting as a practice run for presenting to a finance executive. I had to outline my research, stakeholder engagement, presentation content, and how I'd address a sustainability-skeptic CEO. Two days later, there was a 'last chat' with another Director, lasting an hour and covering similar ground. This whole process, spanning a month and a half, involved me being available on short notice for every step. After the last interview, I heard nothing for a week. I followed up via email but still haven't heard back, even after three weeks. I later found out through LinkedIn that they hired someone else but never informed me.