CFGI Interview Questions
& Process

So, the interview process started with the usual HR chat, then I had a talk with a peer, followed by two discussions with leadership, and then a case study. Honestly, the process felt kinda messy, and it seemed like the team and recruiters weren't super invested in making it a good experience for candidates. They never really clarified what function or level I was interviewing for. After talking to a partner, they threw a case study at me but didn't explain how it would be graded (since there was no presentation part), or give me any specific questions to focus on. It's a bit of a minefield out there with companies using case studies as free consulting, so it's important to protect everyone's intellectual property and time. Asking a candidate to do a case study without a clear job description or any objective evaluation criteria feels like a pretty unstructured recruiting process, and frankly, a bit disrespectful of everyone's time.

The entire interview process took over 3 months, which felt excessively long. It started with a screening interview, followed by two more interviews with SM/Director level employees, and then a final interview with a partner that included a case study submission. My experience was generally positive until the final interview. There were several last-minute cancellations without proactive communication, which was frustrating. During the final interview, the partner asked for a case study despite expressing doubts about my suitability for the role. It was unusual to be asked to submit the case study without presenting it, making me question if I was essentially doing pro-bono work for a client. If the partner had already decided against me, asking for the case study didn't make much sense.

So I had this initial phone screening, lasted about 15-30 minutes. Honestly, I wasn't feeling it after that, so I told the recruiter I was out. But then, like, for weeks, the recruiter kept hitting me up, phone and email, which made me think they were really desperate to find someone. Anyway, I ended up doing two more interviews, one with the Director of Tax and another with a Senior Manager. I prepped hard and asked some smart questions. Thought the interviews went pretty well. But then the feedback came back saying I was 'disengaged' and 'wouldn't be coachable.' It was super vague, no real pointers, just felt like a personal attack. Makes me wonder how they treat their actual employees if this is how they handle hiring. Plenty of places value respect and professionalism, so I'd look elsewhere.

It was pretty chill. There were 4 calls. First was with the hiring manager, just a casual chat to get a feel for you and talk about CFGI. Second was a partner call, no technical stuff, just talking about your background and learning about the practice. It was conversational and informative. Third was a call with a Tax Consultant, which was really helpful for my decision. It felt like peer-to-peer, lots of Q&A, and I felt it was more for my benefit. Lastly, a call with the director I'd report to. No technical questions, just a chat about the challenges their team faces and what I could bring to it.