EF (Education First) Interview Questions
& Process

This was the strangest interview process I've ever been through. I had 5 interviews with 5 different people. Since I was coming from overseas, 3 interviews were remote and 2 were in-person once I arrived. There were a lot of internal changes happening which made me feel a bit uneasy because it seemed unprofessional. The team and office itself were nice though. The country manager I was supposed to meet was traveling, so that part was pretty much improvised. Even after the 2 interviews, I had to wait a whole week to hear back... I don't really recommend this process because I had my doubts after the second interview and put in so much effort only to not get hired... they sent the rejection nicely via email instead of calling to be upfront.

First step was an online group interview, easy peasy. A second interview was one-on-one, this can either be in person or online depending on your location. In this step they give you scenario questions, how would you react if XYZ happened. The third step was going to Berlin for a welcome seminar, where they would put you to the test on the last day on the coach bus or you would do a short walk and have to speak about a certain topic. If you get hired, you do a shadowing tour and the rest of the training materials are available online.

I had a negative experience with EF during the selection and assignment process for a summer departure. The first selection step was a group interview, which was quite simple and I passed it easily. Then, I completed a 4-hour online training, which was mandatory for the position, and attended some short informational meetings about specific destinations. Finally, I participated in an in-person training day in Milan (with travel expenses covered by me; a packed lunch was provided). After that, I was provisionally assigned a destination for a two-week period. Despite attending the training events and completing the required training, I was waiting for an official assignment, as suggested by various email communications that promised updates soon. However, I never received any formal communication about my status. Only after contacting the office directly (after more than a month of silence) was I informed by phone that I had been placed as a 'first reserve'. A decision that, while understandable in itself, should have been handled with more transparency and clarity from the beginning.

There were five 'rounds' of interviews. First up was an online questionnaire covering things like your resume and why you're interested in working here. If you passed that, you had a financial literacy test conducted over Zoom. Following that, there were three more stages: an HR screening focusing on personality, an interview with senior management, and finally, if you made it to the end, an in-person assessment lasting five hours. This involved a three-minute 'passion pitch' (unrelated to the job), two longer interviews including a case study, and a Q&A session with current program participants. It's wild that after being chosen from 1200 applicants, only about 12 made it to the final in-person stage, only to get an automated rejection email.