Egon Zehnder Interview Questions
& Process

You'll kick things off by uploading your resume and cover letter on Kearney's website. After that, recruiters will check out your application. If they like what they see, you might get a quick phone call to go over your resume, chat about why you want to work at Kearney, and see how you communicate. Then comes the first round where you'll likely do some behavioral interviews, focusing on how you've handled past situations using the STAR method. You'll also face case interviews, where you'll need to solve a business problem and present your ideas, which could be led by you or the interviewer. Sometimes, the behavioral and case interviews are done by the same person. These first-round interviews could be online or in person. After that, you'll move on to the second round.

You start by sending in your application with your resume and cover letter. Then, recruiters or hiring managers will look through applications to find people who seem like a good fit. After that, there's usually an initial screening call, either by phone or video, to check if you meet the basic requirements and talk about why you want this job. They'll ask what you know about the company and your past business analysis experience. Some places might do a technical test to see how good you are with certain tools or methods. You could also get a case study or a business problem to figure out and suggest a solution for. Finally, there's a behavioral interview to see how you act and if you'd fit in with the company's vibe.

So I applied for a Summer Analyst Intern position. The interview process began with a 30-minute phone screen, which felt pretty intense, almost like a full interview. They asked me behavioral questions, specifically about my motivations for joining Egon Zehnder and my interest in executive search. I think showing that I understood executive search and my reasons for wanting to be there was key to moving forward. They offered virtual or in-person interviews, and I chose virtual, which they were totally fine with. It was supposed to be a 1-1.5 hour behavioral interview, and I was surprised it was so long for just one session without any case study or breakdown. It was 90 minutes straight of behavioral questions. The interviewers were really nice and seemed genuinely interested in what I had done. My big advice is to have plenty of stories ready because you can run out of things to talk about. Unfortunately, they later told me the intern program was cancelled for the summer, which was a bummer, but they said they'd keep my application for next year. Overall, it was a good experience, though pretty intense given the program cancellation.

The interview "process" to me begins the moment the potential employer or recruiter gets in contact and ends the moment an applicant receives a result. With that in mind, it has been weeks of radio silence following the interview, so in my opinion there is room for improvement in the recruiting process and in the company's reputation/brand value. The first (and only) round interview took place as a telephone call and was a normal series of questions, without much opportunity for two-way discussion. The session began with an introduction of the role and company then the standard "Tell me about yourself". There was clear evidence of preparation on the part of the interviewer. It was a well structured call with questions that were based on directly on the resume. An important part of the session was discussion of the reasons for wanting to join the company. Getting this part right may have a lot to do with moving ahead in the interview process.