Grant Thornton UK Tax Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

It was our B-School placement interview. The first round was basic accounting and resume-based questions. The second round, for shortlisted students, focused mainly on income tax questions.

With Grant Thornton graduate roles there is a comprehensive application process. 1. Online Application - This is pretty standard, however there is more of a focus on your personality, something that Grant Thornton come back to throughout the process. As is well documented Grant Thornton don't only accept applications from those with University degrees, so it is well worth checking them out if you are considering a career in financial services. 2. Digital Interview - This is quite similar to other digital interviews out there, you are given questions relating to key competencies eg. tell us about a time where you had to.... and also how you relate to Grant Thornton's culture and CLEARR values, so knowing these in advance and having examples pertaining to your academic or work experience would be useful. I actually thought my digital interview went pretty poorly but it shows they are just looking for potential, not a completely polished candidate. 3. Follow up call - There seems to be some variation at this point. Some have extensive follow up calls, I personally only had about a 5 minute phone call where I was asked a couple more questions, and i've heard that some are sent straight to the next stage. 4. Pooling for Assessment Centres - At this stage you aren't required to do anything on your end, as the recruitment staff will be assessing your application to date and seeing if they think you might fit their requirements and whether you'd fit in with the company's culture. I would say spend the time making use of their online application forum (Jam - I've applied) and read up on the company more, keeping up to date with current affairs. 5. Assessment Centre - This is the final stage. You will receive an email letting you know if you've been selected for an assessment centre, which is in part down to the timing of your application i.e if you apply late you might miss the assessment centre for your chosen scheme, however they may offer you the chance to apply for a different location or scheme if they think you're a good candidate. At the assessment centre, where as far as I know groups start from a minimum of 3 but as far as I'm aware they prefer to keep numbers low to give people a chance to speak. You will take part in a group exercise, an individual case study interview and a "personal" competency interview, and in my assessment day there was also a lunch with an informal chat before this process started. A few of the people in the room for the lunch will be part of the interviewing team, so make sure to ask questions and be switched on, as even though they aren't officially considering this part of the interview process it is important that you seem interested. You might also be taken on a quick tour of the office. In the group exercise make sure that your voice is heard but also that you are being considerate of other candidates. The whole process they are looking to see you show their values, so make yourself useful and don't be afraid to steer the group if nobody is stepping forwards but also be respectful of others. Make sure you listen carefully to the instructions and also to your peers in the group. If you don't get much of a chance to speak in the group exercise, do not panic as the 3 parts of the day are considered separate. You will then either have a break, a case study exercise or a personal interview. In the case study exercise you will be presented with, you guessed it, a case study, but do not panic if you can't get through all of the information in total detail as it is designed to stretch you. When your interviewer asks you questions you weren't expecting or highlights an aspect you didn't consider, don't panic as you can work that into your answer. Be calm and try to treat this as a discussion rather than an interview - don't be too aggressive! This is simulating a work situation so you wouldn't want to come across as defensive or abrasive. In the personal competency interview, you will be asked questions broadly in line with the sort of questions you were asked in the digital interview and follow up phone call if you had one. This is quite a relaxed setting, which I am sure is designed to put you at ease, which can work to your advantage if you are not always prone to opening up. Be passionate, show how much you want to join the company by displaying knowledge of the scheme you have applied for and the company, the office location and the culture of the company as a whole. This is your real chance to shine. In terms of the scheme, you are not expected to know the complete ins and outs of it, but just be aware of the different qualifications on offer related to your scheme, how long they take and the sorts of topics covered. A bit of reading can be very impressive and might make the difference.

Received a case study to work on, with a 48-hour deadline. Followed by a 90-minute interview to discuss the case study and my written response, along with general competency questions.