Mintel Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

It was a long and thorough interview process. First, I had a 30-minute HR call, which took about a week to schedule. They gave me positive feedback quickly and set up a 40-minute phone interview with the hiring manager. This was very conversational, focusing on my background and experience, and they described the role to see if it interested me. After that, I received an analysis assignment. I was given two weeks to analyze a dataset and prepare a PowerPoint presentation for an in-person, panel interview. The interview focused on my presentation and related questions, and I could use my work history to back up my points. They have a really nice office with an open design and cool collaboration spaces, which they seemed to use as a perk. They stressed they want people who take initiative and have an entrepreneurial spirit.

The whole thing took over two months, starting off pretty easy and then dragging on at the end. It began with a call from the HR person in Chicago, who asked me some basic stuff and then set up a phone chat with the HR Director, also from Chicago. That interview was about 45 minutes, pretty relaxed and friendly. They said the next step would be a few days away, but it ended up being about 10 days. Then they sent me some data to analyze and report on. Since I really wanted the job, I spent 4 days putting together a super detailed 12-page report, even mimicking the style of a Mintel report I found online. It took a few more weeks to get invited for the live interview. There were two interviewers: one guy visiting from London to help start the Toronto office, and the guy currently doing the job I applied for, who was slated to become the manager. They started by saying they were really impressed with my report. Then they gave me another data set and 20 minutes to look it over and give my thoughts, which they seemed happy with. After that, there was a mix of informal and formal questions. I got the feeling the Canadian guy was a bit threatened by my resume because he tried to put me down a couple of times, even though my qualifications (higher degree, better language and presentation skills) are what's needed for the role and he was supposed to be my boss. I thought I nailed the interview, and they said they'd decide by the end of that week. But it took another three weeks, and no one even contacted me. It wasn't until I emailed the Chicago office that the HR Director finally told me they'd gone with someone else. It's a common story for many job seekers in Canada with a foreign background; even with a Canadian Master's degree, if you lived abroad until recently, some places seem to prefer a mediocre Canadian-born candidate over a high-quality immigrant because they feel intimidated. I've seen this happen a lot over my 13+ years here. So, while I know my value and proved it, I suspect the potential manager felt threatened by my qualifications and they chose a less qualified but Canadian-born candidate instead. I was surprised by the low reviews for Mintel at first, given their reputation, but now it makes more sense.

I got a call a few days after submitting my CV. The first step was a phone interview with HR. After that, I received a 30-minute logic test that involved market size and segmentation analysis. This was followed by a face-to-face interview which included three parts: another logic test like the first one, writing an email to a company to get market information, and a phone test where I had to get the same market information, but the person on the phone was uncooperative.