PA Consulting Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

First, we had a group interview where we were split into two teams. Each team got some case documents (5 PDFs) to review. We had to discuss internally which case set to pick for an M&A case and then present our chosen set to the HR. They weren't looking for the 'right' answer but wanted to see our quick math and thinking skills, and how we collaborate. The second round was supposed to be technical and behavioral, but the technical part was actually a behavioral interview asking about skills and experiences. The behavioral questions were pretty standard, like 'tell me about a time' questions and other common ones you can find online. Finally, there was a Partner interview. I was told it would be a casual meet & greet, but it turned out to be the most challenging round. The Partner asked about my past experiences and gave me a case study-type question: how I'd estimate transmission infrastructure demand considering the rise of the renewable market. He also asked questions like why I chose PA and consulting, and what my fears are about the role.

So I applied for this role through LinkedIn, it popped up on my job alerts. After just a simple application on LinkedIn, the HR team at PA Consulting emailed me the very next day to schedule a first call. This first HR screening was a quick chat to go over my background and why I wanted to apply, mostly just to see if I was a good fit and knew what the job was about. The HR person also laid out the rest of the process, the timeline, and answered any questions I had. Not long after that, I got a call to set up my case study and interview sessions. They mentioned I'd have a written exercise to do before those, with a 7-day deadline. They emailed me the case exercise exactly a week before my case study interview, and it involved making a single PowerPoint slide to answer a case brief related to the job's capability. I sent it back before the case study interview for them to look over. The case study and competency interviews came next. For the case study, they sent another brief for a mock scenario, and I had 45 minutes to prep for a meeting. In the meeting, the interviewer played the client and asked me a bunch of questions about the mock situation. It was challenging but fair and really relevant. Right after that, I had a competency interview with a Principal consultant. This covered my experience, skills, and why I wanted to join PA and be a consultant. The partner interview was the last step before they made a decision. It was about 30 minutes, and they asked about my grasp of the role, my experience, and why I wanted to join PA. They probed my knowledge of the specific capability and industries I was targeting, plus my preferred working style. Finally, I got the offer, which is when they started background and reference checks. The whole process was quite long and detailed, but it felt fair throughout. Scheduling made it take a few weeks to get the offer, but that was understandable. Everything was remote for me, though they mentioned it's sometimes done in their London office. Everyone I talked to at PA, regardless of their level, was super approachable and keen to hear about my experiences. They answered my tough questions about the job and industry, helping me feel more comfortable with the company.

The hiring process was really long, taking about 5 months. I got in through a referral, which I think was key to keeping things moving. Everyone I talked to was nice, but not super chatty. It kicked off with two HR calls, which felt like a lot. Then, I had three separate calls with consultants, mostly covering my experience and behavioral stuff. These were spread out over a few weeks. The next step was an on-site in New York with a few one-on-one interviews and a group case study with other candidates. The individual cases throughout were pretty basic and felt more like conversations. The company covered travel and hotel, though getting reimbursed for the hotel and taxis took a couple of months. I got an offer after a final chat with a partner, a few weeks after the on-site. They gave me only two weeks to decide, which was tight after a 5-month process. I managed to line up other interviews, though. In the end, I went with another firm that had a better culture, paid more, offered faster growth, better training, and more interesting work. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of specializing so early and having to hustle for projects. They did mention they're expanding a lot in the US, which could be a good opportunity, but it's probably not on the same level as top-tier firms.