Public Consulting Group Interview Questions
& Process

The process started with a group interview where I met with 4 people from the finance team. It was two 30-minute interviews back to back, with 2 people in each. They asked me some basic questions and also some questions related to my resume. After that, I had a second interview with the hiring manager for the role. This interview also included basic questions and an Excel test. It took longer than I thought it would between all the interview parts.

It started with a quick phone call with a recruiter, then a panel interview with the hiring manager and some leadership. After that, there was a "meet the team" session which seemed to cover similar questions as the first interview but felt more technical. I also had to submit writing samples, and the final step was providing references. The kicker is they considered references the "final stage," meaning I had to give my boss the heads-up that I was looking to leave. Then, radio silence for weeks. After a few tries to get a response, I got an email saying they went with someone whose experience was a better fit. It’s a frustrating experience, especially now that my current employer knows I’m exploring other options. It's worth noting that many companies ghost candidates instead of providing clear feedback. Maybe it’s a good idea to ask for clarity on your standing in the process, especially if references are involved, so you can gauge the risk of informing your current employer.

The entire interview process lasted roughly 3 weeks and was quite smooth and well-organized. It kicked off with a recruiter from HR getting in touch to set up a 30-minute phone chat. After that, it moved on to a 1-hour skills interview with a senior technical business analyst, and then a final meeting with the product owner. The interviews were mostly behavioral, focusing on your past experiences. The people interviewing were really nice and seemed genuinely interested in the conversations.

SUPER unprofessional experience - was ghosted AFTER submitting references even after I followed up by email a week later. Had one phone screen, then one interview with 2 people over zoom where they didn't seem to have question prepared ahead of time and one of the interviewers went off-camera for the last 15 minutes. Was asked for writing samples a week later, and the next day was asked for references. Submitted references after asking clarifying questions about the form for references - but when I submitted my references I saw they'd already REPOSTED THE ROLE ONLINE THAT SAME DAY. I waited a week to hear back, emailed as well, but was ghosted.