Systems Evolution Interview Questions
& Process

I got contacted on linkedin by a recruiter to interview with SEI. I went through 3 interviews and they all went well. But after the 3rd interview, I got an email from the HR partner saying the team didn't think the fit was there and they weren't moving forward. I've seen similar reviews about this company, and people think they have interview KPIs they need to hit. So basically, employees there just interview anyone and everyone to get their metrics up. Also, I asked for more details on why they felt the fit wasn't there and never got a response. On top of that, during the 3rd interview, I asked how far along we were in the process and the employee said about halfway done. They also mentioned there would be 2-3 more interviews followed by an in-person happy hour I would have to attend. All in all, I wouldn't recommend SEI and it's probably good things didn't work out.

I got an initial contact through a referral from a former co-worker. He wasn't super enthusiastic about his 1.5 years at SEI, but given the economy and the referral bonus, I decided to go through the process. With my background in Executive Strategy and Implementation from Deloitte and Oracle, this was by far the worst consulting interview experience I've encountered. I wouldn't recommend it. The interviewers didn't seem to have impressive backgrounds or much knowledge. They had a lot of "cult-like" talk about culture and emphasized getting staffed quickly to secure the low/mid-ball starting pay, and also mentioned recruiting obligations. After several standard "tell me about yourself" interviews, I was told I wasn't moving forward due to the "tough market and tough time to come into SEI." Their focus seems to be less on consulting skills and more on immediate client contacts for quick local business sales. I highly recommend focusing on established firms with a proper consulting business model and avoiding SEI.

You can expect about 5 or 6 interviews, with the last one being for the offer. Each of the earlier interviews will cover different areas: behavioral aspects, how well you fit the culture, and skill-based assessments. I liked this approach because it's similar to client interactions, which is important for SEI to evaluate. SEI is a great company, but they really push participation in activities outside of work hours, like parties and boot camps. While these aren't required, they do play a part in your year-end performance review. I would have liked this when I was earlier in my career, but the emphasis they put on it is a lot. I backed out after the fourth interview because it was tiring how 50% of the four interviews I did were focused on these extracurriculars.

I went through four interviews that felt pretty much the same. They mostly asked questions to see if I'd fit in with the company culture, not really to check if I could do the job. It turns out that consultants at SEI get points towards their performance review for helping with hiring. Sounds good, but as someone interviewing candidates, it was super obvious that the interviewers barely talked to each other about what to ask. It was like they were all asking the same stuff, and in all four interviews, I never actually got to talk to another data analytics consultant. All my interviewers were from different fields or worked in infrastructure. Two of them didn't even seem ready to chat. After all that, getting updates from recruiting was painfully slow. I even reached out like they told me to if I had more questions, and heard nothing back. Honestly, don't bother with this place. You'll probably do a bunch of interviews and still not talk to anyone who actually does the job you're applying for. Consultants are pushed to do interviews, but you'll just end up wasting your time prepping and interviewing. Just go somewhere else.