Systems Evolution Consultant Interview Questions
& Process

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.

The process felt very strange and unnecessarily drawn out. It’s a five-part sequence that didn’t make much sense and honestly felt like a waste of time. Round 1 – Informational: overview of the firm, their model, etc. Round 2 – Continuation of the informational session (redundant, since most of my questions were already addressed in Round 1). Round 3 – Case study and behavioral interview. Round 4 – Meet the team + social event (happy hour or similar). Round 5 – Final meeting with the MD to determine fit. I didn’t make it past Round 2, but I noticed a lot of red flags along the way. The biggest issue was their model: you’re told you need to bring in your own business. That’s common in consulting, but typically only once you’ve reached a senior level or spent significant time at a firm. When I asked how performance is evaluated, they said there’s no sales goal, but you’re still expected to generate business. That struck me as odd - if there’s no baseline - how do you know if you’re meeting expectations? On the people side, the first interviewer was great. The second one, however, emailed me just three minutes before our scheduled time to cancel. That came across as rude and dismissive. I rescheduled, but if I weren’t actively job-hunting, I probably would have just declined to continue. They also said that hiring was contingent on business and they wouldn't have a position for me until another three months, which also seemed weird to me because why interview me if there isn't a role for me. I am sure this is a great role for someone who strives in ambiguity and loves the business development side of things, but I could tell they didn't provide the level of structure I needed.

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.