Wood Mackenzie Consultant Interview Questions
& Process

This interview process was really disorganized. I got a referral from two people at the company, and they both told me to apply. I was supposed to have an initial screening with HR, but it got rescheduled with only an hour's notice. For the rescheduled screening, the HR person didn't call, so I waited for 30 minutes and then emailed them. They apologized, saying they had a meeting clash, and we set a third time, which they did attend. Then, my recruiter left and was replaced. The new recruiter kept saying I was applying for a 'Consultant' role. When I said I only wanted 'Senior Consultant,' they said someone with a PhD and no experience could only be a Consultant. I have two Master's degrees and 12 years of experience, so I didn't get it, and they clearly weren't listening when I tried to explain. Finally, I had my interview, and it was awful. The Director interviewing me seemed really uninterested and distracted. The questions were unclear, and I had to ask for clarification multiple times. By then, I'd had such a bad experience with the company that I decided to pull out. I never heard back from them, even after I emailed for feedback. It was unprofessional for them to ghost an experienced candidate who made it to the interview stage. Looking back, I feel like I dodged a bullet.

First there was an online numerical test, and then it was onto an assessment centre. The assessment centre had four interviews: a competency interview with HR, a business interview with consultants, a case study and presentation, and a group case study with the other interviewees. The HR interview was pretty standard stuff - questions like 'tell me about a time you had to persuade a group'. The business interview was more of a chat to see if you understood the industries Wood Mackenzie focuses on and what's happening in the market right now. The case study itself was quite long - you got 1.5 hours to prep, then had to give a 15-minute presentation and do an interview afterwards. Honestly, I've interviewed at top-tier management consultancies that don't even do that. The group interview involved a pretty straightforward case study.

The HR and Hiring Managers were super friendly and enthusiastic, talking highly of the company. But after I spent from 9 am to 1:30 pm in a virtual assessment, both HR and the Hiring Manager just ghosted me without any feedback. Super disappointed because I thought a company like this would at least provide feedback to someone who dedicated half a day of their valuable time. They call themselves a respectable, family-like workplace, but it feels hypocritical. The pay offer was also lower than other consulting firms.