The assessment centre summaries set out in this chapter are based on reports secured in February 2022. They generally relate to recruitment processes that took place in late 2021/early 2022, although a few were slightly earlier than this.
Why are our assessment centre insights the best available?
We have rewritten most of the content to make sure it reads consistently and coherently. Moreover, throughout the process of compiling these insights, we asked hundreds of follow-up questions to candidates to make sure our summaries were as clear, comprehensive and helpful as possible. We also asked the candidates who provided the summaries to provide proof that they were invited to interviews at the firms in relation to which they were providing insights, and where possible, we have secured (and included) multiple reports for the same firms to further verify and supplement the insights.
A word of warning…
Firm recruitment processes can change at any time, and firms often rotate the case studies that they use and the questions they ask, meaning individuals interviewed by the same firm might face completely different questions. Some firms also give interviewers more scope to shape the structure of an interview and determine which questions to ask, so a consistent approach is by no means guaranteed.
With this in mind, please don’t take these summaries as a strong indication of what you will likely face during a future interview. The summaries are simply a reflection of candidates’ previous experiences, which we are providing in the hope that this will help you figure out whether you need to plug any gaps in your knowledge or adapt your approach to preparation.
Note that if you go into an interview with a fairly fixed idea of what you’re going to be asked - and/or if you have partially (or wholly) scripted your answers – you’ll likely be setting yourself up to fail. It can be much harder to adapt your answers to specific questions if you’re focusing on what you expected/wanted to be asked, rather than what you’re actually being asked. Plus firms can often tell if an answer seems scripted (your answers will generally come across as less enthusiastic and personal if you’re trying to “remember” what to say), which can often lead to rejections.