Intro: Find out what goes on behind-the-scenes of the Big 4's hiring processes.
What actually happens behind all of the hiring decisions the Big 4 make? What happens after you hit "submit" on your application to a Big 4 firm (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC)? How do they assess interns on the job?
We talked to Big 4 insiders to get a glimpse into what goes on behind-the-scenes.
A career fair will probably be your first point of contact with the Big 4. Here's what career fairs are like from the other side of the table!
After I got the internship offer, I began being invited to recruiting events (mostly tabling at this point) on campus as a junior to speak about what KPMG does and the office and the people. They wanted students and young employees to represent the company and talk to other young students about their experiences at KPMG.
During those events, we would screen resumes and bucket them for candidates in tax, audit, and other categories as well as reporting to the HR lead on our initial thoughts.
I did these through my senior year including some more happy hours and career fairs where we would do more of the same – basically just networking and trying to sell what the firm can provide.
– Former auditor @ KPMG
Students who ask thoughtful and innovative questions can stand out. The employees who attend the career fair will hand the resumes off to the recruiters, and also give them a heads up about any stand-outs for additional consideration.
The students will still need to apply through the career portal even if they dropped off their resume.
Not gonna lie though — it’s hard, but not impossible. There are so many people they talk to every day that students need to work hard to make that connection, so that person remembers to make a note about the student. And even then it’s not guaranteed to land an interview. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to try.
– Consulting manager @ EY
Let's say you've just submitted an online application. What happens now? Here's how an HR consultant who was involved with recruitment describes the screening process.
First, recruiters will look at your resume. And the main things they'll look for are the university you went to and your GPA.
The firms tend to have a target list of universities, but they are a bit more lenient about this now, because they're adapting to Gen Z and how they think and operate.
Then, they look at your GPA. They're very rigid and fixed when it comes to GPA. Each consulting firm has a different requirement, but if it's out of 5.0, it needs to be a 4.0 – It needs to be 80% or higher.
If your GPA falls below that, you need a connection inside – someone who's really rooting for you, a referral. It will take a longer time.
Your GPA is your golden ticket to an interview – regardless of degree. In consulting, once you're in, you could be in any field, so they're not looking at what you studied. They're looking to see if you know how to study and how to get good grades, as that shows you'll know how to perform.
Congrats! You've made it past the initial screening phase. You're now on a list of candidates who need to be interviewed. Here's how your day of interviews might pan out.
We do this thing called "Super Day" which is basically one big day of interviews. We'll bring in a bunch of candidates to do their 3 interviews for the day.
Typically HR will ask managers and above to perform the interviews. I can’t speak for the other companies but at EY, they’ll ask for volunteers to interview, so students can keep in mind that their interviewers are people who WANT to talk to candidates! We didn’t just get assigned a task to complete. So these are people who do want to hear from the candidate and we hope they do well.
We'll do a big roundtable discussion at the end of the day to go thru each candidate one by one, giving our feedback. Last time I participated it, they just asked "What was your impression of the candidate" and "Are they a hire?" You'd answer "yes," "no," "maybe."
If you get all three yes's, then you'll get hired. If it's 2 vs. 1, you may be put in the "maybe" pile. So it's really important to make a good impression on your interviewer, because they'll be the ones who champion you and potentially tip the scale in your favor.
During COVID, it was all Zoom interviews, but in any hub office (like in New York), Super Day will be at the office. We also pair each candidate up with a buddy for the day, and that buddy takes them to each interview room, and they can chat in the middle. I don't know if this still happens but the buddy would usually take the candidate out for lunch, kind of like a "thank you" for coming in for a full day of interviews. It's also a chance for you to talk to your buddy informally.
– Consulting manager @ EY
Find out why firms interview you the way they do.
As part of the selection criteria, we have something called a Competency Framework. The Competency Framework has two aspects: Behavioral Competencies and Technical Competencies.
Every rank in consulting (Partner, Senior Director, Director, Senior Manager, Manager, Senior Associate & Associate) has a list of required Behavioral Competencies and Technical Competencies.
The student (in this case “Associate”) will have to be assessed based on their listed competencies behaviorally and technically. That's why we have behavioral interviews and technical interviews.
- Usually, behavioural questions will be verbal role-based scenarios.
- Behavior is always before Technical because they are reflective of the student’s interpersonal skills and their ability to navigate through certain complex situations.
- These behavioral skills are not tied to any technical knowledge but simply focus on how the student will approach their work and interact internally and externally with colleagues and clients. They are crucial for operating effectively in the consulting world.
So first you have a behavioral assessment interview where they study your behavior. Then if you pass that, you're invited for a technical interview.
- They'll assess your skills and give you a case study verbally.
- If you don't have strategic or analytical thinking skills, you're more likely to fail in this process, because there is no right answer. There's no one-size-fit-all solution.
What do firms do with the information they gather from your interviews? Hint: They don't just use it to decide whether to hire you!
They assess if you panic or take too long. If you ask for 5 minutes to think about the question, they'll give you that. And after 5 minutes, let's say you wow them.
They'll note this down for their records. By records, I mean that during the interview process, a dedicated person from the hiring committee (usually it’s a team), will be taking down notes of what they see of how the student is reacting, responding etc. So in this case they might note down, "So and so needs a bit of time."
They'll keep these notes on record for when the student is hired and they hand these to the student's Partner for them to be aware of how this student operates.
And yes, if the student does wow them after a “pause”, this can be viewed as showing that the student is not impulsive and actually takes time to analyze and think about things. It's not just about giving an answer or taking chances. This in my experience showed my hiring panel that in the future, I will take calculated risks.
After the technical interview, they'll get invited for a final interview with the partner, where they'll tell you, "OK, you're behaviorally and technically checked. We're going to assign you on your first project." They'll tell you what project you'll be assigned to after you've been onboarded.
Here's what it's like to get an offer.
I finished interviewing by mid-October and heard back before mid-November.
When I got my offer they sent a survey out asking what start date we wanted to request. My choices were like January, June, July and August.
– Former junior consultant @ Deloitte
Here's what it's like to get rejected.
If they feel like you're shy or reserved, they'll say "Thank you" and make you wait a few months and then reject you. And they will not tell you the reason. They want you to keep reapplying, keep improving yourself, and ... maybe see you in a few years!
After the firms give you an offer, they'll request more information from you. Some of this is basic contact information and some of it will be used to carry out reference checks.
I had to complete a pre-hire talent questionnaire after I got the offer and before I officially started - I had to provide phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses of old supervisors at the companies listed on my resume.
I also believe the background check does not necessarily get completed before you onboard officially, it takes a few weeks.
I didn’t have to submit an official transcript until a month and a half before my start date.
– Former junior consultant @ Deloitte
We have a strong mentorship system. So when you join the firm, you get an informal mentor. How do you do your expenses, who to reach out to. We also set them up with a formal counselor who reaches out to all their managers for feedback. Then there's another roundtable to discuss areas of improvement, whether people are ready for promotions.
– Consulting manager @ EY
The team will not reach out to you; they want to see you're proactive. If you're shy, you'll come out of your shell. And if you cannot come out of your shell, you'll burn out and leave.
After you're onboarded, you're "me myself and I." Nobody's going to help you or show you your seat. They give you a laptop and that's it. Usually onboarding happens remotely (just you and your laptop) even if you work in the company.
To assess our interns, the firm gave us a rubric to fill out, which they changed slightly every year. These were used for all levels of employees though and were typically pretty broad.
I also received intern-specific questionnaires from the HR teams that touched on communication, professionalism, work ethic, technical ability, and other similar factors. They often ended with similar questions like "Would you work with this person again?" or "Would you recommend this person be hired?"
As the associate or senior associate working with an intern, I'd be responsible for filling out these questionnaires on my own. We'd then convene as a team and discuss our assessments of the interns.
However, the final decision was not ours (but it was mostly based on our answers) because an intern may have worked with multiple engagement teams who may have different opinions. Ultimately the HR team sent out offers and made that final decision. The partners and managers often played a role in requesting which teams they worked on.
– Former auditor @ KPMG
We hope this demystifies Big 4 recruiting ... at least by a bit! If you're still on the hunt for a promising opportunity, check out all the internships we have in accounting and consulting!