The Big 4

PwC Deloitte KPMG Ernst & Young

- Recruitment Process 7 -

Interviews
At interviews you are meeting prospective employers in person. Therefore everything about
you will count, from your appearance, to your manners, to your ability to address issues in a
socially appropriate way. It is advised that you are adequately prepared for these precious
occasions

Types of Interviews
First Interviews
Nowadays, the first round of interviews often takes place in companies. It will be considered
as a basis of further selection. If you do well, it will pave your way for other interviews. At
this stage, interviewers are usually managers with 5+ years of work experience.
Format

1-1 one interviewer, one interviewee

2-1 two interviewers, one interviewee
20-30 minutes of duration

Partner Interviews
In a partner interview, you are interviewed by one of the partners of the company. You
should be outstanding in different aspects if you can get to this stage because not many
applicants make it there. You may assume that you have the right competencies for the job.
But the partners still want to know if you are a person who will fit to work with them. So the
interview will be more about your genuine personal characteristics, abilities, and charms.
Format

One-to-one
May last for an hour
Interviewers are partners
Usually informal can be a casual chat or critical exchange of ideas

More about partner interviews are discussed in Chapter 8 Partner Interviews

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Advice for interviews

NEVER LIE!
Prepare yourself -- good self understanding learn to articulate about yourself
Know your employer/career field
Research about the company before you go for an interview
Understand clearly the job requirements and selection criteria
Always match strengths/competencies with job requirements (Your Key Unique
Selling Points)
KSPQI approach (Knowledge, Skills, Personal Qualities, Interests)
PAR/STAR approach (ProjectSituation--Task, Action, Result)
Good general knowledge (current affairs)
Good professional knowledge (e.g. GPA)
DO NOT rehearse your answers!

Interviews DOs
Appearance and manners DOs

Be confident & natural Be yourself!

Be punctual
Be clean, tidy and presentable
Maintain eye contact with the interviewers
Smile and nod appropriately
Show enthusiasm and interest in the job

Answering Questions DOs

LISTEN to the questions carefully.

Give DIRECT, CONCISE answers.
Stay FOCUSED.
Always MATCH your strengths/professional knowledge/skills/work experience with
the job requirements.
Give SPECIFIC examples to illustrate your point:
o Describe an actual experience in which you demonstrate your leadership.
o Use PAR/STAR approach.
Answer questions HONESTLY.
o DO NOT give model answers.
Show INDEPENDENT and LOGICAL thinking
o DO NOT REPEAT others views without having thought deeply about them.
Answer the HIDDEN questions.
BE PREPARED to be asked awkward questions. Examples:
o Your GPA is low, why?
o Well, you did not do well in public examinations.
o You have sat for HK Advanced Level Exam. three times already.

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Interview DONTs
Appearance and manners DONTs

Be late
Be sloppy, narrow-minded, rude and passive
Try to be someone else

Answering Questions DONTs

Memorize and recite answers to questions

Lie, bluff, or try to please
Beat around the bush or ramble
Talk too much/too little
Oversell yourself or being over-humble
Become emotional or defensive
Try to be funny
Unduly emphasize on starting salary
Linger over fringe benefits

Questions to the Interviewers

In many interviews, you may be invited to ask questions about the company or the job. Ask
questions that DEMONSRATE your knowledge of the job and your interest in the job.

What is the corporate culture of your company?

Can you describe what life is like working in this company?
Why is this position open? Are there special expectations of the next person who fills
this position?
What will my main task/s be in the first year?
How will my performance be assessed?
Are there any opportunities for inter-departmental deployment and job rotation?
Any opportunities for overseas job assignment?
When will the interview results be announced?

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Interview Questions
Interview questions can be roughly divided into the following categories. You may want to
consider devising a strategy when formulate your answers for each of the categories.
Personal Experience
These are questions about you and your experience. They may be a good way to establish
interview rapport and let the interviewers get to know more about you. So be spontaneous.
However, try not to get carried away by answering too much or too enthusiastically.
Competencies
These are questions about your competencies. Apply the KSPQ and the PAR/STAR approach
whenever appropriate. Be specific, honest, and concise.
Work or Internship Experience
You can answer these questions well when in fact you did reflect on your work or internship
experience. Developing a serious attitude for work will also help. Consider using the
PAR/STAR in suitable question situations.
Career Planning and Maturity
Developing a positive and serious attitude on work will make these questions easy. What is
required to answer these questions is whether you have given actual thoughts to your career
as if you are treating it like a project -- with specific plans contingencies and actions. Most
importantly, does the planning delight you?
Knowledge of the Profession
This possibly covers your (i) book knowledge and (ii) field knowledge that you obtain from
working in projects, summer jobs, and internships, and (iii) current knowledge related to the
field. Answers showing that you have thought deeply about the profession and field will help.
It is a matter of developing a positive and serious attitude toward work and keeping yourself
abreast of what is happening in the field.
Knowledge of Employer
Answering these questions requires good company background research. It means lots of
research through the Internet and other venues such as friends who work in the field. It also
means thinking and organizing the information in a way that enables you to show that you
have a thorough understanding of the company and the field.
Scenario-based Questions
In this type of question, you will be given a scene or situation that arises in the work context.
This sort of questions requires people knowledge and a good understanding of how
companies work. There are no right or wrong or straightforward answers. To show that you
have considered the issue from multiple perspectives and the possible consequences of your
actions may be important when answering this type of questions.

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 Current Affairs
Read your newspaper -- the right sections, and learn to analyze issues from your own
perspective as well as those of other parties. Learn to apply what you have learnt from your
books and work to current issues.

Any Other Information

Any general questions related to the job you have applied for or to you.

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