I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Accenture (Toronto, ON)
Interview
I interviewed for the MCDP program- Management Consultant Development Program, as an Analyst. Two rounds: first round conducted at the university (one behavioural interview with manager, one mini case that was highly analytical with manager and one consulting case with manager) and a final round at the main office in Toronto (informal group discussion, behavioural interview with senior manager, case interview with manager). Interview process is pretty typical compared to other consulting firms and I felt that Accenture made concerted efforts to make you feel more comfortable- would have group meeting rooms to hang out before your individual interview and would have employees to chat with you/ coffee and snacks. The people there were consistently helpful and friendly- throughout the process I was always introduced to new faces when people thought that these new contacts would be able to connect with my interests/ answer questions. By the end of the process, I had gotten to know over 10 individual people from the firm very well.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Don't be fooled by the term "mini-case." It is a short case that is based only on graphs and data, so be very comfortable with calculating margins, ROI, payback, relative market share etc. This is where they really test your calculation capabilities so if you make errors here you'll likely get cut (you can't make computational errors on the job!)
I applied through college or university. The process took 6 days. I interviewed at Accenture (Houston, TX) in Oct 2014
Interview
Resume drop for OCR. Interviewees were invited to a social that helped us get to know the interviewers. First round was two one-hour, 1:1 interviews. In each, about 15 mins of behavioral ("tell me about a time you positively impacted society", etc) and the rest was a case. I was called that evening for final round the following day. Final round consisted of two hour long interviews, each 1:1. First was purely a case interview. Second was purely behavioral. All interviews were with executives - senior manager and above. All in all, everyone was extremely friendly (much more so than expected) and seemed genuinely interested in me. Nothing extremely challenging - just be prepared to defend any points made on your resume and have good stories. After doing final round on Friday, I received the offer the following Wednesday, making the whole process less than a week.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Nothing crazy - cases were not as hard as expected. One was M&A, one was related to risk management and final was related to pricing in healthcare industry. All interviewers were friendly and patient during the cases and all cases were made from their experiences.
I spent a great deal of time compiling information from across their social networks to complete my application. The preparation time for the application is horrendous, especially given at such an early stage.
I graduated from a London business school with first class honours and had additional work experience, but wasn't even offered an interview. This shows that you not only need a good degree but also demonstrate that you are exceptional, given the vast number of applicants they have.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
In what ways does Accenture use technology to help its clients improve their business?