I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at IBM (Toronto, ON) in Oct 2016
Interview
Attended the information session at my university, make sure to meet and make an impression on the senior consultants as they will be the ones recommending you for the next round. Got invited to a mixer the week after, try and meet as many IBMers as you can (associate partners, recruiters, etc.). Received an interview request the week after, it was a 2 on 1 meeting with two senior consultants. It was extremely casual and conversational, understand your resume very well as they will nitpick from it to ask questions. They got back to me in 3 weeks with a rejection email.
I applied through college or university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at IBM (Herndon, VA) in Oct 2016
Interview
I applied through campus recruiting. I applied through my school's job system. I got an e-mail from them about 2 weeks later saying they would fly me to Herndon, VA for a one-day interview. They e-mailed me on a Sunday night and asked me to let them know by Monday morning if I was available or not, or else they would give the interview to someone else. The interview was for that Friday in that same week, so there was very little time to prepare. The interview itself consisted of one behavioral interview, one relaxed interview about your resume, and one case study. They arranged the hotel and Amtrak itinerary for me, along with breakfast included.
Once I got there, they had other consultants bring you to a room where you and a few other candidates (all college students in my case) were just sitting and talking with the consultants. It's your chance to ask the other consultants what they think of the company, etc. It's a very casual conversation. Then, they split us up to our own individual interviews (1:1). The consultants you are initially talking to are NOT the same ones who will interview you. Each interview is 30 mins to the dot.
The case study was pretty straightforward. They give you a piece of paper that has the task on it with various questions at the bottom. The interviewer gives you time to read over the question and ask any questions you may have. He even helped me understand the case study a bit more. Once you give your initial response, he adds any additional comments and other answers as well. It felt more like a mentor trying to help you solve a case rather than someone evaluating your skill set.
The second interview was a casual walk-through of your resume. It's really relaxed, and he just goes through your experience and skills, etc.
The third interview was a behavioral interview. She was reading off questions online it seemed, such as "Tell me about a time you..." etc. It was also straightforward, just as long as you have good responses tailored with your resume.
After interviewing with them, I waited 2 weeks and hadn't heard anything from them. Then, I e-mailed the recruiter I was working with who told me I did not get the offer. Another girl I interviewed with told me they gave her an offer two days after the interview (our interview was on a Friday, and she got the offer on Monday). So, if you do get an offer, it will be really quick. I also heard they have these super days weekly. On my super day, I was interviewing with about 10 other students. So, I'm assuming they have this many each week and choose one or two from that pile each week for the CBD program.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Case Study Question: A company wants to determine if they want to go towards a more technology based system for it's operations, or stay with their old process. The technology option was more expensive, compared to the old process. (There are various questions around this topic)
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at IBM (New York, NY) in Dec 2016
Interview
3 part interview process: 30 minute behavioral, 30 minute traditional, 30 minute case
My interview happened online through HireVue and had 15 minute breaks in between each section. There were 3 different interviewer. I had 2 days notice been between being offered the interview and the interview date.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced, and how did you solve it with an analytical solution? Why consulting? Tell me more about your experience with ---------.