Accountancy | Advisory | Audit | Tax

Preparing for interview

Do your research

We feel more confident when candidates have taken a look at our company website and our latest updates on our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. If relevant, it’s also important that you have done some research regarding the qualification that you wish to study with us. We’re not looking for extensive knowledge, just to see that you care enough about this role to do some basic research. You should also familiarise yourself with our values and think about the ways in which they resonate with you.

Practice answering common interview questions

Take a look at the job advert and have a think about what we might ask you. We’ll ask about the work you’ve done and the way you did it – how you interact with others matters a lot here. Have a few examples ready to talk about so that you feel prepared.

The behaviours that we feel are important for someone being successful with us are building and developing relationships, commerciality, communication, developing self and others, planning and organising, problem solving, taking initiative and a strategic mindset.

In the interview, take your time to answer and think through what you want to say. We want you to feel comfortable and we try to make everything as clear as possible, but please ask if you’re unsure about anything.

You can find great practice interview questions via Google. You might like to use the STAR method to answer them:

Situation – the situation you had to deal with

Task – the task you were given to do

Action – the action you took

Result – what happened as a result of your action and what you learned from the experience

Prepare for online interviews

We do a lot of our interviews on Microsoft Teams now. It’s still an interview, so please dress for the occasion. If this isn’t possible due to your current circumstances, for example, you might be at work and required to wear a uniform, then please let us know. It’s really important that you’ve got Teams installed ahead of time. Position yourself centrally on the screen so the interviewer can see you, organise your work space and make sure the light is good. If you have any glitches (technical, pet related or anything!) please don’t feel flustered and do tell your interviewer. We want you to have every chance of success, so talk to us and we’ll sort something out together.

Ask all your questions

Interviews are a two-way process. Naturally we’ll have lots of questions and so might you. So ask away. You’ve very welcome to bring notes or a list of questions to interview if you find that helpful. Asking topical questions also helps to show your enthusiasm and interest in the role.

Our top tips

“I would suggest learning about behavioural interviewing techniques. You can expect your interviewer(s) to ask you about how you have handled previous situations with your career. It's possible to prepare for this type of questioning by making a list of your skills/strengths and prepare an example of a time when you displayed each of these qualities. Your example should clearly explain the situation, task, action, and results - often referred to as the STAR approach.”

Jim, Resourcing Manager

Hybrid work

Our commitment to hybrid work means that our people have the option to work in any of our offices at any time, and to spend some time working at home (or wherever they want to work!). The exact details of what hybrid working looks like varies from person to person, depending on the exact operational needs of each role.