Online test, telephone interview, interview at Essence. The case study was awful and unrealistic. The original person who was meant to interview me was not available, so they sent someone else in which was fine. When the person finally came after a bit of a wait, she came in, sat down and just blurted out the questions. For the non mathematical ones this was alright, but it was rather difficult to take in all the information for the mathematical ones. I understand that this was meant to test my maths skills and reaction to the situation, but the situation was rather unrealistic as I cant imagine someone coming up to me in any job and then blurting out a questions about market shares, percentages and sales price on the spot and then stare at me and time me whilst I do it. Whats more, half way through the interview, her friends came in and ask if she is ready to go to lunch, which made me felt like I was holding her up as I was still trying to figure out the answer. I did not hear from Essence for over a month afterwards and it wasn't until a month later when I decide to make contact to follow up that I got a response.

1. Online test: some maths and critical thinking questions. 2. Telephone interview: why you want to join the firm, what are you looking for? 3. Assessment centre one: group activity, behavioural interview, doubles ping pong game (they take this seriously here), case study interview (discussion around a set topic, maths problems, deductions, evaluation - they want to see how you think and approach problems. 4. Assessment centre two: another similar behavioural interview, probably within a team that you might be suited for, another case study interview (similar to previous one but different business scenario, and sat in by two people instead of one last time round). 5. Informal half hour 'chat' with future line manager. Hats off to Essence for being thorough in screening for the right candidate. I enjoyed meeting so many people from the company, hearing about the culture, they're very open to answering any questions you have for them. The interviews can get challenging but I felt like they wanted to show me if I would enjoy working there. Some general advice: be open to new situations, ask lots of genuine questions that interest you, don't panic when things appear tricky.