JP Morgan一面： 下午12点左右，面试的一共有5个人，分成两组，一组先interview,我的那一组先做numerical and reasoning test. 一共好像是1个半小时，是书面的，时间很紧，速度一定要快。虽然这之前没有做过什么之类的练习，但后来才看到有什么SHL和monster网站上都能练习的，还是很好的。只我感觉我的阅读能力比较快，所以还好。做完以后，半个小时的休息，接着interview。先是被带去一个小房间，里面有2个面试官，一个是记得，一个是问的，45分钟。完了以后，还有一个小房间，不同的人，但也是45分钟，差不多的问题。因为根本就没有什么准备，结果就可想而知。现在想起来，觉得那时Interview的问题还是蛮规范的。
“what do you think about leadership? Can you give me an example? Have you met any difficult situation that you need to make important decisions? Examples about teamwork, how to motivate yourself, how to change others point of views? How you persuade your manager，what current business issues do you know”。。。。。。。
Feedback from JP: Development areas - Needed to provide more detailed examples around leadership, particularly different styles and behaviours. Needed to be more aware of the impact of change on others. Needed to have more depth to your answers and detailed explanations. Examples needed to be more work-related and less personal.
Lesson Two: 好好看论坛精华中的帖子，把同志们列出来的50道面试题好好准备一下。我准备了14道我觉得最重要的。一定要给出具体的examples,不管是大事小，是学习中的还是工作中的，不能泛泛而谈。这里要提一下有个问题问：what current business issues are you caring about now? 我在面试的时候提到了美国的interest rate上涨，人民币和美元汇率的变动。可是在后来的feedback中，他们说，这些东西都太泛了，最好说一些具体某个公司有什么新闻，你怎么关注中比较好。我也觉得很有道理。以后大家要汲取教训。
Big four 的一面就不是那么正式，只有一位面试官，时间也只是1小时，如果把那50题全准备再加上临场的一点发挥，肯定没问题，我只准备了14题也够了，但是口语一定要好，平时要多多开口，多看电视（我是超级电视狂，电视带给我唯一的positive side就是听力大大提高）。之前application 的填写，20minutes online 40 questions numerical and 20 minutes 40 questions reasoning tests还是蛮麻烦的，大家要认真填认真做。我当时一个是43%，一个是48%答对率，都叫去面试了。所以不要紧张。速度慢的话要保证前面做完的准确率。
好了，让我休息一下，Assessment centre以后再写。Big four 现在开始新一轮招聘，大家要加油~~~
希望有用
我的big four offer (二）
Assessment Centre
对于big four的Assessment Centre, doctorjob forum的论坛很好很好，给了我很大的帮助。不过我接下来写的东西有些狭隘性，只是针对一个公司，不知道对大家有没有用，凑合看吧。
First part, answer 24 emails within 70 minutes. 每封email都有四个选项，从中选出一个最合理的答案。最最要紧就是速度一定要快！！！你会有一本information book about the company，很多信息，乱七八糟的，公司结构啊，人员组织啊，进行项目啊，调查报告啊~~~看了email以后，去本子里找相关信息，有计算，有比较，有分析，总之，我觉得这个task的目的就是把你搞得晕晕的~~呵呵，因为信息实在太多了。
Part one 中的second part是写两封email, 50minutes. 这个我感觉很辣手，第一封我还没搞清目的是什么的时候，已经过了10分钟。不管三七二十一，我就乱写写了，基本都是从本本里抄道的信息。反正在写的时候，只要记住要写bullet point ，structure很重要就可以了。具体在doctorjob forum上可以看到，这里我就不多说了。
Part Two: 一考完这个（120分钟的折磨），有个面试的人立马就带我们去了一个小房间，5个人一个group exercise。连水都没有的喝，我还想上厕所，只能忍着。。。。还是发了一个information book，里面就是所有的关于我们讨论的信息和问题。有很多调查表格和数据表，还有一些竞争对手的利润分析。这个group exercise是我感觉比较容易的，先是10分钟自己看，然后大家就是一起讨论，一起提意见。我们那5个人都很好，都很礼貌和谦让，所以我也赚了便宜。我自动offer 看时间，结果还看错了，快了 5分钟 ? （整个讨论30分钟）。最后整理出来结果后，要给一个10分钟的presentation,我们5个人每人说了一个观点，用了8分钟，感觉还是蛮好的，就是没有很正式，没有站起来。一共有3个面试官，在边上狂写。
Lesson Two: group exercise最重要看你的team work,你的参与程度，你的贡献，你要认真听别人讲，也要自己讲。我个人认为就做一个普通的team member蛮好的，不要当什么leader出风头，结果还当不好。
Lesson Three: 一定要对你的公司了如指掌，即使不可能记住所有的，对于相关的，你在presentation中提到的也要知道。我的topic是ebay在中国的发展，谈得都是和中国有关的。我当中只是提到一句ebay在日本市场遭遇失败，那个partner就问我怎么失败的，他们怎么做的？还好我有看到相关的新闻。不知道的话，要如实说不知道，比编造要好很多。平时要多看financial news, 我们学校有免费的wall street,我就一直看。这样对current business issues会有了解，我觉得报纸也比网上的要点评详细。我曾试过简报，很有用，但是最终还是坚持不住，不了了之。
Partner interview是第一轮interview的延伸，一般问题没有规范，完全看你的partner是谁和那天的心情。我的第一个问题就把我绝倒~~~please tell me about yourself from school until now. 这个问题也太大了~~~~我也重来没准备过，就重点把我的成就说了说，他连点头说good, very good.我也不知道是真好还是假好。后来问我为什么申请这个office,我也没准备（我准备的是为什么申请这个公司），我就傻傻的如实说到，我要申请的那个office 没有空缺了，看到你们还有，我就申请了（确实是这样）。话一出口就觉不妥，后来再想想，应该说什么Ï牖恍禄肪嘲「约盒碌奶粽桨∈裁吹幕岷靡恍丫 党鋈チ耍膊荒芨牧恕Ｆ渌奈侍庵钊鏻eadership（又再一次被问到），how to solve difficult situation, why this company……etc etc.
有一个问题记得很牢，他问我future 我的career想要什么样子的。 我就开口说，after I have my qualification……….没想到刚开口说到这，他就很激动地接过我的话题说，Yes！！ Qualification is very important!!! Lots of people, they don’t want study once they have families etc…..but I have to agree with you, qualification is very important. 我就傻傻地微笑地听他在那边说，其实我也没有准备这个问题，也不知道该怎么回答好也不想考试。所以说，我的运气还是很好的。最后是我问问题时间，无外乎就是你做了几年了？你的clients是谁啊？etc etc………
第三步，是所谓的first round interview了，是一对一的面试。上来先给25分钟阅读案例，后面是一个半小时的interview，由case study和competence-based interview (fit interview)组成。我的案例是个关于飞行器零件供应商的，好像是Airbus或者波音公司的零件supplier。案例主要介绍的是公司的经营情况，市场情况，竞争对手，公司的内部情况如Management，财务管理，信息系统，人员部署等等，在案例的最后给出了近10个要回答的问题，也就是你要和interviewer讨论的问题。这些问题涵盖了关于这个零件供应商从Strategy, Operation, IT, 到 HR的所有方面。我记得第一个问题是你认为这个客户现在面临的最大的三个issue分别是什么，针对这三个issue你有什么建议。第二个是怎样压缩目前的operation流程，才能做到最efficient和cost-effective。第三到五个问题是怎样用IT来代替目前的手工操作，如是不是用 e-procurement system，用和不用各有什么好处和坏处，如果采用要用哪个Vendor的software，是SAP呢还是Oracle呢？如何来比较两个 Vendor?后面几个问题记不清了，但是问到了如果裁员，公司应该怎么做？人员上怎么重新部属，如何安抚人心等等。我的面试官极好，是个英国人，我们讨论的很开心，感觉不像在面试而是一个apprentice在向一个资深的businessman讨教一样。可能是因为我准备的比较充分的缘故，也可能是因为面试官经验老到，可以让interviewee感觉很放松，还有可能是他没想到一个学工程的PhD可以如此纯熟的“冒出”这么多business idea。总之，我认为商业意识很重要，要从平时就开始培养。既然喜欢商业和想进Consulting就应该在平时多注意和留心这方面的新闻和动向，这是一种日积月累的知识准备和沉淀。当你的商业知识积累到一定程度的时候，无论在任何情况下你都会有一种自然流露和表达的倾向。我想这可能就是为什么我可以 impress面试官的原因吧。举几个例子来说明一下培养商业意识，比如联想收购IBM PC。大家有没有想过联想为什么要买，IBM为什么要卖，联想买了以后会遇到什么问题，如何做post-acquisition的整合，人员怎么处理。再比如，Evian矿泉水公司是怎么成功地向市场推出女性护肤产品的，它是如何运用了矿泉水的延伸概念把水和护肤连在一起的，它为什么要进入一个和自己原来产品完全不一样的市场？我相信Evian进入护肤品市场的例子背后肯定有个很好的Strategy Consulting Team。言归正传，Case Study大家言谈甚欢，已经为后面的fit interview营造了良好的气氛，面试就变得很简单了。为什么要进Consulting，为什么要进这家公司，举个例子说明你的 leadership,举个例子说明你是如何organize things的等等，相信这些问题大家是准备的相当熟练了。面试结束的时候我问了两个问题，一个是how often do you get reviewed还有一个是在project bidding process中，这家公司的selling point是什么？What is the main differentiator with other competitors? 之后这个面试官拼命向我推销了一下公司的好处，待遇怎么高，培训怎么好，前途怎么光明，听得我云里雾里，感觉已经拿到 offer了一样。面试结束后我的感觉是肯定过了。
果不然，第二天一早HR来电，邀请参加最后一轮面试，Assessment Centre简称AC。这是最后一步了，整个过程持续了6个半小时，从下午1点到7点半，面试出来以后我是身心俱疲，感觉身体都不是自己的了。所有的人都是一样，被fully grilled。当天总共8个人，除我一个中国人之外都是英国人，共３女５男，其中还有一个牛津大学的，只有两个是在伦敦的，我是一个。1点到2点是免费的午餐，主要是和去年已经进公司的graduate聊天，这些graduates也是HR随便从办公室抓来的，有人有空又想吃免费的午餐就自告奋勇了。我的策略是放轻松别吃的太多，怕影响了下午的面试。午餐很轻松，我抓紧机会熟悉了我的fellow team mates，幸运的是我发现大家都很和善,没有很aggressive的人。2点钟一过，两个HR的妹妹，拿着一叠材料雄赳赳地走了进来，宣布面试流程，原来每个人都有自己的time table，什么时候去做什么事情每个人都不一样，但是总的准备时间是一样的。Assessment Centre的内容有一对一partner面试；和manager的一对一presentation、case study、fit interview；一个writing exercise；还有一个8个人一起的group exercise。对manager的presentation和case study用的是同一个案例，writing exercise用的是另一个案例。我的第一个任务是对partner的interview，主要是competence-based的fit interview。Partner很和善,说话很慢，有时还有些小结巴。我总是对着Partner笑眯眯的回答问题，不过问题基本上我都没准备过。比如，举个例子说明我在team中怎样让大家达到consensus的；从中学到大学你觉得最大的区别是什么；你是怎样对待这个区别的；你的课余活动是什么。就像和一位尊敬的长者聊天一样，我随性发挥，有什么说什么。让partner充分感受到我的活力，潜能，还有抱负。还记得partner问了一个问题 if you are hired, what do you see yourself in 5 years time?我开始说我五年之后会leading a team, actively get in touch with clients。Partner老人家看到我没回答到点上，又问那你觉得５年之后是什么会让客户觉得你能给他们add value？让他们觉得你值得信赖？于是乎我恍然大悟，“老帕“原来是在给我小暗示。我赶紧说，是我的expertise knowledge和我的industry focus。他微笑着点了点头，低头又开始做笔录了。规定的45分钟面试我们一老一小说了一个小时。我才意识到，自己用掉了宝贵的15分钟 presentation的准备时间。匆匆结束了和老帕的interview,我回到休息室用那余下的45分钟开始准备presentation。案例讲的是英国的NHS，有将近20页的介绍，后来才知道原来NHS是公司的大客户。Presentation要回答的问题是针对NHS效率低下，政府应该用什么样的拨款方式，可以激励NHS提高工作效率；除了拨款方式以外，NHS还有哪些最重要的issues我们公司可以帮助客户的，公司可以给NHS什么样的建议。我用了25分钟理解案例，15分钟写OHP Slides,最后5分钟在心里默默的present。一对一的presentation很简单，要注意多用眼神和面试官交流。反正就你和他两个人， who怕who呀？我大概讲了10分钟多一点。之后就开始讨论这个案例，面试官没问太多问题，主要是问了我对NHS的看法还有对public sector的看法，我是凭着自己的common sense说了一通。后来我才知道，当天面试的所有人都说这个public sector的问题没回答好，出乎意料。接下来的交锋还是对着同一个面试官的competence-based的interview。面试官假设把你放在好几个场景中，遇到各种情况你会怎么做，很多问题都没准备过只能用gut feeling和common sense来回答了。结束了Manager interview之后，我脑子里空空的，也许是面试官太老练了，我感觉不到他对我的任何评价。回到休息室，我才发现只剩下40分钟来做writing exercise，我还没看过那本厚厚的information pack呢！我用了10分钟，看完了information pack。东西很多，我只是粗粗的看了一下。原来是对一个商业计划书写一个类似executive summary的东西。看到别人密密麻麻的写了两页纸，我认为自己无论如何也无法在30分钟之内写出那样的两页，于是采用了bulletin point的办法，写了project background, aim, implementation process, issues to be noticed等好几个section。停笔的时候刚好又看到HR的妹妹迈着矫健的步伐进来收writing exercise，我汗！休息了5分钟之后是group exercise。一群人鱼贯而入的冲进我们的休息室，原来是众位partner和manager。他们手执纸笔，各就各位，虎视眈眈的盯着我们８个人，我记得总共有5个面试官，大家的一举一动都被监视了。Group exercise还好，每个人手里会有partial information，大家必须齐心协力共享所有的信息把5个房子的位置找出来。我的经验有两条。第一，必须要vocal，要说话，但不能瞎说。第二，是要express your idea and make sure your idea is used by the team。还好大家都比较友善，我们很快找到了正确的答案。整个AC终于结束了，我早就累得不想讲话了，只想回家猛睡一觉。
第二天一早9:30突然接到一个private number的电话，接起来一听原来是“老帕“的声音，we are delighted to offer you a position in our company…至此大功告成！很快我又参加了公司的Post Offer Event，我才发现，原来那天8个人中只录取了3个，那个牛津的兄弟也被淘汰了。
收到offer letter的时候才知道，虽然我base在伦敦但是经常要到英国各地和欧洲出差。公司不但提供手提电脑和电话，同时还报销电话账单和发公司信用卡。另外，有25天的假期，嫌不够，还可以用公司给的benefits再买假期。可能最开心的是公司的培训, 刚开始在荷兰接受近3个礼拜的培训，然后到比利时再训2个礼拜。高兴之余，我又在想，这些可能是consulting firm的统一配备吧，因为对咨询公司来讲咨询顾问是公司最大的生产力，所以要全面投资、进行全副武装！但是工资拿的高，同时又要付出很多代价！于是我又拿出自己的哲学思维：Life is full of tradeoffs, everything has a balance.
Final assessment 哇,终于到了final assessment了,觉得这里有必要把controlling 和 credit risk分开写了.
IB1 的controlling 这个IB排名很靠前, 有朋友被torture的很惨, 所以我闻风丧胆. 而且我去AC之前的一个星期,此IB出了个不大不小的scandal, 害的我着实费劲的准备了一番,后来看来没有白费. 这个AC跟别人不同是没group discussion, 我一直严重怀疑是我们在等待的时候applicants之间的互动被监视了从而判断个人的teamwork 和communication skills, 因为整个selection process,就没有一个group work. Anyway, 几个马后炮: 1) 对公司一定要熟啊,这种排名靠前的似乎很在意我对他新近排名的了解度, 还有业务的强项以及区域上的强项. 我在其中一个interviewer的面前对于他们某一个国家的业务哑口无言,一度以为自己会被枪毙 2) 新的macroeconomic news, 个人觉得很经典的一个问题, interview是下午的1点左右, 被问到三个小时前发生了什么事, 所有被问的人都很诧异,因为我们是很早就来了,不可能知道三个小时前的新闻. 其实他要的答案是美国失业率的公布. 因为那是某个月的第一个星期五, 美国失业率就在每个月的第一个星期五公布(如果我没有记错),他想看你到底对这些新闻有多了解. 非常好运的是,我不是被这个interviewer第一个interview的人,第一个人一出来,到了holding area, 就很好心的跟我们分享他的问题和答案. 虽然我是最后一个被问的,也说出了正确答案, 但是作为一个有正义感和良心的青年,我还是很诚实的跟他说: I knew the answer because the other guy shared the information with me when he finished with his interview, but now I know when the US unemployment rate is announced every month.呵呵,他也没有面露不爽的样子. 只不过追问了我为什么US unemployment rate是一个被关注的重点indicator,我就把ben bernanke 的tight policy blah blahblah的搬出来, 老头面露悦色. 3) 笑啊,要微笑啊, 一个很严肃的interviewer在面试完我之后,说: thank you and you gave some very intelligent answers to my questions. 我顿时暗爽, 就笑起来,他随即说, o, if only you could smile like this right from the beginning. 4) 如果有scandal或者各种负面新闻,千万要好好准备. 我被问到,那个scandal的发生是不是controlling的fault. 当然不能说是的啦,这个问题真的很尴尬, 我只能强调我相信大家都很好的在做自己的工作,只是current system和current development of product的发展速度incompatible罢了,他还不罢休,继续问,我就继续跟他打太极, 最后貌似他放弃折磨我.
我申请过很多很多家公司，有的是直接填application form，有的是发CV和covering letter给公司，有的是通过agency。我觉得其实都有用。因为另一家也给我offer的公司就是通过agency找到的。但是 application form非常重要，里面的每一个essay question形式的问题都要仔细斟酌，强调“我”做了什么，而不是“我们”如何如何。另外，你叙述的这件事中，你的参与带来了什么不同和什么好处一定要狠狠地show off，最好当然是带来经济效益，增加profit或是节省开支之类的。这些例子太重要了，因为以后各种interview中都會不断地重复，最好多准备几个。比如analytical skill的，how to deal with pressure的，how to build relationship and listen to others的，how to initiate a change to a process or a situation with a view to improving it的，等等等等。我曾经在一次interview中一共被问到过12个例子，还不能重复，真是绞尽脑汁，最后当然是铩羽而归。
如果application form填得好而又够幸运的话，一般你会收到on-line test或是first interview的邀请。On-line test 其实没什么诀窍，多做多练就好了，SHL网站上有个很长的test，是SHL让你做做然后提意见的，我觉得那个很好。有闲钱的可以买些书回来做，书店有很多这种书。在校的学生可以去本校的career centre练习。
First interview其实大同小异，一般除了上文提过的举例之外，最常见的问题包括为什么申请我们公司，为什么申请这个职位，你申请的这个职位主要做些什么，你觉得上班后day to day responsibilities and tasks有哪些，你觉得我们公司乃至我们这个行业面临什么样的challenge，我们的竞争对手是谁等。Investment banks一般来说问的问题稍难，有的会问到technical question，比如什么是option，合并时怎么value一个公司的价值，有几种value法，convertible bond是什么，怎么定价之类。这些需要查专业书。我准备interview的时候一般是先看他们的网站，再到网上搜他们公司最近的消息和这个行业的消息。其实有时工作量还是很大的，很多要靠平时的积累。比如你申请会计审计类工作，一定要了解的有2002年的Enron scandal，Sarbanes Oxley，liability cap，international financial reporting standard, ACA和CIPFA的合并qualification，IAS 39，Ernst & Young最近的麻烦等等。申请保险业一定要能扯到AIG和Marsh的丑闻，申请investment bank可能要了解banker的明星效应（star banker比quality of service还重要），Morgan Stanley内部的矛盾，hedge fund到底何去何从，risk management如何keep in pace with product innovation，如何避免reputation risk或是litigation risk，IB industry整体而言走势如何之类的话题。不一定都會被问到，但是至少要有个大概的了解，被问到时不会一句话都说不出来。这些我觉得可以归纳为 commercial awareness。我建立自己commercial awareness的方法很老土，就是每天看Financial Times，看到和自己申请过的公司或是行业有关的较重要的新闻就马上剪下来，分类再贴在一个本子上。这样以后有interview的时候就方便再找出来温习了。但是这个方法非常有用，我这样做了三个月吧，自己可以在interview或是assessment centre时感受到自己的进步，也可以impress那些interviewer和assessor。
Ernst & Young：好像是先用一个半小时看一个case兼写出一篇report。Case是关于两个supermarkets要合并的问题，一个走稍微高档路线，一个走平价路线，有点像Marks & Spence（或是Sainsbury）和Tesco，问你根据你掌握的信息，合并后的advantage和disadvantage分别是什么，应不应该合并，如果合并以后应该作些什么改变或是调整，以及新的marketing strategy。随后的group discussion也是based on the same case，搞笑的是中途HR还假装来送一封紧急文件，文件中提到其中某supermarket可能面临的一个reputation的问题，然后大家一起讨论做决定时是否需要考虑文件上提出的问题，等等。面试主要是competency based，就是我前面说过的举例，但是问得非常细，你的background，学业，课外活动等等都详细问到。
Public sector finance：这个工作本身其实我并不太感兴趣，但是assessment centre的经验可贵，所以还是参加了。先是一个group discussion，有一笔钱要捐给一个charity，每人面前有一份材料，介绍你要代表的那个charity的情况，需要多少钱用在什么方面。然后大家辩论加讨论，确定这钱要捐给哪里charity，并排出每个charity的重要程度。我个人觉得这是一个很变态的讨论。你又要代表你的 charity，和别人竞争来争取这笔钱，又要公允地讨论哪个最重要，非常矛盾。而且更不幸的是本人分到的charity是保护动物的，当然动物也重要，可是别人的都是什么帮助一些国家战后重建，救助爱滋病儿童等等比我的“高尚”很多的charity。我几乎无从辩起，惨败。我的charity被评为最不重要。然后是看一个case写report，case是关于一个虚拟城市的一个building应该租给谁的问题，候选的好像有公司也有大学。具体的不太记得。最后是一个presentation，题目是“Why do you want to work in finance in local government?”，这个是事先准备好的。Present完后会被提问。
Thank you for the time and effort you have committed to applying to KPMG. One of our graduate recruitment team has now personally assessed your application and I regret to inform you that you have not been short-listed to the next stage of our recruitment process. This decision is based upon a range of factors including your:
Academic performance Work Experience Career Motivation Statement
In your case, the primary reason for not taking your application forward was the quality of the evidence you provided of your motivation to pursue a career with KPMG. With over 8,000 applications for 700 positions, competition is inevitably very intense and I regret to say that in comparison to the pool of candidates we are able to select from, your knowledge of KPMG and your understanding of the role you applied for was not as strong as other applications we have received. After taking this account and reviewing your other responses to our application we have regrettably decided not to pursue your application to the next stage.
We also promised to give you some detailed feedback on your responses to our Business Awareness Questionnaire. This feedback is based on a comparison of your responses to those of the total applications we received from your responses.
Please log onto the system at http://www.kpmgapplygrad.co.uk/index.asp to view your feedback.
To help you reflect upon this feedback and take account of it in your future career planning you might find it helpful to discuss this analysis with a Careers Adviser. We regret that we cannot give you any further comment on your application but should you wish to re-apply to KPMG you would be most welcome to do so in twelve months time.
question: What attracts you to the position you have applied for? Why do you want to work for KPMG? What do you think you will be doing in your first Year at KPMG?
answer:
A company's success relies on the knowledge and skills of people. For me, the answer to find a suitable company to work for depends how much the company cares about their own people.
KPMG Personal Development is supported throughout career, to meet the demands of the business and themselves.
KPMG assigned all staff with a personal performance counselor, which is fantastic for staff to set up their objectives and review their performance regularly. These objectives are designed to help them deliver against business requirements, whilst developing their skills. Strengths can be developed and weaknesses addressed. All these have attracted me in applying to KPMG.
I remember going to my careers centre at university and being told that KPMG was one of the top firms to work for in my interests. I knew there will be a lot of competition for a job there and the rigorous interview process certainly reflected this. It was worth it though and being part of the team here at KPMG must be something to be proud of!
The first year in KPMG should be very challenging. However, bare in mind, as a first year trainee, it is more likely to undertake a number of common tasks whilst sometimes being given tough tasks.
Although I believe I have come a long way to cope that based on my current experience, I realize that I still have tremendous amount to learn from KPMG.
KPMG definitely is the right choice and challenge that are second to none.
1. generally you should answer the question one by one. like alfredo said you didn't say what actually attract you to apply for the position as you didn't even specify the sub service line you are applying for. different roles require different qualities, and the recuiters are looking for the key words.
2.for question like why KPMG, it is good to say that you have been to the recruitment events and met their friendly staff in person, but no need to say 'I remember going to my careers centre at university and being told that KPMG was one of the top firms to work for in my interests. I knew there will be a lot of competition for a job there and the rigorous interview process certainly reflected this. It was worth it though and being part of the team here at KPMG must be something to be proud of!'. The above is toooo common sense.
instead, show some figures like, for eg,KPMG achieve global revenue of XXX (check it from their annual report) billions dollar, of which 1008 millions pound attribute by UK member; in KPMG on average 2500 pounds was spent on staff’s training and development every year; they have donated more than 8 millions pounds over the years to help disadvantage youngster. they serve 87% of FTSE100, etc, etc, etc. then add up your points.
3. they give a good introduction of what you will be doing as a first year trainee on their website. when you mention the ' common tasks', you should clearify what they are instead of 'being given tough tasks.
you didn't mention the qualification, client-based work, even some common qualities such as team working skills, which are all very important.
4. no need to say 'Although I believe I have come a long way to cope that based on my current experience, I realize that I still have tremendous amount to learn from KPMG.
KPMG definitely is the right choice and challenge that are second to none.'
5. some magazines like 'accountancy age' will help. always ask your careers advisors to check your application (every single one) before you submit it.
after reading ur question answered, i will reject your application. i cannot see any points in your application form for what career routesyou are suited for and the reason. you did not showed your commercial awareness and motivation as well, even no further evidence to prove that.
not only mentioned your english writing.
i will suggest you,
why you are intersted in the specific position, you need meet each kpmg's requirements, when listing the reasons you are interested in the specific position, make sure these reasons render you an 'asset' to your employer.
i hope my tips can give more assistants to your future career application
KPMG was formed in 1987 with the merger of Peat Marwick International (PMI) and Klynveld Main Goerdeler (KMG) and their individual member firms. Spanning three centuries, the organization's history can be traced through the names of its principal founding members - whose initials form the name "KPMG."
K stands for Klynveld. Piet Klynveld founded the accounting firm Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co. in Amsterdam in 1917. P is for Peat. William Barclay Peat founded the accounting firm William Barclay Peat & Co. in London in 1870. M stands for Marwick. James Marwick founded the accounting firm Marwick, Mitchell & Co. with Roger Mitchell in New York City in 1897. G is for Goerdeler. Dr. Reinhard Goerdeler was for many years chairman of Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft and later chairman of KPMG. He is credited with laying much of the groundwork for the KMG merger.
终于在毕业前找到工作
个人背景: 来到英国快3年. Undergraduate Student, BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
2003 年10月开学后,再也不敢掉以轻心. 我从11月就开始填申请表. 第一轮是各大银行的. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, etc. 但是都被reject 了. 百思不得其解, 我也不觉得自己的成绩或者经历很差, 所以拿了我的表去问学校的career service advisor. 他们的conclusion 就是我的申请表里没有show Commercial Awareness. 譬如帮公司增加营业额, 争取顾客之类的. 而大银行特别看重这些经验. 但那时我有一些心灰意冷, 觉得自己可能不是做银行的料. 所以就开始看engineering companies.
最大的麻烦就是Work Permit, 很多engineering公司都不帮我们办, 这个我也不多说了. 所以我觉得我们学校career service 的最大好处就是, 他们给出了 一个会帮外国学生申请WP的公司list , 所以省了我不少事, 我就按那个 list 一个一个apply. 我一共申请了14 家, 都在Christmas holiday 结束前就apply完了. 可是到了2月头都还没有一点消息. 我害怕最后一个工作都找不到, 而且又没学上, 不能留在英国. 所以开始准备一个backup plan. 我apply 了Deutsche Bank 的summer internship in Technology division, 又apply 一个master course. Deustche Bank 的application form 我花了3天来填, 我觉得是有必要的, and made sure it was tailor made, 每个example我都有show commercial awareness.
没想到过了不久, 收到了 WS Atkins (engineering consultancy)的 first round telephone interview 和 Corus (metal manufacturer)的first round telephone interview. 那时候已是send application 后两个月的事了. 两个telephone interview 在同一天, 所以有点stressed. 准备工作就是read company websites; school career service asked for advices; prepare potential questions; prepare relevant life experiences; read my application form. 然后就叫我的朋友问问题, 我回答, 并用recording pen 录音. Recording pen 是很有用的东西, 尤其是telephone interview, 听自己的声音才知道有多差! Interview 当天把所有人都赶出家门. 一切顺利. Atkins 9 minutes, Corus 45 minutes. 我也录音了. 第二天就收到了Atkins 的 final round interview.
Deutsche Bank 也给了我first round interview. 有2 to 1 interview 和psychometric test. 准备工作: 1. company website 2. other online newspapers and BBS forum for Deustsche Bank related news and comments.(我觉得这个挺有用的) 3. free online psychometric test preparation. 这里推荐两个很好的网页. - http://www.derby.ac.uk/careers/onlinepsychotesting.htm - JP Morgan career website 4. 学校的career service again! Interview 当天, 很多题问都在意料之中, 所以比较轻松. Psychometric test 33 题我做了26题. 我觉得practice online psychometric tests 是很有用的. 我practice 的时候每次都只有50, 60 percentile, JP morgan 的只能做对15 题, out of 28. 但我一直不停练, 总会提高的. 最后我Deutsche Bank 的test拿了90 percentile.
过了两天, 收到了Deutsche Bank final round assessment centre. 他们的HR 也给了我一些feedback, 她说我对Deutsche Bank 的了解已经很够了, 但是我对整个banking industry 的了解不够, 还有对别的banks的了解也不够, 她希望我在第二轮improve. 所以第二轮准备工作: 1. 从学校career service 找来一些banking jobs related 的书, 很容易找的. E.g. Doctorjob, Prospectus, eFinnancial careers, Targets. 然后开始背所有的banking terms. E.g. bond, hedge funds, futures and options, etc. 2. Search for all recent news about Deutsche Bank and other big banks. 3. 问我的前辈关于assessment centre 的情形. Assessment centre 当天, 我倒不是很怕interview , 最怕的是group exercise. 我已经参加了两个学校organize 的 assessment centre 来练兵. 但没去过正式的. 而事实上group exercise 竞争很激烈. 我们一组有6个人, 要讨论一个新口味啤酒的开发. 一说开始, 每个人都抢着发言, 我原本想好要讲的东西一早就被人抢去讲了. 所以只好再仔细的读提供的information, 想一些别人没有讲到的点子. 重复别人的话没用. 整个30分钟的group exercise, 我只发了3次言, 但每一次都made sure 比较长, 有新意. 两个Interview中, 我在第一轮回答的不好的问题又被重复了一次.
一个星期后, 终于拿到了Desutsche Bank 的internship offer, HR的人说我在group exercise 中一开始很安静, 不太讲话, 但后来习惯环境后, Think before I speak! 之后我又去了Atkins的final round assessment centre. 也拿到了他们的permanent job offer. 过程很长, 我以后另开一篇写. 如果大家想知道interview 的问题, 我也可以写出来, 因为Atkins我有录音. Deutsche 的记不全了.
以上就是一部分心得, 希望对各位还在找的有一些帮助. 有几点我觉得很重要: 1. 学校的career service 很有用, 要好好利用. 2. 如果在英国找不到summer job, 回国找也很好, 在国内靠关系有靠关系的好处, 可以联系去一些大的银行, 公司实习, 可以不要工资, 但这个经验一定要, 如果CV上有大公司的名字, 拿到first round interview 的机会大大提高. 3. 机会难得, 一旦有了, 一定要做好非常非常充足的准备工作. 4. 不要放弃! 屡败屡战! 我也曾经几乎对自己全无信心, 但还是keep on trying! 总会有机会的! p.s. 会帮外国学生申请WP的公司 1. ABN AMRO 2. Atkins 3. Booz Allen Hamilton 4. BP PLC 5. CIBC world markets 6. Citigoup 7. Corus 8. Credit Suisse First Boston 9. Delotte & Touche 10. Deutsche Bank 11. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein 12. Ernst & Young 13. GKN plc 14. Marakon Associates 15. Mckingsey & Company 16. Morgan Stanley 17. OC&C strategy consultants 18. Pricewaterhousecoopers 19. P&G 20. Renishaw PLC 21. Rolls Royce 22. Shell 23. Towers Perrin 24. UBS 25. Watson Wyatt
that's a great list. however, the work for each company can be very different. the candidate should not blindly apply for any company that does work permits, but choose one set where the skill set is applicable.
1. ABN AMRO 5. CIBC world markets 6. Citigoup 8. Credit Suisse First Boston 10. Deutsche Bank 11. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein 16. Morgan Stanley 24. UBS
these are investment banks. there are different workstreams in investment banks. i presume you applied for their information technology section? in any case, the competition for ib jobs are fierce. for example, abn amro recently fired 50% of their equity research division. the work at ibs are very demanding. at deutsche bank, we are talking about 70-100 hours of work per week. of course they also remunerate very well.
3. Booz Allen Hamilton 14. Marakon Associates 15. Mckingsey & Company 17. OC&C strategy consultants
these are management consultancies. first of all, booz allen hamilton will not take anyone who does not speak a second european language (fluently). secondly, these four companies probably take in less than 20 people each year in total. make sure you know you are competing against 3000 applicants (all top graduates from tier 1 universities) for each company's 5 places.
9. Delotte & Touche 12. Ernst & Young 18. Pricewaterhousecoopers
these are the 3 of 4 big accountancies that do work permits. unless you want to become an accountant then don't consider them. to be honest, i think they are relatively easy to get into if your degree is maths based.
these are your typical "engineering" firms. bp and shell are oil, rolls royce are engines, corus are steel, p&g are fmcg (fast moving consumer goods). the jobs for these companies are usually based in some remote location. the competition is again very tough.
overall, the companies listed are generally in the times top 100. expect a lot of competition. as little height pointed out, preparation is very important, starting with your application. a good application will get you an interview, but a good performance at an interview based on preparation and confidence will get you the job.
我的经历如下, 应该不吓人吧. 呵呵, 这样岂不是暴露身份. 10/03-present MAGIC MATHEMATICS Travelling Circus, Flintshire, UK What were your main duties? - Coordinated with Operations Director to organise maths exhibitions for students at schools, museums and discovery centres. - Instructed and guided the students at exhibitions What was your greatest contribution? - I and two other colleagues organised a one-day maths exhibition for around 180 pupils in Virgo Fidelis Prep School, London. The exhibition was very successful such that the school was willing to pay for our visit on a regular basis. What key skills have you developed? -I have learnt to plan in detail and in advance. Effective communication between the school, and I would ensure the success of the event. In addition, giving presentations for pupils developed my presentation skills.
08/03-09/03 Fumon Systems International Limited, China What were your main duties? ? Internship, International Business Division ? Teamwork in drafting the tender for the project to develop a “Supply Chain Management (SCM)” software ? Negotiated the joint venture between Fuzhong Computer Co., Ltd. and Monash International Ltd. (India) (represented Fuzhong) ? Liased with officials from Science and Technology Bureau. What was your greatest contribution? During the negotiation between Monash and Fuzhong, I successfully helped Fuzhong to persuade Monash to agree to set up the major research and manufacturing base in China instead of in India. I also successfully assisted to persuade Monash to invest more capital in the joint venture. What key skills have you developed? I have learnt negotiation skills from other colleagues. Sometimes I needed to work on weekends and had meeting till midnight, but it was understandable as commitment is essential to the business.
12/01-05/03 Prime Time Video Entertainments, London, UK What were your main duties? ? Customer service representative and the store key holder ? Ensured financial performance of the store, accuracy of the cash flow ? Resolved customer queries and handled problems under emergency What was your greatest contribution? The store system once didn’t automatically adjust its time when summer time ended. It resulted in wrong prices charged to customers. I immediately reported this to the area manager, and meanwhile handwrote down all transactions. It prevented the complaints from customers and also a loss to the store. What key skills have you developed? Persuading customer to rent or buy movies based on my good product knowledge made me more diplomatic. Customer-focus is critical to achieve store’s commercial goal. I also learnt to handle problems under emergency.
07/03-08/03 Ericsson Panda Communications Company Ltd., China What were your main duties? ? Internship, Research & Development Centre ? Studied the detailed service path of the mobile systems ? Analysed Base Station Controller platform (BSC) ? Tested upgrading patches for Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) What was your greatest contribution? Working with different teams in the R&D centre as Ericsson wanted to integrate a few operating systems of defferent division together. What key skills have you developed? I appreciated more the importance of the coordination and teamwork. In this case, delay of one team affected the whole process. I also learnt to understand the complexity of project management.
Please give details of a technical project undertaken as part of your undergraduate degree (Max 100 words) * My final year project is closely related to 3G network - to examine a new scheduling method for transmitting data packages from network operator to users such that the transmission rate is maximised. This is desired as the revenue of network operator depends on the amount of date sent to the users, maximisation of the transmission rate would maximise the revenue. The project involves the study of mathematical model of conventional and new scheduling methods; programming and designing of simulations under MATLAB environment; and also analysing of simulation results. It combines statistics, program designing, and results analysing.
有的experience美化一下,可以很impressive, 譬如我的prime time part time job, 说白了就是收银员. 另外处处都可以show commercial awareness, 譬如我在technical project 里面的黑色highlight
