Have you just graduated with an accounting degree and ready to work for one of the big four? Getting a job at Deloitte could be the perfect career move to launch yourself into the world of finance and professional services.
As the world's largest professional services network, by both numbers of employees and annual revenue, hundreds of professionals are vying for a job at the billion-dollar London-based company nearly every day. Although competition is high, with the right skills and qualifications and lots of application and interview prep, getting hired by Deloitte is completely achievable.
With offices in more than 150 countries across the globe, the multinational company specializes in audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and legal services.
As such, getting hired by the 176-year-old professional services firm typically requires a refined financial background, top-notch auditing and legal skills, and extensive education or professional experience.
If you’ve got what it takes to work for Deloitte, the job application and interview is your time to shine. To help you nail your interview and move through the hiring process quickly, we’ve rounded up the most common Deloitte interview questions and tips on how to answer them.
By following the tips outlined in this interview guide, you’ll be performing audits, managing tax and legal projects, and providing financial advice in no time.
Getting a job at Deloitte takes precision, professionalism, and extreme skill. Knowing what to expect and thoroughly preparing for your job interview will ensure you come across as an informed, composed, and the capable applicant and even help you have a more successful interview experience with one of the world’s largest privately-owned companies.
Here’s a rough rundown of what to expect at your Deloitte job interview:
Submit an application. Submitting a polished job application is, quite possibly, the single most important part of the hiring process. Sending in a thorough, edited, and carefully compiled job application is the fastest path to getting an interview and ultimately getting hired by Deloitte.
Although job applications can certainly be submitted online, a fair amount of Deloitte employees initially applied for their job at college career fairs or through employee referrals.
Having a personal connection at the company, whether with a professional in your network or a hiring manager you connected with, will significantly boost your chances of being called in for an interview.
First interview. If Deloitte hiring managers are impressed with your application, you’ll be contacted for an interview. You can typically expect to hear back from them via email or phone within one to three months.
Depending on the position you’re applying to and the location of the job, the first round of interviews may either be conducted in person, over the phone or via Skype or video conference.
No matter the role, the first interview for a job at Deloitte is most often done by a human resources representative and consists of general interview questions, including critical thinking and resume-based questions.
Sometimes, Deloitte’s first round of interviews also consists of a short JAM, or Just A Minute, round, where a job applicant is given topics to speak on for one minute.
Second interview. If you aced your first interview with Deloitte, your work’s not over yet. Most new employees hired by Deloitte are required to make it through two to three rounds of interviews.
The second interview may be completed immediately following the first, especially if your first interview was conducted in person. Deloitte is known for extensively interviewing job candidates, more often than not requiring applicants to report to one of their more than 700 global locations for a full day of interviewing.
The second job interview with Deloitte normally consists of about 30 minutes of behavioral and situational interview questions.
The interview is usually conducted by a senior manager and includes a heap of situational interview questions, especially if you're applying for a very specialized or technical role, like, for example, an engineer or programmer.
Third interview. Finally, following the second interview, especially if you’re applying for an advanced or highly technical role within the company, you’ll likely be required to make it through one more round of questioning with a senior manager, partner, department director, or even a panel of interviewers.
The third interview is reserved for only the most qualified candidates and is your path to employment. It's especially critical to put your best foot forward during the third interview as your every word will be analyzed and assessed.
Like the second interview, the third interview typically consists of more situational and job-specific interview questions.
Pre-employment aptitude testing. At this point, you’ve made it through Deloitte’s grueling interview process, but you’re not quite out of the woods yet.
Depending on the specific role you’re applying for and your skill level and professional experience, you may be asked to complete an aptitude test to further assess your abilities to perform the job.
The Deloitte pre-employment aptitude test commonly includes a quantitative, logical, and verbal reasoning section designed to evaluate your capabilities.
For some roles, like an audit associate or computer programmer, the test may be more involved, requiring applicants to complete a mock audit, answer additional numerical questions, or write a java algorithm.
Orientation and training. Once you’ve been given a formal job offer, the only thing left in the onboarding process is orientation and training. During this phase, you’ll typically also be asked to fill out paperwork, consent to a background check and fingerprinting, and take an employee drug test.
All Deloitte employees, no matter the position, are required to participate in new employee orientation, consisting of a comprehensive review of company policies and procedures.
Following orientation, you’ll begin your new role, usually entering into a training or probationary period for the first several months. Depending on the role or your level of expertise, you may be required to undergo extensive one-on-one training or virtually none at all.
To help bring you one step closer to getting hired for your dream job with Deloitte, we’ve rounded up the seven most common Deloitte interview questions with example answers and specific tips on what to say to put your best foot forward and highlight your most desirable skills and qualifications.
Reviewing some of the most common interview questions asked by Deloitte hiring managers will help you prepare and go into the interview with a clear head and a precise and thought-out plan of what to say. Doing a mock interview with these typically asked questions before the big day can be a great way of setting yourself up for success and getting ready for your job interview.
Here are the top seven most commonly asked Deloitte interview questions and example answers:
What made you apply for a position at Deloitte? Hiring managers in every industry love asking this question to gauge your interest and see what you know about the company you’re applying to. Deloitte is no different.
How to answer: Be ready to answer this question by researching Deloitte ahead of time and familiarizing yourself with your company culture, mission, and professional values. In your answer, try to highlight your own skills and at least one thing that attracted you to the company.
Example Answer:
As an experienced and qualified financial analyst, I’m committed to delivering my clients with the best possible service and equipping them with the knowledge to make sound financial decisions.
I’ve been eager to make a bigger impact on my community and was attracted to this role because your organization is well known for its unequivocal market success, high levels of growth, and inclusive work environment.
What do you know about Deloitte? No matter what position you’re applying for at Deloitte, you’ll more than likely be asked this question, or something similar, at some point during the interview process.
How to answer: Do your research before your interview and come prepared by having a few hard facts about Deloitte ready to go. As a rule of thumb, make sure you know all the basics about the company — like what they specialize in, where they’re headquartered, and when they were founded.
Example Answer:
I have been closely following Deloitte’s work throughout my undergraduate career and have been impressed by the company’s recent growth, especially by the acquisition of Terbium Labs. Deloitte has grown significantly, in fact, since it was founded in London in 1845.
As one of the Big Four, Deloitte is celebrated as being one of the largest privately-owned professional services companies. I’m confident that my skills could help Deloitte continue to grow and enrich the lives of millions of people across the globe.
How did you get into the field of accounting? Chances are, if you’re interviewing with Deloitte, you’re in the field of accounting. Deloitte hiring managers love asking this question to see where your professional interests lie.
How to answer: Recalling the specific elements of accounting that attracted you to the field and mentioning your commitment to the job is a great way of answering this common Deloitte interview question.
Example Answer:
Accounting brings me great joy. I find that the work is extremely rewarding since it both challenges and fulfills me and allows me to help people from all walks of life. My interest in analyzing financial data and calculating metrics initially drew me to the field.
Tell me about a point in your career where you used negotiation skills to change the outcome of something. This is one of the most asked questions during Deloitte job interviews. No matter the department or role, if you’re looking to get hired by Deloitte, you’ll need top-notch negotiation and communication skills.
How to answer: Try to bring up a situation in which you used negotiation skills to close a deal, help a client understand a complex idea, or change the outcome of a team meeting. In your answer, you should aim to showcase strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Example Answer:
In my last position at Ernst Young, I was able to use negotiation skills to convince a client not to seek alternate financial help with a competing agency.
After listening to the clients' concerns, I addressed their issues directly and spoke extensively with their Chief Financial Officer, ultimately negotiating a new consulting agreement that was better suited to the company’s needs. In my experience, clear and strong communication is key in any negotiation.
How do you manage multiple deadlines and tasks? At Deloitte, working fast and meeting deadlines is essential to employee success. Hiring managers are much more drawn to employees who are passionate, driven, and efficient.
How to answer: In this answer, you should aim to highlight your time management and organization skills.
Example Answer:
With more than three years of professional auditing experience, I have significantly refined my time management skills and am able to easily stay on task and manage multiple projects and deadlines on any given day.
Staying highly organized, I prioritize and plan tasks, set goals, delegate when necessary, and maintain clear communication with my team in order to meet deadlines and complete all tasks in a timely fashion.
How do you stay focused when performing audits and other tax and legal services? Working with numbers can sometimes get repetitive, but staying focused is essential to get hired by Deloitte. Hiring managers often ask this question to evaluate your ability to perform tasks and stay concentrated on the job.
How to answer: A great way of answering this is by mentioning your ability to be methodological and pay careful attention to detail when performing audits and legal services.
Example Answer:
I really enjoy performing audits and reviewing numbers. I am always hyper-aware of the task at hand, paying careful attention to detail and reviewing data for any fraud, violations, or irregularities. I approach all audits and financial reviews with an analytical and methodical approach in order to stay focussed.
What can you bring to Deloitte? Deloitte hiring managers usually always ask potential employees this question during their job interviews to further evaluate their skills and abilities.
How to answer: This is a great opportunity to let your strongest skills shine. Answer this question by touching upon any relevant experience you may have and highlighting your strongest professional qualities.
Example Answer:
With over five years of auditing and tax experience, I am confident that I can help grow and enrich Deloitte’s client base and continue to deliver the top-notch financial services that Deloitte customers expect.
I have a keen eye for detail, a vested interest in the financial system, and a proven track record of delivering exceptional results when auditing limited companies, large corporations, and small businesses.
Deloitte interviews are known for being extensive. Here’s a complete list of other common interview questions you may be asked when applying for a job at Deloitte:
Walk me through your resume.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your long-term career goals?
Tell me about a turning or defining moment in your life.
What are your salary requirements?
Who is the CEO of Deloitte?
What are your strongest technical skills?
How many times does 1 appear between 1 and 100?
Are you willing to relocate?
How did your MBA prepare you for a position at Deloitte?
Tell me about a time you used leadership skills at work.
How do you ensure accuracy in your work?
What is your leadership style?
If you’re applying for an analyst or programming position at Deloitte, you’ll likely be asked extensive technical interview questions. Be prepared to meet with Deloitte senior management and partners and answer in-depth and target interview questions on C, C++, Java, OOPs, Python, and Database software.
To help you prepare, here are ten common technical interview questions asked by Deloitte hiring managers:
What is C Programming language?
What is the difference between C and java?
What is polymorphism in programming?
How can you create and use threads in Java?
What is the difference between char and varchar in DBMS?
What is an implicit cursor?
What is a proxy server?
What do you know about machine learning?
Can you explain function overloading?
What do you know about the Python language?
Financial advisory and consulting positions are among the most popular careers at Deloitte. If you’re searching for a career in finances and accounting, interviewing to be a Deloitte financial advisor could be a lucrative and invigorating career choice.
To help you nail your financial advisory interview, we’ve rounded up the ten most common role-specific questions asked by Deloitte hiring managers:
What is your background in accounting and/or finance?
How advanced are your excel skills?
What do you consider before giving clients financial advice?
Tell me about a time when you had to multitask?
How do you curate client relationships?
What is the most important aspect of financial consulting and advising?
What specific financial projects have you worked on in the past?
What risks would you weigh before making financial decisions on behalf of Deloitte?
In your own words, tell me about macroeconomics.
If a company was struggling financially and called you for advice, what would be the first thing you look at?