Of the many companies I applied for, I found Deloitte to be very efficient in processing my application and kept me up to date with my progress. Rather than demanding mini essay responses on their online application form, they ask you to bullet point. For me this was an early thumbs up! After my application was accepted I was asked to complete a numerical and verbal reasoning test online. These are standard tests for those of you who have been through the process. If not then these tests aren't something to be afraid of, I found that they gave me enough time to complete all the questions with enough time to consider each one in turn. Having successfully completed these tests I was invited to come into the offices to complete an e-tray exercise. This task consisted of an hour (I think) on a computer, responding to emails from an imaginary client. The questions covered basic mathematics (percentages, ratios etc.), studying charts and graphs, organising staff rotas and many other random little things. I think it's difficult to prepare for this one though there is an example online if you do a quick search. My one tip would be to not panic! If you're convinced there's no file or info that answers a question, then just look again. It's all there! After this exercise we were given documents covering three imaginary companies and we had to make recommendations to the client as to which they should invest in and why. I found time to be really tight on this one. My mistake was assuming that reading through the notes and extracting the key points would take most of the time and the write up would be easy. In fact even after highlighting all the key info, to put it all into a cohesive arguement is tough! If you've written a lot of essays at uni (I did Maths so I'm terrible) then I'm sure this won't be as hard as I found it. The next stage (Stage 4) is a one-on-one interview with a senior manager on the line you are applying for. Of course every manager is going to be different, some will encourage and some bully. Luckily I had the former and the interview was actually quite laid back. The format is to answer the usual competency based questions (organisation, time management, working to goals, making decisions) with two examples of each. After a discussion of my motivations (Why Deloitte?, Why tax? etc.) then a chance to ask some questions. I know that you're supposed to come in with prepared questions but I can't help but feel they hear the same questions over and over. I just asked questions that naturally arose through the interview and that was fine. (Tip: Bring in pen and paper and make notes yourself and then refer to these when asking questions, the manager said it impressed him!) I really focused on building a rapport with the manager and we got on quite well and I feel this was very important. They don't want drones to recite scripted answers, it's not realistic and I think a question managers ask is would I want to work with this person and would they get on in the environment we provide. So being pleasant, smiling, eye contact, good handshake, open body language goes a really long way. The next and final step (phew!) was an interview with the partner of your service line. One thing that Deloitte refused to do was tell me who, stating that the partner could change at the last minute. This was a little annoying as I really wanted to show I'd researched the interviewer so would be able to engage him/her on the kind of work they were conducting. Apart from this fact, the partner interview is the best stage of the process. They want to see that you're really interested in the service line applied for and that you can engage in an intellectual and convincing way. I was asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation on the budget and presented this with discussion afterwards. We then discussed my education and my time abroad and my direction in life. After this (perhaps 45 mins), he asked if I had any questions. Now, if I can offer one bit of advice that you take away from this whole write up, ask the partner about they're career. My partner talked way over the allotted interview time and all I did was nod, make a couple of interested points and ask him to explain a few technical points relating to tax. He did this with great relish and then the interview was done. We took the lift together, shook hands and said goodbye. He told me I'd know in the next three days. He phoned me that evening to tell me he would like to offer me the job. So after two months, it was all very much worth the worry and stress and I look forward to starting in September.