Failed Deloitte Audit AC, need help in Consultancy

I applied for Audit with Deloitte about a month ago. I know the competition is tough so i've put a huge amount of effort, but still, just managed to get to the final stage. I got the rejection letter today and have been very depressed for the whole day.

My interviews went really well and I genuinely enjoyed the whole thing. But i did badly at the e-tray email replying part. I think some people in this forum were right when saying there's a benchmark for the e-tray exercise. It's indeed painful to fail at the very last stage especially when you've put a lot of effort and you know you did well during interviews. But I've no regret as i tried my best and did everything i possibly could and really learned a lot throughout the whole process. Ironically, it made me realise I've been working towards the wrong goal from the very beginning - I found out audit is not really for me.

I'll be looking into consultancy and advisory instead. I'm under the impression that consultancy requires more communication and persuasion skills apart from analytical skills. I think this is something i'll enjoy doing. Could anybody tell me if there is anything i need to know before I do my research and apply for consultancy related jobs and what graduate schemes are available?

Any help or advice is welcome. Thank you very much in advance.

PS. By the way, if anybody wants to know what's happening at Deloitte's assessment centre, I'll be happy to offer my limited experience.

Reply 1

ma2k5

14

Consultancy/advisory are much harder to get into then audit - The competition is fierce, places are limited, and you will be battling alot of people cream of the crop - Much much toughter than audit... So kind of strange you jumping from audit to consultancy.

However - chance would depend on your qualifications/experience. Do you mind disclosing A levels/uni/experience etc? Sorry for the negativity, my intention isn't to put you off but I am also not going to be optimistic to give falsehope (could be a waste of time on your behalf), but rather realistic.

Reply 2

little123457

OP

ma2k5

Consultancy/advisory are much harder to get into then audit - The competition is fierce, places are limited, and you will be battling alot of people cream of the crop - Much much toughter than audit... So kind of strange you jumping from audit to consultancy.

However - chance would depend on your qualifications/experience. Do you mind disclosing A levels/uni/experience etc? Sorry for the negativity, my intention isn't to put you off but I am also not going to be optimistic to give falsehope (could be a waste of time on your behalf), but rather realistic.

Thank you, ma2k5. I've realised it's much tougher to get into consultancy. I bought 3 books on consultancy today and I'm nearly 1/3 through on one of them. I've learned a lot of things I didn't know and am finding it very exciting. I think I'll give it shot, although it sounds quite daunting. I believe if it's something I really want to do I should try my best and as long as I'm determined, well organised I'll get there with a bit of luck, hopefully.

Unfortunately, my educational background doesn't help at all. Actually, everything is working against me. My first degree is English literature and linguistics; masters' interpreting and translating. They had nothing to do with business by the sound of it, although I did interpret at business forums and seminars and learned a lot from the clients. Worse still, as you might have guessed now, English is not my first language which means I'm much less competitive in the UK market. My first degree was done in China, MA from the University of Bath, and I've been in the UK for about 2 years. Since graduating from Bath, I've been doing 3 part-times simultaneously. That's why it took me so long to apply for Deloitte and I was rejected. I’ve asked them for some constructive feedback and I hope they’ll get back to me. I was upset for a while but with no regret. You might find it a bit strange, but I'm actually feeling grateful. I think the whole process kind of helped me discover what I really want to do.

I need to find out more about business consultancy before I make any further attempt. I'd be really grateful if any one could help. Thank you.

Reply 3

ma2k5

14

I see, well good luck.

Reply 4

love2learn

4

If you got a rejection letter, I'm guessing no one called you? You should be able to call for feedback, and then you'll know more going forward. For example, it may just be that the E-tray let you down and everything else was really positive, so you know that actually, you're a good candidate. You may just need more practice with the E-tray. There are some practice E-trays online.

Equally, any interview feedback is bound to do you well in the future. I've found interview feedback to be invaluable.

Reply 5

little123457

OP

love2learn

If you got a rejection letter, I'm guessing no one called you? You should be able to call for feedback, and then you'll know more going forward. For example, it may just be that the E-tray let you down and everything else was really positive, so you know that actually, you're a good candidate. You may just need more practice with the E-tray. There are some practice E-trays online.

Equally, any interview feedback is bound to do you well in the future. I've found interview feedback to be invaluable.

Thank you, love2learn. I'll call them if I don't receive anything from them on Monday. Could you please tell where I could find more practice E-trays?

Reply 6

love2learn

4

little123457

Thank you, love2learn. I'll call them if I don't receive anything from them on Monday. Could you please tell where I could find more practice E-trays?

You're welcome! :smile:

Always happy to help. I just googled to find some. I think this one's pretty good as there are sample answers which explain the reasoning. Should give you a better idea of how to tackle them...

http://www.careerweb.leeds.ac.uk/students/applications/e-tray.asp

This one is a different format, and I can't remember whether there are sample answers or not...

http://www.faststream.gov.uk/index.asp?txtNavID=140

Reply 7

Wstroud

1

"there's a benchmark for the e-tray exercise" there isn't one, the e-tray excercise isn't about right and wrong answers but is designed to show your pattern of thinking to see if you are a "fit for the business".

On a slightly more positive note, an MA from Bath is not going to rule you out of Big 4 consultancy jobs and neither is a degree in English so there is no need to worry about that. That said, consultancy is quite difficult to get into, and therefore you need to think carefully about your C.V, what do you bring to the company, what have you done that other people have not and why you are a good fit for the business. If you can do all of that, then you may well get interviews.

good luck.

Reply 8

little123457

OP

Thank you, love2learn and Wstroud.

Time really flies! Can't believe it's been 4 days since I last visited here. I've been very busy with my part-time jobs these days and coping with all the changes. The problem is I'm offered another part-time job in a newly established business which sounds quite promising and the job itself has great potential to turn into a full-time one. But if I accept this job I will have even less time looking for a proper full-time job and I really want a graduate training programme where I can learn things in a structured way. If I turn it down, I will be facing very difficult financial situation in 2 months and it takes a real miracle for me to land a graduate scheme in 2 months.

I have two days to consider and I wonder what a sensible person would do in this kind of situation. Any ideas, advice, suggestions are more than welcome.

Reply 9

Wstroud

1

take the job - if you want to work in the professional services then going bankrupt or something like that is probably the worst thing that you could possibly do.

A few months or whatever is not going to close any doors particularly, but i recommend you at least casually look for finance jobs if thats what you are really interested in.

Reply 10

fuglyduckling

2

Take the job and delay signing a contract for as long as possible :smile:

Reply 11

aryan20

yea little take the Job, ur gona play more safe with it, that without it, in ur situation.

ny1 has any idea of a CFA
how cud a CFA and an ACCA combo work to enter the IB arena
of course CFA requires a 4 yr. exp in investment banking for the charter
but dont u think clearning the 3 levels + the acca , may make a way to the IB sector.

Reply 12

mikeyT

2

aryan20

yea little take the Job, ur gona play more safe with it, that without it, in ur situation.

ny1 has any idea of a CFA
how cud a CFA and an ACCA combo work to enter the IB arena
of course CFA requires a 4 yr. exp in investment banking for the charter
but dont u think clearning the 3 levels + the acca , may make a way to the IB sector.

Please don't use text speak and learn to write proper sentences, i.e. using full stops and capital letters. It's in the TSR rules.

Anyway, like others have said, take the job. Its only part time so you should have plenty of time to research various graduate schemes and it will keep your finances in order for a while. I assume you've already done quite a bit of research into audit so this should give you a little head start for consultancy. Good luck.

Reply 13

the_mars_volta

11

little123457

I bought 3 books on consultancy today and I'm nearly 1/3 through on one of them. I've learned a lot of things I didn't know and am finding it very exciting

Please can you tell me what the titles are? Also, do you think they are worth buying?

Reply 14

love2learn

4

little123457

Thank you, love2learn and Wstroud.

Time really flies! Can't believe it's been 4 days since I last visited here. I've been very busy with my part-time jobs these days and coping with all the changes. The problem is I'm offered another part-time job in a newly established business which sounds quite promising and the job itself has great potential to turn into a full-time one. But if I accept this job I will have even less time looking for a proper full-time job and I really want a graduate training programme where I can learn things in a structured way. If I turn it down, I will be facing very difficult financial situation in 2 months and it takes a real miracle for me to land a graduate scheme in 2 months.

I have two days to consider and I wonder what a sensible person would do in this kind of situation. Any ideas, advice, suggestions are more than welcome.

Did you ever get feedback from Deloitte?? If not, call them. They're really helpful and can tell you exactly where you slipped up.

Reply 15

sg231

PS. By the way, if anybody wants to know what's happening at Deloitte's assessment centre, I'll be happy to offer my limited experience.

Hey,
please, please, please fill me in on the assessment day side of things... in particular... Was the Case study on the etray "Trafford Lea"? or has it changed since last year?! and also, if you had a partner interview, what kind of questions did you face?

Many thanks in advance

Reply 16

stosie

I had my assesment day last week and it was trafford lea. Don't worry though, you get all the information on the internet and more! The interview was ok, the woman who did mine was really nice. It was just competencies and why you wanted to do the job. The only question I found hard was "tell me about a big/significant decision you have had to make. You get to go out for a nice lunch aswell so don't have a big breakfast at 11 like I did!

Reply 17

sg231

Hey, thanks for tht! just a couple a q's following up on it...

1) the interview you are talking about, was it the partner interview?? i didnt think the partner interview was anything like the first one... ie, no competencies... ??

2) are you applying to london?? and is it for a Summer vacation place or a full time graduate position that youve applied to?!

ps, will be sure not to have a late breakfast!! thanks

Reply 18

stosie

I applied to London summer vacation actuarial so I only had 1 interview, the etray is the same for everyone though.

Reply 19

Blue_nite

Just a bit out of topic here, but still about Deloitte... I was asked to do Tax Questionnaire since I applied for the division. Can anybody tell me what it is like please? Thanx a lot.

Failed Deloitte Audit AC, need help in Consultancy

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