My Deloitte Insider Program application process experience

Posted on: July 13, 2022

Post Category: Student Experience

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During my pre-penultimate/second year of University, mid-2020, I took part in the Deloitte Insider Program. Last week, I shared a post going through some of the highlights from my experience taking part in the program, and some of the tips I had for student participants. In this post, I decided to do a follow-up and write about my experience with the application process as I figured that might be insightful too.

Again, for quick context, as per my last blog post, the Deloitte Insider Program is a program dedicated to pre-penultimate-year University students who are interested in gaining an insider’s perspective of Deloitte. Over the past two years, the program lasted a week long and involved many virtual sessions where different business units would showcase their different teams and the work that they did. Generally, students who participated in the program would eventually be fast-tracked to the Assessment Centre stage for next year’s summer intern recruitment process.

This blog post will go over my motivations for applying, my experience during the application process and some of my application tips. While I can’t provide insight into how the application process will actually be like this year, I hope this blog post gives some insight based on the experience I had two years ago and what I have heard about last year’s application process.

Overall, it was worthwhile taking part in the program and getting to know more about Deloitte, and my experience in the program has been a huge help in getting me an intern offer (and eventually a return graduate offer at Deloitte). You can read more about my experience taking part in the program and tips for students taking part in the program here.

My motivation for applying and my application process experience

Back in my second-year, I figured joining the program would be a good opportunity for me to get some exposure to the industry and help myself in securing an intern role down the road. After researching the company, and reading about some of the good things about the people and culture, I also thought it would be nice to learn more about that aspect of the business by hearing from representatives from the company.

The recruitment process for the Insider Program was pretty simple and involved the following:

1. Written application
2. Psychometric test
3. Video interview*

*Note that during the year I applied for the program (2020), I had a phone call interview instead of a video one. I do share the experience I had with this below, and I will also share the experiences of a peer who applied and got accepted into the program last year.

For the written application, it was pretty standard. I got to submit an application via Deloitte’s recruitment portal by filling in my personal details and preferred business units, and uploading a copy of my resume, cover letter and academic transcript.

The psychometric took me about one hour to two hours to complete, and it involved an online game, a questionnaire and another online game – in that order.

Both online games essentially were there to test your ability to learn and apply new information. As a high-level overview, these games involve filling in the gaps of a process/sequence by dragging and dropping in different nodes that apply certain rules.

For example, you have unclean water at the start of the sequence and clean water at the end of the sequence, and your job is to slot in the correct filters (the nodes) that will get you from the unclean and clean sample. But it is your job to figure what each filter/node does to the sample and determine the correct order to place them.

Each game has about 7 rounds and each round progressively gets a bit more difficult with more nodes being added that you could use.

Personally, I have found the second game to be easier than the first, since the rules were easier to interpret and remember.

The questionnaire was a standard personality test, where you are given a couple of statements and, for each, you would select the extent to which you agree or disagree. At the end of the psychometric test, I got shared a report showing the results from my questionnaire.

After doing my test, I got a phone call from one of the members of the recruitment team, and during the phone call, I was asked a few motivational questions before I was given an offer to participate in the program.

The motivational questions I was asked during this interview were pretty standard. I was asked about my motivation to join the program, and why I chose my preferred business units.

Though, last year, this stage was replaced by a video interview.

From what I have heard from a peer, there were two motivational questions and you were given the questions well before the deadline to record your answers.

After the interview, I then heard back from the recruitment team, by email, regarding the outcome of my application.

My tips for applicants

Below are some of my tips for anyone who is looking into applying for the program – based on my personal experience:

• Be familiar with the company culture and expectations of the industry. Have some understanding about what would be considered positive behaviour at the company or the industry. At a professional services firm like Deloitte, it is desirable that you are able to work in a team, be manageable (by others) and build a good relationship with clients. So when you answer the questions, it is best that you present yourself like so. However, if you find that these behaviours and the company culture do not align with what your values or what you are interested in, perhaps consider exploring opportunities at other companies in other industries.
• Apply early and (perhaps) try to write a tailored cover letter. When I applied for the program, I put in a bit of extra time and effort to write a cover letter. However, I honestly have no insight as to whether the Deloitte recruitment team bothers to read cover letters, considering they are a large company and probably received thousands upon thousands of applications. Do take the cover letter tip with a grain of salt, but definitely apply early.
• For the video interview, prepare your setup correctly and do not recite any pre-written answers. Make sure you prepare your lighting, internet and environment, and make sure your camera is at eye-level and that your back is straight. With regards to your answers, oftentimes recruiters will penalise you for appearing too scripted. Often, when reading answers you have already written, it does come off as robotic and unnatural. So write brief key points and try to speak naturally from the top of your head – as if you were in an in-person interview.

I hope was this useful for those who are in their pre-penultimate year of University and are interested in taking part in the program at Deloitte!

If you would like to learn more about my application experience, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn and send over any questions. And if you would like to read about my experience ACTUALLY going through the program, you can find the blog post I have written about it here.