Application support
Interviewing for a new role is an exciting time for anyone. Whether it be for a new role, your first role, a change in career, or returning to work from time out, the interview process brings you the opportunity to showcase your personality, skills and experiences. And for us, the interview process is an opportunity to meet potential new colleagues, to hear diverse perspectives and to learn from others.
We strive to ensure our interview process is barrier free and sets you up for success, as well as being wholly inclusive and robust.
If successful in your application one of our colleagues will invite you to an interview with the hiring manager who you will work with. Our interview process will either be one or two stages and will cover both competency interview questions on our CLEARR values and technical questions based on the requirements of the role.
Our CLEARR values underpin our culture and how we do business – they set the parameters of how we expect our people to act with their colleagues, clients and the world at large. Collaboration. Leadership. Excellence. Agility. Responsibility. Respect. You can find out more about our culture and values on our corporate website.
A competency interview could be a new experience for you, or it might be a while since you last interviewed for a role. To help you make the most of the interview, and set you up for success, we have included some examples of the types of questions you might be asked. The ones shown relate to the CLEARR questions. The technical questions will be based upon the role you apply for.
A useful way to answer questions like these is the STARR approach. What was the situation, what was the task, what action did you take, what were the results and what reflections did you have afterwards. This approach helps you to get your answer across in a clear way and with impact. It also allows our people to ask you follow on questions on areas they would like to know more about.
We hope this helps you enjoy and get the most out of your interview experience here at Grant Thornton.
Example competency interview questions
Collaboration and agility
- Give an example of a time when you have needed to collaborate with another team or service line. How did you go about this and what was the impact?
- Give an example of an occasion when you have had to adapt your priorities to meet a business or client need? How did you ensure you met your deadlines in a timely manner?
Leadership and respect
- How do you ensure you lead by example at all times? Give an example of your leadership style and how you adapt this to meet the needs of your colleagues.
- Give an example of a time you have had to challenge a colleague’s idea or opinion. How did you go about doing this and what was the outcome?
Excellence and responsibility
- Give an example of a time you have driven operational excellence through a project or task. How did you ensure your quality levels were high and what actions did you take to enhance delivery throughout?
- How will you take responsibility to drive an inclusive culture within your team? Give examples of where you have done this in the past and how you might tackle this at Grant Thornton.
Example questions:
- Tell us about a time when a client/senior colleague has asked you to deliver a piece of work that you felt may be contrary to your organisation's ethical principles. What safeguards and measures did you consider?
- Tell us about a time when you've needed to maintain objectivity and independence in a work scenario. What action did you take and what was the outcome?
We are a Disability Confident employer, as well an inclusive employer and committed to ensuring our workforce is representative of our diverse society. We therefore make reasonable adjustments and adaptions to our recruitment process to ensure it is inclusive for anyone who wishes to apply.
Find out more
Hear from our people about what life at Grant Thornton is really like, from the work we do, to the support we give, we all have a story to tell here.
Our flexible and agile policies are only some of the benefits of working at Grant Thornton. Learn about the other benefits and reward available to our people.
Diverse and inclusive is how every business should be. Find out how we’re making that happen at Grant Thornton.
Hear from our people about what life at Grant Thornton is really like, from the work we do, to the support we give, we all have a story to tell here.
Our flexible and agile policies are only some of the benefits of working at Grant Thornton. Learn about the other benefits and reward available to our people.
Diverse and inclusive is how every business should be. Find out how we’re making that happen at Grant Thornton.