About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton, the world’s seventh largest by revenue and sixth by number of employees, is a professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms that provide assurance, tax, and advisory services to privately held businesses and public interest, and public sector entities. Grant Thornton International Ltd. is incorporated in London, United Kingdom and member firms within the global organisation operate in over 130 countries employing over 56,000 people.

Grant Thornton is also one of the big employers in the UK and hires 350 – 400 interns and graduates every year to its 24 local offices across the UK.

Grant Thornton’s Interns and Graduate Recruitment Process

Step 1: Online Application

You’ll start your application by filling in a short online form which is designed to ask for some basic information. On the application form, there are two open ending questions where you need to explain your understanding of the company’s strategy, your chosen business area, and the qualification you will be studying. The application form takes around 25 minutes, and after submission, your application will then be reviewed by a member of staff.

Step 2: The Online Assessment

Grant Thornton’s online assessment is provided by Cappfinity. It combines situational judgement and cognitive (numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning) testing into an immersive assessment that gives a realistic preview into life at Grant Thornton.

The test works by judging your typical reactions, feelings, or behaviours against a realistic scenario-based set of questions. You will also complete technical questions based on a case study of information, testing your verbal and numerical skills.

The assessment is not timed and at the end of your assessment, you’ll get a personalised report of your strengths and the areas you need to work on. If you have any questions about the assessment, your recruiter will be able to answer them.

Step 3: Digital Interview

If you successfully complete your online assessment, you will be invited to complete a digital interview. During the digital interview, the system puts 6-8 questions on the screen and then asks you to record yourself responding to them. For each question, you will have 1 minute to prepare and 2-3 minutes to record your answer. You will not have numerical or situational judgement types of questions during the digital interview. It is important to understand the values and strategy of Grant Thornton, and you should be able to demonstrate your analytical, teamwork and communication skills to perform well during the interview.

Step 4: Virtual Assessment Centre

Grant Thornton’s virtual assessment centre consists of two parts. The first part is a case study analysis. The case study is a great opportunity to learn more about the type of work you’d be doing at Grant Thornton. You will be assessed on your analytical skills, critical reasoning, and written language. During the case study analysis, you will need to read multiple pieces of information, including numerical questions, and provide written responses.

The next part of the assessment is a group discussion. During the group discussion, you will be provided with a case, and, as a group, you will discuss various aspects of the case/topic provided. There is no right or wrong answer. You should encourage your teammates and bounce off their suggestions to get to the best result. Time management is also at play here, so keeping everyone on track will be key.

Step 5: Final Interview

If you successfully pass the virtual assessment, you will be invited to the final interview, which is a one-to-one virtual interview with a senior member of the service line you applied for. It is no different to a typical interview. So, it is important to learn more about Grant Thornton, consider your motivations and be prepared to explain your skills and strengths by using examples from your past before attending the interview. On Learn and Pass, we also have a great online course where you can learn how to answer more than 80 interview questions, which will help you be more confident during your interview.

How to Prepare for Grant Thornton’s Online Assessment

To be successful in Grant Thornton’s online assessment, you will need to practice. Many people fail this stage without practising. You should also take the right approach to practice by understanding what you are good at and what you are not. As there will be four different tests during the online assessment, you must practise each element to ensure success.

We recommend you start from the basic numerical practice tests, especially if you are not good with numbers. You can confidently solve more complex numerical reasoning questions by learning the basics. You will not only apply for Grant Thornton. You will have to sit many numerical assessments before getting a job offer. So, it is important to practise more and be comfortable with these types of questions.

In terms of situational judgment tests, we have developed real assessment-like questions that help you understand yourself as well as corporate cultures more. We provide a detailed explanation to each question so that when you do them again, you will know what you are asked for and provide the correct answer. You can practise our situational judgement tests to be prepared for Grant Thornton’s assessment.

The same applies to reasoning tests. Only by practising can you master online assessments and secure more job interviews.