How many stages does a Big 4 graduate interview have?

Usually four to five. Online application form, online psychometric tests (numerical, verbal, situational judgement), one-way video interview with pre-recorded questions, an assessment centre with case study and group exercise, and a final partner or director panel. Total elapsed time from application to offer is typically 8 to 14 weeks.

Do I need to wear a suit?

For final-round partner panels at law firms and Big 4 accounting firms, yes. Smart business attire. For assessment centres at banks and tech firms, smart casual is usually accepted but business attire is never wrong. APS interviews vary by department; check the recruitment page or ask the recruiter.

What do they actually test in the case study?

Whether you can read a brief, structure a response, do basic numeracy under time pressure and present a recommendation without waffling. They are not testing whether you got the right answer; they are testing how you think out loud.

Will I get feedback if I am rejected?

For assessment-centre stages, usually yes if you ask. For the online stages and the video interview, usually no. Recruiters are willing to give 5 minutes of phone feedback after a final-round rejection if you email politely; it is the single best free coaching available.

Graduate program interviews (Big 4, banks, government)

Graduate programs at the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC), the big banks (CBA, Westpac, ANZ, NAB, Macquarie), the consulting firms (BCG, Bain, McKinsey, Accenture) and the Australian Public Service (APS) all run multi-stage processes that take 8 to 14 weeks. The interview content varies but the structure is similar: a funnel that starts with 5,000 applicants and ends with 50 offers per stream.

This guide covers what each stage actually involves, what they are testing, and what to do at each step.

Typical structure

Online application form
Online psychometric tests
One-way (recorded) video interview
Assessment centre or two-on-one interview
Final partner, director, or senior public servant panel

Some firms add a fifth stage (a virtual case-prep session) or skip one (small APS departments often run only stages 1, 3 and 5).

Stage 1: the application form

Time: 60 to 120 minutes. Cost of failing: low; cost of doing it badly: missing the cut.

Two motivators for each open-text question:

They want to see you can read the role and stream descriptions and answer the question asked, not a different question.
They want you to give specific evidence with quantified outcomes ("ran a club of 40 members for 2 years and grew membership by 60%") not generic claims ("good leader").

Top tip: have a master document of every meaningful project, role, internship and achievement you have done since Year 11. For each, write a 3-line STAR (situation, task, action, result) summary. You will use the same 15 STARs across 12 applications.

Stage 2: online psychometric tests

Tests usually include:

Numerical reasoning (charts, tables, basic ratios; 18-20 questions in 18-25 minutes).
Verbal reasoning (read a passage, answer true/false/cannot-say).
Situational judgement (pick the best and worst response to a workplace scenario).
Sometimes a logic, pattern, or coding test for tech graduate programs.

What you can do:

Free practice tests are widely available; SHL, Saville and Cubiks publish official practice sets. Do 3 to 5 full timed practice runs before you sit the real one.
The numerical test is not maths; it is reading the right number off the right chart while a clock counts down. Speed matters more than algebra.
Situational judgement tests reward picking the most "balanced professional" answer, which is rarely the most ethical and rarely the most efficient. Practise the framing.

Stage 3: the one-way video interview

You log into a portal, see a question on screen, and have 60 to 120 seconds to answer into your webcam. No human is on the other end.

What they test:

Whether you can speak in complete sentences with no notes.
Whether you sit upright, look at the camera, and do not say "um" 14 times.
Whether your answer has structure (intro, body, conclusion) rather than rambling.

Drill:

Record yourself answering 10 common questions ("Why this firm?", "Tell me about a time you failed", "Describe a leadership moment"). Watch the playback. Cringe. Re-record.
Use the STAR structure for behavioural questions.
Have one anecdote per competency the firm tests for (teamwork, leadership, resilience, commercial awareness).

Stage 4: the assessment centre

Half a day, in person or on Microsoft Teams. Stations rotate:

Case study (60-90 minutes prep + 30-minute presentation): You get a folder of materials at 9am. By 10am you must have a recommendation. You then present to two assessors and field 15 minutes of questions.

What they look for:

Clear structure (issue, options, recommendation, risks).
Numerical literacy (read the financials in the pack, do the arithmetic in your head or on paper).
Confidence to defend a decision under pressure without being defensive.

Group exercise (45-60 minutes): Six candidates, one problem, one decision. Common: prioritise five competing projects with a fixed budget.

What they look for:

Whether you bring others in ("Sam, what do you think about the second option?").
Whether you keep an eye on time ("We have 10 minutes left; should we lock in a decision?").
Whether you handle disagreement without rolling over or steamrolling.

Trap: do not try to be the leader. Try to be the person who made the group's decision better.

One-on-one interview (30-45 minutes): Behavioural questions, usually with a manager or senior consultant.

Format: "Tell me about a time when..." Then follow-up probes: "What did you say to them?", "What would you do differently?", "What did your team think?".

Stage 5: the final panel

Usually 45-60 minutes, two to four partners or directors, or in APS the senior executive service.

What they probe:

"Why this firm specifically?" The honest answer cannot be "all the Big 4 looked similar." Have one specific, evidenced reason: a partner you have heard speak, a recent client win, a service line you want to join, a graduate development program structure.
"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Honest is fine. "Senior consultant working in [practice area], hopefully a manager" beats "partner one day" (you do not yet know if you want partnership).
Commercial questions: "What is one thing in the news this week relevant to this industry?" Read the AFR or ABC Business at least twice in the week before.

For APS, the panel is more structured. Expect three to five formal selection criteria; answer each with a STAR. Source: APS graduate recruitment.

Salary and offers

If you receive an offer, take 48 hours to decide. Ask for it in writing. Compare:

Base salary (junior accountant rates start around 60-70k; investment banking, top consulting and law are higher).
Bonus and review structure.
Study support if you need CA, CPA, CFA, or admission.
Rotation and mobility opportunities.
Hours expectation (some teams say 9 to 5 and mean it; others say 9 to 5 and mean 60-hour weeks during busy season).

Once an offer is signed, the National Employment Standards under the Fair Work Act apply. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman National Employment Standards.

Common mistakes

Treating every firm as interchangeable. The interviewer wants to know why their firm specifically.
Padding answers with management consulting jargon ("synergy", "value-add") instead of a clean STAR.
Skipping the practice psychometric tests. They are skill-based and improve sharply with 5 hours of practice.
Memorising scripts. Read aloud and rehearse, but do not memorise verbatim; you will sound like a robot.
Forgetting to send a thank-you email to the partner after the final panel. Two sentences, sent within 24 hours.

After rejection

It happens. Most graduate programs hire 5% of applicants. Read the handling rejection guide; the core point is that rejection at any stage past the application is normal and not a signal you are a bad candidate.

ExamExplained does not provide career, legal or workplace-relations advice. Application timelines, assessment formats and pay rates are checked against published recruitment pages and Fair Work but change yearly; verify before relying on them.