What we look for

At PwC, we place a strong emphasis on personal development, so we'll be looking for people who can reflect on their past performances and recognise their own individual strengths and development needs. It's important that you're passionate about development and can articulate your career aspirations and your planned course of action to achieve your aspirations. Have you pushed yourself to achieve things that go above and beyond? Have you developed new skills outside of your degree? How can you leverage your strengths for even greater success in the future?

Regardless of what role you play at PwC, you'll no doubt spend a significant part of your time analysing numerical data, verbal data and other sources of information. Throughout our recruitment process we'll be observing your ability to gather relevant information, understand the broader context and draw sound conclusions from the available information.

Collaboration and teamwork are core values of our firm so it's important that you have the ability to get along with, support and lead a team to success. We'll be looking for evidence of where you've worked in teams and contributed to your team's success. Can you think of a situation where you worked in a team to achieve a common goal? Perhaps as a part of a sports team, club, society, or a university, volunteer or work related project team? What skills did you bring to the team? Did you need to adapt your style to work better with others or negotiate to achieve a common objective?

At PwC, we believe in acting with integrity in everything we do. This means upholding the best standards, adopting the right procedures and maintaining the highest levels of confidentiality. And if something's not right, we're not afraid to say so. That's why we're looking for the kind of person who is always professional and isn't afraid to speak their mind.

We need people who can gain clear agreement and commitment from others through persuasion and negotiation; and most importantly, take responsibility for their actions. Can you think of a situation when you've acted in a responsible manner, adhered to standards or procedures, maintained confidentiality and displayed professional attitude and appearance? Have you kept your cool while working under pressure?

PwC is passionate about providing our clients with services that contribute to their business success. Therefore, you'll be continually building on your commercial and technical expertise at PwC. This includes your ability to build relationships and empathise with clients - truly putting yourself in their shoes and understanding their business and needs. Much of this will come from on the job learning, coaching or via development programs - we'll also expect you to seek out opportunities to develop that expertise yourself.

This means we'll want to know that you're the kind of person who does their research and who can review or evaluate an experience to work out what you learned, and how you apply that learning. As a starting point, you could look into the qualifications we offer here. You could also find out more about our different business areas, and how you could add value to them. Do you understand how your degree could help you to enhance our business? Have you thought about who your dream client would be? Are you curious about what makes a business tick?

Being able to communicate and listen effectively to others is vital at PwC. You'll need to be a confident communicator, able to get your point across and be just as happy listening to other people's ideas and opinions. We'll be looking for people who can express themselves clearly, both in conversation and on paper. We'll be interested in hearing about times when you've presented to an audience, or written a document that made good things happen.

Have you persuaded an organisation to sponsor a sports team? Have you been the representative for your course? What have you learnt by truly listening to others and asking questions, rather than coming to the table with a predetermined solution?

To be successful in business, you need to have the ability to make prompt, clear decisions which may involve tough choices or considered risk. That's why we'll want to know whether you're the type of person who takes initiative and acts with confidence. Have you identified something that could be done better and taken steps to improve it? Have you been in a situation where you've had to consider the different options and make an important decision?

At PwC, our business and client needs are constantly changing and that means we have to adapt our work structures and processes, while maintaining a 100 per cent commitment to delivering high quality work. To help us adapt in a constantly changing environment, all of our people are encouraged to actively seek opportunities to work on projects or teams in other areas of the business. Being open to different experiences gives you job variety, broadens you skills set and networks and also enables the firm to respond quickly to emerging markets and areas of client needs.

That's why we're looking for people who can think on their feet and adjust to lots of different situations - without compromising on standards. Have you put yourself in a situation where you needed to adjust? Have you tried new things that are out of your comfort zone? Can you think of a situation where you coped well with an unexpected piece of work?

The ability to prioritise is an increasingly core skill. Chances are, you'll find yourself juggling a few different priorities - similar to the way that you may have had to juggle your priorities throughout your studies. We'll be asking you to tell us about how you've managed your workload and utilised appropriate resources to meet deadlines. Have you prioritised different tasks to meet a deadline? Have you managed a big event or function?