3 step process. Really positive process throughout. HR and all employees we met were very friendly and welcoming, gave us lots of comprehensive information. One strong negative: refusal to reimburse travel expenses for the assessment centre. The AC began at ~10AM and Novatus refused to reimburse travel to London & hotel costs. Their exact reason was their nature as a "boutique" consultancy and the fact that they received so many applications. This last reason was extremely suspicious because only 20 candidates were invited to the AC, and given that Novatus flaunts their strong growth over recent years you would expect them to be able to afford to cover costs for candidates who they effectively force to travel to the office for the final stage. To their credit they said they hope to sponsor travel costs in the future, but for the time being their behaviour makes the process extremely inaccessible unless you live locally or have the money to afford these costs yourself and this potentially will foster an elitist culture. However all things considered, this was just a minor blot on a really positive process. Stage 1: Initial CV screening (~3000 applicants). No numerical test or pre-recorded video etc was expected, simply CV submission via LinkedIn Stage 2: 20 minute screening call (Teams). ~80 candidates remaining at this stage. Interview was mainly motivational/competency, which was clarified by HR in advance. My interview was conducted by a junior-level consultant. He was very knowledgeable about the company and the interview was casual. I'll share the questions I was asked in the below section. Stage 3: In-person assessment centre at the Novatus office. 18 candidates remaining at this stage, two AC days. (We were advised the day's schedule in advance, but this did change slightly. Likely as this was the first year Novatus recruited a Graduate cohort; in the future the schedule will probably will ironed out more clearly). The AC consisted of four tasks: 1. Group Activity 1 2. Individual Interview 3. Individual Activity 4. Group Activity 2 Group Activity 1 was a 40-minute task. During this time we were split into groups of 4/5 and had to read a short case (1/2 pages) on a traditional-style bank that was losing its market share among young customers. We had to analyse pros and cons of four proposed solutions and then present as a group for ~15 minutes. We presented to a consulting manager & HR person and answered a follow-up question. The interview was very laid back and casual. My interview was conducted by the head of HR. I'll share the questions I was asked in the section below. Overall I've had much more formal interviews, and despite the senior position of my interviewer within the company, she was very friendly and welcoming and shared the same values that the company promotes. The individual activity was based on the earlier group activity. We had to write on paper an email to the hypothetical Chief Operating Officer of the aforementioned traditional bank, reiterating my chosen solution with justification. It was highlighted that we should write in a concise but professional manner because a COO wouldn’t bother to read a long email – important to get the message across efficiently in this task. Group activity 2 involved being presented a range of challenges that the client was facing. We had to create a single project that could broadly address many of these challenges. The business challenges were generally either technical or workforce-related. In the middle of the task, we were presented with new information that was designed to force us to pivot and adapt quickly. Again, this tasked took 40 minutes and involved a ~10/15 minute presentation. We were given lunch at the office, a break, and chances to speak with members of the Novatus team. My interviewer from the first round ate lunch with us as did other interviewers from that round. The two CEOs also came and briefly spoke with us which was a nice touch. Overall a positive experience. Every person we met was warm and friendly, they tried to take the pressure off as much as possible and there was no sense of rigid hierarchy. Only downside as mentioned was lack of travel reimbursement. I've noted the Interview Difficulty as "difficult" because it was a long assessment centre with a lot of activities – each activity as a standalone task, however, was straightforward.