Q&A With PwC Employees

Like many professional services firms, PwC loses lots of highly-ranked women once they have children. In the past 10 years, they've instituted better flex-time options and even off-reading where women can leave for up to 5 years but stay linked in for training and then return to work. Great options for women who want to be home with little ones but then return once kids are in school. But, that being said, certainly more women are needed in the highest ranks.

low. very low

Much of the questions are situational based, like, "Tell me about a time that you..."

competency based

long working hours good learning opportunities

Varied depending on the business line.

Completely depends which Operations dept you're referring to. Do you mean a specific local office? Do you mean a Line of Service team at the National level? The above answer can't possibly encompass every single ops team across the firm or even across the country. I've worked with exceptionally talented and dedicated Ops leaders while others have left me wondering how they possibly got the job they have. But, more are in the former category than latter.

Terrible. Political. Infighting. Focused on PR and individual agenda.

very flexible

Depends which team you're on, which Line of Service you belong to, which partners you work for. My experience has been good though.

Most are smart, professional, driven and well-educated. But, of course, we're not all alike, so their are outliers in every office. In the past 10 years, the workforce has gotten much more diverse, which is nice to see.

It differs whether you're looking for an entry-level or experienced role. The entry-level roles have a longer process and longer interview day, with more meetings. Experienced candidates will meet with 2 or 3 managers/parters/recruiters.

Industry standard.

fast: audit, risk, cyber, legal slow: consulting

break up the company. go public

Support from partners. Old fashioned 4 level grading.

Once a year, linked to relative individual and firm-wide performance

Varied projects. Opportunity to build a profile and network.

Depends on billability. If you can not get on a project, there will be no security. To get on the project you must be aligned to a partner.

Speciality focused. Politically astute. Good writer. self-promoters. Typical white-blue eye- blond.

Depends on team and projects.

Depends on projects and partners you end up working with.

Not great. Too general. They are afraid of legal ramifications.

boring. Fake.

How self-serving the partners are.

open office.

Many clubs and societies.

The interview itself only an hour. However, there will be a series of interviews that might be spread across 2-4 months.

Prepare. Read the competencies they look for on their site. Have stories/evidence prepared. Learn more about PwC and their clients. Show enthusiasm. Demonstrate the ability to build networks, think globally and consider challenges strategically.