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      Operations Graduate Programmer Interview

      13 Mar 2015
      Anonymous interview candidate
      London, England
      No offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at UBS (London, England) in Nov 2014

      Interview

      Completed a short online application followed by SHL numerical test. UBS are pretty quick in replying so the next day I got a call inviting me to a telephone interview which was scheduled for two days later. It was only 15 minutes long and I got asked the standard competency and motivational questions (i.e. why the company, why this role), plus a question about the current impact of the financial crisis. I received an email the same afternoon inviting me to an assessment centre the following week in London. I also got a call before the AC explaining in detail what to expect on the day and giving me kind of tips on how to perform best. The AC started with an SHL numerical test on paper which was slightly different than the online one as you have to complete 20 questions in 20 minutes and some of the problems are different than the online ones. However, if you managed to complete it first time around, you should be okay with the test. They do say that if you dont meet the benchmark you get sent home but everyone in my group passed. Next we were split into groups as there were 4 assessors (all managers in the Operations department) and 8 of us. My group was given a brief and left to prepare the presentation for half an hour or so. It was on Apple which made it pretty easy as it is a topic I believe everyone is familiar with. We had to answer couple of questions based on the info given in the brief only and present it to one of the assessors. After the presentation they ask you follow up questions and the bit I found difficult was that I was asked several questions on what I would do if I was the operations officer at Apple, so my advice is to be very familiar with what exactly a COO does. Next I had my first 1:1 interview - competency based. It was with a different manager and lasted only about 30-40 minutes. I think the guy only asked me about 3-4 questions and left plenty of time at the end for me to ask him questions. Next interview was motivational with another manager but she asked me much more questions than the previous guy starting with what I've studied in uni and how I chose my degree, previous experiences, why operations, several questions about the function itself (e.g. biggest challenge for operations managers atm), what I am looking to gain from the grad scheme, where I see myself in 5 years, etc. Overall, the interview experience you get depends on the interviewer. I thought I performed better in the first one as the guy asked less questions and seemed more casual but it turns out the lady from the second one was happier with my answers. Finally, I had the group task last which was again on Apple. In a group of 4 we had to figure out what to do with an extra budget and chose a service line to allocate it to. Mid discussion they interrupted us to give us an "urgent email" which asked us to select a new product the company should work on I think. Either way, apart from working well within the group, the assessors are looking for some innovative ideas so dont be afraid to do your own thing and offer crazy products and ways to spend the additional budget that are not in the brief, as long as you can justify it, of course. Overall, this is by far one of the easier assessment centre I have been to. There are plenty of breaks between tasks where you wait for the assessors to finish with the previous group so you can rest and get yourself ready for the next one. Everyone is really friendly and you do get an opportunity to meet at least 3 managers who actually work in Operations so my advice is to really take this chance to ask them smart questions about the function, the company and their work in general. I got a reply on the next day that I havent received an offer unfortunately but I did get a thorough feedback out of it at least. Finally, UBS is definitely one of the companies that gets back to you the quickest which is pretty great cause I hate waiting for a reply.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Current impact of the financial crisis Why UBS Why this role Biggest challenges for operations managers What are you looking to gain from the scheme How do you see yourself
      Answer question
      5