Hello,
I have an interview for a consulting position at Deloitte. This will be my first interview, and my interview partner is already a Director, there is no prior HR interview. I do not have any experience with this type of interview and would appreciate some guidance.
What should I expect in this situation? Is it more likely to be a case interview, a personal fit interview, or a mixture of both? The interview is scheduled to last one hour.
Thank you very much in advance.
Hi Arne,
It’s normal at Deloitte for the first interview to be directly with a Director, especially for consulting roles. A one hour interview is usually a mix of personal fit and light case or business discussion rather than a full case interview. Expect questions on your background, motivation for consulting and Deloitte, and how you approach problem solving, along with a short structured scenario or discussion to assess your thinking and communication.
Be prepared to walk through your experiences clearly, answer behavioral questions with concrete examples, and structure your thinking out loud if given a business problem. It’s more about judgment, presence, and clarity than deep analysis.
Given my background and several years at the Big 4, I’m happy to share perspectives or help you prepare if useful.
Best,
Evelina
Arne,
Contact HR asap to clarify this.
They are the only ones who can confirm the format of the interview.
In most cases, it's a combination of fit + case (half/half).
But it's best if you know what to expect. This way you can also make the most out of the time until the interview.
Best,
Cristian
That’s an excellent question, and getting a Director as your first screen is actually a strong, but tricky, signal. It usually means Deloitte is running an accelerated hiring process for a high-priority headcount need, so they are trying to compress the traditional two or three screening rounds into one efficient session.
Given the 60-minute timeframe and the Director seniority, you should expect a mixture, but the weighting will shift heavily toward executive fit and business judgment. Directors are notoriously time-constrained, and their priority is determining if you have the presence and high-level synthesis skills to be placed in front of a client immediately. Expect 15-20 minutes on behavioral fit (a deep dive into your "Why Deloitte," and rigorous questions testing your resilience and leadership) and 30-40 minutes on a case.
Crucially, the Director-led case interview is often less about testing a perfect framework structure and more about testing your ability to handle ambiguity and drive quickly to a sound recommendation. Prepare for a more open-ended, complex business problem—one where the prompt might be vague and you’re expected to ask sharp clarifying questions, state clear hypotheses, and synthesize your findings immediately, even if the analysis is incomplete. Focus heavily on your confidence and the polish of your final 60-second recommendation.
All the best!
Hey Arne,
for a first interview with a Deloitte Director, it’s usually a mix of both personal fit and mini-case discussion. Expect questions about your background, motivation for consulting, and examples showing leadership, problem solving, and teamwork. They might also walk through a short business problem to see your structured thinking, but it’s unlikely to be a full-length case. Be ready to clearly articulate your experiences and approach problems logically.
best, Alessa :)
Hi,
In the grand scheme of things (i.e. full interview process), it will be a combination of both - because they need to assess your personality/behaviour, and also whether or not you have the skills to do the job.
But each firm has different ways of splitting the assessments up
Just contact HR and clarify what the expectations are for the interview.
All the best!
Hi Arne,
I suggest you contact HR for clarifications. This would be much safer than any of our conjectures.
