Overall, this was a horrible process. I applied through a college program and had a first-round interview over zoom. The interview went really well and I was asked to complete an Excel and PowerPoint assignment. After putting my school work aside for the assignment and dedicating my time and effort to it, I never heard back from anyone. I sent multiple follow-up emails to more than one person and still never heard back. At least have the decency to send a rejection email.

I saw a job posting on our university career portal, and I reached out to someone working at FW Cook to find out more about the company and position They were very timely and friendly in response. FW cook is not a huge firm, so speaking with current employees this way may replace 1st round phone screens, which is what happened in my case. Communication was rapid and efficient throughout the process. Was asked to send work examples with Excel, Powerpoint and Word each, which I needed to submit before coming to the office for an in person interview, so there was a lot of time to do it. I personally prefer this way of showcasing my skills rather than a spontaneous case study interview where I do not have any time or resources to prepare, which would not be the case in actual business situations. It would also help if you have some previous experience analyzing data in excel and presenting my results with presentations and/or reports (which is rather common for university economics/math/finance curriculums). The in-person interview ran for a day like a typical "super day" interview with lunch included. There were some basic behavioral questions and an onsite excel assessment and "attention to detail test". The excel assessment allows you to google anything online to help you--which I really appreciated since I would imagine being resourceful is just as important as memorizing everything about some skill/subject to prepare for exam-like interviews. You get to meet many people from other consultants to principals and managing directors during the day, and the people I spoke to were very friendly, professional and sharp. You also get to meet with many of the people you would work with if you become a consultant there, so you know what you are getting into without worrying about being put on a bad team/under a bad manager etc. I was not even aware of the executive compensation consulting industry before Cook, but the managing directors who have spent decades in the field gave me a great overview of the industry, how it grew, the firms' practices and what consultants' responsibilities are. If you are interested in the industry but are not familiar with it (which is most likely the case) I would recommend reaching out to someone working here and find out more about the industry and what they do.