One of the FDM recruiters reached me through Linkedin.
Interview process:
Phone interview with the recruiter > Online Test (numerial+logical questions) > Assessment Center (Account Manager Interview and Technical Interview) > Client pre-selection placement interview (optional)
The phone interview is casual, assessment center is also not challenging. The interviewer and recruiters are nice. Show your passion for the IT industry is the most important thing.
you may prepare some questions to ask to show you are really interested.
***Personal thoughts on the job
Pros:
Help you to get into the potential big company if you otherwise cannot
Good salary for most graduates if you ignore the contract restriction
Cons:
It offers no flexibility, you may place to a company or role that you don't want but you have no say and likely cannot change the outcome.
(since their income may come from the commission from the clients, their best interest is to place you as soon as possible subject to market demand that time)
You should bear in mind that after you signed the contract, you are bonded with them for 2 years. If you didn't get a good role or company, you are pretty done. And you cannot quit even when a better offer comes to you, this is an opportunity cost!
***Interview experience sharing on the job ( a bit long but I think it may be helpful for your reference)
Initially, I applied for the BABI graduate program, then before the assessment center day, the recruiter contacted me and ask if I am open to the BA testing program too, I agreed to it (which I think is a mistake). And after the AC day, they say I am more suited to BA testing. (I generally do not understand why they will ask you to join the program that you did not apply to, and it is even before the AC day, which they still didn't know how capable are you, do they urgently need people in this area to fulfill the number?)
Then I got a chance for a pre-selection interview (HSBC manual testing) in the testing program.
It seems good to have a secure placement quickly, but I believe those jobs are not very attractive, high turnover rate, and just need manpower to finish the project. For example, I believe manual testing is a routine and not too IT-focused role with a bad future prospect. So I believe they use pre-placement as an attraction to lock you down earlier. (Unless you think you are really special that they give you this privilege for good)
To give you further information, the training on FDM before you get placed is usually about 3months duration. But my role (manual testing) only requires about 6 weeks of training before I am on board. And also, there are so many interviewees besides me for the job, and from what I knew most of them got the offer. Thus, it may imply that the job doesn't require many skills, does not have a lot to learn, and urgently need people.
FYI – FDM BA/Testing training content: Professional skill, BA, Excel, Manual Testing (2 weeks), ISTQB (Certification).
Then I told them that I would like to work on a role that is more focused on data and IT things, which is what I applied for initially, but they say there is no choice because of my technical skills. But at the beginning, they emphasize that it is not compulsory and it is more of a strength-based interview.
They give no flexibility and leave no options to me so I turned down the offer, and it is lucky that at least I know what kind of job I am going to do before signing the contract (I believe most people won't know).