I got my first face to face interview by ringing up a senior internal recruiter whilst I was standing outside their Cheapside office with a printed copy of my CV and told her that I would like an interview as soon as possible. By being bold and showing how confident you are will make you stand out in the application and assessment process. After this first face to face interview I was invited to attend one of the assessment days. You NEED to prepare for this by researching on the Hays website about the Brand values, key figures in the business (MD's, CEO) and information on the company such as how many countries Hays operates in, number of specialisms etc. Another excellent way to prepare is by reading as many Glassdoor reviews as possible because the questions are nearly all out there on Glassdoor, you just need to find them. Throughout this assessment day it is important to be as confident as possible, stay positive and go with whatever direction it takes but always try and make something into a positive result because they will likely sometimes throw a curveball at you and make things as difficult as possible. After an intense assessment day where I experienced a few of these curveballs for myself, I received a call letting me know that I had been successful and they wanted one more face to face interview. This interview was with my potential manager and the senior manager above him. This was less about the corporate side of Hays and really about finding more about me as a person and seeing if the personality fit would be suitable and why I have chosen recruitment and specifically Hays. It is important to be completely honest both in the answers you give but also to be honest with yourself if this is actually something that you want, as opposed to wanting just any old job. This is a very hard working job. There is a very steep learning curve and you are in at the deep end doing your job from day one. You do have support from colleagues and managers but ultimately you need to be doing your work, not them. All in all, the interview and assessment process is intense however if you prepare well enough for it and remain relaxed, confident and try to take everything in your stride then you will be fine!!

They were not upfront the number of interview stages involved. Interviewed for their intern position and it was a 4 stage interview process with the last being interview with one of their Directors. Last two stages was just a calendar invite to attend a teams meeting with some individuals, no accompanying email or whatsoever to tell you what the invite was all about and I found this very unprofessional for a recruitment agency especially as there was no consideration that such appointment could clash with any prior appointment one already has going on. Interviews were generally OK and friendly until the last one with the Director who from first meeting came across as very unfriendly and towards the end, made me feel I was taking up too much of her time by asking questions at the end of the interview.