BT Interview Questions & Answers

My telephone interview lasted for approximately 25-30 mins. Initially, BT went through some HR material regarding my application for security reasons. They then went on to ask whether I could meet the rigorous of IT consultancy, as there is a need for a huge amount of flexibility. After, I was quizzed about my CV and academical background. What followed next was standard competency based questions in relation to the organisations values, which can be found on the website. My questions were based around team-working and problem solving.

The tasks in the assessment centres were quite challenging. I was not sure about some of the questions which were completely based on technical knowledge.

Go through the companies values on their website and this should give you a good indication of the competency based questions that are likely to come up. Make sure you give a professional presentation of the case study.

BT gave a brief interview of themselves and the program upon the arrival of all the candidates. What followed next for me was a face to face interview with a senior member of BT. Again, this was similar to telephone interview, however, before attending the assessment centre you are given a case study in which you are to present to your interviewer. Next i completed a numerical test (SHL). Finally, a group exercise was last on the agenda. I got a group size of 4 people, although the other team had a size of 5. You are given a case study, in which you have to decipher the relevant information and make a decision with your team about an outcome.

My interview was via Skype, although the connection failed and we had to continue via phone. We had an initial chat through my CV where the interviewer highlighted my A-level choice and my achievements in sport. After this I was asked about BT specifically, their competition, why I chose to work for BT and, importantly, my passion for BT. This then continued to more technical questions surrounding the role, for example 'what is the importance of well-written code?'. And finally, i was asked one competency question, which was: 'When have I made an improvement to an existing process or task?' - This is the same as the question on the application form.

Who are BT's competition? (This is a basic research question that I had neglected in my company research)

When have I made an improvement to an existing process or task? (I had already spoken about one of my process improvements earlier in the interview and thus had to think, on the spot, of something else I had done)

Research, research, research. I thought I had looked into the company well enough but I missed out a key part of research... competitors! Look no only at BT, but also their external environment and the trends in technology.

Finally, the competency questions are the same as those asked in the application form... re-use that example (if, like me, you didnt use it up earlier in the interview!).

I didn't make it to the assessment centre. I was told I scored highly on my interview, but the two questions above let me down.

It was a series of technical questions along with questions of why are you interested in this job, and some questions based on past experience with networking. The questions were in groups, so once one set of questions were done you could tell that the what the next set of questions were going to be based on the next question.

Some of the technical questions were difficult coming from a Students perspective as they were questions that I never though that I would come across, and I had never heard of some of the technical parts that I was asked to describe so I really struggled on those questions.

I would say read up on a lot of technical information for the role you are applying for before considering this type of job. Definitely make sure that you are prepared to answer a number of different questions based on the job role(s). Read into a lot of information about the company and what they thrive to achieve.

I was not asked to the assessment centre.

This was a telephone interview, and it lasted about 45 minutes. I was given a call on my phone to let me know that they will call me on Skype. Then the person went through my personal details and started the interview process. It began with competency questions followed by questions on the knowledge required for the job role.

Competency questions such as, "Tell me a recent technology that can be beneficial to our company, "seemed as if these were the key questions they assessed me on. I was also asked some pure software engineering questions which i think were asked because they wanted to see whether i will be a nice fit for the role. I wasn't expecting these sort of questions as the email said there will be core competency questions to see if I am eligible for the final assessment centre.

How did you use latest technology recently and how could that technology help BT in improving their business?

Ensure that you know about what is required from the role you are applying for. E.g. Being a software engineer what are the core responsibilities and what is the knowledge you would need to have.

I didn't get through to the assessment stage, but I was told if I did get through the telephone interview I would have been given a call to attend the assessment centre at the London office

Online application followed by video interview. This part was the same as all others with a little touch of BT. The invited to assessment centre.

4 exercises: group exercise, one-to-one presentation, differential and a one-to-one interview.

Group exercise consisted of working as a team to create a presentation, and then present that to the assessors in a timed scenario.

Presentation was something pre-prepared by yourself, which had to be on the BT values.

Differential was a role play exercised aimed at suitability for the role.

Interview... well that was an interview.

Most difficult task is the group exercise. Working with people that you met 10 minutes ago logically and as a team.

No difficult questions. There are no correct answers, assessors at BT genuinely want to know about you, not what google said was the best answer.

Be yourself, work as a team and don't try to fight to stand out. Prepare on aspects of the role that you could be questioned on. Look at and learn the BT values and make sure the company is the right fit for you.

Relaxed atmosphere, buddies are provided (current BT grads) and they help you throughout the day!