FDM Group Interview Questions & Answers

What do you do when you have a deadline approaching and you still have tasks to complete?

Describe a situation where you had to show responsibility.

The phone interview took 15 minutes asking questions such as why you want to work in the IT industry; what attracts you to FDM group; and general questions to gain a quick insight into basic competencies to assess your suitability for FDM.

If you were successful you would be invited to an assessment centre which included 3 separate tests and 2 interviews. The interviews revolved around 3 specific themes: FDM and the IT industry; your degree and career history; professional and personal motivations

The 1st interview was with the account manager of Hong Kong (Held over Skype), which was used to assess my knowledge in general topics within project management as well as my competencies.

Whilst the 2nd interview was with face-to face with a UK manager. This was a very relaxed conversational approach towards the interview that felt like they genuinely wanted to get to know me on a more personal level with regards to the themes describled above

What are the most important issues the IT industry is currently facing?
What is the reason for the current oil prices for hitting its current all time low (This question was a real curveball)

To prepare for the tests, you can use google to help to find suitable resources to ensure you are well prepared.
As for the interviews, I would recommend researching their company as best as possible using a SWOT analysis to gain a general background of the company as well as opportunities and threats that can affect the IT industry.
Read up on top news stories within current affairs as a few curveballs could be thrown into the mix.
And most importantly BE POSITIVE!!

Within the assessment centre we were asked to perform 3 tests:
Numerical (30 minutes) - which included basic arithmetic maths
Basic IT aptitude test (60 minutes) - this included situational questions, logical and verbal reasoning, as well as some basic programming questions
Venn diagram test (60 minutes)
For the most part these tests aren't too difficult as long as you spend a minimum of 2-3 days preparing for them to familiarise yourself with the terminology as well as how the questions are asked, though its important to note they are a tad tricky.

The interviews were conducted between three members of staff, each of which asked four scripted questions. The interviewers were thus not expanding on their questions that is up to you to do. Each of the three has a specific topic, your university degree, why you want to work for FDM and in the I.T sector, and personal questions about you as an applicant.

Typically, the questions were easy to answer and designed to show your personality. The hardest of which was the question "would you miss a a deadline if sticking to it meant compromising on quality" obviously there is no perfect answer to such questions.

Each interview lasted between 5-6 minutes depending on how long you as an applicant talked for and expanded on your answers (some people had as little as 2-3 minutes).

Would you be willing to miss a deadline if meeting the deadline meant compromising on the quality of the finished project?

And:

What would you do if we locked you out of the office for 2 hours and were not allowed to work?

Ensure you revise your maths skills a lot before hand. While the maths is not hard if you have not done any mental arithmetic for some time you will not score well. The venn diagram and set notation test can be learned in an afternoon and once you know it it is very easy. The interviews are difficult to prepare for so go in with some preparation but be willing to think on your feet.

There were three exams, maths (30 mins), aptitude test (1hr) and set notation and venn diagram (1hr). The hardest of which is personal to you, I found the maths test the hardest having never particularly been very good at it but the second two relatively easy.

The first interview was a telephone interview asking general questions, for example. What did you study? What skills do you have that will be suitable for the role? Why FDM? Why IT? It was a short interview no more than 10 minutes.

I was successful and then invited for an assessment day two weeks later. There were eight of us and we went into a room called a fish bowl, the offices were new and modern. We were first given a short introduction about the company from one of the recruitment team and then we had to stand and give a short introduction about ourselves on what we studied and where we heard about FDM. We.We then transported to another meeting room, where we stayed most of the day, and a member of HR gave a powerpoint presentation and a sample contract to look at. Followed by the numerical test (no calculator), it wasn't too bad but I did practise beforehand but during test situations it feels different as always, the test contained addition, factors, multiplication, percentages, fractions, simultaneous equations and Pythagorus. I was lucky to have a 15 minute break with another prospective, while the others started interviewing. We went to the kitchen and met someone who spoke well of FDM. He said the business pathway was 8 weeks and technical is 12 weeks (can also be paid whilst training).

I had three interviews back to back, they were short. My first one was about my degree and asked, what my degree was, my result, whether I was happy with it, my project, what would I change about my degree and what modules I liked in my degree. Second interview was a personality one and lastly one about why FDM and IT. The interviewers are friendly but do prepare to say as much as you can in a short time.

We then had another test straight afterwards the aptitude test, consisting of 50 questions. They were okay some questions were tricky they had some puzzles, personality questions, programming and basic IT questions, like what is SQL, what does a service manager do, why go from IP4 to IP6..

After a quick lunch of 45 minutes with the other applicants, we sat down for our final test on Venn diagrams and Set notation. There are four parts the last part was the hardest and the test was okay until the last part where you had produce a 3 set venn diagram and find quantities in each set. I did run out of time.

Do you like to work on many different projects? Is change a good thing? What would you change about your degree or modules in your degree? How do you balance your time and time with your friends?

Practise some interview questions with a friend. They email you information about your assessment day and supply helpful links to help you revise for the test. Dress smart. The environment is friendly and you wouldn't feel in competition with the other candidates when you are there, so try not to worry.

There were eight of us, we sat the numerical, aptitude and venn diagram tests together. Then split into groups of 2 when interviewing.

Having made an online application I was contacted by a member of their graduate recruitment team within about an hour to book a telephone interview within the next few days. That telephone consisted of simply asking why I had applied, what interested me about IT and what I liked about FDM specifically. I was then told that I had passed the telephone interview stage and was asked to book an assessment day. The assessment day consisted of three tests; mathematics, set notation and Venn diagrams and aptitude tests. Also, there were to be three, five minute interviews consisting of four set questions each. On arrival we were given a short introductory presentation as well as the opportunity to ask any questions regarding the positions available. We were also given a tour of the office and encouraged to ask people there questions. Then we had to fill in a form which asked for, amongst other things, any modules that we had failed and any criminal convictions we had that were not yet spent. Then we had the first of the three tests, which lasted an hour, followed by the three interviews. In the interviews it was stressed that the interviewer would ask just the four questions; they would not ask anything to follow up on what you had said or encourage you to answer more fully in any way, so it was up to you to say as much as you could about anything they asked, especially considering the fact that each interview was only five minutes. Then we had the second test, broke for lunch, and then the final test afterwards.

The mathematical test was GCSE standard and not difficult at all; however, having used a calculator for three years of study, suddenly being asked to do mental arithmetic was a bit of a struggle. Also, the aptitude test contained some tricky questions relating to probabilities and coding, but for the most part wasn't too bad.

Practice mental arithmetic if you feel that you might struggle without a calculator and think about how you would answer interview questions in a short space of time, whilst giving as full an answer as possible; the questions themselves are fairly standard, apart from one which was "what does success look like to you", which is just one of those where you have to think on your feet a little bit.

A GCSE-level mathematical test, without a calculator; a GCSE/A level Venn diagram and set notation test; an aptitude test, which included logic problems, questions about defining IT-related terms (such as SQL), coding problems and the sort of problems you might expect on an IQ test.

My initial telephone interview was with a member of their graduate recruitment team which lasted 10 mins. We had an inital chat about my CV and why I applied for the company and the interviewer questioned whether I would like to work in the Asia Pacific area.
After a few hours, I was told I passed the phone interview and was put to the next stage which was the assessment center.

On the day of the assessment center, there were eight of us and we were all waiting in the same area and room. During the time, we were either waiting or having our interviews. Interview consisted of one sype interview with an account in hong kong and the other interview was a face to face interviewer from the UK. The UK interviewer was asking basis questions in regards to your CV whilst the other skyoe interview was based on the job and why I wanted a position there and which role I thought was suitable for myself.

After the two interviews we had our numerical test. This was basis maths such as subtraction and multiplication and factors. (nothing to complicated) After this test we had the HR talk in regards to our contract and what they expected from us an what are the consequences.

We had lunch after that and straight after lunch we had two 1hour exam. One was based on questions about IT and the other was based on Venn diagram.

Finally we had a tour around the office.

I got my reply the next day that I was successful.

Describe was your weakness is and how you overcome it?

stay professional, no slang words invoid. Talk to other candiates. Talk as much as you can and sell yourself. Smile to anyone that passes you. If in doubt ask as many questions you want. Be prepared to sit all day.

individual assessment based on maths, IT and venn diagrams

I had an initial telephone interview which consisted of questions such as, why would you like to work in IT? Why would you consider a career with FDM? Where do you you see yourself in 5 years time? The phone interview lasted approximately 20 minutes.

After the phone interview I was invited to an assessment day at the FDM offices in London. The day consisted of 3 tests, including an aptitude test, a maths test and a venn diagram and probability test. Each exam lasted an hour apart from the maths test which was 30 minutes. I then had 3 short one on one interviews with members of the senior management team. They asked questions about my degree, why I wanted to work in IT and some questions on my personality.

The questions were mostly quite straight forward, some questions such as 'How would you describe your perfect day at work?' were not as straight forward as they first seemed.

Be confident and have a positive attitude even if you feel the process isn't going as you initially planned. Prepare for the venn diagram test with some revision on probability and standard notation. I practiced all of the test styles before the interview a few times to make sure I didn't get a nasty shock!

3 short interviews, 3 exams. I then took an extra exam for an accelerated training program that focussed on my knowledge of pseudo code and problem solving skills.

First I received a call for a phone interview which was very basic:
Why FDM?
Why you chose your degree?
Where do you see your self in five years?
Why I.T?
Then I was told straight away, I am through to the assessment centre. Was given a tour of the organisation. Then had to introduce ourselves as an icebreaker. Overall it was a comfortable environment.

"Describe a situation where you had to respond to demand?"

Research the company, have examples to relate to, brush up on communicating skills. don't go unprepared otherwise you will trip up, there are 3 5 minute interviews all competency based, they are all very friendly interviewers just relax and say what you got to say in a concise style.

3 tests, first was a maths test very easy nothing to worry about, brush up on GCSE maths. 2nd was an aptitude test, some I.T related stuff on there so maybe just research a little. Third was ven diagram, very confusing if you dont prepare, was challenging.

A very straightforward interview that allowed the interviewer and candiadate to build a relationship from word go. A phone interview that lasted 20 minutes, covering basic university and career desires. We covered Maths exams, diagramatic reasoning and verbal reasoning tests that revealed how numerical we were.

Describe success in three words. This was hard because it was subjective and personal. Therefore, it put you on your back foot. Another question was describe what differentiates you from someone else.

Prepare early, practice Venn Diagrams. Mock interviews and take care to look at your interviewers. Ensure that you dress smartly with a CV with you, this helps to stand you out instantly. Ensure that you know the organisation inside out covering their mission, vision, company values and concepts.

Venn Diagram test, 1 hour test whereby you describe set notations. A Maths test, 1 hour long test that tries to understand your level of basic Mathematics skills. 5 min interviews, times 3. Speed dating in an interview context.