The interview process took about 4.5 hours total and was scheduled from 10.30AM to 3PM (with no break for lunch which I thought was a little odd but was not that bothered by). The entire experience was super pleasant until I met James Howes himself.
Before, I met with a junior accountant who was great, friendly, responsive. The office is beautiful. The aptitude tests were pretty straightforward. Then at the very end Mr. Howes came in.
He didn't really ask me any questions about my qualifications or how I would do in the job, but he asked how I found my university's social scene, why I would choose to do the extracurricular activities I had, and whether I actually spoke French (my first language). He also compared me to his daughter, and said "oh you're in uni you don't actually work, don't be silly. You get up hungover, go play some field hockey with your gal pals, and then maybe after dinner do some work" - nevermind that I don't play field hockey and the use of the word gal pals is strange, but that sort of derision and implication that I didn't work IN A JOB INTERVIEW was very, very weird. I am not one to get offended by older, conservative men being a little gendered in their speech, but I've never been in a job interview where I've been made to feel like a silly little girl until then.
The personality test was just pages of cartoons from the Spectator and you had 20 minutes to describe why each one was funny. Pretty unprofessional? Can I say the word strange again?
Paid for my travel to the interview, which was really appreciated. Didn't get the job which by that point I obviously didn't mind - not a good fit for me!
I cannot stress enough how lovely the rest of the staff are.