Applied online.
Had a phone interview that was competency and strengths based. Passed that and went through to the assessment centre. HR gave instant feedback on the phone which I thought was quite helpful.
The assessment centre itself was a bit hit and miss. While there was a initally relaxed environment, it was very drawn out. I suppose a benefit of this is that it allows PCMS to see whether you are able to push through the monotony barrier and if you actually want the job.
The assessments were typical data analysis, presentation etc type tests.
They also had a process of cutting people after each assessment, so it could all be over before lunch time. I think somebody in their recruitment team enjoys watching "The Apprentice" a bit too much. It can be quite brutal, and in my opinion it doesn't actually add any value to the overall process.
You get to have lunch with some of the graduates on the scheme which is quite informal/ relaxed and allowed us to ask more indepth questions about working for the company.
If you make it to the final stage, you'll have an interview about how you feel the day went. I appreciated the time HR took to give me the feedback, even if I didn't agree entirely with what was said.
Once I passed this, I went through to the final stage which was an interview session with the hiring managers. This was a real eye-opener for both sides as it allows their management team to identify whether you'd fit in with their team, and allow you to see whether you'd like to work 40 hours a week under them.
Some managers really took the time to try and understand how you think and behave and explain what they're looking for, whereas others were very verbose.
In the end I didn't get offered the role. Again received feedback, this time from the managers and I agreed with both the good and bad points they gave me.
Overall, the process is old-fashioned and isn't particularly enjoyable. Having said that, I'd definitely recommend people applying as there were some managers who seemed to be good people to work for and worst case scenario you can just use it as a training exercise for other roles you may be looking for/ want more.
The amount of feedback received was definitely a big plus for me, as it gave me an indication of where to improve moving forward.