I applied online via the Capgemini website (which is a pretty standard application form – it asks about your work experience and a few motivational questions) then received an email from the Graduate Recruitment (GR) team (who have been outsourced to India, though don't let this put you off, they are all very efficient) a couple of days later inviting me to take a telephone interview.
This was mainly competency-based and lasted around 30 minutes. The interviewer asked a bit about Capgemini so make sure you do your research first: what they do, how they are organised, who their competitors are, what projects have they been involved in and so on. The best place to look for this is on their homepage – all resources can be accessed there. The interviewer was very friendly and professional and didn't ask me anything to catch me out; at this stage they are simply trying to find out your strengths and weaknesses and whether they think you are a good match for the company. I received an email 10 (yes, 10) minutes after I had put the phone down from GR saying that I had been successful and that they would like to invite me to an assessment centre, which took place at their HQ in Woking. I received a case study along with the invitation, where I was instructed to prepare a 15-minute presentation which I had to do in the interview.
The first exercise was a chat with 2 existing graduates, which I found very useful as it gives you the opportunity to find out more about the company. Make sure you ask lots of questions and be prepared to regurgitate all this information for the "Why Capgemini?" question in the interview. The face-to-face interview was with an SAP consultant and kicked off with the presentation. I thought I did alright but afterwards the interviewer grilled me for 10 minutes, asking very awkward and obscure questions. In this stage, it's important to keep your cool: they aren't expecting precise answers but they are looking for whether you can arrive at a solution logically (so explain your methodology!). You can have a handout but don't refer to this constantly during the interview – instead write down some bullet points on prompt cards (these will be collected) and use these instead.
The rest of the interview was much more pleasant and consisted of a couple of competency-based questions and a few motivational questions (e.g. Why Capgemini? Why the technology programme? What does a consultant do?). If you have knowledge of SAP then show this off – the interviewer will know what you're talking about. It was really more of a discussion; in my case there weren't any set questions and it made me feel a lot more relaxed. After the interview, there was a short lunch break then a group exercise (in a group of 6 with 3 Capgemini assessors) and a verbal reasoning test. The group exercise was arguing an investment strategy and they aren't looking for leadership but whether or not you can work effectively in a group discussion, so don't talk over people or dismiss other people's ideas – this won't go down well! The verbal reasoning test was a standard SHL one (with a technology theme) which I, surprisingly, found easier than the online ones. If you've done them before then you needn't worry – just read through the questions and take your time.
After the interview I received a call from HR a couple of days later saying that I had passed the assessment centre stage but unfortunately the original position that I had applied for (SAP Finance) was already filled and Capgemini felt that I was a better fit in another SAP department. I was told that the head of this department wanted to have a further chat with me, which came a week after the assessment centre. This wasn't an interview at all – more the manager trying to sell me the position and asking me whether I wanted to work for them! I then got a call a week later saying that I had been successful and they would like to make me an offer, which I happily accepted.
Overall, I had a really positive interview experience. The HR and GR staff are polite and efficient and never try to catch you out at any stage. Just be yourself and do your research and everything will be fine.