Application Process

The Santiago application process consists of two different rounds of interviews that can be conducted virtually, depending on where you are.

After receiving your application, you will be informed within a few days whether you will be invited to the first round of interviews.

First round - getting to know each other in person

The first interview is a classic interview in which we want to get to know you, your experience, skills, wishes and expectations. In addition to the stages of your resume, your personal fit, your ability to work in a team and your communication skills are important to us. At the same time we introduce Santiago and the possibilities we can offer you in detail. If we get the impression that we could be a good match, you will be invited to the second round within a few days.

Second round - testing your skills

The second round consists of four one-hour interviews conducted one after the other - the Santiago Recruiting Day. The first interview is about the general conditions such as starting date, level and salary. At the same time, we introduce you to our evaluation system. This describes, among other things, what we value and how your bonus is determined.

These interviews will test your analytical skills, business sense, structuring ability and communication skills in the context of case studies and brain teasers. The interviews will be conducted by project leaders and partners. The total duration of the Santiago Recruiting Day is 4.5 hours (there is a 10-minute break between each of the four interviews). If your schedule requires it, we can also conduct the interviews on different days.

After the recruiting day, we will discuss your performance and decide whether you fit into our team. The next day, you will receive structured feedback and if it is positive, we will send you your contract.

Our experience shows: The better you prepare for the interviews, the higher the probability that we will decide for each other in the end. To help you on your way to Santiago, we have put together some tips for you.

Of course, every interview is different. Nevertheless, there are some empirical values on how to improve your chances of success:

Prepare carefully

An interview consists of more than just presenting your resume. We want to understand what moves you, why you have gone your way and why Santiago should be the next station on your way. And we want to understand what makes you special and what you expect from us.

Be yourself

Present yourself as you are. Describe your expectations and wishes. There is no point in playing a role that you would not be happy with later on in our team. We value open communication and want to work together with pleasure. And we can only judge whether this can work if we get to know you honestly..

Bring it to the point

Your introduction is a pitch on your own behalf. How you complete this pitch will give us a first feel for how you will present yourself to our clients, if applicable.

Be motivated and open minded

Be open to learning more about the job you are applying for and be motivated to present and contribute your experience. We can only judge your energy if you show it to us during the interviews.

Rate us for you

You will meet at least four of Santiago's colleagues during the interviews. Take the opportunity to evaluate the way we conduct the interviews and how we respond to your questions to see if you could see yourself at Santiago.

In your interview, a current project is used in anonymized form for the case. Since the projects span our business areas of strategy, organization and digitalization , the cases can also come from these three fields. We do not expect you to be an expert in these fields. The cases are about testing your analytical skills and your structuring competence. If you follow a few tips, nothing can go wrong:

Do: Listen and ask questions

Especially in case studies, it is important to understand the initial situation and the problem correctly. Therefore, do not immediately start with possible solutions, but first ask questions and use this time to think things over.

Do: Structure the problem

Do not immediately jump to individual topics that may just occur to you. First, try to structure the problem and develop a solution space.

Do: Work with hypotheses and options

Given the limited time available, even the most detailed description of the initial situation will not be able to contain all the details. Hypotheses can help fill this gap. When developing solutions, do not commit to one solution. Work with options.

Do: Derive your proposed solution logically

If you work with options, then you could, for example, evaluate them and thus come to a proposal.

Do: Share your thoughts with us

Time is short, but we will give you time to think. Use this time to structure your thoughts. We also want to understand how you think and how you approach the problem. Let us be part of it.

Don't: Go ahead without having understood the problem

Take your time, ask questions. Do not immediately start with solutions without having made an analysis.

Don't: Don`t defend your solution at all costs

If you are wrong, it can happen. Don't waste too much energy defending a wrong solution.

Don't: Panic

If you work with hypotheses, for example, it may be that they were wrong. But that is not a bad thing, because that is part of the nature of hypotheses. Do not panic.

Don't: Tell stories

If you get stuck, avoid resorting to general stories from the business management textbook. Better do a reset and start with a new case if necessary.