I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Charles River Associates (Boston, MA)
Interview
The interview process was very straightforward and the firm was very communicative throughout.
I applied online and received an offer for an initial phone screening with HR within 2 weeks. The phone screening was a simple 30-min conversation regarding my past experiences as well as some more generic behavioural questions ("Describe an instance of team work", "How would your team members describe you?", etc.). I was notified within the day that I had qualified for a second-round phone interview with a Principal in the practice I had applied to.
The second phone call also lasted 30-min and consisted of similar content; mostly regarding my past experiences with a greater emphasis on the research that I had done. I was asked to describe my senior thesis project in detail, especially the types and sizes of the data series I had used. Again, I was notified within the day that I had been put through to the next round, which was a fly-in day to the Boston office.
The fly-in day consisted of four 30-min interviews with different members of the practice I applied to, as well as a 1-hr lunch with two junior staff. The interviews focused mostly on fit and past experiences, although one followed more of an informal case-style wherein a Principal asked me a series of questions related to a case he was currently working on. Overall the interviews were very conversational and friendly in nature. I found that my research experiences played a huge role throughout the process. I received my offer via phone the day after.
Two technical interviews, with example real world scenarios. Real world scenarios could be BEC, ransomware, or dead-box forensics. Then, two "personality/vibe" interviews, where they asked about how you handle failure, difficult or new scenarios, and what your work approach is.
There are two rounds of interview for incoming analysts, One with two juniors, fairly quick and not technical. There was also a second interview with 4 rounds, each of which was with a more senior level person
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why I am interested in the practice area I applied for
Smooth. 2 rounds of interview. A lot of questions surrounding research experiences and data processing. Not too many technicals. Many fit questions as well. Generally not difficult and got back to me pretty fast.