PwC US publishes its entry-level hiring process in some detail. You apply online, complete an assessment for most roles, and then have live virtual interviews with PwC professionals. PwC says its interviews are built around the PwC Professional, the framework it uses to recruit, develop and manage its people, so that's where your preparation should start.
Everything below comes from PwC's own careers pages, linked as we go. It covers PwC US entry-level hiring (internships and associate roles), which is what PwC documents. Where PwC doesn't say something, we say so.
The PwC hiring process at a glance
| Stage | What happens | What PwC says |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare to apply | Explore career areas, read the role's qualifications and PwC's AI guidance | Some roles have deadlines; most recruit on a rolling basis |
| 2. Application | Apply on PwC's entry-level jobs site with a PDF resume and your preferred office | No cover letter needed |
| 3. Online assessment | A work-style questionnaire, for most entry-level roles | Emailed within a few hours; about 15 to 20 minutes; not timed |
| 4. Interviews | Live virtual interviews with PwC professionals | Assurance and Tax: two back-to-back interviews. Advisory: most include a case interview |
| 5. Decision | You hear about next steps | Timing depends on whether your role reviews on a rolling or deadline basis |
What is the PwC hiring process?
You prepare, apply, complete the assessment if your role needs it, and interview. PwC lays this out on its entry-level recruiting page, with an assessment FAQ and a case interview guide for Advisory.
PwC's recruiting page describes interviews for Assurance, Tax and Advisory roles, and the format depends on which you apply to.
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How do you apply to PwC?
You apply on PwC's entry-level jobs site. What PwC asks for:
- A current resume as a PDF. PwC suggests including the word "Resume" in the file name.
- No cover letter. PwC says one isn't required.
- Your preferred PwC office. The job description lists the cities available for that role.
- Apply by the deadline. Most roles recruit on a rolling basis, and locations close as offers are accepted. If your role needs the assessment, both the application and the assessment are expected by the deadline.
- Apply to roles you actually want. PwC says every application signals equal interest in each position.
If you've graduated with less than a year of relevant full-time experience, PwC points you to its entry-level job board. With a year or more, you may be eligible for its experienced roles instead.
What is the PwC online assessment?
It's a short questionnaire about your work style and tendencies, required for most entry-level roles. PwC's assessment FAQ says:
- It arrives by email within a few hours of applying, through a link that's unique to you.
- It's not timed. PwC recommends setting aside about 15 to 20 minutes and doing it in one sitting, but your progress saves if you stop.
- No preparation is needed. Questions ask which statement describes you best, for example choosing between "I often come up with new approaches to tasks" and "I make every effort to always be on time".
- If this would be your first job, think about volunteer or school activities when you answer.
- Results are valid for 120 days and aren't shared with you.
- PwC piloted and validated the assessment before making it part of entry-level recruiting.
PwC's recruiting page lists the roles that don't need it: senior associate intern and full-time positions, seasonal and fixed-term positions, and specialist roles. If you haven't received an assessment within one business day and none of PwC's listed reasons apply, PwC asks you to contact its candidate line.
A questionnaire about work style is a type of psychometric assessment. Our guide to psychometric assessments explains how these work in general. The useful advice is PwC's own: read each question carefully and pick the answer that best reflects your views or experiences.
What is the PwC interview process?
If you're selected, PwC contacts you to schedule live, virtual interviews with PwC professionals. The format depends on whether you're applying to Assurance, Tax or Advisory.
Assurance and Tax interviews
Candidates typically complete two consecutive live virtual interviews. One uses behavioural questions. The other uses Innovation Scenario-Based questions, which PwC describes as forward-looking questions about how you approach AI, technology and innovation. They may start with "What would you do if..." or "Imagine you are...".
Advisory interviews
PwC tells you your interview process when it invites you, and most Advisory positions require a case interview. PwC says the case interview:
- is typically 30 to 45 minutes, as part of a longer interview process;
- is a two-way virtual conversation about a business problem based on real-world themes, where the interviewer may challenge your thinking;
- has no perfect answer, because PwC is looking at your reasoning as well as your conclusion;
- may include basic calculations, such as estimating market size, with no advanced maths;
- lets you take notes, which PwC encourages.
PwC lists what interviewers listen for: structured thinking, comfort with ambiguity, communication skills, business intuition and basic numeracy, and curiosity and coachability. At associate level it wants a clear, structured approach; you don't need prior business or industry experience.
Can you use AI during PwC's hiring process?
Not during the assessment or interviews. PwC's guidance for candidates says AI isn't allowed in either, unless a case interview's instructions explicitly permit it, and to assume it's not permitted otherwise. You may use AI to research roles, draft your resume or submit an application. PwC also asks candidates not to share information from the assessment, case study or interviews, including with AI tools.
PwC interview questions and how to answer them
PwC doesn't publish its interview questions. These are questions to prepare for, built from what PwC says it assesses. The PwC Professional has two dimensions, Trusted Leadership and Distinctive Outcomes, and PwC's US careers site frames each as three questions. PwC says interviewers look for examples from your work, studies, extra-curricular activities or volunteering.
PwC's purpose and values page gives its purpose as "to build trust in society and solve important problems" and its values as act with integrity, make a difference, care, work together and reimagine the possible.
Use the STAR structure (situation, task, action, result) for the behavioural questions. Our STAR method guide walks through it.
1. Tell me about yourself.
Keep it to a minute or two: your studies, one or two experiences that matter for this role, and why this area of PwC. PwC says the interview is your chance to showcase your education, skills and experiences, so choose the ones that link to the role.
2. Why PwC?
Be specific. Mention the area you're applying to and something you learned about the work, from a PwC event, its virtual learning experiences or someone you spoke to. You can connect it to PwC's purpose of building trust in society and solving important problems.
3. Why Assurance, Tax or Advisory?
PwC asks applicants to consider which opportunities fit their education, skills, experience and interests. Explain the fit in those terms, with one concrete reason.
4. Tell me about a time you realised your behaviour was affecting how others worked with you.
This maps to PwC's first Trusted Leadership question: "Do you understand your impact on others and how this influences whether people want to work with you?" Choose a moment where you noticed, changed something and saw the result.
5. Tell me about a time you coached or helped someone else succeed.
PwC asks, "Do you coach and work side by side with others?" Tutoring, training a new teammate or helping a project member who was stuck all work. Show what you did alongside them, as well as what you told them.
6. Tell me about a time you taught yourself something to prepare for what's coming.
This is the third Trusted Leadership question: growing as a professional "with an eye towards the future". A new tool, course or skill you picked up on your own is ideal, especially one involving technology.
7. Tell me about a time you protected quality or integrity under pressure.
PwC asks, "Do you commit to quality, integrity and inclusive behaviors?" and its first value is act with integrity. Pick a story where cutting a corner was tempting, and say what you did instead and why.
8. What's happening in the market or industry that interests you?
PwC asks whether you "apply a business mindset to the work you do and understand the market around us". Prepare one trend relevant to the area you're applying to and explain why it matters to clients.
9. Tell me about a time you worked with others to deliver something for a client, customer or user.
This is the last PwC Professional question: collaborating "to deliver quality and distinctive client experiences". Describe the team, your part and what the end user got.
10. Imagine a new AI tool could do part of your daily work. What would you do?
This is the kind of prompt PwC describes for its Innovation Scenario-Based interview. Show how you'd learn the tool, check its output, and use the time saved. Mention risks and quality checks, which link back to integrity.
11. What would you do if you were asked to fix a slow, manual process for a client?
Another innovation-style prompt. Ask what the client wants to achieve, break the process into steps, suggest where technology could help, and say how you'd measure whether it worked.
12. For Advisory: how would you approach giving a client an initial point of view?
This question comes from PwC's own sample case, which also asks "How would you leverage AI in your analysis?" Start with the client's goal, list the information you'd need, structure the risks and options, and think out loud. PwC says there's no perfect answer.
13. Do you have any questions for us?
Ask about the team's clients, how new associates learn, and what success looks like in the first year. Thoughtful questions also show the curiosity PwC lists for case interviews.
For more practice, our list of behavioural interview questions has a wider bank, and our situational interview questions cover "what would you do if" prompts.
What happens after the PwC interview?
PwC doesn't publish a fixed decision timeline. It says recruiters review applications on a rolling or deadline-driven basis, which sets the timing of next steps.
Is the PwC hiring process the same outside the US?
Not necessarily. PwC says each of its member firms is a separate legal entity, and the process above is PwC US's. PwC India's campus careers page, for example, lists campus hiring, early careers hiring and academy hiring programmes but doesn't publish selection steps. Outside the US, follow the member firm's own guidance and ask your recruiter about the format. The PwC Professional is a global framework, so preparing examples against it is useful anywhere.
How to prepare for a PwC interview
- Read the PwC Professional and prepare one example for each of its six questions.
- Finish the assessment quickly after it arrives, so your application is complete before the deadline.
- Choose between Assurance, Tax and Advisory and be ready to explain why.
- Practise forward-looking answers about technology, AI and new ways of working for the innovation interview.
- For Advisory, work through PwC's sample cases out loud with a timer, and sharpen your mental maths on percentages and ratios.
- Prepare your virtual set-up: a quiet room, a working camera and something to take notes on.
- Rehearse with someone who will push back. Our mock interview guide shows how to set one up.
- Don't use AI during the assessment or interviews, and don't share what you were asked afterwards.
Practising realistic work tasks
PwC's case interviews and innovation questions reward structured thinking on realistic problems, and that improves with practice. Cohesyve, which publishes this guide, runs free practice job simulations for job seekers. Cohesyve isn't affiliated with PwC and doesn't use PwC's assessments or questions.
FAQs
How long is the PwC online assessment?
PwC recommends setting aside about 15 to 20 minutes. It isn't timed, and you can finish it over several sittings.
Is the PwC assessment a numerical or aptitude test?
For PwC US entry-level roles, PwC describes it as questions about your work style and tendencies, and says no preparation is needed. Other PwC member firms may use different assessments.
Will PwC tell me my assessment result?
No. PwC says assessment results aren't shared with candidates. They're valid for 120 days.
Do I need a cover letter for PwC?
Not for US entry-level roles. PwC asks for a current resume as a PDF.
Can I interview for more than one PwC role?
You can apply to several, but PwC says you can only interview for one opportunity at a time.
How long is a PwC case interview?
PwC says typically 30 to 45 minutes, as part of a longer interview process.
Does PwC sponsor H-1B visas?
PwC says it isn't currently hiring US entry-level or experienced candidates who will need sponsorship through the H-1B lottery, now or in the future, except as set out on its H-1B lottery policy page.
Sources
PwC's own pages, checked 27 October 2026:
- pwc.com: Entry level recruiting process and FAQs
- pwc.com: Entry level assessment FAQs
- pwc.com: Get ready for your Advisory case interview
- pwc.com: PwC guidance for candidate use of AI
- pwc.com: The PwC Professional
- pwc.com: Purpose, values and behaviours
- pwc.in: Campus careers