We open for applications on 1 September, and close for graduate positions at the end of January and for internships and placements at the end of February. Don’t wait for the deadlines though. Our advice is to submit your application as early as possible as that's when we have the most roles available.
Although it varies, most people spend around two to three hours completing the application. Avoid copying and pasting answers from other applications as it will not give your application the focus it needs to stand out. Our team looks at each application individually, and it usually takes a week to hear the outcome. However, at certain times of the year it can take a little longer due to high volumes.
Below is the outline of what you’ll need to complete your application:
Competencies
The competencies that we assess through the recruitment process are:
- Adaptability
- Initiative
- Ownership
- Building business relationships
- Business insight
- Results driven
- Influencing
- Critical thinking
- Motivation
Personal details
You’ll need to put your personal details here (eg name, address, employment details if currently employed, how you heard about this vacancy and if you have ever worked for the firm before). Please complete this in full.
Equal opportunities
This section is not compulsory, but as part of Grant Thornton's commitment as an equal opportunities employer, we’d really appreciate it if you’d complete our questionnaire. This data is not visible to our hiring managers and is not used in the selection process.
Education
This section covers your secondary education (school/sixth form), higher education (college/university) and post-graduation education details (including the name of establishment and the month and year you started and finished at each).
You must make sure you add obtained and predicted grades for all of your education. If you forget it will delay us giving you an outcome of your application.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be listed, including subjects, results and the date of the qualification achieved for your GCSEs, A-levels and undergraduate degree (or equivalents). Make sure the qualifications section of your application is complete, as it will mean your application can be reviewed without delay. It also gives you the best chance of being successful.
You don't need to list all of your subjects within each year at University unless you would like to. Instead we need an overall course and predicted or obtained grade.
You must ensure you do tell us your predicted grades ie for your A levels if a School Leaver or for your degree if still at university.
Work experience
You will be asked to list any employment details including the name of the employer, dates employed and a description of responsibilities, experience and knowledge gained. To make your application stand out, make sure you highlight key parts to any roles and achievements, and that your work experience is related to the role you're applying to.
Free text questions
We appreciate these are the questions people don’t like! For us, though, they’re a key way to differentiate applicants – and a chance for you to really stand out. Our advice – stay focused on the actual question being asked, give facts and structure your answers. And remember the fuller and more direct the answer you give, the better. Finally, make sure you cover the basics and check your answers for grammar and spelling mistakes at the end.
Our main questions…
- To be a successful trainee, you will need to be focused and a good fit for our firm. Please let us know why you have decided to apply to Grant Thornton and what you think differentiates us from our competitors.
- As well as being business focused, we also look for people who show a strong motivation to the business area they are applying to. Please tell us about your focus and knowledge of your chosen business area, and the relevant professional qualification? (where applicable)
- Our trainees provide business advice, deliver distinctive client service and add value to our clients. What does this mean to you and how would you go about doing this?
- You will be expected to take on early responsibility, demonstrate ownership, and deliver results. Please describe any positions of responsibility that you've held which show this.
- We are looking for well-rounded individuals to join our teams. Please tell us about any extracurricular activities, achievements, interests, scholarships, awards and prizes.
Anything else you wanted to talk about? Here's your chance to tell us other information you think might strengthen your application. You can also add detail about any extenuating circumstances for blips grades here if you wish.
If you feel you’ve covered everything, though, feel free to put 'not applicable'.
Preferred locations
We recruit trainees into over 20 of our locations around the country. You will be asked for your first and second preferred location.
CV upload
Our advice is to spend your time completing your application in full, rather than your CV. You can upload your CV if you want to, however in most cases we’ll make a decision based solely on your application form.
Assistance
Once you’ve completed a section of your application a tick will show against it. It’s a good idea to tick off sections in order so you don’t miss any out and save after each section to avoid losing any of your application. Don’t click your browser's ‘back’ button, as this will bring up an error message. Once you have completed the application in full you can view and print it. We recommend you proofread everything thoroughly before you submit it to make sure you’re happy with everything.
If you have any technical problems when submitting your application, email traineerecruitment@uk.gt.com or phone the local office that you are applying to.