Charles River Associates Interview Questions

19 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (86%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.6
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (91%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3.1
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (96%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

76%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Charles River Associates

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2023
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division N/A
Location
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2018
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Healthcare
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2022
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Energy
Location Holloway
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2022
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division N/A
Location San Francisco
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2021
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division N/A
Location Milan
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2021
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Generalist
Location London
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2021
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Chicago
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2018
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Life Sciences
Location San Francisco
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Charles River Associates Examples

antitrust and competition analyst Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in
Interviewed: September 2023
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Other
Interview
It was a 30 minute interview on zoom with two people currently working for the company. Very standard interview.
Interview Questions
What project have you worked on?

Analyst Interview - Healthcare

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: October 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Skills Test
Interview
It was a fairly straightforward interview process. I had a phone screen with two consultants and then I had an onsite with multiple team members. They asked questions about my resume, interest in the firm, communication style, etc. There was also a mini case interview. It was a lot of repetitive questions which felt a bit disorganized. The whole process took only a couple weeks. After the onsite, we went to coffee with a few consultants for more informal conversations. They then took a while to get back to me with a decision, which also felt disorganized.
Interview Questions
The initial phone screen had a unique case question that could not have been prepared for. It was more of a creative thinking on the spot type of question.

Energy Practice Analyst Interview - Energy

Anonymous employee in Holloway
Interviewed: November 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Personality Test
Background Check
Other
Interview
Online interviews: 1st interview was personality and experience based - questions on past projects and items from the resume and some questions related to the concepts of the Energy industry (how is electricity priced in the UK). 2nd interview was a case round. Written case was provided and I was given 1 hour to write my answers and submit.
Interview Questions
How is electricity priced in the UK and what can the UK government do it monitor the prices?

Summer Intern Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco
Interviewed: November 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Skills Test
Personality Test
Interview
After applying online with my Cover Letter, Resume and Transcript, I got a virtual interview offer shortly.
Interview Questions
Explain a research experience that you had.

Summer Intern Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Milan
Interviewed: March 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
The hiring process is quite simple. You have to submit a CV, Cover Letter, and statement on Quantitative Experience.
I was then invited within 2 weeks to sit down with an interview. The meeting happened over zoom and it was with 2 Senior Research Analysts who asked me a lot of questions regarding Industrial Organisations and an econometric based case study. I was supposed to evaluate the merger of a supermarket chain and find a way to measure if there was a threat of dominant position. Afterwards, I discussed my research thesis for my BSc degree.
Interview Questions
Which econometric method would you use to analyse the threat of dominant position?

Life sciences associate Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: December 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Group Interview
Interview
The interview was held in a group of few people, with 4 different sessions. It consists of group case, individual case study, behavorial questions and brain teaser.
Interview Questions
You need to pick numbers to get question and the group case was hard as not all candidates were experienced in case study

Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago
Interviewed: October 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Top target for econ consulting, applied through OCR via Handshake.

1st round was Zoom interview with two employees, selected randomly from across different offices/practices.

Then was the Superday, which was consisted of 3 Zoom interviews, one-on-one, 1 technical and 2 technical+behavioral.
Interview Questions
1st round was all behavioral, more like the people at the firm trying to explain what econ consulting is to you. Also, it is an opportunity to tell the firm your preferences in terms of location and practice (antitrust, finance, IP, etc. personally chose finance) If you do some research about econ consulting and its function and role, pretty straightforward.

Superday consisted of 3 interviews, 1 technical (a lot on DCF, capital structure, working capital etc.) - but this is for the finance practice only. 2 were senior members (directors of the office) who were really great people to talk to. The interviews with them consist of technicals (easier than the first one, similar topics) and fit/personal motivation questions. Would strongly recommend maintaining academic caliber-ish attitude.

Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: October 2018
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
The process of interviewing was very similar to other economic consulting firms. The first stage is just to submit a resume / cover letter. The first interview was a short 30-minute interview, mostly behavioral, with 2 people (usually one junior one senior, or two juniors). The second interview was a super day consisting of 5 interviews, almost all of which were 1-on-1 with senior staff, and 1 which was a case interview with data.
Interview Questions
If you were hired as a consultant to be two airlines who wanted to merge, how would you approach them? What data would you need? Why would you need this data? What issues might you find with this data?

Life Sciences Analyst Interview - Life Sciences

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco
Interviewed: October 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
4-5 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Applied online, followed by online assessment, phone screen, and then a 1 on 1 phone interview with behavioral and case
Interview Questions
Unconventional case, focus on interpreting figures and data that are given to you in slide format. Was underprepared considering that i had been practicing the candidate-led case interview, so had difficulty shifting my approach/mindset when necessary data was not available. They also pushed you to make a recommendation without providing all the relevant data, and it was difficult to compose a storyline/rationale with the data that they did offer. Life science knowledge would be helpful, but not necessary.

Summer Fellow Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: June 2017
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I applied through my campus recruiting database, was matched with the employer, and then had a 45 minute behavioral interview with the CEO.
Interview Questions
The most difficult/unexpected interview questions that were asked were:

- "Tell me about a time when you had to juggle several projects at the same time. How did you organize your time? What was the result?"

- "Recall a time when your manager was unavailable when a problem arose. How did you handle the situation? With whom did you consult?"

- "Describe a time when you volunteered to expand your knowledge at work, as opposed to being directed to do so."

- "Give an example of a time when you delegated an important task successfully."