Michael Page

Hiring for consultant roles is run by an internal talent acquisition team and the business director of the relevant practice. The steps below are typical for India in 2025-26; client-side candidates go through the shorter flow described in the last step.

1. Application or referral

You apply on the PageGroup careers site, through LinkedIn, or via a referral from a current consultant. Referrals are common and are taken seriously, but every candidate still goes through the full process.

2. Talent acquisition screening call

A 20 to 30 minute call to understand your background, why recruitment, your salary expectations and your comfort with a target-driven role. Be ready to explain how you handle rejection and long sales cycles.

3. Interview with the hiring manager

A competency-based conversation with the manager or associate director you would report to. Expect questions about persuasion, handling difficult conversations and working towards numbers, each answered with a specific example.

4. Case or role-play exercise

Many practices ask you to prepare a short business case, such as how you would map a market or win a new client, or run a mock call with a candidate or client. It tests structure and how you sound on the phone.

5. Director or regional leadership round

A final interview with the practice director or managing director. This is about cultural fit, ambition and whether you understand the earning model of a consultant, which combines a base salary with commission.

6. Offer and onboarding

Offers are usually extended within a week of the final round, followed by reference checks and a structured induction programme that trains new consultants on search, sourcing and client management.

7. If you are a client-side candidate

A Michael Page consultant will screen you by phone or video, check your CV against the client brief, and then coordinate the client's own interview rounds. The consultant usually shares feedback after each stage and negotiates the offer on your behalf.

The rounds below describe the internal consultant hiring loop. The number of rounds is typically three to four, spread across two to four weeks.

Round 1: Recruiter screening

A phone or video call with the talent acquisition team lasting about 30 minutes. It checks motivation, communication and whether your expectations match the role's base-plus-commission structure.

• Why do you want to move into recruitment?
• How do you deal with targets and rejection?
• Walk me through your current role and achievements

Round 2: Hiring manager competency interview

A 45 to 60 minute interview with the practice manager, usually virtual. Questions follow the STAR pattern and focus on sales ability, persistence and relationship building.

• Tell me about a time you convinced someone who initially said no
• Describe a goal you missed and what you changed afterwards
• How would you build a candidate pipeline for a niche role?

Round 3: Business case or role-play

You may present a plan for developing a market or run a simulated call. Assessors look at how you structure the problem, ask questions and close the conversation with a clear next step.

• Map the top employers in a sector and how you would approach them
• Mock call: pitch a role to a passive candidate
• Prioritise ten open positions with limited time

Round 4: Director interview

A conversation with the director or MD, often in person. It tests ambition, cultural fit and understanding of the business. Salary and start date are usually discussed here.

• Where do you see yourself in three years at PageGroup?
• What does a successful consultant do differently?
• Questions about your understanding of the industry you would recruit for

Round 5: Client-side candidate screening (if you are represented by Michael Page)

A 20 to 40 minute consultant screening that verifies experience, notice period, current compensation and reasons for a change before your profile is submitted to the client. Be honest about parallel processes; consultants coordinate timelines with clients.

• Detailed walk-through of your CV
• Reasons for leaving and expectations
• Availability and location flexibility