Hi all,I'm currently researching deloitte for an upcoming interview and am trying to really crystalise what it is that distinguishes Deloitte from its competitors and am having trouble. I know that it tries to place emphasis on corporate responsibility and that in terms of services and clients it offers variety across the board. However, I just feel that I'm missing something - can anyone help?

You're not missing anything - we're all the same!The same people move around all of the big companies and what once was an offering of vital fresh variety is now just a very bland soup.

Thanks for that - I suspected as much although bland soup is something I'm hardly willing to serve at the interview, to continue the metaphor further.

If you want something to serve, talk about the people. Every consultancy stresses that its the people that make the firm, and that is no less true of Deloitte. As long as you mention the quality and type of people at Deloitte (hopefully you may have met some?) then that will be a tick in the box for you!

You could maybe draw reference to the fact that Deloitte still has ties to the auditing world - which, you could argue, implies a greater breadth of resources in a world where the division between consulting and auditing is growing every day.

Why do companies force candidates into the difficult position of having to make up bull$h*t if they want a job? I wonder what they would do if you told them the truth:"Well actually Mr Interviewer, I think Deloitte is pretty much the same as its competitors. Sure there are a few differences, but nothing too significant which I care about. As it happens, I have actually applied to join your competitors too, and I'm not really all that bothered which firm I join. In fact, I'd rather actually join one of your competitors, but since they might not accept me I thought I'd apply to you as well just in case. After all, all I really want from this is a good stable job that brings in a decent income and doesn't give me too much hassle."But instead you end up with the usual "I've wanted to join your dynamic, progressive company which is the pinnacle of excellence in the sectors it serves ever since I was born. You as so different from everyone else that words cannot describe the unique way you add value and consistently exceed expectations in such a dramatic way. Your people are the best I've ever met, they are more diverse and superior to the people employed by any other firm on the planet" etc.

if your reply in any way resembles that above chances are you'll get dinged. you are not expected to have all the answers and in fact, the fact that you ask the 'right questions' will be as strong a demonstration of your keeness and interest as would knowing the most intimate detail about the personal hobbies of the lead partner (?). deloitte is an interesting one. perhaps try considering the fact that it never sold its consulting arm - this in itself distinguishes it from the other big four. also consider the recent separation of strategy from what was known as strategy and operations - this now means financial 'independence' for a 150+ FTE business with a 20m turnover. also consider the role of the m and a team as an integral component of their go to market strategy.

"if your reply in any way resembles that above chances are you'll get dinged"Oh man. That's what depresses me about the whole situation - the fact that there is only "a chance" that an interviewee will get dinged if his/her answer resembles the above. It should in my view be a dead cert.But yes, on a serious note I agree that you need to do your research and find some interesting 'facts' about the organisation that supposedly make it different. Re: the point about intimately knowing the partner's hobbies - nice idea but try not to come across as an arsekisser or a norman bates type!!