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How RSM Interviews in 2026: Process, Sample Questions & What They Score

The complete process, sample questions, and what interviewers score.

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RSM / Interview snapshot

6

stages from
application to offer

32

reported questions

90

public sources

Last verifiedOct 2026
HOW TO READ THIS PLAYBOOK

Independent: SupaCV is not affiliated with or endorsed by RSM. This is one well-documented shape of RSM's interviews, not a script: processes change and vary by role, team, level, and region, so confirm specifics with your recruiter.

Medium confidenceSources
On this page

01 / For every RSM candidate

The process, start to finish.

RSM is a network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms. This playbook covers RSM US, the US member (one of the two largest in the network, with RSM UK), formerly McGladrey. It covers the track most US candidate reports describe: campus recruiting of interns and entry-level associates in audit and assurance, tax, and consulting (including technology risk consulting). Other member firms run their own graduate processes.

RSM UK and RSM Australia, for example, publish steps that include online assessments, video interviews and assessment sessions. Those are not described here. About 60 candidate reports posted in 2025 and 2026, from US offices where a location is shown (a few describe interviews from 2022 to 2024), show a short and mostly behavioral US process: - Candidates usually enter through an online application, a campus career fair, or the virtual Explore (Pathways) experience. - Some candidates then have a short recruiter phone screen.

Many reports mention none. - The core step is usually one block of two back-to-back 30-minute interviews, typically a manager plus a partner, director or senior. These are often virtual and described as conversational. - Some roles add a third interviewer or an in-person final round. One consulting report describes a case-study call. - Technical questions are light: Excel, basic accounting experience, CPA plans. RSM US publishes no stage-by-stage description of its hiring process and no interview evaluation framework.

RSM publishes five characteristics it calls "The RSM DNA" and candidates call "the 5 C's": Curious, Collaborative, Critical Thinkers, Caring, Courageous. RSM also publishes five separate values. Both lists are presented as culture, not as a hiring rubric. Two candidate reports describe being asked about the 5 C's directly, so no evaluation framework is listed here and the 5 C's and values appear only in tips.

Stage 1:

Application, career fair or Explore (Pathways) experience

varies

RSM's consulting careers page says campus recruiting typically begins at the start of both the fall and spring semesters. Students apply online, often after meeting recruiters at a campus career fair or attending the virtual Explore (Pathways) experience. RSM's own pages disagree on its length (one calls it a half-day, another a one-day virtual program), so no length is given here. The Explore page lists students with at least two years left in an accredited program. One RSM US Tax Intern 2027 Pathways posting (mirrored on WayUp) asks applicants to put their first-choice office in the application comment box, says full attendance at Pathways is not required for early internship application consideration, says applications are reviewed on academic eligibility and location preference, and says not all teams start interviews in the fall. One candidate says Pathways gave them priority for an interview. A 2021 Auburn campus calendar shows students notified about 3 days after each application deadline, with interviews roughly 6 to 12 days after the deadline. A UCF student profile describes a Meet the Firms event, then an on-campus interview, then an in-office interview. Timing varies by office, school and service line.

Stage 2:

Recruiter phone screen (reported by some candidates)

varies

About 1 in 5 of the reports mention a short recruiter, HR or screening call before the interviews, covering basics such as work style and interest in the role. At some campus events the first interview happens right after the career fair. One San Francisco candidate says they were not screened by a recruiter at all, and most reports mention no screen. Length is rarely stated; one candidate calls it a short phone call. One Colorado managed services consulting intern reports a phone screen followed by an in-person panel. Whether this step happens varies by office and role.

reported in about 1 in 5 reports; many candidates go straight to the interviews

Stage 3:

Online assessment

variesSome roles only

Only one 2025-2026 US report, for a Managed Application Services internship in Denver (interviewed March 2026), mentions an online assessment before the first interview. Most US campus reports do not mention one. Assessment-heavy processes are documented mainly for non-US RSM firms, including RSM UK and RSM Australia on their own careers pages.

single report; not a standard US campus stage

Stage 4:

Interview block: two back-to-back 30-minute interviews

about 60 minutes (two 30-minute interviews)

This is the core stage. It is usually a manager plus a partner, director or senior, often virtual. Candidates describe it as conversational and behavioral, built around the resume, why RSM, and why this service line. A good share of the time goes to the candidate's own questions. One of the two interviewers may ask lighter technical questions, such as Excel or accounting experience. One Philadelphia report adds a 15-minute chat with a current associate who did not interview the candidate, and a 2022 Miami report describes virtual breakout sessions with partners and managers.

Stage 5:

Additional rounds, in-person final or case call (some roles)

30 to 45 minutes per interview where stated

Some candidates, more often for full-time associate and consultant roles, report three rounds or three to four interviewers. Examples are Senior, Manager and Partner, or Manager, Director and Partner. One 2022 associate consultant report had three back-to-back interviews with an associate, a partner and a manager and no case interview. Others had a final round in the office or in person, sometimes with lunch or a dinner with RSM staff after a career fair. One supply chain advisory candidate had a recruiter call, then a manager screen, then a case-study call with a director. Whether these rounds happen varies by service line, office and level.

Stage 6:

Decision and offer

varies

Of 20 reports that state how long the whole process took, 17 say about 5 weeks or less (most between 1 and 4 weeks), and three say much longer: 2 months (Tampa technology risk intern), 3 months (Chicago associate consultant, no offer) and 7 months (Dallas tax intern). Individual reports range from an offer within a few weeks, to about one month from application to internship offer, to a month and a half of silence before a rejection. Timing varies by office, hiring season and how many candidates the office is seeing.

A tag is the condition given in brackets in the stage name.

Reported interview time, one scale in minutes

Where the minutes go

  • Interview block: two back-to-back 30-minute interviews~60 min
  • Additional rounds, in-person final or case call45 min

Not drawn: Application, career fair or Explore experience, Recruiter phone screen, Online assessment and Decision and offer, whose durations are not given in minutes.

02 / What RSM scores

No publicly documented framework

03 / Coach's notes

Coach's tips.

The coach's tips are part of Interview Prep, which is included with Career.

04 / The research

Where this page comes from.

Compiled from public sources across 16 sites. RSM's own page is among them: rsm.global/the-rsm-experience.

sites
16
candidate reports and forums
65
coaching and prep guides
20
RSM's own pages
5

Source composition

Where the research comes from

Grouped by the kind of site that published each source: RSM's own domain, candidate forums, and everything else.

  • Candidate reports and forums65
  • Coaching and prep guides20
  • RSM's own pages5

05 / The questions

Sample questions, by category.

  1. Sample question, Motivation and fit

    Why RSM? Why do you want to work at RSM?

  2. Sample question, Resume and background

    Which project on your resume are you most proud of, or did you learn the most from?

  3. Sample question, Behavioral

    Tell me about a time you faced a problem or a challenge, and how you overcame it.

Showing 3 of 32 reported questions. The rest are in Interview Prep.

Practice RSM questions in Interview Prep

Interview Prep is included with Career. Add RSM as a Target Role and it builds an 8-question practice session from RSM's reported questions, scores your answers, and adds the coach's tips.

Start free: score your resume, no credit card. Prep for RSM comes next, in Interview Prep on Career.

Score your resume, then prep for RSMCompare plans

Common questions

Quick answers.

How many stages are in RSM's interview process?

RSM has 6 stages, set out in The process.

Does RSM have an official interview framework?

RSM has no publicly documented framework, as set out in What RSM scores.

What kinds of questions does RSM ask?

RSM's questions fall into 5 categories, grouped in The questions.

How reliable is this RSM interview playbook?

It is compiled from public sources, and the evidence is in The research.

Sources (90)

Every public source this page was compiled from. Links open in a new tab.

16 sites, by sources

  • glassdoor.co.in65
  • rsmus.com6
  • rsm.global5
  • en.wikipedia.org2
  • jobs.rsmus.com1
  • rsmuk.com1
  • wayup.com1
  • harbert.auburn.edu1
  • business.ucf.edu1
  • extern.com1
  • legacy.vault.com1
  • preplounge.com1
  • assessmentcentrehq.com1
  • mockquestions.com1
  • vault.com1
  • elon.edu1
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  6. 06rsmus.com/careers/starting-your-career.html
  7. 07jobs.rsmus.com/posting/assurance-intern---winter-2028/JR120793
  8. 08rsm.global/the-rsm-experience
  9. 09rsm.global/working-for-rsm
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