Mercer Assessments

Careers at Mercer

Mercer recruits around 80 new graduates each year to its paid 18-month graduate scheme with a salary of around £30,000. The scheme involves three different pathways, reflecting the areas in which Mercer supports its clients’ workforces: Health, Wealth and Careers.

Upon completion of the scheme, graduates can go on to specialise in one of four roles:

Internship

Gain experience as an analyst in either Employee Health and Benefits, Talent Consulting, Retirement Consulting, Mercer Marketplace, or Government Human Services Consulting.

Actuarial Analyst

Work closely with senior consultants to deliver health and welfare programmes to client companies. This role allows the opportunity to complete the Mercer Actuarial Study Programme.

Consulting Analyst

Consulting analysts compile client reports and communications such as spreadsheets, presentations and proposals. You can specialise in Employee Health & Benefits, Talent, Investment or Mercer Marketplace (business acquisition).

Associate

Evaluate client companies’ business strategies and HR policies using industry research and analysis. This role is suitable for MBA or Masters graduates, and requires three to five years of prior business experience.

Mercer expects employees to be data-driven and comfortable with numerical material, demonstrating personal qualities such as patience, resilience, diplomacy and empathy.

In return, it offers a flexible employee benefit scheme where you can choose from a selection of benefits such as private medical insurance, child care assistance, a cycle scheme, flexible working, pension bonuses and private dental care. Employees at all levels can also expect to receive an annual cash bonus linked to performance.

Mercer creates a caring and supportive workplace culture across the company, with mentorship programmes, team volunteering days, and development groups available to all employees.

The Mercer application process consists of four stages.

Initially you are asked to submit a CV and a link to your LinkedIn profile through the Mercer website.

If you progress to the next stage, you’ll receive a telephone call or video call to chat with a talent acquisition consultant.

The third stage of the recruitment process involves an assessment day, where you will take tests and meet with Mercer colleagues within your chosen speciality.

Finally, you will attend face-to-face interviews with members of senior Mercer management.

Mercer online application

Step one of the Mercer recruitment process is an online application accessed through the company website, where you will be asked to upload your CV.

You’ll be competing against many other high-calibre applicants, so make sure your resume is as tailored to the Mercer position as possible. Also get your LinkedIn profile as up-to-date and professional as you can, since Mercer will scrutinise it.

Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll get email confirmation that it’ was received.

If you are judged to be a good potential candidate, you will progress onto the next round of remote interviews.

Mercer phone or video interview

After successfully passing the online application, you’ll be contacted by a Mercer talent acquisition consultant for a short, structured conversation that will take place over the telephone or by video call.

This call gives Mercer the chance to assess your communication skills, as well as checking your academic qualifications and work history.

This is a very important part of the recruitment process and you will be judged against many other applicants. Spend some time thinking about how you would answer some standard interview questions, like:

“Tell me about a time you experienced conflict at work and how you dealt with it.”

“How do you identify your weaknesses and what do you do to address them?”

“Describe a past workplace achievement and explain why you are proud of it.”

You will also be asked what you know about Mercer and why you want to work for the company, so read through the company website thoroughly, follow the company social media profiles and stay informed of news relating to Mercer.

Depending upon the field to which you are applying, you might also be asked questions to assess your knowledge and competency in your chosen area.

Mercer Verbal Reasoning Test

Verbal reasoning tests are designed to assess your skills in understanding and interpreting a passage of text to form conclusions. You must be able to understand the vocabulary used and critically analyse the information to extract the details you need to answer the questions.

You cannot revise for a verbal reasoning test, but you can try practice verbal questions beforehand to familiarise yourself with the format and time allowance of the test.