The rule that costs candidates a whole cycle
Before anything else: L.E.K. states that "when applying for a job opening, candidates can submit an application to only one of our global offices per year." One office, one shot, twelve months. Choose deliberately.
Screening happens before a human sees you
L.E.K. is one of the few firms to publish this openly. Its recruitment privacy notice confirms that "in our recruitment processes we may use automated decision making," and gives the London consulting threshold precisely: a minimum 2:1 in your undergraduate degree, and AAB at A level. Candidates who fall below it are filtered automatically.
There is a route back. L.E.K. states you have "a right to obtain human intervention and express your point of view and contest the decision," with a named contact for London applicants. If you have mitigating circumstances behind a grade, this is where they belong, not in a cover letter no algorithm reads.
The online assessment
L.E.K. names one vendor, and only for one office: it "may share your contact details with 'Applied,' an online assessment provider, if you are a candidate for certain London vacancies." The firm also confirms it collects "information relating to your performance in tests or assessments of your aptitudes or ability."
Beyond that, nothing is published. No duration, no sections, no scoring, and no confirmation that an online assessment applies outside London. A consultant writing on L.E.K.'s own blog recalls that the London process "included psychometric and math exams," which is a first-hand account rather than a published spec, and the closest thing to a description the firm has put its name to.
The interviews
L.E.K. describes "several rounds that will include a mixture of experiential and case interviews (both quantitative and strategic cases are possible)." Two consultant accounts on the firm's own blog fill in the US shape: a first round of two interviews, one strategic and one quantitative, with background and behavioural questions alongside, then a second round with partners and principals mixing quantitative and behavioural work.
The firm's stated reason for using cases is worth quoting because it tells you what to optimise: "we use case-based interviews so we can see how you approach specific business problems, marshalling data and your own experiences to reach and defend a conclusion." A consultant on the L.E.K. blog puts the same point more usefully: "these cases aren't about being absolutely perfect and getting to a set right answer. It's about having a structured logical process."
What L.E.K. publishes to practise on
Three worked practice cases sit on the interview preparation page: a brainteaser on aeroplane encounters between JFK and LAX, a brewery profitability comparison, and a pharmaceutical market sizing and pricing case. The firm's seven in-case rules are short: take your time, gather your thoughts, stick to your approach, ask questions, formulate hypotheses, come up with an answer, be yourself.
Official sources: Apply to L.E.K. · Interview preparation · Recruitment privacy notice · London interview process, consultant account · About L.E.K.