I'm a recruiter myself, so I tend to watch the recruiter screen closely as a process rather than just trying to survive it. Here's what I observed from my PwC recruiter call last week, and what I've heard from others in this space.
Length: mine was 35 minutes, scheduled for 30.
Format: the PwC recruiter opened with a quick role overview (about 5 minutes), then it was mostly inbound questions.
What they asked me: Walk me through your background and what's driving your interest in PwC specifically. They want a real answer to the second part. "I'm interested in consulting" is weak. Tie it to something specific: the intersection of tech and professional services, a particular sector they're known for, the career path within advisory. What type of work environment are you looking for? Remote, hybrid, or on-site? Travel expectations? PwC roles vary wildly here. Some are mostly remote, some require 60-80% travel for client engagements. Be honest about what you want. The recruiter mentioned they've had hires leave in 3 months over travel surprises. What's your current compensation and what are your expectations? They asked directly. If you don't want to anchor, you can say you want to understand the full package before committing to a number, but they'll give you a range. Mine was reasonable. What's your timeline? Are you interviewing elsewhere? Standard. I said I had a couple other processes active and a soft deadline of 8 weeks. That seemed to move things along.
What I noticed: the recruiter was attentive and gave real answers to my questions about the role. Not a rubber-stamp screen. If you ask good questions, you get useful intel. I asked about team tenure and how long the role had been open.