P&G in Paris: Summary

So I went to Paris since P&G invited me to take tests and have interviews. The process of selection is as follow: you take a 65 mins problem solving test and if you pass according their criteria (which are secret) then you are entitled interview for a 1st interview. If you pass that one, then a second, etc. If at any stage, you fail then you are out and you cannot reapply at PG for another 12 months. That is quite a radical process but that's the only way to get in.
So I showed up at their office in Neuilly (very chic district in Paris) at 9.15. There were 5 others applicants. After 30 mins of waiting, they let us in their test room that look like a shop with PG products all over the place. We were allowed to have a calculator and a pencil. They give you a questionnaire that you can't write on, an answer sheet and draft paper to make your calculations.
She say ok start and left us in the room by ourselves. Maybe there were cameras but I'm not sure. We didn't cheat so it's ok.
Time flies and there is way too many questions to answer in such a short time. The questions aren't difficult at all but they involved a lot of calculation of tables and graphs.
I focussed on the calculation questions because when I practiced on their dummy test, there were the quickest for me to answer and I had also better results on these. I left the reading comprehension questions for the end as they are more time consuming. I rushed but I'm pretty sure my answers were accurate. When she came back, I realised I had still 10 reading comp questions to go through so I just checked the box randomly to finish the test.
We then had a break of minutes while they were correcting our tests. I asked the other participants if they managed to finish and none did but many went further than me but left loads of difficult questions behind.
She then came back with the results but only one guy managed to pass the test. The four others, which I was part of, had to leave. It was quite abrupt and a bit unfair not to have a chance to have an interview but I guess that's the way they work. In that case, maybe that's best not to work for a company that's so radical.
Personally, the reasons I failed is that I maybe spend too much time answering some lenghty questions involving loads of calculations. I should probably have passed them and focus on the quick short ones and come back to them later on. I definitively should have done more reading comp because after I did some of them I realised they weren't difficult and could be answered quickly as well. So there it goes. 65 mins is short but I think I did my best and it wasn't good enough so goodbye PG. I'm sure I'll be more lucky with other companies since they have different process of selection. Unilever is one I'd really like to focus on now.

The great thing about my meeting at PG Paris is that they pay for the travelling expenses so I had a free weekend in Paris as I was staying at a friend's place and made the best of my time there by meeting friends and visiting Paris. Not bad, hey?;-)