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CrackingtheCase:AConsultingInterviewPrimerPage1of3光華人向上的精神"FirmsAreTheretoHelpYouHYPERLINK"http://www.mbajungle.com/main.cfm?inc=inc_article.cfm&chid=3&schid=7&WT=30&artid=98001"ConsultingIndustryGuideRememberyourseventh-gradealgebrateacher’sthreefavoritewords?"Showyourwork."Atthetime,itseemedsilly:Whynotjustshowtherightanswer?Nowthatyou’reolderandwiser,however,youknowthatinmanycaseshowyougettotherightanswerismoreimportantthansimplyknowingtheansweritself.Thesamegoesforthecasequestionsthatconsultingrecruiterslobatyou.Consultingisademandingjobwithfew"correct"answers;thismethodofinterviewinggaugeshowwellyoumanagetheprocessofgettingtoananswerandhowyouperformundersimulatedclient-engagementconditions.
Wetalkedtoconsultant-huntersatseveralfirmstogleantheiradviceoncrackingthecaseinterview.Here'swhattherecruitersrevealed—andhowyoucanbestprepare.?
WhytheCaseInterview??Caseinterviewshavelongbeenusedbyrecruiterstoseeacandidat(yī)e'sthoughtprocessesinmotion.Canyoudeconstructandanalyzecomplex,open-endedbusinessproblems?Doyoustaycalm,orwillyousweatbulletsunderpressureataclientsite???Atthemostbasiclevel,acaseinterviewisaboutaskingtherightquestions,developingalogicalwayofworkingthroughtherelevantissues,andarrivingatarecommendat(yī)ion.Yourstructuremaybeapackagedframeworkoritmaybevariousframeworksstrungtogether;youmayevenchoosenottouseframeworksatall.What'simportantisthat(yī)youdemonstratesomedefinedstructure.??“Casestudiesareanimperfectscience,”concedesMichaelGibney,projectmanageratPricewaterhouseCoopers,“butareeasilyimplementableinthe30to45minuteswehaveforeachinterview.”Sincetheymeasureyouranalyticalskills,they'reanimprovementoversimple"fit"or"resumé"interviews.
?Inmostcaseinterviews,therecruitergivesyouanexampleofareal-lifeclientproblem.Sometypicalcat(yī)egoriesinclude:光華人向上的精神"BrainGames:“HowmanytennisballsareintheUnitedStates?”O(jiān)perationsImprovement:“Whyismyclient’sfactoryrunningbehind?”MarketSize:“Howbigistheglobalairconditionermarket?”Althougheachrequiresaslightlydifferentapproach,allaremeantmainlytoevaluatetheprocessyouuse,nottheansweryoucomeupwith.??PracticeMakesPerfect?Youabsolutely,positivelymustprepareinadvanceforcaseinterviews.“Itbecomesprettyclearprettyfastwhohas—andwhohasnot—practiced,”saysGibney.“Iknowthereisabasicsortofbusinessacumenthatmaynotbeabletobepracticed,butcandidat(yī)esmusthaveanunderstandableapproachtosolvingproblems.That’swhatourclientsdemandofus.Ifwecan’trelatesolutionstotheclient,it’saproblem.”
?Don’tassumethatattendingacase-orientedbusinessschoolwillgiveyouanupperhand.JohnFlat(yī)o,CapGeminiErnst&Young’snat(yī)ionaldirectorofuniversityrecruiting,saysthesecandidatesdon’tseemtodoanybetterorworsethancandidatesfromnon-caseschools.
?Studydifferentkindsofcasequestions.Justbecauseyourbuddyinterviewedbeforeyouandgaveyouaheads-uponthequestionsdoesn’tmeanyouhavealegup.Recruitershavetonsofcasequestionsintheirrepertoire,andthechancesoftheirusingthesamequestionmultipletimesononecampusvisitareslimtonone.
光華人向上的精神?Getaclassmat(yī)eorfriendtorole-playtheinterviewwithyou,anduseanyresources(suchasacasebook)thatyourschool'sconsultingclubprovides.Themoremockcasesyousinkyourteethinto,themorelikelyyouaretoberelaxedandpoisedfortherealthing.Sometimesyoulearnmorebypresentingacasequestiontosomeonethanyoudowhensolvingthecaseyourself.
Deliberatelypickindustriesyou'renotfamiliarwithsoastotestyouranalyticalskills,notmemorizedfacts;forinstance,ifyourpre-B-schoolexperienceismostlyinmediaandentertainment,askyourcasebuddytoaskyouaboutsteelproductionormedicaldevicemarketing.Thatsaid,doconsiderbrushinguponthebasicsinseveralindustries—forinstance,knowtheproductdevelopmentcycleinpharmaceuticalresearch,andunderstandcurrenttrendsintechnology.(Formoreinformationonvariousfields,checkoutourHYPERLINK"http://www.mbajungle.com/main.cfm?inc=INC_TO(shè)CGeneric.cfm&listid=3&chid=3&schid=7&WT=37"industryguides.)Althougheachcaseisdifferent,withpracticeyouwillimproveyouranalyticalreasoningskillsandsolutionmethod.
ThinkThroughtheProcess?Whenitcomestostrategyorproductmarketingquestions,theinterviewerwilloftengiveyouonlythebarebonesofacaseandwillwaitforyoutorequestfurtherdetails:Howmanycompetitorsdoespanyhave?What(yī)arethemajorcostandrevenuedrivers?Whoarethemajorclients?Anddon'tforgettoaskforthefirm'smission—ifyoudon'tknowwhatacompany'sgoalsare,youmightcomeupwithavalid—butmisguided—solution.Usesomebasicframeworkstodriveyourquestions—thefourP'sandthethreeC's,forinstance.?
AsamplequestionGibneyusedrecentlyinvolvedamanufacturer/distributor/retailerofcomputerproducts.Thisclienthastraditionallygonedirectlytotheconsumerandhasdevelopedasolidbrandimage.Theclientnowwantsanassessmentastotheissuesrelat(yī)ingtothecorebusiness,aswellastheopportunitiesforthecompanytogetintotheservicesside,whichitviewsasahigh-margin/high-growth-ratebusiness.Thecandidatenowneedstoprovideanapproachorevaluativeframeworkforanalyzingeachofthetwodifferentproblems.
?Aslongasit'spermitted,workyouranswersoutonpaper.Pencilsandpens,plusanotebookorlegalpadshouldbestandardequipmentinanyinterview.“It’samazinghowmanypeopleshowupwithoutapenandpaper,”marvelsKamennaRindova,aseniorassociateat(yī)MercerManagementConsulting.Thinkingthroughallthefactsisamust,and光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神Page2of3[WebExclusive]Youdon'thavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.HYPERLINK"javascript:openWindow('sidebars/sbpopup.cfm?artID=1691','yes',365,500,'no');"FirmsAreTheretoHelpYouHYPERLINK"http://www.mbajungle.com/main.cfm?inc=inc_article.cfm&chid=3&schid=7&WT=30&artid=98001"ConsultingIndustryGuideMaytheFiveForces(Not)BewithYouSomerecruitersareturnedoffwhenpotentialhiresdrawonapackagedanalyticalframework(suchasthefiveforces)tosolveaproblem.Others,however,areimpressed.Tobeonthesafeside,ifyouuseaframework,don’tstraytoofarfromtheissue.
?EileenCoveney,vicepresidentatL.E.K.Consulting,warnscandidatesabouttheperilsofframeworks:“Whenpeopledependtoomuchonapre-establishedframework,theymaynotbethinkingdeeplyenoughabouttheproblemathand.Thismayindicatethat(yī)whenpresentedwithanactualclientissue,theyarenotgoingtofocusonthedetailsandspecificsoftheclient’sproblem.Rather,theymaybeinclinedtojumpintoeasyandobvioussolutions.”?
Ifyoudouseone,choosewisely.Ifthecaseisaboutabusinessthat'sconsideringentryintoanindustry,Porter'sfiveforcesmayindeedbeyourbestbet.Ifyou'retalkingabouthowproductsgetfromsupplierstoendconsumers,considerthevaluechain.Companiesthat(yī)arefallingshortonsalescoulduseaprofitabilityorcostvs.revenueanalysis.Ifyou'remarketinganewpharmaceuticalproduct,thinkaboutthe4P'sandthe3C's.??光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神Page3of3[WebExclusive]Youdon'thavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.HYPERLINK"javascript:openWindow('sidebars/sbpopup.cfm?artID=1691','yes',365,500,'no');"FirmsAreTheretoHelpYouHYPERLINK"http://www.mbaju/main.cfm?inc=inc_article.cfm&chid=3&schid=7&WT=30&artid=98001"ConsultingIndustryGuideReadyforsomecompany-specificadvice?Here'swhatfiverecruiterstoldusaboutinterviewingattheirfirms.
?RecruiterNo.1:EileenCoveney,vicepresident,L.E.K.Consulting
TheQuestions:?Testingacandidat(yī)e'sskillacrossarangeofareasistheprimaryreasonL.E.K.useserviews.Coveneyindicat(yī)esthat(yī)thecaseinterviewsaremeantto(1)assessacandidat(yī)e’sanalyticalability,(2)evaluateacandidate'scommunicat(yī)ionskillsandlogicflow,(3)understandhowacandidaterespondstoredirection,and(4)testhis/heroverallfitwiththefirm.MostquestionsL.E.K.recruitersaskcenteraroundstrategicgrowthopportunitiesforpotentialclients.
WordsofWisdom:?Coveneypointsoutthatshedoesn’thaveapreferenceregardinghowacandidateinitiallyreactstothecaseinterviewquestion.“Somepeopletakesometimetoformulatetheirthoughts,otherpeopleaskafewquestions,andotherpeoplejumprightin,”Coveneysays.“Relaxandtakeyourtime,focusonthespecificissuesofthecase,rememberthereisnoonerightanswertothecase,anddon’tusetoomanyframeworks.Don’tthrowinthekitchensink,likePorter’sfiveforces,etc.Justbeconfident,andrelax—itwillreallyhelpwiththeinterview.”
?RecruiterNo.2:KamennaRindova,seniorassociate,MercerManagementConsulting??TheQuestions:
MMCasksmostcandidatesone-on-onequestionsanddoesn’toftendogroupexercises.Reflectingthefirm’sfocus,mostquestionsdealwithstrategyissues,withoccasionalmarketsizingquestionsthrownin.ThepurposeoftheinterviewforMMCistoseethecandidate'sabilitytostructureandthinkthroughaproblemastheywouldonthejob.
WordsofWisdom:?Rindovasayspracticeandfamiliaritywithcasesisessential,andstressesthataninterviewcangosouthifthecandidatelosessightofthestructureheorsheisbuilding.Lastly,beatingaclearpathtoanyresponseismoreimportantthangettingitright.“Youcangive(arecruiter)awronganswer,butifyouthoughtoutloudthroughtheprocess,youcouldstillhaveastellarinterview,”Rindovaconcludes.
?
RecruiterNo.3:ScottBerney,headofU.S.recruitingoperat(yī)ions,MonitorGroup
?TheQuestions:?Determiningaperson’sanalyticalskills,comfortwithmanipulatingnumbers,andabilitytointegrat(yī)edifferentpiecesofdat(yī)aisthepurposeofthecaseinterviewforMonitorGroup.Forthefirstroundofinterviews,casequestionsareusuallywrittenandaretwotothreepagesinlength.Inthefinalround,agroupeventisused.
WordsofWisdom:?“Mytakeonmostotherfirmsisthattheyputapremiumon[thecandidate’s]abilitytoaskquestionsintheinterview.Monitorcasesputapremiumonyourabilitytoanalyzedata,manipulatenumbers,integrate,eupwithananswerbasedonthedat(yī)ayou’vebeengiven,”saysBerney.LikeL.E.K.’sCoveney,hedoesn’tliketoseecandidat(yī)esusetoomanyframeworkstosolveaproblem.
?RecruiterNo.4:SeanHuurman,nat(yī)ionalrecruitingdirector,KPMGConsulting
?TheQuestions:
“Thecasequestionhelpsgettoathinkingprocessandvariouscharacteristicsofacandidateyoudon’tnecessarilygetinanordinaryinterview,”saysHuurman.“Whenweusecases,wearereallyfocusingonthingsthattieintotheclient.”ThetypicalKPMGconsultanthunterwantstoknowhowacandidatecancommunicatewiththeteam,theirleadership,andtheclient.
Huurmanfavorsgroupinterviews,andknowsalotofcandidatescanbepreppedinadvance,buthenotesthatthere’s"noamountofcoaching"thatcanprepareyouforagroupproject.
光華人向上的精神
WordsofWisdom:?“Toomanypeoplejumprightintothecasestudyanddon’tputanythoughtintoit,”saysHuurman.“Iwanttheintervieweestothinkthingsthrough.”KPMGrecruitersarealwaystoldtoletthecandidatehavesometimetothinkthroughthecase,butHuurmanindicat(yī)esthatveryfewcandidatestakeadvantageofit.
Huurmanadmitsthat(yī)fewrecruiterswouldaskint
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