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1、Cracking the Case: A Consulting Interview Primer光華人Page 1 of 3Web Exclusive You dont have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.Remember your seventh- grade algebra teacher s three favorite wo

2、rds? Show your work. At the time, it seemed silly: Why not justshow the right answer ? Nowthat you re older and wiser, however, you know that in many cases how you get to the right answer is more important than simply knowing the answer itself.The same goes for the case questions that consulting rec

3、ruiters lob at you. Consulting is a demanding job with few correct answers; this method of interviewing gauges how well you managet he process of getting to an answer and how you perform under simulated client-engagement conditions.We talked to consultant-hunters at several firms to glean their advi

4、ce on cracking the case interview.Heres what the recruiters revealed and how you canbest prepare.Why the Case Interview?Case interviews have long been used by recruiters to see a candidates thought processes in motion. Can you deconstruct and analyze complex, open-ended businessproblems? Do you stay

5、 calm, or will you sweat bullets under pressure at a client site?At the most basic level, a case interview is about asking the right questions, developing a logical way of working through the relevant issues, and arriving at a recommendation. Your structure may be a packaged framework or it may be v

6、arious frameworks strung together; you may even choose not to use frameworks at all. Whats important is that you demonstratesomedefined structure.光華人“Case studies are an imperfect science,” concedesMichael Gibney, project manager at Pricewaterhouse Coopers,“butare easilyimplementable in the 30 to 45

7、 minutes we have for each interview. ” Since they measure your analytical skills, theyre an improvement over simple fit or resum interviews.In most case interviews, the recruiter gives you an example of a real-life client problem. Some typical categories include:Company Strategy: “My client is think

8、ing of making an acquisition, and”Brain Games: “How many tennis balls are in theUnited States?Operations Improvement: “Why is my clientsfactory running behind? ”Market Size: “How big is the global air conditioner market? ”Although each requires a slightly different approach, all are meant mainly to

9、evaluate the process you use, not the answer you come up with.Practice Makes PerfectYou absolutely, positively must prepare in advance for case interviews. “It becomes pretty clear pretty fast who has and who has not practiced, ” says Gibney. “I know there is a basic sort of business acumen that may

10、 not be able to be practiced, but candidates must have an understandable approach to solving problems. That s what our clients demand of us. If we cantrelate solutions to the client, its a problem. ”Dont assume that attending a case-oriented business school will give you an upper hand. John Flato, C

11、apGemini Ernst & Youngs national director of university recruiting, says these candidates dontseem to do any better or worse than candidates from non-case schools.Study different kinds of case questions. Just because your buddy interviewed before you and gave you a heads- up on the questions doesnt

12、mean you have a leg up. Recruiters have tons of case questions in their repertoire, and the chances of their using the same question multiple times on one campus visit are slim to none. 光華人Get a classmate or friend to role-play the interview with you, and use any resources (such as a casebook) that

13、your schools consulting club provides. The more mock cases you sink your teeth into, the more likely you are to be relaxed and poised for the real thing. Sometimes you learn more by presenting a case question to someone than you do when solving the case yourself.Deliberately pick industries youre no

14、t familiar with so as to test your analytical skills, not memorized facts; for instance, if your pre-B-school experience is mostly in media and entertainment, ask your case buddy to ask you about steel production or medical device marketing. That said, do consider brushing up on the basics in severa

15、l industriesfor instance,know the product development cycle in pharmaceutical research, and understand current trends in technology. (For more information on various fields, check out our.) Although each case is different, with practice you will improve your analytical reasoningskills andsolution me

16、thod.Think Through the ProcessWhen it comes to strategy or product marketing questions, the interviewer will often give you only the bare bones of a case and will wait for you to request further details: Howm any competitors does the company have? What are the major cost and revenue drivers? Who are

17、 the major clients? And dont forget to ask for the firms mission if you dont know what a companys goals are, you might come up with a valid but misguided solution. Use some basic frameworks to drive your questions the four Ps and the three Cs, for instance.A sample question Gibney used recently invo

18、lved a manufacturer/distributor/retailer of computer products. This client has traditionally gone directly to the consumer and has developed a solid brand image. The client now wants an assessment as to the issues relating to the core business, as well as the opportunities for the company to get int

19、o the services side, which it views as a high-margin/high-growth-rate business. The candidate now needs to provide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each of the two different problems.光華人As long as its permitted, work your answers out on paper. Pencils and pens, plus a notebook or le

20、gal pad should be standard equipment in any interview. “It s amazing how many people show up without a pen and paper, ” marvels Kamenna Rindova, a senior associate at Mercer Management Consulting. Thinking through all the facts is a must, and youre not going to do it all in your head.Page 2 of 3Web

21、Exclusive You dont have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.May the Five Forces (Not) Be with YouSome recruiters are turned off when potential hires draw on a packaged analytical framework (

22、such as the five forces) to solve a problem. Others, however, are impressed. To be on the safe side, if you use a framework, don t stray too far from the issue.If you do use one, choose wisely. If the case is about a business thatsconsidering entry into an industry,Porters five forces may indeed be

23、your best bet. If youre talking about how products get from suppliers to end consumers, consider the value chain. Companies that are falling short on sales could use a profitabilityor cost vs. revenue analysis. If youremarketing a new pharmaceutical product, think about the 4 Ps and the 3 Cs.光光華華人人I

24、s That Your Final Answer?Dont be afraid of pausing. Take the time to draw up notes and sketch out the problem. Dont blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period of silence. Yourenot on a game show; youre interviewing to be a consultant, which is a business as much about thinking as it is about c

25、ommunicating. Above all, be calm.If you do respond to a question too quickly, before understanding all the facts, you may end up contradicting yourself halfway through your response which could be disastrous. “In our environment and our industry, ” says Sean Huurman, national recruiting director of

26、KPMGC onsulting, “we need to make sure we re saying the right thing the first time. ”After all the analysis, however, dont forget to come to some kind of conclusion as to what the company should do. Consider presenting a decision rule that the imaginary organization could use to figure out what the

27、best option is e.g., if revenues outstrip costs, then do x.Follow the LeaderMany firms use a group exercise in their second or subsequent rounds to see how well you work with others. If you re assigned a role other than team leader, dont fret. It doesnt matter what your role is inthe exercise just d

28、o it well. If you and the team membersa re told to settle between yourselves who gets to do what, don t fight over who gets to make the presentation or lead the group. Likewise, don t play the shrinking violet. Remember, the recruiter is watching.Whatever you do, show confidence, not arrogance. A di

29、splay of ego before John Flato at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a certain red flag.“Obviously, those whogo to business schools are bright and talentedtheywouldnt be there otherwise,” Flato remarks. “Wehire bright and talented people, but only those who can work well with team members and not display a

30、rrogance. ”P(pán)age 3 of 3Web Exclusive You dont have to be Sherlock Holmesto ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.Ready for some company-specific advice? Heres what five recruiters told us about interviewing at their fi

31、rms.The Questions:Words of Wisdom:Coveney points out that she doesnt have a preference regarding how a candidate initially reacts to the case interview question.“Some people take some time toformulate their thoughts, other people ask a few questions, and other people jump right in,” Coveneysays. “Re

32、lax and take your time, focus on the specific issues of the case, remember there is no one right answer to the case, and dont use too many frameworks. Dont throw in the kitchen sink, like Porters fiveforces, etc. Just be confident, and relaxit willreally help with the interview.”Recruiter No. 2: Kam

33、enna Rindova, senior associate, Mercer Management ConsultingThe Questions:MMC asks most candidatesone-on-one questionsanddoesnt oftendo group exercises.Reflecting thefirm s focu s,most questionsdeal with strategyissues, with occasional market sizing questions thrown in. The purpose of the interview

34、for MMC is to see the candidates ability to structure and think through a problem as they would on the job.Words of Wisdom:Rindova says practice and familiarity with cases is essential, and stresses that an interview can go south if the candidate loses sight of the structure he or she is building. L

35、astly, beating a clear path to any response is more important than getting it righ t. “You can give (a recruiter) a wrong answer, but if you thought out loud through the process, you could still have a stellar interview,” Rindova concludes.Recruiter No. 3: Scott Berney, head of U.S. recruiting opera

36、tions, Monitor GroupThe Questions:Determining a person s analytical skills, comfort with manipulating numbers, and ability to integrate different pieces of data is the purpose of the case interview for Monitor Group. For the first round of interviews, case questions are usually written and are two t

37、o three pages in length. In the final round, a group event is used.Words of Wisdom:Recruiter No. 4: Sean Huurman, national recruiting director, KPMG ConsultingThe Questions:“The case question helps get to a thinking process and vari ous characteristics of a candidate you dont necessarily get in an o

38、rdinary interview, ” says Huurman. “When we use cases, we are really focusing on things that tie into the client. ” The typical KPMG consultant hunter wants to know how a candidate can communicate with the team, their leadership, and the client.Huurman favors group interviews, and knows a lot of can

39、didates can be prepped in advance, but he notes that there s no amount of coaching that can prepare you光華人for a group project.Words of Wisdom:“Too many people jump right into the case study and dont put any thought into it,” says Huurman. “ Iwant the interviewees to think things through. ” KPMG recruiters are always told to let the candidate have some time to think through the case, but Huurman indicates that very few candidates take advantage of it.Huurman admits that few recruiters would ask interviewees wha