怎樣應(yīng)付案例分析面試英文版

1、also seeRemember your seventh-grade algebra teacher s three favorite words?Show your work. At the time, it seemed silly: Why not justshow theright answer ? Now that 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

2、 answer itself.The same goes for the case questions that consulting recruiters lob atyou. Consulting is a demanding job with few correct answers; this method of interviewinggauges how well you manage the process ofgetting to an answer and how you perform under simulated client-engagement conditions.

3、We talked to consultant-hunters at several firms to glean their advice oncracking the case interview.Hereshow you can best prepare.what therecruitersrevealed andWhy the Case Interview?Case in terviewshavelongbee nused byrecruiterstosee acan didatesthoughtprocesses in moti on. Can you dec on struct a

4、ndan alyze complex,ope n-en dedbus in essproblems? Do you stay calm, or will you sweat bullets un der pressure at a clie nt site?At the most basic level, a case in terviewisabout ask ing the right questi ons, develop ing alogical way of work ing through the releva nt issues, andarriv ingat a recomme

5、 ndati on.Your structure may be a packaged frameworkor it may be various frameworks strung together; you may eve n choose not to use frameworks at all. Whatsimportantis thatyou dem on strate some defi ned structure.“ Case studies areanimperfectscience,concedesMichael G ibney,projectmanageratPricewat

6、erhouseCoopers,“ but areeasilyimpleme ntablein the 30to 45minuteswe have foreachinterview.Sincetheymeasureyouranalyticalskills,theyreanimprovement over simple fitor resuminterviews.In most case interviews, the recruiter gives you an example of a real-life client problem. Some typical categories incl

7、ude:Company Strategy:“ My client is thinking of making anacquisition, andBrain Games:“ How many tennis balls are in the UnitedStates? ”光華人 向上的精神Operations Improvement:“Why is my client s factory runningbehind? ”Market Size:“ How big is the global air conditioner market?Although each requires a sligh

8、tly different approach, all are meant mainly to 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 hasnot practiced, ” says Gibney.“I know ther

9、e is a basic sort of businessacumen that may not be able to be practiced, but candidates must havean understandable approach to solving problems. That s what our clientsdemand of us. If we can t relate solutions to the client, it s a problem.Don tassume that attendinga case -orientedbusiness school

10、will giveyou an upper hand. John Flato, Cap GeminiErnst & Young snationaldirector of university recruiting, says these candidates don t seem to doany better or worse than candidates from non-case schools.Study different kinds of case questions. Just because your buddy interviewed before you and gave

11、 you a heads-up on the questions doesn t mean you have a leg up. Recruiters have tons of case questions intheir repertoire, and the chances of their using the same question multiple times on one campus visit are slim to none.Get a classmate or friend to role-play the interview with you, and use anyr

12、esources (such as a casebook) that your schools consultingclubprovides. The more mock cases you sink your teeth into, the more likelyyou are to be relaxed and poised for the real thing. Sometimes you learnmore by presenting a case question to someone than you do when光華人向上的精神solving the case yourself

13、.Deliberately pick industries youre not familiar with so as to test your analytical skills, not memorized facts; for instance, if your pre-B-schoolexperience is mostly in media and entertainment, ask your case buddy toask you about steel production or medical device marketing. That said,do consider

14、brushing up on the basics in several industries for instance,know the product developmentcycle in pharmaceuticalresearch,andunderstandcurrent trendsintechnology.(For moreinformationonvarious fields, check outour.)Althougheach case isdifferent,withpractice you will improveyouranalyticalreasoningskill

15、s and solutionmethod.Think Through the ProcessWhen it comes to strategyor productmarketingquestions,theinterviewer will often give you only the bare bones of a case and will waitfor you to request further details:How many competitorsdoes thecompany have? What are the major cost and revenue drivers?

16、Who arethe major clients? And dont forget to ask for the firms mission if youdont 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 questionGibney used recentlyi

17、nvolvedmanufacturer/distributor/retailerof computer products.This client hastraditionallygone directlyto the consumer and has developeda solidbrand image.The clientnow wants an assessmentas to the issuesrelating to the core business, as well as the opportunities for the companyto get into the servic

18、esside, which it viewsas ahigh-margin/high-growth-ratebusiness. The candidatenow needs toprovide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each of the two different problems.As long as its permitted, work your answers out on paper. Pencils andpens, plus a notebook or legal pad should be stan

19、dard equipment in any interview.“It s amazing how many people show up without a pen andpaper，” marvels Kamenna Rindova, a senior associate at Mercer Management Consulting. Thinking through all the facts is a must, and you re not going to do it all in your head.Web Exclusive You dont have to be Sherl

20、ock Holmes to ace thecases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation光華人人 向上的精精神xgsgsmrne.tnetcan 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 (such as the

21、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.“ When people depend too much on apre-established framework, they may not be thinking deeply enough about the problem at hand. This may indicate that w

22、hen presented with an actual client issue, they are not going to focus on the details and spe cifics of the client s problem. ROIttaermay be inclined to jump intoeasy and obvious solutions.”If you do use one, choose wisely. If the case is about a business thats considering entry into an industry, Po

23、rters five forces may indeed be 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 profitability or cost vs. revenue analysis. If youre marketing a new pharmaceutical product, think a

24、bout the 4 Ps and the 3Cs.Is That Your Final Answer?Don t be afraid of pausing. T ake the time to draw up notes and sketch out the problem. Don t blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period ofconsultant, which is a business as much about thinking as it is about communicating. Above all, be calm

25、.After all the analysis, howeverdont forgetto come to somekind ofIf you do respond to a question too quickly, before understanding all thefacts, youmayend up contradictingyourself halfway through yourresponse -whichcould be disastrous.“In our environmentand ourindustry,saysSean Huurman,nationalrecru

26、itingdirector of KPMGConsulting,ccwe need to make sure were saying the right thing the firsttime. ”conclusion as to what the company should do. Consider presenting decision rule that the imaginary organization could use to figure out whatthe best option is e.g., if revenues outstrip costs, then dox

27、.Follow the LeaderMany firms use a group exercise in their second or subsequent rounds tosee how well you work with others. If you re assigned a role other thanteam leader , don tfret. It doesn tmatter what your role is in the exercise just do it well. If you and the team members are told to settle

28、between yourselves who gets to do what, don t fight over who gets tomake the presentation or lead the group. Likewise, don tplay the shrinking violet. Remember, the recruiter is watching.Whatever you do,showconfidence,notarrogance.A displayof egobefore John Flatoat CapGeminiErnst &Young isa certain

29、red flag.“ Obviously, thosewhogo tobusinessschoolsare brightandtalented they wouldn be thereotherwise,Flatoremarks.“Wehirebright and talented people, but only those who can work well with team members and not display arrogance.”P(pán)age 3 of 3Web Exclusive You dont have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace thec

30、ases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparationcan make solving them seem, well, elementary.Ready for some company-specific advice? Heres what five recruiters toldus about interviewing at their firms.The Questions:Testing a candidates skill across a range of areas is the primary r

31、easonare meant to (1) assess a candidate s analytical ability, (2) evaluate acandidates communication skills and logic flow, (3) understand how acandidate responds to redirection, and (4) test his/her overall fit with theWords of Wisdom:Coveney points out that she doesn t have a preference regarding

32、 how acandidate initially reacts to the case interview question.“ Some peopletake some time to formulate their thoughts, other people ask a few questions, and other people jump right in, Coveneysays. “ Relax andtake your time, focus on the specific issues of the case, remember thereis no one ri ght

33、answer to the case, and don t use too many frameworks.Don tthrow in the kitchen sink, like Porter five forces, etc. Just be confident, and relax it will really help with the interview.Recruiter No. 2: Kamenna Rindova, senior associate, Mercer Management ConsultingThe Questions:MMC asks most candidat

34、es one-on-one questions and doesn t often dogroup exercises. Reflecting the firm facus,most questionsdeal withstrategy issues, with occasional market sizing questions thrown in. Thepurpose of theinterviewfor MMC isto seethe candidatesability tostructure and think through a problem as they would on t

35、he job.光華人向上的精神Words of Wisdom:Rindova says practice and familiarity with cases is essential, and stressesthat an interview can go south if the candidate loses sight of the structurehe or she is building. Lastly, beating a clear path to any response is moreimportantthan gettingit right.“ You can giv

36、e (a recruiter)a wronganswer , but if you thought out loud through the process, you could stillhave a stellar interview,” Rindova concludes.Recruiter No. 3: Scott Berney, head of U.S. recruiting operations,Monitor GroupThe Questions:Determining a person sanalytical skills, comfort with manipulating

37、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 to three pages in length.In the final round, a group event is used.Words of Wisdom:“ My tak e on most o

38、ther firms is that they put a premiumon thecandidate s ability to ask questions in the interview. Monitor cases put apremium on your ability to analyze data, manipulate numbers, integrate, and come up with an answer based on the data youbdenveiven, ” says s Coveney, he doesn t like to see candidates

39、 use toomany frameworks to solve a problem.RecruiterNo. 4: Sean Huurman,nationalrecruitingdirector,KPMG ConsultingThe Questions:“ The casequestionhelpsget to athinkingprocess andvariouscharacteristicsof acandidateyou don necessarily get in anordinaryinterview, ” says Huurman.“ When we use cases, we

40、are really focusing onthings that tie into the client.” The typical KPMG consultant hunter wantsto know how a candidate can communicate with the team, their leadership, and the client.Huurman favors group interviews, and knows a lot of candidates can beprepped in advance, but he notes that there s n

41、o amount of coachingthat can prepare you for a group project.Words of Wisdom:“ Toomany people jump right into the case study and don tput any thought into it,” says Huurman. “ I want the interviewees to think thingsthrough. ” KPMG recruiters are always told to let the candidate have sometime to thin

42、k through the case, but Huurman indicates that very few candidates take advantage of it.Huurman admits that few recruiters would ask interviewees what KPMGstands for (curious? Its Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, and Goerdeler), but it simportant to do your homework on the firm s services, strengths, and cu

43、lture.RecruiterNo. 5: MichaelGibney, project manager,PricewaterhouseCoopersThe Questions:Some of PwC s competencies don t require that a case question be asked,but it s probably best to plan for one. Interviews are typically one-on-one and are meant to test the business acumen of a candidate. Seeing

44、 candidates insight into business problems and their approach to solving them (most questions are based on true-life client engagements) is the overall goal.Words of Wisdom:Gibney understands that many problems are too big to solve during thecourse of a half-hour interview, but wants to see a firm g

45、rasp of key issues. “ The candidate must have an understanding of the overallsituation and the overall problem, and then create an approach to solveit, ” Gibney says.For instance, if were talking about a client getting intothe services business,I would expectto see some kind of frameworkaround ident

46、ifyingwhat relevant serviceswould be, and the differentmarket and company factors involved.I want the candidate to relatedirectly what the core issues are.Michael K. Norris is an expert in consulting and consultant recruitment issues. He can be reached at.Firm : A.T. KearneyCase Number:Case setup (f

47、acts offered by in terviewer):Your clie nt is a manu facturer of bicyclesThey have bee n in bus in ess for 25 yearsThey manu facturer and sell three categories of bicycles:? Racing bikes: High end, high performa nee bikes for sophisticated cyclists? Mai nstream bikes: Durable, but n ot overly compli

48、cated bikes for everyday riders? Childre n s bikes: Smaller, simpler vers ions of their mai nstream bikes for childre nProfits at your clie nt have decreased over the past five yearsQuestio n:What is driving the decline in overall profits?What recomme ndati ons might correct the situati on?Suggested

49、 soluti ons:The first question is to determine what has caused overall profits to decrease. To accomplish this the can didate must first un dersta nd what has tran spired in each of the three product categories over the past five years during which profitability has slipped. The following are questi

50、ons and an swers that would be provided in an in terview sce nario.What are the client s margins for a bicycle in eaclthf esegments?Racing: Cost = $600/unit, Profit=$300/unitMainstream: Cost = $250/unit, Profit = $75/unitChildren s: Cost = $ 200/unit, Profit = $50/unitWhat has happe ned to the marke

51、t size of each of the three segme nts over the past five years?Racing: Has remained con sta nt atits prese nt size of $300MMMain stream: Has in creased at 2% growth rate per year to its prese nt size of $1.0BChildre n s:Has in creased at 3% growth rate per year to its prese nt size of $400MMWhat has

52、 happened to our client s market share in each of these segments?Racing: Market share has decreased from 60% to 30%Main stream: Market share has in creased from 0% to 5%Childre n s:Market share has in creased from 0% to 3%Who are the client s major competitor s in5eamerrt?rkeHi at has happened to th

53、eirmarket share in each segme nt over the past five years?Racing: There is one main competitor and a host of small firms. Your main competitor hasin creased market share from 30% to 50%Mainstream: There exist many, large competitors, none of which holds more than 10% of the marketChildren s:As in th

54、e mainstream segment, there are many competitors, none with more than10% of the marketThe above information provides enough information to put together a picture of why profits have decreased over the past five years : Your client, with a commanding position in a flat market segment (racing), expand

55、ed into new segments (mainstream and children s). As this occurred, market sharedecreased dramatically in the most lucrative segment (racing), creating an unfavorable mix.The extent to which profits have decreased can be deduced from some quick math : profits have slipped from $60MM five years ago (

56、=60% x $300MM x 33% racing margin) to $44MM today ( = (30% x $300MM x 33% racing margin) + (5% x $1B x 23% mainstream margin) + (3% x $400MM x 20% children s margin).The dramatic decrease in market share in the racing segment is at this point still unexplained. Questions that would help formulate an explanation include:Have there been any major changes in product quality in your clients racing product? O