面試技巧培訓(xùn)資料26英文

面試技巧培訓(xùn)資料(doc26頁)(英文)

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CaseQuestions

Casequestionsaremostcommonlyusedinconsultinginterviews,buttheycanbeusedinothersituations,suchasininterviewsformarketingpositionswithconsumergoodscompanies.Simplyput,acaseinterviewistheanalysisofabusinessquestion.Unlikemostotherinterviewquestions,itisaninteractiveprocess.Yourinterviewerwillpresentyouwithabusinessproblemandaskyouforyouropinion.Yourjobistoasktheinterviewerlogicalquestionsthatwillpermityoutomakeadetailedrecommendation.Themajorityofcaseinterviewersdon'thaveaspecificanswerthatyou,thecandidate,areexpectedtogive.Whattheinterviewerislookingforisathoughtprocessthatisatonceanalyticalandcreative.Here'sasamplecasequestion:

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Youareadvisingacreditcardcompanythatwantstomarketaprepaidphonecardtoitscustomers.Is

thisagoodidea?

You:Whatistheroleofourcompany?Dowesimplymarketthecardormustwecreatethemourselves?

Interviewer:Thiscardwillbeco-marketedwithanoutsidephonecompany.Wedon'tneedtoperformtelecommunicationsfunctions.

You:Whatareourexpensesconnectedwiththecard?

Interviewer:Wemustpay15centsforeveryminutewesell.Wealsohavetopay$1.00asastart-upcostforthecardandcardsystems.

You:Whatareourmarketingexpenses?

Interviewer:Wenormallyuseslipsofpaperthatareattachedtothebacksofourcreditcardpaymentenvelopes.Wesometimesalsosend

customersadirectmailing-inaseparate

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envelope.Orwecanhavetelemarketerscallselectedcustomers.

You:What'sthecostofeachofthesemarketingtechniques,andwhatistheirresponserate?

Interviewer:Telemarketershavea2percentresponserate,andcost$1.00percall.Directmailingscostus40centspermailingandhavea0.50percentrateofresponse.Ourpaymentattachmentshavea0.25rateofresponse,butonlycostus5centseach.

You:I'mgoingtoassumewewillsellone-hourphonecards.Thatwillcostus$9.00fortheminutesandadollarpercard-soeachcardcostsus$10.

Interviewer:Thatsoundsreasonable.

You:Andwhatisourexpectedrevenueonaone-hourphonecard?Whatisthecurrentmarketratefora60-minutephonecard?

Interviewer:Assumeit's50centsaminute.

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You:Soifwesellthecardsfor$30,wehavea$20profit,minusourexpendituresonmarketing.

Interviewer:What'sourcoststructurelooklike?

You:Okay,let'sfigurethisout.Tosell1,000cardsthroughtelemarketing,wewouldneedtocontact50,000people.Thatwouldcostus$50,000.Tousedirectmail,wewouldhavetocontact200,000thousandpeople,which,at40centspermailing,costsus$80,000.Sincetheenvelopeinsertsaren'tveryreliable,wewillneedtocontact800,000peopleusingthatmethod.Butat5centseach,itcostsonly$20,000tosell1,000cards.

Wemake$20profitoneachcard.Butevenatthecheapestpromotionalvehicle,at$20profit,wewouldonlybreakeven,becauseourprofitson1,000cardswouldbe$20,000.Weshouldn'tmarketthiscard,unlesswecanfurthercutourmarketingcostsorincreasethepriceofthecard.Ifwecouldslicethecostoftheenvelopeattachmentsapennyorso,orsellthecardfor

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$35,orconvinceourco-marketertoreduceourcosts,itmightbeworthselling.

Commonly-askedQuestions

Companiesthesedayslookformorethanwhetheryou'reawittyorespeciallycoolindividualwhenitcomestopersonality.Amongthecharacteristicshighestontheirlistareteamworkandinnovation.Theymaynotaskwhetheryouareateamplayer,orcreative--doesn'tmeanyoushouldn'tgoaheadandtellthem.Butthenagain,alotofinterviewerswillaskyououtright:tellmewhyyourpersonaltraitswillworkhere.

1.Whyareyouapplyingforthisposition?

Probablythemostcommonlyaskedquestionatjobinterviews.Youneedtoconvinceyourinterviewerthatyouareenthusiasticaboutthejob.

2.Tellmeaboutatimewhenyouusedinitiative/Givemeanexampleofwhenyoucame

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upwithaninnovativesolution/Givemeanexampleofatimeyouexceededexpectations.

Inthisever-changingworldinwhichwework,employeesaresupposedtobeinnovative,tobeableto"thinkoutsideofthebox.Questionslikethese(suchasthewaythe"initiative"questionand"exceededexpectations"questionsareworded)canbeusedasopportunitiestotalkaboutcreativefaculties--pickaninstancewhenshowinginitiativemeantcomingupwithanout-of-the-ordinarysolution.

3.Iseeonyourresumethatyouservedaschairpersonofsuch-and-suchcommittee.Whatwasthatexperiencelike?

Alongwithinnovation,employersoftenlookforleadershipability.Ingeneral,interviewersarelookingforevidenceofawillingnesstolisten,anabilitytogivefeedback,andafirmnesswhenitcomestogettingthingsdone.

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4.Whatwouldmembersofyourbasketballteam/businessschoolcohort/butterflycatchingexpeditionsayaboutyou?Tellusaboutatimeyouhadtodealwithadifficultteammember.

Teamworkisanotherhighlyvaluedtraitthesedays,companiesarelookingforemployeeswhoworkwellingroups.Ifyourinterviewerdoesn'tbringupteamwork,doityourself.Thesequestionsaresimilartotheleadershipquestions-interviewersarelookingforbothanopennesstoideasandawillingnesstonudgeteammemberstowardagoal.

5.Whydidyoudecidetoswitchcareers/Whydidyoudecidetogobacktoschool/Whydidyoutaketimeoffduringcollege?

Bepreparedtowalkthroughyourresumewithyourinterviewer,especiallyatcompaniesthatliketopromotefromwithin.Theywanttoknowthatyou'recommittedtotheindustryandwillbeloyaltotheircompany.

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6.Wheredoyouseeyourselfin5years?

Youdon'tnecessarilyneedtosaythatyouwanttoworkforthecompanyforever,butyoushouldexpresshowyouthinkthepositiontowhichyouareapplyingwillhelpyougrow.

7.Soyoujustgraduated.Howdidyoulikeschool?

Lovedit.Learnedsomuch.AndletmetellyoualittlebitaboutwhattypesofactivitiesIwasinvolvedin.

8.Whatlessonsdidyoulearnfromyoulastjobthatyouthinkcanbetransferredtothisposition?

9.Whatdoyouconsideryourbiggestfault?

Interviewerslovethisquestion,eventhoughitsortofinvitesdishonesty.You'resupposedtosaysomethinglike:"I'maperfectionist."Or:"Itendtoworktoohard."Youmaywanttopreparea

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morethoughtfulanswer,butyoushouldatleastanticipatethisquestion.

10.Ifyoucouldgoanywherefor24hours,withanunlimitedbudgetwherewouldyougo?

Sometimes,interviewerswillaskoff-the-wallquestionsjusttogetabettersenseofwhoyouareasaperson.

QuestionstoAskDuringYourSummer

InternshipInterviews

*Canyougivemeanexampleofmysummerresponsibilities?Trytomakesuretheansweryoureceiveisasspecificaspossible.Particularlyifyou'renewtotheindustry,youwanttoensurethatyouwillperformworkthatisrepresentativeofafull-timeassociate.

*Howmanypeoplearetypicallygivenpermanentjoboffers?Andaskforpercentagestoo.Thisshowsyou'reinterestedinopportunitiesaftergraduationatthefirm,andallowsyoutoplanyourstrategicoptions.Somefirms,like

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GoldmanSachs,areknownforgivingofferstoasmallproportionofthesummerclass.Youmaywanttotrybetteroddsatanotherfirm.

*WillIbeabletorotatebetweendepartments?Again,themoreyouknowaboutthecompany,thebetteryouwillbeabletodeterminewhichdepartmentinterestsyoumost,orwhetheryouwanttoworkatthefirmatall.Ifthere'saspecificdepartmentyouwanttoworkin,youshouldmakethisknown.

*Doyouprovideanyassistancewithrelocation?Manyfirmswillhelplocate,andevensubsidize,summerhousing.Ifthismakesadifferenceinwhetheryoutaketheposition,ask.

StrategiesforAnsweringBusinessCase

Questions

Ifyou'regoingintoaninterviewwhereyoumightexpectacasequestion(abusinessquestion

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presentedtoyouforyourdetailedanalysis),it'simportanttohaveafewbasictipsdownpat.

1.Takenotes.

Asyourinterviewerpresentsyourcase,besuretotakecarefulnotesonthenumbersorotherfactsgiven.(Alwaysbringanotepadandapentoaconsultinginterview.)Youdon'twanttoaskyourinterviewertolaterrepeatinformationthathasalreadybeengiven.

2.Askquestions.

Yourinterviewerexpectsyoutoaskquestions--asmanyintelligentquestionsasyouneedtoobtainanaccuratepictureoftherelevantfactsinthecase.Manyinexperiencedcaseintervieweesmaketheerrorofnotaskingtheirintervieweranyquestions,perhapsafraidthattheywilllookignorant,ornotwishingto"bother"theinterviewer.Onthecontrary--notaskingquestionsisafatalerrorinacaseinterview.If

youdon'tknowthefirstthingaboutthe

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helicoptermarket,askhowmuchitcoststomanufacturearotor.Ifyouneedtoestimatethe

demandforabeef-flavoredpotatosnackinWichita,Kansas,thenfeelfreetoaskthepopulationofWichitaandenvirons.

3.Bepreparedtotakecharge.

Youwilloftenfindthatyourinterviewerwilldirectyourlineofquestioningtoaspecificarea,butyoumustalwaysbereadytocontroltheconversationincasetheinterviewerdoesnotdirectyourreasoning.Ifyouareunsure,simplyasktheinterviewer.Forinstance,ifyoufindtheinterviewerofferinglittledirectionasyoumovethroughyourinitialscoopingquestions,youmaywishtoask,"Ifindthelackofariskassessmenttobeapotentialshowstopper.MightIasksomedetailedquestionsaboutthis?"Oryoumightsay,"Givenwhatyouhavetoldmeaboutthesituation,Iwouldliketodrilldownforfurtherclarityregardingtheclient'scurrentrelationship

withitsdistributionpartner.Wouldthatbe

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OK?"Inthisway,youtakechargeofthelineofquestioningwithoutsteppingontheinterviewer'srole.

4.Makenoassumptions!

Asacaseinterviewee,youshouldnevermakeanyassumptions.Youshouldassumethepersonaofanactualconsultanttryingtolearnaboutanassignment.Itmightseemobviousthatthereisnopreexistingworkplan(becauseiftherewas,whywouldthisbeacaseinterview?)butyoushouldask.Youshouldalsoaskifthecompanyhasencounteredasimilarproblem,orwhatothercompaniesinthefieldhavedonewhenfacedbysimilarproblems.Yourinterviewermaynotreleasethatinformationbutwillbeimpressedthatyouaskedthesesensiblequestions.Somegoodbasic"professional"questionstoask,whichapplytomostcases:

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Whohiredus?

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Howlongwilltheseengagementslast?

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?

Isthereaworkplan?

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Hasthecompanyfacedthisproblem(oropportunity)before?

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Ifso,howdiditreact?

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Whatwastheoutcome?

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Whathaveothercompaniesfacingthis

situationdone?

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Hasthefirmalreadydoneanyresearchinto

theissue?

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Ifso,whatwereitsfindings?

5.Maintaineyecontact.

Alwaysmaintaindirecteyecontactduringthecaseinterview.Eyecontactiscriticalwhenansweringcasequestions--itdemonstratesconfidenceandauthority.Rememberthatinconsultingyoumayfindyourselfinfrontof20executivesatamajorcorporationpresentingastrategyyouwerebriefedononlyahalf-hourago.Andthenyouhavetoanswerquestions!Soyou

canseewhybusinesscaseinterviewingisso

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importanttoconsulting--itisadirectparalleltotheenvironmentconsultantsmustfaceeveryday.

FinanceInterviewQuestions

WithWallStreetsalariesskyrocketing,investment-bankingjobsareashotasever.Thismeansit'sespeciallyimportanttobepreparedforbankingandfinanceinterviews.Thesefinanceinterviewquestionsshouldhelp.Formorequestionsandinterviewadvice,readtheVGuidetoFinanceInterviews.

1.Howwouldyouvalueacompanyyou'reconsideringbuying?

OneofthemostcommonquestionsWallStreetinterviewersask.(Othervariationsofthisquestionare:"howwouldyouvalueastockyouwereconsideringbuying,takingpublic,etc.)WallStreetersusethisquestiontoseparatethefinancejocksfromtheneophytes.Here'sabasicanswerthatshouldimpressyourinterviewer:

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Oneanswertothisquestionistodiscountthecompany'sprojectedcashflowsbya

"risk-adjusteddiscountrate."Afterprojectingthefirstfiveor10years,youaddina"TerminalValue,"whichrepresentsthepresentvalueofallthefuturecashflowsthataretoofarintothefuturetoproject.YoucancalculatetheTerminalValueinoneoftwoways:(1)youtaketheearningsofthelastyearyouprojected,sayyear10,andmultiplyitbysomemarketmultiplelike

20timesearnings,andthat'stheterminalvalue;or(2)youtakethelastyear,sayyear10,andassumesomeconstantgrowthrateafterthat,perhaps10%.Thepresentvalueofthisgrowingstreamofpaymentsafteryear10istheTerminalValue.

Note:Tofigureoutwhat"discountrate"youwouldusetodiscountthecompany'scashflows,tellyourintervieweryouwouldusethe"CapitalAssetPricingModel"(or"CAP-M").(Inanutshell,CAPMsaysthattheproperdiscount

ratetouseistherisk-freeinterestrateadjusted

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upwardstoreflectthisparticularcompany'smarketriskor"beta.")

Finally,youshouldalsomentionothermethodsofvaluingacompany,includinglookingat"comparables,"-thatis,howothersimilarcompanieswerevaluedrecentlyasamultipleoftheirsales,netincome,orsomeothermeasure.

2.WalkmethroughthemajorlineitemsonaCashFlowstatement.

Aquestiontotestyouraccountingskills.Theanswer:FirsttheBeginningCashBalance,thenCashfromOperations,thenCashfromInvestingActivities,thenCashfromFinancingActivities,andfinallytheEndingCashBalance.

3.WhatisEBITDA?Alsoknownas"cashflow,"EBITDAisEarningsBeforeInterest,Taxes,Depreciation,andAmortization.

4.Sayyouknewacompany'snetincome.Howwouldyoufigureoutits"cashflow"?

Abasicanswer:Youstartwiththecompany's

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netincome.Thenyouaddbackdepreciationandamortization.Thenyousubtractthecompany's

CapitalExpenditures(called"CapEx"forshort,thisishowmuchmoneythecompanymustinvesteachyearonplantsandequipment).Thenumberyougetisthecompany'scashflow:

5.CompanyAisconsideringacquiringCompany

B.CompanyA'sP/Eratiois55timesearnings,whereasCompanyB'sP/Eratiois30timesearnings.AfterCompanyAacquiresCompanyB,willCompanyA'searningspersharerise,fall,orstaythesame?

CompanyA'searnings-per-sharewillrise,becauseofthefollowingrule:whenahigherP/EcompanybuysalowerP/Ecompany,theacquirer'searnings-per-sharewillrise.Thedealissaidtobe"accretive,"asopposedto"dilutive,"totheacquirer'searnings.

Defeatingthe12-BallQuestion

Someinterviewquestionsarenotoriouslydifficult.Thisparticularlogicproblemhasmade

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itsappearanceatvariousconsulting,investmentbankingandtechfirms(includingMcKinseyand

Microsoft).Willyoubepreparedifyourinterviewerspringsuponyoutheknotty"12ball"dilemma?ThankstoVaultReports,youcananswerinsafety!

Here'sthequestion:

Youhave12balls.Allofthemareidenticalexceptone,whichiseitherheavierorlighterthantherest-itiseitherhollowswhiletherestaresolid,orsolidwhiletherestarehollow.Youhaveasimpletwo-armedscale,andarepermittedthreeweightings.Canyouidentifytheoddball,anddeterminewhetheritisholloworsolid?

Thislogicproblemissuretoputyouranalyticalabilityondisplay!First,we'llexaminewhatthoughtprocessesaninterviewerislookingfor,andthenwe'lldiscussonesolution.

Startwiththesimplestofobservations.The

numberofballsyouweighagainsteachother

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mustbeequal.Yeah,it'sobvious,butwhy?Becauseifyouweigh,saythreeballsagainstfive,

youarenotreceivinganyinformation.Inaproblemlikethis,youaretryingtoreceiveasmuchinformationaspossiblewitheachweighing.

Forexample,oneofthefirstmistakespeoplemakewhenexaminingthisproblemisthattheybelievethefirstweighingshouldinvolvealloftheballs(6against6).Thisweighinginvolvesalloftheballs,butwhattypeofinformationdoesthisgiveyou?Itactuallygivesyounonewinformation.Youalreadyknowthatoneofthesideswillbeheavier,andbyweighing6against6,youwillsimplyconfirmthisknowledge.Still,youwanttogaininformationaboutasmanyballsaspossible(soweighing1against1isobviouslynotagoodidea).Thusthebestfirstweighingis4against4.Thatway,youreserve4balls,andcanobtainsomeinformationabouteachsubsetof4.

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Secondly,ifyouthinkthroughthisproblemlongenough,youwillrealizehowpreciousthe

informationgainedfromaweighingis:Youneedtotransfervirtuallyeverypieceofinformationyouhavegainedfromoneweighingtothenext.Sayyouweigh4against4,andthescalebalances.Luckyyou!Nowyouknowthattheoddballisoneoftheunweighed4.Butdon'tgiveintotheimpulsetosimplyworkwiththoseballs.Inthisweighing,you'vealsolearnedthattheeightballsonthescalearenormal.Trytousethisinformation.

Youmustbebothcreativeandanalytical.Mostpeoplewhoworkthroughthisproblemconsideronlyweighinganumberofballsagainsteachother,andthentakinganothersetandweighingthem,etc.Thiswon'tdo.Thereareanumberofothertypesofmovesyoucanmake-youcanrotatetheballs,fromonescaletoanother,youcanswitchtheballs,etc.

Let'slookatonesolution.

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Forsimplicity'ssake,wewillrefertoonesideofthescaleasSideA,andtheotherasSideB.

Step1:Weigh4ballsagainst4others

CaseA:If,onthefirstweighing,theballsbalanceIftheballsinourfirstweighingbalanceweknowtheoddballisoneofthosenotweighed,butwedon'tknowwhetheritisheavyorlight.Howcanwegainthisinformationeasily?Wecanweighthemagainsttheballsweknowtobenormal.So:

Step2:PutthreeoftheunweighedballsontheSideA;putthreeballsthatareknowntobenormalonSideB.I.Ifonthissecondweighing,thescalebalancesagain,weknowthatthefinalunweighedballistheoddone.a.Step3.Weighthefinalunweighedball(theoddone)againstoneofthenormalballs.With

thisweighing,wedeterminewhethertheoddball

isheavyorlight

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II.If,ontheotherhand,withthissecondweighing,thescaletipstoSideA,weknowthat

theoddballisheavy.(IfittipstoSideB,weknowtheoddballislight,butlet'sproceedwiththeass

BrandManagementCaseQuestion:TheBrand

Launch

WhileWallStreetmaycontrolourpursestrings,andHollywoodmaycontrolourdreamsandimaginations,itisthe"brandmanagers"whoseguidinghandsshapeeverythingweeatandwear,andinfact,shapethewaywethinkaboutthesethings.Themostsought-afterbrandmanagementpositionsarewithleadingconsumerproductscompaniessuchasProcter&GambleandGeneralMills.Toclimbtosuchloftyheights,brandmanagers(sometimesknownas"marketingmanagers")undergorigorousinterviewsthatofteninvolvecasequestions.Brandcasesvaryinbreadthandspecificity-

somemaybeaboutpromotions,someabout

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pricing,othersaboutlong-termstrategy.Vtakesalookatonetypeofbrandcase:the"BrandLaunch."

SAMPLEQUESTION:Ifourcompanywerelookingtointroduceacarpetcleanertoourlineofproducts,howwouldyougoaboutdevelopingabusinessplan?

Ingeneral,interviewersareinterestedinwhatkindsofquestionsyouask,andyourunderstandingofmarketforces.Here,theinterviewerislookingforananswerthatdescribesthe"process"youwoulduseindevelopingabusinessplan,notaskingforabusinessplanitself.Theinterviewermaybepleasantlysurprisedifyouhappentoknowthesizeofthecarpetcleanermarket-buttheycertainlydon'texpectit.Here'soneapproachtoattackingthiscase:

STEP1:ANALYZETHEMARKET:Thefirstthingthemarketingmanagershoulddoisgatherallavailableinformationaboutthemarket.The

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logicalplacetostartwouldbethecarpetcleanermarketanditsfuture.Howlargeisthecarpetcleanermarketcurrently?Isitexpectedtogrowinthenextseveralyears?Whatarethemaincompaniesinvolved?Finally,howofteniscarpetcleanersold,andinwhat"channels"-ingrocerystores,inhardwarestores,inconveniencestores,asanimpulsebuy,asanemergencybuy,etc?

STEP2:ASSESSYOURCOMPANY'S

STRENGTHSANDWEAKNESSES:Thenextissuesamarketershouldbeawareofarehisorhercompany'sstrengthsandweaknesseswhenitcomestothismarket.Doesthecompanyproducesimilarproducts,andthereforehaveabaseofR&Dexpertise?Doesthecompanyhaveadistributionnetworkinplace?Isthecompanysittingonextracapitalitislookingtoinvestintoaproductlaunch?Makesuretoidentifythecompany'sweaknessesaswell.Perhapsthecompanyisbestknownamonghomeownersforitseasytouseanddisposablecleaningproducts-

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thisdemographicgroupmaynotoverlapmuchwiththemarketforcarpetcleaner.

STEP3:ASSESSCONSUMERPREFERENCES:Adiligentbrandwillalsoconsiderbroaderissuesindevelopingabusinessplan.Onemajorcategoryoftheseisconsumerpreferences.Arehomeownersoptingforhardwoodfloorsandthrowdownrugsratherthancarpeting?

STEP4:CONSIDERMACROTRENDSand

OTHERISSUES:Anothermajorconcernformarketersismajormacrotrends,suchasdemographictrends.Whatisthekeydemographicgroupthatusesthisproduct?Isthisgroupbecominglargerovertime,orshrinking?Areforeignmarketsbeginningtoconsumemorecarpetcleaner?Legalandregulatoryissuesshouldalsobeconsidered.Areaerosolcarpetcleanersbecominglessfeasiblebecauseofenvironmentalregulations?

STEP5:DETERMINEOURCOMPANY'S

OBJECTIVES:Finally,youmustdetermine

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yourcompany'sobjectives.Becauseconsumertrendsarefickle,andtechnologicalinnovationcanquicklytransformanindustry,brandstrategyshouldingeneralnotbetoofar-sighted.Afive-yearplanisagood,safewaytocompromisetheneedforlong-termstrategywiththepitfallspredictingfuturestrategyinevitablybrings.

Interviewersmaypresentyouwithobjectivesatthestartofthecase.Iftheydon't,ask.Ifnoobjectivesareproffered,funnelyourthinkingintothreemainareas:marketsharegrowth,financialperformance,andbrandidentity.

Guesstimates

Guesstimatesarecommonlyaskedinconsultingandinvestmentbankinginterviews.Generally,yourinterviewerasksyoutoestimatethenumberorsizeofsomething,andobservesyourreasoningprocess.Mostinterviewersdon'tcareifyouactuallygetthecorrectnumber-whattheywanttoseeisthatyouareabletologicallythink

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throughaprocess,creativelythinkthroughanypossibleexceptionsorshortcuts,andcalculate

basicsumsinyourhead.Youwon'tbegivenanyrealdata(thoughyouwon'tneedtoknowmuchmorebeyondthefactthattheUnitedStateshasabout270millioninhabitantsand25millionbusinesses),andyoushouldn'trequestany;it'sirrelevanttotheproblemathand.Makereasonableassumptions,witheasy-to-work-withnumbers,andgofromthere(rememberthatyou'reexpectedtouseapenandnotepadtoworkthroughyourcalculations).

Theseguesstimatesmayalsoinvolveelementsofcreativityandproblemsolving.Forexample,whenposedthequestion"Howmuchchangewouldyoufindonthefloorofamall?"youmightwanttoask"Isthereafountaininthemall?"Let'stakealookatasampleguesstimate:

1.HowmanygallonsofwhitehousepaintaresoldintheU.S.eachyear?

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THE"STARTBIG"APPROACH:Ifyou'renotsurewheretobegin,startwiththebasic

assumptionthatthereare270millionpeopleintheU.S.(or25millionbusinesses,dependingonthequestion).Ifthereare270millionpeopleintheUnitedStates,perhapshalfofthemliveinhouses(or135millionpeople).Theaveragefamilysizeisabout3,sotherewouldbe45millionhousesintheUnitedStates.Let'saddanother10percenttothatforsecondhousesandhousesusedforotherpurposesbesidesresidential.Sothereareabout50millionhouses.

Ifhousesarepaintedevery10yearsonaverage(noticehowwedeftlymakethatnumbereasytoworkwith),thenthereare5millionhousespaintedeveryyear.Assumingthatonegallonofpaintcovers100squarefeetofwall,andthattheaveragehousehas2000squarefeetofwalltocover,theneachhouseneeds20gallonsofpaint.So100milliongallonsofpaintaresoldperyear(5millionhousesx20gallons).(Note:Ifyouwant

tobefancy,youcanaskyourinterviewer

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whetheryoushouldincludeinnerwallsaswell!)If80percentofallhousesarewhite,then80

milliongallonsofwhitehousepaintaresoldeachyear.(Don'tforgetthatlaststep!)

THE"STARTSMALL"APPROACH:Youcouldalsostartsmall,andtakeatownof27,000(aboutonetenthousandthofthepopulation).Ifyouusethesameassumptionthathalfthetownlivesinhousesingroupsofthree,thenthereare4,500houses,plusanother10percent,thentherearereally5,000housestoworryabout.Paintedev