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The Consulting

Assessment Process:
Best Practices for
Success

CVs, Cases, and the Personal


Experience Interview

My background

Consultant at McKinsey for 2 years, across the UK,


Australia, and North American oces
Worked on recruiting while at the Firm, both as an
interviewer and on projects to improve our recruiting
approach
Now assist Europes leading exec search rm recruiting for
MBB in screening and coaching candidates
Continue to coach candidates privately, including on
PrepLounge.com, and have worked with candidates to
land roles at MBB and other strategy rms
Have completed over 300 cases to-date

Key elements of the workshop

Get to know the


consulting
industry

Learn tips for the


CV application

Learn how to
succeed in case
interviews

Learn best
practices for the
CV interview

Brief overview of the consulting industry


Description of some of the benets and
drawbacks of a consulting career
What consulting rms look for, and how you can
best adapt your CV to display this
CV review exercise
Advice for handling cases, with a focus on
structuring
Live case practice throughout the workshop
Overview of common CV interview questions, and
ways to handle these
Focus session on storytelling in consulting
interviews

What well cover Day 1

Time

Discussion topic

13:00 13:15

Introduction and Workshop Overview

13:15 13:30

Introducing the Consulting Curriculum

13:30 14:00

Consulting: Industry Overview

14:00 14:30

The CV application

14:30 15:15

CV applications: group activity

15:15 15:30

Overview of the case interview

15:30 16:15

Structuring a case

16:15 17:45

Case practice X 2

17:45 18:00

Debrief and Q&A

How to get the most out of the workshop

Take notes on key points, but dont worry to jot down


everything slides will be shared
Jump in and ask questions at any time, during Q&A
discussions or regular sessions
Take feedback onboard in practice sessions, and focus on
concrete ways to improve your own performance
Pay close attention when acting as interviewer during a
practice, and deliver open and frank feedback
Focus not only on learning the theory, but on developing a
concrete plan to succeed in the assessment process

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

A snapshot of the consulting industry


A large and growing industry

Estimates range from ~$50bn to ~$250bn

Growing at 4%+ in Western markets, and often faster in


emerging markets

High margins, although increasingly challenged by competition

Premium rms still make high operating prots on their work,


with limited push to reduce cost

Competition is increasing, however, with the Big 4 and specialist


rms challenging many incumbents on price

The growth areas in the industry are increasingly lower-margin


work (e.g. implementation rather than strategy)

The Big Four are the largest players overall, though the industry
is still relatively fragmented

The Big Four take the largest share in the market, with Deloitte
the largest player overall

Besides the well-known rms, a wide array of boutiques serve


smaller clients and specialist niches

Revenue ($bn)

14.7

Deloitte
PwC /
Strategy&

12.7

EY

12.1
10.7

KPMG
Accenture

4.1

IBM

4.0

McKinsey &
Co

2.3

Booz Allen

2.1

CGI

1.0

CSC

1.4
-

10.0

20.0

Trends and changes in the industry


Item

Rise of the Big 4

Description
Acquisitions of strategy rms by members of the
Big 4
Big 4 rms increasingly competing with MBB

A shift to
implementation

Freelance
operating
models

Use of data and


analytics

A rise of start-to-nish consulting, e.g. McKinsey


Implementation, or Recovery & Transformation
Services

Low-cost consulting rms that make use of


freelance consultants, e.g. Eden McCallum

Increasing use of advanced analytical techniques


to assess large client data sets
Acquisitions of big data startups by major
consulting rms

Consulting as a career choice

A number of positives
Variety with the opportunity to
explore a number of dierent industries
and functional areas
Fast pace of learning and
development, including frequent
feedback and reviews
Generally good remuneration and
promotion opportunities, compared to
most industries
A fairly diverse range of exit options

But some drawbacks, too


Skillset developed is more
academic than in some
industries, with limited
opportunity for operational
experience
Limited job security, with
relatively few options to stay
still
Challenging lifestyle long
hours, high stress, travel

Life after consulting common exit options

Corporate
strategy

Many consultants opt to join the strategy team


of a client in their industry of focus
Still an extremely common exit path
Options are often at Fortune 500s, or other clients

Corporate
operational roles

Finance

Consultants often seek P&L responsibility when


exiting into operational roles
Private Equity, Hedge Fund, VC, and Asset
Management exits are all relatively common

Join an early-stage businesses, or start one


Entrepreneurship

Several well-known startups founded by


consulting alumni

These are
common
options, but
there is a very
long tail of
other options
besides those
listed

Consulting: the industry and the career choice

Any questions?

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

Why the CV screen exists

Far more candidates apply to rms


than there are roles available
Interviewing candidates is timeconsuming, and consumes a rms most
precious resource (consultant time)
The screen provides a means to lter
out candidates who are perceived as
unlikely to pass the interview
Additionally, the CV provides a basis
for discussion during the interview
itself

The CV
screen acts
as a strong
lter, and is
a fairly blunt
instrument
to screen
out
candidates

Consulting firms tend to evaluate CVs on specific


dimensions, though criteria vary by firm
Questions were asking

How to answer them eectively

Is the candidate highly


intelligent?

Prestigious academic institutions and/


or courses; high academic scores

Does the candidate have


a track record of high
performance?

Prestigious institutions and/or


compelling roles; fast career
advancement

Impact

Does the candidate


make a tangible impact
in her work?

Specic evidence of concrete impact


through your work and/or
extracurriculars

Leadership

Is the candidate a leader


and someone who
makes things happen?

Evidence of specic formal or informal


leadership roles, particularly where the
candidate made something happen

Personality
(informally)

Would the candidate be


someone interesting to
have on the team?

Rare and interesting career or


extracurricular experiences,, or
personal interests

Academic
performance

Career
performance

How consultants read CVs

Question 1: Is the
candidate a clear no-hire?

If yes (30
secs)

If no

Question 2: Does the


candidate meet the bar to
interview with the rm?

CV reviewers will often look


for obvious reasons for
rejection before they
properly read a CV

Only if you get past the


initial skim will your CV be
properly evaluated

There are several common reasons for a CV being


hastily rejected
Common contributing factors to a fast rejection
Poor or incomplete academic record
Typos or grammatical errors
Unnecessary length
Poor formatting
Atypical font choice
Font too small or too large
Clutter, with limited white space
The wall of text
Innovative formats

Takeaways
Invest
considerable
time in
proofreading
Play it safe
on the
formatting

Formatting doesnt get you hired, but it can get


you rejected (1 / 2)

Formatting doesnt get you hired, but it can get


you rejected (2 / 2)

A standard, conventional format is typically the


best approach to use

To showcase your skills, make concise points that


communicate actions leading to impact
How to craft communication points
Select 2 - 6 points that communicate impact in some way for a role
Aim to use 1 2 lines for each bullet, with 3 as an absolute maximum
Use strong, action-oriented verbs e.g. Developed, Led, Created, Delivered.
Avoid weaker ones Participated in, Supported, Maintained.
Quantify or specify the outcome make it tangible
Avoid wae and process Presented ndings to senior management, Liaised with
key stakeholders, Maintained data set across functions
Feel free to either start with the action, or with the impact
Describing a role for a bullet is OK if unclear from context, as is listing a performance
measure. Otherwise, focus bullets on actions and outcomes
Aim for variety, especially if you suspect multiple skills are being assessed
If for some bullets the impact is less tangible, its not the end of the world

Communication points: not-so-good examples


Support for pre-production programmes to demonstrate new
product introduction process control
Took an ownership of 1 out of 9 global enterprise operations
initiatives and planned transformation of fragmented product
focused service level agreements (SLA) including all commercial
and service level terms to end to end customer centric SLAs.
Secured buy-in from key stakeholders and commitment to
implement proposed changes
Analyzed the market efficiency of individual stocks and the
markets in which they trade, both in emerging and established
marketplaces

Communication points: some better examples

Developed and led the launch of five operational improvement


initiatives, leading to 8m+ recurring savings for the R&D
department
Established a network of over 50 new suppliers within six months
for all key materials, enabling the new plant to begin production
ahead of schedule
Built and led an operations and support team of over 20
employees

The CV application Dos and Donts

Do
Invest signicant time in
proofreading and errorchecking your CV
Seek the advice of others to
review your CV and recommend
changes
Think about the skills rms are
likely to be assessing when
looking at your CV
Make your bullets actionoriented, and convey tangible
impact
Include interesting material to
add colour to your CV

Do not
Rush the CV application
Attempt to use innovative
formats, fonts, or layouts
Go into excessive detail when
describing situations and
experiences
Talk too much about process or
the day-to-day of your role
Use buzzwords, jargon, or vague
business terminology
Include anything you wont be
happy talking about during the
interview

The CV application: Group exercise


Instructions
Get into groups, and nd a space to discuss
Take one set of CV handouts each
Select one person from your group to chair the discussion and to make sure
youre keeping to time
Once in your group, for each CV:
Briey review the CV individually
One person to share their perspective, and others to jump in with additional
comments (within reason)
Once each CV has been reviewed, select one that you score most highly as a
group and return to the room
In plenary discussion, well review groups choices and discuss any ndings from
the exercise
Work fast: you only have around 30 minutes to discuss the CVs in your groups

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

Key questions an interviewer asks when


interviewing a candidate
Focus of this session
Problem solving: does the
candidate have the
intelligence to solve a
clients problem?

Should we
make this
candidate
an oer to
join the
rm?

Personal skills: can the


candidate get things done,
and build relationships with
clients?

Case
discussion

CV discussion

Can he be the face


Career
rationale: does the
of
our firm?
candidates desire to move
(Presence,
into consulting make sense?
communication, fit)

CV discussion

Culture t: can the


candidate be the face of our
rm, and t in well with the
company culture?

CV discussion /
general
impression

In a case, the interviewer is trying to assess


several aspects of your performance
Characteristic
Analytical thinking
and structure

Description
Can the candidate break problems up into their constituent parts, identify
causal factors driving an issue, and deploy logical reasoning to think
through a business topic?

Quantitative skill

Is the candidate able to set up and solve numerical problems, and does
she have a good feel for the numbers?

Conceptual and
critical thinking

Can the candidate spot connections between information and make


inferences? Can she identify and explain why things are happening?

Creative thinking

Can the candidate think divergently to generate ideas, including going


beyond the obvious?

Judgement and
insight
Synthesis and
communication
Attitude and poise

Is the candidate able to make relevant and sound judgements based on


the information she has? Does she display insight in the case?
Can the candidate pull information together to reach a synthesized
conclusion? Can she communicate in a concise, clear, and structured way?
Does the candidate have drive and curiosity to crack the problem? Can
she lead appropriately, while maintaining discussion? Is she calm and
poised under pressure?

Cases tend to be structured in a particular way

Problem denition

Structuring

Analysis

Conclusion

Reach a clear and specic understanding of the


question youre trying to answer
Break the problem down into logical subcomponents

Analyze your sub-problems to solve the problem


overall. Perform qualitative and quantitative
analysis to get there

Synthesize the results of your analysis to provide


an answer to the initial question

To succeed in a case, you need to be able to do a


number of things well
Problem denition
Quickly nailing down a
clear understanding of
a clients problem

Exhibit analysis
Spotting trends and
insights in graphical
data representations

Structuring
Decomposing a
problem into its logical
components

Quantitative problem
solving Handling
numerical problems
prociently

Prioritization
Knowing what to
focus on at a given
time

Structured
communication
Delivering top-down
comms at key points

Creative thinking
Generating numerous
original ideas on the
y during a case

Use of hypotheses
Making an educated
assumption, and
testing it against data

Synthesis
Clearly crystallizing
information and its
implications

Case leadership
Familiarity with the
format, and a grasp of
how to drive the case

Issue identication
The sense to spot
relevant and
interesting details

Qualitative analysis
Spotting connections
and drivers for a
problem

Why consulting firms value structuring skills

Consultants are hired to resolve


large and dicult problems
The only way to tackle such
problems consistently is to break
them up into more manageable
pieces (a.k.a. structuring)
Structuring also helps to
communicate a problem and
discuss it logically
Your ability to structure is
typically assessed early on in a
case interview

How would you


resolve this?
Our client is a midsize computer
training company. It
just found out that
IBM is going to
enter its segment
of the market. What
should it do?

Most cases can be structured with an issue tree

Lock-in clients
Compete

Our client is a midsize computer


training company.

Lower prices
Dierentiate
Partner

It just found
out that IBM is going
to enter its segment
of the market. What
should it do?

Collaborate
JV
Do nothing
Sell
Exit
Liquidate

An effective issue tree has a number of


characteristics
Characteristic

Description

MECE (mutually
exclusive, collectively
exhaustive)

The framework covers all major


relevant issues, and without
overlap

Branches at a common
level of abstraction

Low level conceptual issues arent


included on the same level as
major ones

A robust second layer is


present

The candidate communicates an


understanding of the drivers for his
or her rst-level items

Its communicated in a
top-down way

The high-level items are named


rst, before their detail is expanded
on

Its precisely tailored to


the problem at hand

The issue tree doesnt feel like an


o the shelf framework; it reects
the nuance of the problem at hand

There is rarely a
single, right
framework to a
case. There are
usually multiple
approaches, and
often several
ways to
structure the
problem

Candidates receive a wide variety of case types


Frequency of case types
% of total consulting interviews reported by London Business School students

Aqualine Call center

Company
Oldpharma turnaround
Specialty papercases
sale
Operations
Public sector
Many others

Prot improvement
24%

Other

Jet Fighter Manufacturing Magna health


How
to boost prots overall
Oce Vending Services Supermarket
deli turnaround
Revenue
/ growth focus
Cost-out

31%

New
entrant threat
Gas retail

17%

Market entry

8%
Response to shock

10%

10

Amusement park Business


New
geographic market
Aircraft MedCount RefreshNow!
New product category

Business model
China outsourcing
Outsourcing
Distributor or nal seller

Strategy
Film co
How
to compete in core market
Personal care co
Whether to remain in an industry

Example approach 1: Equation


Best suited to: Prot improvement cases, or other quantitative questions
Sample question: Why are our prots decreasing, and how do we turn the
situation around?
Price
Prots
= Revenue
Costs
= (Quantity x
Price) (Fixed +
Variable Costs)

Revenue
Quantity
Prots

Fixed costs
Costs
Variable costs

Example approach 2: Logical issue tree


Best suited to: Diagnostic cases, where youre looking for a root cause (e.g. operations)
Sample question: Why is our client experiencing delivery delays on its shipments?

Root causes:
Trucks take
longer to
arrive than
planned
Trucks aren't
ready for
loading
Loading is
delayed
Drivers arent
always ready

Truck not ready


for loading

Delivery
delays

Longer journey
than planed
Truck waited
for loading
Truck waited
for driver

Example approach 3: Process flow


Best suited to: Business model, product launch or operations cases
Sample question: How should I launch this product?
Research
Design
Prototyping

Product launch
process steps:
Design
Production
Distribution
Marketing

Supply
Production
Product
launch

Manufacturing

Distributors
Distribution

Marketing

Sales force
Pricing
Branding

Example approach 4: Logical Hypotheses


Best suited to: Cases where solution types break down logically
Sample question: How should I boost revenues for my sandwich store chain?

Sandwich store
chain: revenue
increase options
Increase
number of
stores
Increase
number of
visits per store
Increase
revenue per
visit

Increase
number of
stores

Boosting
revenues
for a
sandwich
store chain

Increase
customer
visits per
store

Increase
revenue per
customer
visit

Expand within current


geographies
Expand to new
geographies

Increase customer
numbers
Increase frequency of
visits per customer

Increase pricing on
products
Increase number of
products bought

Example approach 5: From-To


Best suited to: Atypical cases, e.g. How do you do or become X?
Sample question: How do I make my city the Las Vegas of Europe?

How to make a
city the Las
Vegas of Europe
How do we
dene the Las
Vegas of
Europe?
Whats our
current state?
How can we
go from the
current state
to the goal?

Make educated
guesses based on
context

Oering?
Objectives
Las Vegas
of Europe

Brand?
Visitors?

Situation

Execution

Assess current
situation on targeted
dimensions

Example approach 6: Top-Down


Best suited to: Market entry cases, or other macro questions
Sample question: Should we enter this market?

Is this market
attractive?
Can my
product do
well in this
market against
competition?
Do I have the
capabilities to
deliver the
product in this
market?
Can I be
protable?

Market
attractiveness

Size
Growth

Competitor structure
Market
entry

Competition
Competitor behaviour

Supply chain
Capabilities
Distribution
Financials

Brand

Example approach 7: Key Questions


Best suited to: Other cases, where you have to make a qualitative decision
Sample question: Should I hire PR agency X?
Do they have a track record
of success with rms in my
industry

Should we hire
this PR agency?
What do we
need to know
in order to
make a
decision?

Should I hire
PR agency
X?

Will they deploy the


necessary resources for us to
reach out goals?

Is their proposal competitive?

Are there other, better


alternatives to consider?

Example approach 8: Restatement


Best suited to: Other cases, where multiple discrete topics are covered
Sample question: We were hired to improve a banks bottom line by looking into
overdraft policies, marketing segmentation, and deposits strategy
Regulation
Overdraft
policies

Questions to
address
Overdraft
policies
Marketing
segmentation
Deposit
strategy

Competitor practices
Demographics

Approaches
to improve
prots

Marketing
segmentation

Behaviours
Attitudes

Supply
Deposit
strategy

Demand
Price sensitivity

Example approach 9: Impact / Feasibility


Best suited to: Cases where you have to compare options
Sample question: Should we launch a sports trainer or streetwear trainers product?
Market size
Size of the
prize

For each of
sports /
streetwear
Size of the
prize
Ability to win

Market growth rate


Industry margins

Market
comparison
Competitive advantage
Competitor strength
Ability to
win

Access to distribution
Regulatory restrictions

Food for thought: Some common drivers

Volume
Revenue

Market

`Price

Market shares
& changes

Segments
Customers

Preferences

Competition

New entrants

Product

Purchasing decision

Substitutes

Size

Manufacturing

Regulation

Growth

Marketing

Unions

Segments

Processes

Sales

Macro

Technology

Protability

Distribution

Economy

Key success factors

Customer service

Political Issues

Segments

Skills

Variable Costs

Willingness to pay

Investment capacity

Cost
Price

Fixed Costs

Internal
Elasticity

Brand

Suppliers
Supply
Chain

Dierentiation

Partners

Distribution
channels

Case structuring dos and donts

Do
Take a pause to structure
before you get started
Communicate your structure in
a top-down way
Relate your structure closely to
what you know of the problem
at hand
Make sure there isnt overlap in
your major branches, and
caveat your description if
overlap may be perceived
Think from rst principles, as if
youre the CEO of the client

Do not
Use a common o-the-shelf
framework (P&L framework an
exception)
Try to cover too much ground in
the rst level of your framework
Give a free-owing, ramble
description to your categories
Start to problem-solve and ask
for information too early
Pause too long up front (this is
rare, and generally OK in your
practices)

Tips for improvement on structuring


1) Practice structuring specically

Ask practice partners to select cases that provide ample structuring opportunities, where possible

Consider running structuring drills rather than full cases

2) Look for opportunities to structure within a case

Structuring isnt only for the opening of the case; often there are opportunities to quickly decompose
topics further into the case

3) Practice structuring in your own time

Review casebook material, and attempt to draw your own structures; check them against suggested
approaches to see if you missed major items

4) Read and review frameworks and sample cases to learn what good looks like

Review case framework suggestions to inspire your thinking and provide ideas

Be careful not to use frameworks o the shelf; use them rather as a starting point and as a pool of ideas
to draw from

5) Use structuring skills in everyday life

Look for opportunities to break up tough problems, e.g. on a project or a tough assignment

Try to logically decompose such problems into their constituent parts (whether on paper or not)

Case practice
Instructions
Find a partner to practice cases with preferably someone you
havent practiced with before
Take turns to practice cases and give feedback. Youll have
roughly 45 minutes for a round of case + feedback before
switching
If you require case material, please take one of the example
cases provided. As an interviewer, you may want to spend a
moment reviewing the notes before you get started
Feel free to take notes as an interviewer however you wish. If you
would like ideas to structure feedback, feel free to take an
example assessment form to structure your thinking
Pay attention to any improvement areas you notice, as well as
things the interviewee did particularly well

What well cover Day 2


Time

Discussion topic

09:10 10:00

Case structuring group exercise

10:00 10:30

Additional case tips & tricks

10:30 12:00

Case practice X 2

12:00 12:30

Debrief and Q&A on the case

12:30 13:45

------Lunch------

13:45 14:15

Intro to the personal experience interview

14:15 15:15

Practice personal experience interviews X 2

15:15 15:45

Approaches to storytelling in interviews

15:45 16:45

Practice personal experience interviews X 2

16:45 17:00

Debrief and Q&A on personal experience interviews

17:00 17:45

Best practices on preparing for success; nal Q&A

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

Case structuring group exercise


Instructions
Take one handout with sample structure sets each
For each problem in turn:
Read the problem individually
Again individually, sketch out a sample structure with which to solve the
problem
One person to share their structure, and others to provide feedback on
what was strong about the structure, and what they might do dierently
After discussion, review sample structure provided to see if it provided any
further ideas
In plenary discussion, well debrief on insights and takeaways from the
exercise

Advanced case tips a focus on three areas

So far weve focused most of our time on


structuring
Were going to focus on three additional areas for
this remaining session:
1) Opening cases
2) Estimation exercises
3) The case conclusion
Well also cover some variations on case types you
might expect to get

To succeed in a case, you need to be able to do a


number of things well
Problem denition
Quickly nailing down a
clear understanding of
a clients problem

Exhibit analysis
Spotting trends and
insights in graphical
data representations

Structuring
Decomposing a
problem into its logical
components

Quantitative problem
solving Handling
numerical problems
prociently

Prioritization Knowing
what to focus on at a
given time

Structured
communication
Delivering top-down
comms at key points

Creative thinking
Generating numerous
original ideas on the
y during a case

Use of hypotheses
Making an educated
assumption, and
testing it against data

Synthesis
Clearly crystallizing
information and its
implications

Case leadership
Familiarity with the
format, and a grasp of
how to drive the case

Issue identication
Have the sense to
spot relevant and
interesting details

Qualitative analysis
Spotting connections
and drivers for a
problem

Opening the case

Objectives
1) Understand
precisely
the question
youre being
asked
2) Understand
enough of
the client
context to
structure
eectively

Tips

Ask questions; for example:

Is there a specic timeframe for the


problem?

Do they have a quantitative target?

What are the underlying motivations for


the client?

Listen out very carefully for keywords or


clues early on

Take very clear notes for key information you


get at this stage, and refer back to it

Consider beginning to think about your


structure at this stage

Estimation questions
Tips
Objectives

Get clear on the calculation required

1) Demonstrate
you can
structure a
quantitative
estimation

Lay out a rough approach, and align it with the interviewer

Example approaches for an estimation question:

2) Compute the
numbers
eectively
3) Demonstrate
good
judgement in
evaluating
your
calculations

Top-down: start with population and work down

Bottom-up: start with your experience and work


upward

Comparison: nd a reference point and work with it

Begin to run your computations

Ask for inputs you think youll get, and/or make


assumptions as appropriate

Explain any assumptions you have in mind

Sanity check the number

Describe what your answers are, and almost always


what they mean

Concluding the case

Objectives
1) Demonstrate
your ability to
synthesize
information
2) Demonstrate
your ability to
communicate
in a
structured,
top-down
way

Tips

Learn what good looks like:

Lead with the headline answer

Oer supporting points to that answer

Cover any additional considerations last

Avoid complicating the core message

Aim to keep it short

Take mental notes throughout the case, such


that you always have an emerging
conclusion in mind

Find opportunities to practice delivering a


good synthesis in order to hone this skill

Alternate types of case to be aware of

Interviewer-led versus candidate led


Estimation-only cases
Group cases
Unstructured business discussions versus
classic cases

Final tips & tricks

Be 80/20 where you can be gure out what the minimum you need to know
to validate something is

Take the hints youre given, verbal and non-verbal

Use hypotheses to help you problem-solve quickly

Connect the dots look for ways to tie information from earlier in the case to
insights later on

Showcase additional depth of insight when given the opportunity

Think about the question behind the question

Pay attention to your gut feel, and probe where necessary

If the information isnt leading anywhere, try breaking it apart

If youre really stuck, pause and zoom out

Dont worry about perfection; mistakes are OK and dont mean the game is
over

Dont worry if the interviewer appears to be challenging or pressuring you

Realize its a conversation, and make sure the discussions two-way

Case practice
Instructions
Find a partner to practice cases with preferably someone you
havent practiced with before
Take turns to practice cases and give feedback. Youll have
roughly 45 minutes for a round of case + feedback before
switching
If you require case material, please take one of the example
cases provided. As an interviewer, you may want to spend a
moment reviewing the notes before you get started
Feel free to take notes as an interviewer however you wish. If you
would like ideas to structure feedback, feel free to take an
example assessment form to structure your thinking
Pay attention to any improvement areas you notice, as well as
things the interviewee did particularly well

Agenda

Introduction
The Consulting Curriculum
Consulting: Market Overview
CV Applications
Case Interviews
CV Interviews

Key questions an interviewer asks when meeting a


candidate

Problem solving: does the


candidate have the
intelligence to solve a
clients problem?

Should we
make this
candidate
an oer to
join the
rm?

Personal skills: can the


candidate get things done,
and build relationships with
clients?

Case
discussion

CV discussion

Can he be the face


Career
rationale: does the
of
our firm?
candidates desire to move
(Presence,
into consulting make sense?
communication, fit)

CV discussion

Culture t: can the


candidate be the face of our
rm, and t in well with the
company culture?

CV discussion /
general
impression

Focus
of this
session

In the personal experience interview, youre being


assessed on a number of dimensions
Characteristic

Career rationale

Culture t

Description
Does your reason to get into consulting makes sense,
and does it t with the reality of the job? Will you stay
with the job (at least for a while)?

Will you be a good t for a particular rms culture and


values, and someone wholl t in with our teams?

Drive

Inuence

Do you have the passion to set ambitious goals, and go


about achieving them in a thoughtful and eective way?

Can you persuade people over whom you have no


formal authority?

Can you eectively lead and work with others?


Leadership

Characteristics
may vary for
particular rms
Check a rms
website and
careers
literature to see
if they assess
additional
characteristics

Overview of the CV interview

Discuss the candidates career


progression
Discuss the candidates general
motivation for consulting and/or the
rm in question
Discussion of specic achievements
or experiences
Time for questions for the interviewer

Takes place
as a 15-20
minute
discussion
Approaches
vary
somewhat
by rm

The CV interview: Some common questions

Bain / BCG / Most other rms


Tell me about yourself
Could you drive me through your CV
Tell me more about this experience

McKinsey
Tell me about a time when you [action
that will illustrate your drive, leadership
or persuasion skills]

What was your biggest challenge and


did you address it?

Interviewer might interrupt and ask:

What did you say?

What was your most challenging


experience? What did you learn from
that?

How did she respond?

What did you think?

Tell me more about that

How did you do that?

Why did you do that?

Why consulting?
Why [Bain/BCG]

Be prepared
to speak
about
experience
and achievement
on your
Prepare
to speak
about
eacheach
experience
and achievement
on your
CV CV
Prepare other powerful examples from work, school, or extracurricular activities

The CV interview: Dos and Donts


Do

Do not

Have a consistent narrative


which explains your career
choices

Give the impression that you


bounced around randomly in
your career

Talk about the choices and


actions you have actively taken

Mention that a given


achievement happened out of
randomness or a personal
connection of the family

Be thoughtful about what


transferrable skills you have
learnt in each role
Mention where you
outperformed peers
Have a well thought out answer
which explains why you want to
move into consulting, what you
want to learn and what skills you
will bring

Say that anything was a waste of


your time
Talk down an employer or
previous colleagues
Say that you simply want a
change from your current job or
want to work for an elite
company

Personal experience interview: Practice session


Instructions
Find a partner to practice cases with preferably someone you
havent practiced with before
Take turns to practice cases and give feedback. Youll have
roughly 30 minutes for a round of questions + feedback before
switching
If you require sample questions, feel free to use the handout
material provided. Equally, feel free to formulate your own
questions to test particular areas
Feel free to take notes as an interviewer however you wish. If you
would like ideas to structure feedback, feel free to take an
example assessment form to structure your thinking
Pay attention to any improvement areas you notice, as well as
things the interviewee did particularly well

In a personal experience story, you want to


selectively give depth in your content
Breadth vs depth
Breadth

Depth

Deep dive on specic aspects of


or achievements within a story

The situation complication - resolution


framework can be useful for experience stories

Situation
Complications
Actions, actions, actions
Results

Consistent with McKinseys


Situation Complication
Resolution framework

In this structure, the majority of your time should


be focused on your actions
Tell me about a time when you convinced someone more senior of something?
Content

Time allocation

Overview
(optional)

Brief summary of
your story

[optional or
negligible]

Let me describe a time where we were attempting to gain more


resource for a cost-out programme, and I had to persuade a
reluctant senior procurement manager to get onboard

Situation

Brief summary of
the context when,
where, your role

5 - 10%

We were attempting to save $300m, which was 15% of


the companys spend base
Four major cost categories were important to do this

Complication

The challenge, and


why it mattered

5%

This manager oversaw one of the categories, but was


blocking the work. If he didnt become supportive, over
40% of the value was at risk and the project would fail

Actions

Specic actions you


took

80 85%

I started my approach by taking the manager out for


coee and lunch, and to try and build a better personal
relationship
I explained the rationale for the work, in terms that
made sense to him
I saw he felt undermined by us, so I tried to nd ways to
raise his stature on the programme. We decided to
bring him into SteerCo meetings to present progress
and ndings
I also made a point to get to know his team, so hed
receive positive validation from others about us

5%

The manager ended up not only lending his support to


the programme, but becoming a erce advocate of it
His spend category was the most eective, leading to
over $80in savings

Step

Optionally (and
briey), why you
took certain
outcomes

Results

A specic, tangible
outcome

ExampleExample

A focus on influencing techniques

Rational
approaches to
inuencing

Logical persuading Using logic to explain what you believe or what you want
Legitimizing Appealing to authority
Exchanging Trading for cooperation, preferably not explicitly
Stating Asserting what you believe or want

Social
approaches to
inuencing

Socializing Getting to know the other person, being friendly, nding common ground
Appealing to Relationship Getting cooperation of people you already know well
Consulting Involving people in the problem or solution by asking questions
Alliance building Finding supporters or building alliances

The Dark Side


of inuence

Avoiding Forcing others to act by avoiding responsibility or conict


Manipulating Inuencing through lies, deceit, hoaxes, swindles, and cons
Intimidating Forcing people to comply by being loud, overbearing, bullying, etc.
Threatening Harming others or threatening to harm them if they do not comply

Do not use!

Emotional
approaches to
inuencing

Appealing to values Making an appeal to the heart


Modeling Behaving in ways you want others to behave

Personal experience stories: Things to keep in


mind
Be thoughtful on story selection: the most impressive story isnt
always the best
Simplify: all stories are in reality complex and nuanced, but the
interview isnt the time to describe all of the intricacies
Avoid over-rehearsal: at best bullet out the key points, but dont
rehearse stories word-for-word
Pay attention to time: you want to avoid spending longer than 90
seconds on your initial story (two minutes max)
Given the interviewer the option to dive deeper on areas if
interested, but dont necessarily do it automatically
Make sure you know your content well, especially if it was some
time ago
Let the content speak for itself (dont tell me youre funny, tell me a
joke)

Personal experience interview: Practice session


Instructions
Find a partner to practice cases with preferably someone you
havent practiced with before
Take turns to practice cases and give feedback. Youll have
roughly 30 minutes for a round of questions + feedback before
switching
If you require sample questions, feel free to use the handout
material provided. Equally, feel free to formulate your own
questions to test particular areas
Feel free to take notes as an interviewer however you wish. If you
would like ideas to structure feedback, feel free to take an
example assessment form to structure your thinking
Pay attention to any improvement areas you notice, as well as
things the interviewee did particularly well

A few thoughts on preparation


1) Focus your time on live practices, where you can

You want to be spending the majority of your practice time on live cases and interviews (ideally)

Look for opportunities to do so, and consider reaching out to former alums in addition to other candidates for
this

2) Focus in on areas for improvement

If you nd there are aspects of the interview youre particularly struggling with, nd ways to hone in on them
eciently in your practice time

3) Improve on your weaker areas, but dont neglect your strengths

Consultants look for candidates who have spikes, or areas theyre distinctive. Ideally, you should know what
yours are and how to maximize on them

4) Challenge yourself in practices, and take risks

Aim to do cases you nd dicult, and that push your skill level

Push yourself to do things outside of what feels comfortable, and to make mistakes

5) Consider online resources

Firm sites can contain useful information

PrepLounge.com can be helpful as a resource for nding practice partners

6) Look for opportunities to practice in everyday life

Sometimes you can use these skills mentally in everyday life

Find areas on projects where you can practice individual skills

Final thoughts for consulting interviews


1) Dont neglect the importance of building rapport with the
interviewer
2) Be yourself; dont be overly mechanical
3) Expect the unexpected, and go with the ow if unusual things
come up
4) Make sure youre well-rested, and in a good state for the
interviews when they come up
5) As you prepare for cases, focus less on learning particular
approaches and frameworks, and more on building and being able
to showcase the fundamental skillset

Questions

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