I had a student who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from an Ivy League school. She spent her time between undergrad and graduate school working for a non-profit. While at Harvard’s Kennedy School, she decided she wanted to do consulting, but she had no business background. Her first attempt at a mock case interview with me was a disaster. That day she started a journal. For every live case she did with me, her classmates, and alumni (she did around 30 live cases), and with every case that she read (about 80 cases), she wrote down the problem, the solution, and most important, what she hadn’t thought of. The student constantly reviewed it, so that what she didn’t think of naturally soon became second nature to her. She also recorded structures, concepts, ideas, and strategies. When she had spare m... (查看原文)
Why Consulting?
Now this is important – not only should your answer be immediate, but you must look the interviewer right in the eye. If you look away, it indicates that you are thinking about the question and that’s enough to end the interview right then and there. (查看原文)
The best ways to collect these answers are to:
Attend career fairs and speak to the firm representatives
Scour the company’s web site
Talk to alumni and graduate school students who used to work for the companies that you’re interviewing with
Attend company information meetings
Search the Wall Street Journal or LexisNexis for articles on the firm (查看原文)
INTERVIEW (time: what firms look for)
Intro
Quick exchange: overall package; eye contact, smile
Questions About You
5-10 min: leadership, drive, enthusiasm, persuasion
Why Consulting?
2 min: commitment to consulting
Possible Math Question
1 min: grace under pressure
Case Question (s)
10-15 min: poise, analytical & communication skills
Your Questions
3 min: intelligence, homework
The Grand Finale
2 min: selling – why hire you? (查看原文)
COMMONLY ASKED CONSULTING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Tell me about yourself.
What are you doing here?
Why consulting?
Why did you pick your school?
What do you think consultants do?
What do you know about this job and our firm?
Why would you choose our firm over our competitors?
How are your quantitative skills?
What percentage is 7 of 63?
Tell me of a time you showed leadership skills.
Tell me of a time you were a team player.
Give me an example of a time you influenced or persuaded a group.
Tell me about a recent crisis you handled.
Have you ever failed at anything?
Tell me about a time you took the initiative to start something.
What type of work do you like to do best?
With what other firms are you interviewing?
Which other industries are you looking into?
... (查看原文)
PRE-INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What type of consulting does the firm do?
2. In what industries does the firm specialize?
3. How big is the firm?
How many domestic and international offices does the firm have?
How many professionals are in the firm?
4. What kinds of training programs does the firm offer?
5. What type of work does an entry-level consultant do?
6. How much client contact does an entry-level consultant have the first year?
7. Does the firm have a mentor program?
8. How often do first-years sleep in their own beds? What’s their travel schedule like?
9. How many hours make-up a typical workday?
10. How is a case team picked?
11. How often do you get reviewed?
12. How many consultants does the firm expect to hire this year?
13. How does that compare to last year?
14. Where do the... (查看原文)
The Case Commandments
1. Listen to the Question
2. Take notes
3. Summarize the Question
4. Verify the Objective(s)
5. Ask Clarifying Questions
You will cross the line when interviewer says, “What do you think?”
6. Organize Your Answer
7. Hold that Thought for “One Alligator”
8. Manage Your Time
Answer from a macro-level and move the answer forward. […] stay focused on the original question asked.
9. Work the Numbers
Demonstrate that you think quantitatively and that you are comfortable with numbers.
10. Be Coachable
11. Be Creative and Brainstorm
12. Exude Enthusiasm and a Positive Attitude
13. Bring Closure and Summarize (查看原文)
Strategy Scenarios:
1. Entering a new market
2. Industry analysis
3. Mergers and acquisitions
4. Developing a new product
5. Pricing strategies
6. Growth strategies
7. Starting a new business
8. Competitive response
Operating Scenarios:
9. Increasing sales
10. Reducing costs
11. Improving the bottom line
12. Turnarounds
When operations cases are really about strategy (e.g., Strategy: Should we proceed with a turnaround? Vs. Operations: How do we proceed with a turnaround?) then think about using cost-benefit analysis (in which you analyze the pros and cons of each possibility).
The First Four Steps
1. Summarize the Question
2. Verify the Objectives
One objective is to raise profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?
There are two objectives, I need to break the ca... (查看原文)
[Entering a New Market]
Question: Your client manufactures hair products. It’s thinking about entering the sunscreen market. Is this a good idea?
Step 1: Determine why? What’s our goal? What’s our objective?
Does it fit into our overall strategy?
Step 2: Determine the state of the current and future market.
What is the size of the market?
What is the growth rate?
Where is it in its life cycle? (Stage of development: Emerging? Mature? Decline?)
Who are the customers and how are they segmented?
What role does technology plan in the industry and how quickly does it change?
How will the competition respond?
Step 3: Investigate the market to determine whether entering it would make good business sense.
Who is our competition and what size market share does each competitor have?... (查看原文)
作者: Marc P. Cosentino 副标题: Complete Case Interview Preparation, Fourth Edition isbn: 0971015821 书名: Case in Point 出版社: Burgee Press 装帧: Paperback 出版年: 2005-09-05
