Cracking the Case A Consulting Interview Primer
Page 1 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
Remember your seventhgrade algebra teacher’s three favorite words Show your work At the time it seemed silly Why not just show the right 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 answer itself
The same goes for the case questions that consulting recruiters lob at you Consulting is a demanding job with few correct answers this method of interviewing gauges how well you manage the process of getting to an answer and how you perform under simulated clientengagement conditions
We talked to consultanthunters at several firms to glean their advice on cracking the case interview Here's what the recruiters revealed—and how you can best prepare
Why the Case Interview
Case interviews have long been used by recruiters to see a candidate's thought processes in motion Can you deconstruct and analyze complex openended business problems Do you stay 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 various frameworks strung together you may even choose not to use frameworks at all What's important is that you demonstrate some defined structure
Case studies are an imperfect science concedes Michael Gibney project manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers but are easily implementable in the 30 to 45 minutes we have for each interview Since they measure your analytical skills they're an improvement over simple fit or resumé interviews
In most case interviews the recruiter gives you an example of a reallife client problem Some typical categories include
· Company Strategy My client is thinking of making an acquisition and …
· Brain Games How many tennis balls are in the United States
· Operations Improvement Why is my client’s factory running behind
· Market Size How big is the global air conditioner market
Although each requires a slightly different approach all are meant mainly to evaluate the process you use not the answer you come up with
Practice Makes Perfect
You 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 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 can’t relate solutions to the client it’s a problem
Don’t assume that attending a caseoriented business school will give you an upper hand John Flato Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s national director of university recruiting says these candidates don’t seem to do any better or worse than candidates from noncase schools
Study different kinds of case questions Just because your buddy interviewed before you and gave you a headsup on the questions doesn’t 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
Get a classmate or friend to roleplay the interview with you and use any resources (such as a casebook) that your school's 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 you're not familiar with so as to test your analytical skills not memorized facts for instance if your preBschool 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 several industries—for instance know the product development cycle in pharmaceutical research and understand current trends in technology (For more information on various fields check out our industry guides) Although each case is different with practice you will improve your analytical reasoning skills and solution method
Think Through the Process
When 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 How many competitors does the company have What are the major cost and revenue drivers Who are the major clients And don't forget to ask for the firm's mission—if you don't know what a company's goals are you might come up with a valid—but misguided—solution Use some basic frameworks to drive your questions—the four P's and the three C's for instance
A sample question Gibney used recently involved a manufacturerdistributorretailer 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 into the services side which it views as a highmarginhighgrowthrate business The candidate now needs to provide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each of the two different problems
As long as it's permitted work your answers out on paper Pencils and pens plus a notebook or legal 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 you’re not going to do it all in your head
Page 2 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
May the Five Forces (Not) Be with You
Some recruiters are turned off when potential hires draw on a packaged analytical framework (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
Eileen Coveney vice president at LEK Consulting warns candidates about the perils of frameworks When people depend too much on a preestablished framework they may not be thinking deeply enough about the problem at hand This may indicate that when presented with an actual client issue they are not going to focus on the details and specifics of the client’s problem Rather they may be inclined to jump into easy and obvious solutions
If you do use one choose wisely If the case is about a business that's considering entry into an industry Porter's five forces may indeed be your best bet If you're 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 you're marketing a new pharmaceutical product think about the 4 P's and the 3 C's
Is That Your Final Answer
Don’t be afraid of pausing Take the time to draw up notes and sketch out the problem Don’t blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period of silence You’re not on a game show you’re interviewing to be a consultant which is a business as much about thinking as it is about communicating 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 KPMG Consulting we need to make sure we’re saying the right thing the first time
After all the analysis however don't 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 best option is—eg if revenues outstrip costs then do
x
Follow the Leader
Many 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 don’t fret It doesn’t matter what your role is in the exercise—just do it well If you and the team members are 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 display of ego before John Flato at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a certain red flag Obviously those who go to business schools are bright and talented—they wouldn’t be there otherwise Flato remarks We hire bright and talented people but only those who can work well with team members and not display arrogance
Page 3 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
Ready for some companyspecific advice Here's what five recruiters told us about interviewing at their firms
Recruiter No 1 Eileen Coveney vice president LEK Consulting
The Questions
Testing a candidate's skill across a range of areas is the primary reason LEK uses case interviews Coveney indicates that the case interviews are meant to (1) assess a candidate’s analytical ability (2) evaluate a candidate's communication skills and logic flow (3) understand how a candidate responds to redirection and (4) test hisher overall fit with the firm Most questions LEK recruiters ask center around strategic growth opportunities for potential clients
Words of Wisdom
Coveney points out that she doesn’t have a preference regarding how a candidate initially reacts to the case interview question Some people take some time to formulate their thoughts other people ask a few questions and other people jump right in Coveney says Relax and take your time focus on the specific issues of the case remember there is no one right answer to the case and don’t use too many frameworks Don’t throw in the kitchen sink like Porter’s five forces etc Just be confident and relax—it will really help with the interview
Recruiter No 2 Kamenna Rindova senior associate Mercer Management Consulting
The Questions
MMC asks most candidates oneonone questions and doesn’t often do group exercises Reflecting the firm’s focus most questions deal with strategy issues with occasional market sizing questions thrown in The purpose of the interview for MMC is to see the candidate's 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 Lastly beating a clear path to any response is more important than getting it right 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 US recruiting operations Monitor Group
The 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 to three pages in length In the final round a group event is used
Words of Wisdom
My take on most other firms is that they put a premium on [the candidate’s] ability to ask questions in the interview Monitor cases put a premium on your ability to analyze data manipulate numbers integrate and come up with an answer based on the data you’ve been given says Berney Like LEK’s Coveney he doesn’t like to see candidates use too many frameworks to solve a problem
Recruiter No 4 Sean Huurman national recruiting director KPMG Consulting
The Questions
The case question helps get to a thinking process and various characteristics of a candidate you don’t necessarily get in an ordinary 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 candidates can be prepped in advance but he notes that there’s no amount of coaching that can prepare you for a group project
Words of Wisdom
Too many people jump right into the case study and don’t put any thought into it says Huurman I want 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 what KPMG stands for (curious It's Klynveld Peat Marwick and Goerdeler) but it’s important to do your homework on the firm’s services strengths and culture
Recruiter No 5 Michael Gibney project manager PricewaterhouseCoopers
The 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 oneonone and are meant to test the business acumen of a candidate Seeing candidates' insight into business problems and their approach to solving them (most questions are based on truelife client engagements) is the overall goal
Words of Wisdom
Gibney understands that many problems are too big to solve during the course of a halfhour interview but wants to see a firm grasp of key issues The candidate must have an understanding of the overall situation and the overall problem and then create an approach to solve it Gibney says For instance if we’re talking about a client getting into the services business I would expect to see some kind of framework around identifying what relevant services would be and the different market and company factors involved I want the candidate to relate directly what the core issues are
Michael K Norris is an expert in consulting and consultant recruitment issues He can be reached at michael@norrisresearchcom
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《香当网》用户分享的内容，不代表《香当网》观点或立场，请自行判断内容的真实性和可靠性！
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Page 1 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
Remember your seventhgrade algebra teacher’s three favorite words Show your work At the time it seemed silly Why not just show the right 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 answer itself
The same goes for the case questions that consulting recruiters lob at you Consulting is a demanding job with few correct answers this method of interviewing gauges how well you manage the process of getting to an answer and how you perform under simulated clientengagement conditions
We talked to consultanthunters at several firms to glean their advice on cracking the case interview Here's what the recruiters revealed—and how you can best prepare
Why the Case Interview
Case interviews have long been used by recruiters to see a candidate's thought processes in motion Can you deconstruct and analyze complex openended business problems Do you stay 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 various frameworks strung together you may even choose not to use frameworks at all What's important is that you demonstrate some defined structure
Case studies are an imperfect science concedes Michael Gibney project manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers but are easily implementable in the 30 to 45 minutes we have for each interview Since they measure your analytical skills they're an improvement over simple fit or resumé interviews
In most case interviews the recruiter gives you an example of a reallife client problem Some typical categories include
· Company Strategy My client is thinking of making an acquisition and …
· Brain Games How many tennis balls are in the United States
· Operations Improvement Why is my client’s factory running behind
· Market Size How big is the global air conditioner market
Although each requires a slightly different approach all are meant mainly to evaluate the process you use not the answer you come up with
Practice Makes Perfect
You 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 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 can’t relate solutions to the client it’s a problem
Don’t assume that attending a caseoriented business school will give you an upper hand John Flato Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s national director of university recruiting says these candidates don’t seem to do any better or worse than candidates from noncase schools
Study different kinds of case questions Just because your buddy interviewed before you and gave you a headsup on the questions doesn’t 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
Get a classmate or friend to roleplay the interview with you and use any resources (such as a casebook) that your school's 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 you're not familiar with so as to test your analytical skills not memorized facts for instance if your preBschool 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 several industries—for instance know the product development cycle in pharmaceutical research and understand current trends in technology (For more information on various fields check out our industry guides) Although each case is different with practice you will improve your analytical reasoning skills and solution method
Think Through the Process
When 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 How many competitors does the company have What are the major cost and revenue drivers Who are the major clients And don't forget to ask for the firm's mission—if you don't know what a company's goals are you might come up with a valid—but misguided—solution Use some basic frameworks to drive your questions—the four P's and the three C's for instance
A sample question Gibney used recently involved a manufacturerdistributorretailer 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 into the services side which it views as a highmarginhighgrowthrate business The candidate now needs to provide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each of the two different problems
As long as it's permitted work your answers out on paper Pencils and pens plus a notebook or legal 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 you’re not going to do it all in your head
Page 2 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
May the Five Forces (Not) Be with You
Some recruiters are turned off when potential hires draw on a packaged analytical framework (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
Eileen Coveney vice president at LEK Consulting warns candidates about the perils of frameworks When people depend too much on a preestablished framework they may not be thinking deeply enough about the problem at hand This may indicate that when presented with an actual client issue they are not going to focus on the details and specifics of the client’s problem Rather they may be inclined to jump into easy and obvious solutions
If you do use one choose wisely If the case is about a business that's considering entry into an industry Porter's five forces may indeed be your best bet If you're 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 you're marketing a new pharmaceutical product think about the 4 P's and the 3 C's
Is That Your Final Answer
Don’t be afraid of pausing Take the time to draw up notes and sketch out the problem Don’t blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period of silence You’re not on a game show you’re interviewing to be a consultant which is a business as much about thinking as it is about communicating 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 KPMG Consulting we need to make sure we’re saying the right thing the first time
After all the analysis however don't 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 best option is—eg if revenues outstrip costs then do
x
Follow the Leader
Many 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 don’t fret It doesn’t matter what your role is in the exercise—just do it well If you and the team members are 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 display of ego before John Flato at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a certain red flag Obviously those who go to business schools are bright and talented—they wouldn’t be there otherwise Flato remarks We hire bright and talented people but only those who can work well with team members and not display arrogance
Page 3 of 3
[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consultingfirm interview In fact a little preparation can make solving them seem well elementary
Firms Are There to Help You
Consulting Industry Guide
Ready for some companyspecific advice Here's what five recruiters told us about interviewing at their firms
Recruiter No 1 Eileen Coveney vice president LEK Consulting
The Questions
Testing a candidate's skill across a range of areas is the primary reason LEK uses case interviews Coveney indicates that the case interviews are meant to (1) assess a candidate’s analytical ability (2) evaluate a candidate's communication skills and logic flow (3) understand how a candidate responds to redirection and (4) test hisher overall fit with the firm Most questions LEK recruiters ask center around strategic growth opportunities for potential clients
Words of Wisdom
Coveney points out that she doesn’t have a preference regarding how a candidate initially reacts to the case interview question Some people take some time to formulate their thoughts other people ask a few questions and other people jump right in Coveney says Relax and take your time focus on the specific issues of the case remember there is no one right answer to the case and don’t use too many frameworks Don’t throw in the kitchen sink like Porter’s five forces etc Just be confident and relax—it will really help with the interview
Recruiter No 2 Kamenna Rindova senior associate Mercer Management Consulting
The Questions
MMC asks most candidates oneonone questions and doesn’t often do group exercises Reflecting the firm’s focus most questions deal with strategy issues with occasional market sizing questions thrown in The purpose of the interview for MMC is to see the candidate's 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 Lastly beating a clear path to any response is more important than getting it right 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 US recruiting operations Monitor Group
The 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 to three pages in length In the final round a group event is used
Words of Wisdom
My take on most other firms is that they put a premium on [the candidate’s] ability to ask questions in the interview Monitor cases put a premium on your ability to analyze data manipulate numbers integrate and come up with an answer based on the data you’ve been given says Berney Like LEK’s Coveney he doesn’t like to see candidates use too many frameworks to solve a problem
Recruiter No 4 Sean Huurman national recruiting director KPMG Consulting
The Questions
The case question helps get to a thinking process and various characteristics of a candidate you don’t necessarily get in an ordinary 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 candidates can be prepped in advance but he notes that there’s no amount of coaching that can prepare you for a group project
Words of Wisdom
Too many people jump right into the case study and don’t put any thought into it says Huurman I want 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 what KPMG stands for (curious It's Klynveld Peat Marwick and Goerdeler) but it’s important to do your homework on the firm’s services strengths and culture
Recruiter No 5 Michael Gibney project manager PricewaterhouseCoopers
The 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 oneonone and are meant to test the business acumen of a candidate Seeing candidates' insight into business problems and their approach to solving them (most questions are based on truelife client engagements) is the overall goal
Words of Wisdom
Gibney understands that many problems are too big to solve during the course of a halfhour interview but wants to see a firm grasp of key issues The candidate must have an understanding of the overall situation and the overall problem and then create an approach to solve it Gibney says For instance if we’re talking about a client getting into the services business I would expect to see some kind of framework around identifying what relevant services would be and the different market and company factors involved I want the candidate to relate directly what the core issues are
Michael K Norris is an expert in consulting and consultant recruitment issues He can be reached at michael@norrisresearchcom
文档香网(httpswwwxiangdangnet)户传
《香当网》用户分享的内容，不代表《香当网》观点或立场，请自行判断内容的真实性和可靠性！
该内容是文档的文本内容，更好的格式请下载文档
