1、CrackingtheCase:AConsultingInterviewPrimer光彩人Page1of3WebExclusiveYoudonthavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.Rememberyourseventh-gradealgebrateachersthreefavoritewords?Showyourwork.Atthetime,itseemedsilly:Whyno

2、tjustshowtherightanswer?Nowthatyoureolderandwiser,however,youknowthatinmanycaseshowyougettotherightanswerismoreimportantthansimplyknowingtheansweritself.Thesamegoesforthecasequestionsthatconsultingrecruiterslobatyou.Consultingisademandingjobwithfewcorrectanswers;thismethodofinterviewinggaugeshowwell

3、youmanagetheprocessofgettingtoananswerandhowyouperformundersimulatedclient-engagementconditions.Wetalkedtoconsultant-huntersatseveralfirmstogleantheiradviceoncrackingthecaseinterview.Hereswhattherecruitersrevealedandhowyoucanbestprepare.WhytheCaseInterview?Caseinterviewshavelongbeenusedbyrecruiterst

4、oseeacandidatesthoughtprocessesinmotion.Canyoudeconstructandanalyzecomplex,open-endedbusinessproblems?Doyoustaycalm,orwillyousweatbulletsunderpressureataclientsite?Atthemostbasiclevel,acaseinterviewisaboutaskingtherightquestions,developingalogicalwayofworkingthroughtherelevantissues,andarrivingatare

5、commendation.Yourstructuremaybeapackagedframeworkoritmaybevariousframeworksstrungtogether;youmayevenchoosenottouseframeworksatall.Whatsimportantisthatyoudemonstratesomedefinedstructure.“Casestudiesareanimperfectscience,”concedesMichaelGibney,projectmanager光彩人atPricewaterhouseCoopers,“butareeasilyimp

6、lementableinthe30to45minuteswehaveforeachinterview.”Sincetheymeasureyouranalyticalskills,theyreanimprovementoversimplefitorresuminterviews.Inmostcaseinterviews,therecruitergivesyouanexampleofareal-lifeclientproblem.Sometypicalcategoriesinclude:CompanyStrategy:“Myclientisthinkingofmakinganacquisition

7、,and”BrainGames:“HowmanytennisballsareintheUnitedStates?”O(jiān)perationsImprovement:“Whyismyclientfactoryrunningbehind?”MarketSize:“Howbigistheglobalsairconditionermarket?”Althougheachrequiresaslightlydifferentapproach,allaremeantmainlytoevaluatetheprocessyouuse,nottheansweryoucomeupwith.PracticeMakesPer

8、fectYouabsolutely,positivelymustprepareinadvanceforcaseinterviews.“Itbecomesprettyclearprettyfastwhohasandwhohasnotpracticed,”saysGibney.“Iknowthereisabasicsortofbusinessacumenthatmaynotbeabletobepracticed,butcandidatesmusthaveanunderstandableapproachtosolvingproblems.Thatswhatourclientsdemandofus.I

9、fwecantrelatesolutionstotheclient,itsaproblem.”Dontassumethatattendingacase-orientedbusinessschoolwillgiveyouanupperhand.JohnFlato,CapGeminiErnst&Youngsnationaldirectorofuniversityrecruiting,saysthesecandidatesdontseemtodoanybetterorworsethancandidatesfromnon-caseschools.Studydifferentkindsofcaseque

10、stions.Justbecauseyourbuddyinterviewedbeforeyouandgaveyouaheads-uponthequestionsdoesntmeanyouhavealegup.Recruitershavetonsofcasequestionsintheirrepertoire,andthechancesoftheirusingthesamequestionmultipletimesononecampusvisitareslimtonone.光彩人Getaclassmateorfriendtorole-playtheinterviewwithyou,andusea

11、nyresources(suchasacasebook)thatyourschoolsconsultingclubprovides.Themoremockcasesyousinkyourteethinto,themorelikelyyouaretoberelaxedandpoisedfortherealthing.Sometimesyoulearnmorebypresentingacasequestiontosomeonethanyoudowhensolvingthecaseyourself.Deliberatelypickindustriesyourenotfamiliarwithsoast

12、otestyouranalyticalskills,notmemorizedfacts;forinstance,ifyourpre-B-schoolexperienceismostlyinmediaandentertainment,askyourcasebuddytoaskyouaboutsteelproductionormedicaldevicemarketing.Thatsaid,doconsiderbrushinguponthebasicsinseveralindustriesforinstance,knowtheproductdevelopmentcycleinpharmaceutic

13、alresearch,andunderstandcurrenttrendsintechnology.(Formoreinformationonvariousfields,checkoutour.)Althougheachcaseisdifferent,withpracticeyouwillimproveyouranalyticalreasoningskillsandsolutionmethod.ThinkThroughtheProcessWhenitcomestostrategyorproductmarketingquestions,theinterviewerwilloftengiveyou

14、onlythebarebonesofacaseandwillwaitforyoutorequestfurtherdetails:Howmanycompetitorsdoesthecompanyhave?Whatarethemajorcostandrevenuedrivers?Whoarethemajorclients?Anddontforgettoaskforthefirmsmissionifyoudontknowwhatacompanysgoalsare,youmightcomeupwithavalidbutmisguidedsolution.Usesomebasicframeworksto

15、driveyourquestionsthefourPsandthethreeCs,forinstance.AsamplequestionGibneyusedrecentlyinvolvedamanufacturer/distributor/retailerofcomputerproducts.Thisclienthastraditionallygonedirectlytotheconsumerandhasdevelopedasolidbrandimage.Theclientnowwantsanassessmentastotheissuesrelatingtothecorebusiness,as

16、wellastheopportunitiesforthecompanytogetintotheservicesside,whichitviewsasahigh-margin/high-growth-ratebusiness.Thecandidatenowneedstoprovideanapproachorevaluativeframeworkforanalyzingeachofthetwodifferentproblems.光彩人Aslongasitspermitted,workyouranswersoutonpaper.Pencilsandpens,plusanotebookorlegalp

17、adshouldbestandardequipmentinanyinterview.“Itsamazinghowmanypeopleshowupwithoutapenandpaper,”marvelsKamennaRindova,aseniorassociateatMercerManagementConsulting.Thinkingthroughallthefactsisamust,andyourenotgoingtodoitallinyourhead.Page2of3WebExclusiveYoudonthavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsu

18、lting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.MaytheFiveForces(Not)BewithYouSomerecruitersareturnedoffwhenpotentialhiresdrawonapackagedanalyticalframework(suchasthefiveforces)tosolveaproblem.Others,however,areimpressed.Tobeonthesafeside,ifyouuseaframework,dontst

19、raytoofarfromtheissue.Ifyoudouseone,choosewisely.Ifthecaseisaboutabusinessthatsconsideringentryintoanindustry,Portersfiveforcesmayindeedbeyourbestbet.Ifyouretalkingabouthowproductsgetfromsupplierstoendconsumers,considerthevaluechain.Companiesthatarefallingshortonsalescoulduseprofitabilityorcostvs.re

20、venueanalysis.Ifyoureamarketinganewpharmaceuticalproduct,thinkaboutthe4Psandthe3Cs.光光彩華人人IsThatYourFinalAnswer?Dontbeafraidofpausing.Takethetimetodrawupnotesandsketchouttheproblem.Dontblurtanythingoutunnecessarilytoendaperiodofsilence.Yourenotonagameshow;youreinterviewingtobeaconsultant,whichisabusi

21、nessasmuchaboutthinkingasitisaboutcommunicating.Aboveall,becalm.Ifyoudorespondtoaquestiontooquickly,beforeunderstandingallthefacts,youmayendupcontradictingyourselfhalfwaythroughyourresponsewhichcouldbedisastrous.“Inourenvironmentandourindustry,”saysSeanHuurman,nationalrecruitingdirectorofKPMGConsult

22、ing,“weneedtomakesureweresayingtherightthingthefirsttime.”Afteralltheanalysis,however,dontforgettocometosomekindofconclusionastowhatthecompanyshoulddo.Considerpresentingadecisionrulethattheimaginaryorganizationcouldusetofigureoutwhatthebestoptionise.g.,ifrevenuesoutstripcosts,thendox.FollowtheLeader

23、Manyfirmsuseagroupexerciseintheirsecondorsubsequentroundstoseehowwellyouworkwithothers.Ifyoureassignedaroleotherthanteamleader,dontfret.Itdoesntmatterwhatyourroleisintheexercisejustdoitwell.Ifyouandtheteammembersaretoldtosettlebetweenyourselveswhogetstodowhat,dontfightoverwhogetstomakethepresentatio

24、norleadthegroup.Likewise,dontplaytheshrinkingviolet.Remember,therecruiteriswatching.Whateveryoudo,showconfidence,notarrogance.AdisplayofegobeforeJohnFlatoatCapGeminiErnst&Youngisacertainredflag.“Obviously,thosewhogotobusinessschoolsarebrightandtalentedtheywouldntbethereotherwise,”Flatoremarks.“Wehir

25、ebrightandtalentedpeople,butonlythosewhocanworkwellwithteammembersandnotdisplayarrogance.”Page3of3WebExclusiveYoudonthavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.Readyforsomecompany-specificadvice?Hereswhatfiverecruite

26、rstoldusaboutinterviewingattheirfirms.TheQuestions:WordsofWisdom:Coveneypointsoutthatshedoesnthaveapreferenceregardinghowacandidateinitiallyreactstothecaseinterviewquestion.“Somepeopletakesometimetoformulatetheirthoughts,otherpeopleaskafewquestions,andotherpeoplejumprightin,”Coveneysays.“Relaxandtak

27、eyourtime,focusonthespecificissuesofthecase,rememberthereisnoonerightanswertothecase,anddontusetoomanyframeworks.Dontthrowinthekitchensink,likePortersfiveforces,etc.Justbeconfident,andrelaxitwillreallyhelpwiththeinterview.”RecruiterNo.2:KamennaRindova,seniorassociate,MercerManagementConsultingTheQue

28、stions:MMCasksmostcandidatesone-on-onequestionsanddoesntoftendogroupexercises.Reflectingthefirmsfocus,mostquestionsdealwithstrategyissues,withoccasionalmarketsizingquestionsthrownin.ThepurposeoftheinterviewforMMCistoseethecandidatesabilitytostructureandthinkthroughaproblemastheywouldonthejob.Wordsof

29、Wisdom:Rindovasayspracticeandfamiliaritywithcasesisessential,andstressesthataninterviewcangosouthifthecandidatelosessightofthestructureheorsheisbuilding.Lastly,beatingaclearpathtoanyresponseismoreimportantthangettingitright.“Youcangive(arecruiter)awronganswer,butifyouthoughtoutloudthroughtheprocess,

30、youcouldstillhaveastellarinterview,”Rindovaconcludes.RecruiterNo.3:ScottBerney,headofU.S.recruitingoperations,MonitorGroupTheQuestions:Determiningapersonsanalyticalskills,comfortwithmanipulatingnumbers,andabilitytointegratedifferentpiecesofdataisthepurposeofthecaseinterviewforMonitorGroup.Forthefirs

31、troundofinterviews,casequestionsareusuallywrittenandaretwotothreepagesinlength.Inthefinalround,agroupeventisused.WordsofWisdom:RecruiterNo.4:SeanHuurman,nationalrecruitingdirector,KPMGConsultingTheQuestions:“Thecasequestionhelpsgettoathinkingprocessandvariouscharacteristicsofacandidateyoudontnecessa

32、rilygetinanordinaryinterview,”saysHuurman.“Whenweusecases,wearereallyfocusingonthingsthattieintotheclient.”ThetypicalKPMGconsultanthunterwantstoknowhowacandidatecancommunicatewiththeteam,theirleadership,andtheclient.Huurmanfavorsgroupinterviews,andknowsalotofcandidatescanbepreppedinadvance,buthenote

33、sthattheresnoamountofcoachingthatcanprepareyouforagroupproject.光彩人WordsofWisdom:“Toomanypeoplejumprightintothecasestudyanddontputanythoughtintoit,”saysHuurman.“Iwanttheintervieweestothinkthingsthrough.”KPMGrecruitersarealwaystoldtoletthecandidatehavesometimetothinkthroughthecase,butHuurmanindicatesthatveryfewcandidatesta