ＣｒaｃkｉngthｅCａse:ＡConsulｔingＩntervｉewＰriｍeｒPage１ｏｆ3光華人向上的精神"FirmsAｒｅTｈｅrｅｔoＨｅlｐYoｕHYPＥRLINＫ"http：//www.mbａjunglｅ．cｏm/maｉn.ｃfm?ｉnｃ=ｉnc_aｒｔiｃle.cfm&chid=3&sｃhid=7＆WT=3０＆aｒtid=98001"ConｓultingIndustryＧuｉdeＲeｍｅmbeｒyourseveｎth－ｇradeaｌgebｒateａcher’sthreeｆａvoｒitｅwords?"Ｓｈowyｏuｒｗork.＂Ａttｈeｔime，itseemedsilｌｙ:Wｈynotｊｕｓtshｏｗtｈerightanswｅr?Nowthatyｏu’reｏlderandｗｉｓer，ｈoweｖer,ｙouｋｎｏwｔhatiｎmanycasｅshｏwyougｅttotheｒightansweｒｉsmorｅｉmporｔantthａnｓiｍplyｋｎowｉngtｈｅａnswｅritｓelf.Thesａmegoｅｓfｏrthecasｅquestｉonsthatconsｕltinｇrecruｉｔerslobatyou.Ｃonsultiｎｇｉsadｅmanｄiｎｇjoｂwithfew＂cｏｒreｃt＂ansｗeｒs;thismｅtｈodofinｔerviｅwinｇgaｕgeshｏwｗeｌlyoumanａgetheprocessofgｅttｉnｇtｏａnanｓwerａnｄhoｗyoｕｐerformundersｉmｕlaｔeｄcliｅnｔ-engagｅmentcｏnditionｓ.

Ｗetaｌｋedtｏcｏnsultant-hunｔｅrsatsevｅraｌfirmstｏglｅaｎtheｉrａdviｃeonｃrａckｉngtheｃaｓeｉｎｔｅrｖiew.Ｈｅｒe＇swhａｔｔhｅｒecruiｔｅrｓreｖｅalｅd—ａndhowｙoｕcａnbestpｒepaｒｅ.?

WhytｈeＣａｓeInｔervieｗ??Cａseｉntｅrｖｉｅwsｈaveｌｏngｂeｅｎuｓedbyrecruiteｒｓtｏseｅacandidａt(yī)e'sｔhｏuｇhtｐｒｏcｅｓsesinmotiｏn.Canｙoｕdｅcoｎｓtrｕctandaｎaｌyzecoｍplex,open-eｎｄedbusｉnesｓｐｒｏbｌｅmｓ?Doｙoｕｓtaycａlm，orwillyouｓweａｔｂｕlｌｅtｓunderpreｓsｕreataclｉenｔsite???Attheｍosｔｂasicleｖel,acaｓeｉnteｒvｉewisaboutaskingtheriｇhｔqｕesｔions,deveｌｏｐinｇalogicalwayofwoｒkingｔhroughtｈerelｅｖantisｓues,andarrivingataｒecommendａt(yī)ｉon.Yｏｕｒstrｕctuｒeｍａyｂeapackａgedframｅworｋoritmaybevａriousframｅwoｒkｓｓtrｕnｇtogetheｒ;youmayeｖeｎcｈoosenottousefｒamｅwoｒｋsataｌl．What'simportａnｔisｔhａt(yī)ｙoudｅmｏnｓtratesoｍedｅｆineｄｓtrｕcture.??“Ｃasesｔｕdｉesarｅａnimpeｒfectｓｃienｃe，”conceｄｅｓMiｃhaｅlGiｂｎey，pｒojｅctｍanagｅratPricewaｔerhoｕseCｏｏpers,“buｔaｒeeasｉlyimpleｍeｎｔaｂｌeiｎthe30to45minｕteｓwｅｈaveforeａｃhｉnterｖiew.”Sｉnceｔｈeymｅasｕrｅyouraｎalyticalskillｓ,thｅy'ｒeanｉｍprｏｖemenｔoverｓimple"ｆit"or"resumé＂interviews.

?Inｍostcaseintervｉｅws,tｈerecｒuitｅrgivesｙouaｎexampleofaｒｅal-lｉfeclienｔproblem.Ｓometypiｃalcａt(yī)egｏｒieｓincluｄe:光華人向上的精神"BrainGameｓ:“HowmanｙtenniｓballsａreinthｅＵｎｉtｅdStates?”O(jiān)perationsImproｖemeｎt:“Whyｉｓｍｙcliｅnt’sfaｃｔorｙrunniｎgｂehinｄ?”MarｋetSize：“Howbｉgiｓtｈｅｇｌｏbaｌaircoｎdiｔiｏｎｅrｍaｒkｅt?”Althoｕgｈeａcｈreqｕirｅsaｓｌightlｙｄifｆeｒentaｐｐｒoach,ａllaremｅａntmaｉnlytoｅvaｌuaｔeｔheprocessｙouuｓe,noｔtｈeaｎsｗｅrｙｏucomｅupwｉth．??ＰractｉｃeMakｅｓPerｆect?Ｙouabｓoluteｌy,pｏｓitiｖelyｍustprepａｒeiｎadｖancefｏrcaｓeintｅrvieｗs.“Itbecomespreｔtｙcｌearprｅttyfastｗhohaｓ—ａndｗｈohａsnot—pｒaｃticed,”saysGｉbney．“Ｉknｏwthｅreisaｂasicｓortofbｕｓinessacｕｍeｎｔhaｔmａynotｂｅaｂｌetobepraｃｔiced,ｂutcanｄidａt(yī)ｅｓmuｓｔhavｅanunｄeｒsｔandabｌeapproachtosｏlｖingprｏblems．That’ｓwhatｏｕrcliｅntsdeｍaｎdoｆｕｓ．Ｉfｗecａｎ’ｔrｅｌaｔesｏlｕtiｏｎｓtoｔheclient,it’saproblｅm.”

?Don’tassｕmetｈatattendiｎgacase-oｒｉenteｄbusinｅsssｃｈｏolwｉllgiveｙouanupperhaｎd.ＪohnFlａt(yī)o,CapGｅｍｉnｉErnst＆Yｏung’sｎａt(yī)iｏｎaldirectoｒoｆuniｖeｒsityrecrｕｉting，sａystｈesecａndｉdatesｄoｎ’tsｅe(cuò)mtoｄoanyｂｅtteroｒｗorｓethａnｃandiｄatesfｒｏmnon-ｃaｓesｃｈools．

?Studydifferentkｉnｄsoｆcasequｅstions.Justbｅcaｕｓｅyourbｕddｙintervieｗedｂeｆoreｙouaｎdgavｅyouａｈeａds-uｐontｈｅquestionsdoesn’tmeａｎyoｕhavealegup.Recruiterｓhaｖｅtonsofcaseｑuestｉonsiｎtheirreｐertｏire,andｔhechancesofthｅｉrusiｎｇthｅsameｑｕestiｏnmulｔｉpleｔｉmesononecａｍｐusvisitaｒeslimtｏnｏne．

光華人向上的精神?Geｔaclasｓmａt(yī)eorfrienｄtorolｅ-playtheinterviｅwｗithyou,anduｓeanyresoｕrｃes(sｕcｈａsacasebook)tｈａｔyourschoｏl＇ｓcｏｎsultingcｌuｂprovideｓ．Thｅmoｒemockcaseｓyousｉnkyoｕrteｅｔhinｔo,ｔｈemｏreｌikelyyouaretｏｂｅrelaxeｄａｎｄｐoiseｄｆoｒtheｒｅalthｉng.Sｏmetiｍesyoulearnmoｒｅbypreseｎｔingａcasequestiontosomeｏnethanyoｕdｏwhｅnsoｌvinｇｔheｃaｓｅyourseｌf.

Dｅlibｅｒatｅｌypickiｎdustriesyou'reｎotfaｍiliaｒwithsoastoｔｅsｔｙｏuranａｌyticalskｉｌls,noｔmemoｒizedfacｔs;fｏriｎｓtance,ｉfyoｕrpｒe-B-ｓchｏolｅxｐeriｅnｃeismostｌｙｉｎｍｅｄｉaａndentertａinment,askyourcaseｂuｄdytoaskyouaboｕtｓteelpｒｏductiｏnoｒｍediｃａldevｉｃｅmａrkｅtｉnｇ.Tｈatｓaid，doｃonsidｅrｂrushingupｏntｈｅbasicｓinseveralindustries—forｉnsｔaｎcｅ,kｎowｔheｐroducｔdevelopmentcｙcleinpharmaceuticalreｓeａｒch,aｎdｕｎderstaｎdcurrｅnttrｅndsiｎtechnｏlogy.（Formｏｒｅinformationonｖａriouｓfｉｅldｓ,checｋｏutourHＹPERLINK"http:/／wｗｗ.ｍbajｕngle．ｃom/ｍain.cfm？inc=ＩＮC＿ＴO(shè)ＣＧeneｒｉc.cfm＆listid=3&chid=3&scｈid=７&WT＝３7"indｕstrｙguｉｄes．)Ａｌtｈougheachｃaseiｓdiｆferent,witｈｐracｔicｅｙouwilｌimproveyoｕｒaｎａlyticalreasoningｓkillsａｎdｓolutioｎmｅthod.

ＴhinｋThｒｏughthｅＰｒoceｓs?Whenitcomestoｓtrａｔeｇyｏrprｏｄuctｍａｒkeｔiｎｇquｅstiｏns,thｅinｔerviｅｗerｗillofteｎｇiｖeｙouoｎｌythｅｂareｂonesofacaseandwiｌlｗaｉtfｏｒyoｕｔｏｒequestfｕrtｈｅrdｅtails:Howmaｎycｏｍpeｔitｏrｓdoesｐanyhaｖe?Whａt(yī)aretheｍajoｒcｏstａndｒeｖenｕｅdrivers?Wｈoareｔｈemajorcｌients?Ａnddｏｎ'tforｇettoａｓkfｏrthefｉrｍ＇smission—ifｙｏuｄon'tknｏwwｈataｃompanｙ'sgoaｌsarｅ,yoｕmiｇhtcoｍeuｐwｉthavalid—ｂutmisｇuided—ｓolutｉoｎ.Usｅsｏmebａｓiｃfｒamewｏｒkｓtodｒiｖeyouｒqｕestioｎｓ—ｔhefoｕrＰ'ｓandｔhetｈreeC'ｓ,fｏｒinｓｔaｎce．?

AｓaｍpleｑｕestioｎＧibｎｅyusｅｄrecentlyinvolvedamanufaｃturer/ｄiｓtrｉbutor/retaｉlｅrofcomputerprｏｄuｃts.Thｉsclienthａｓtrａditｉｏnａlｌyｇｏnedirectｌｙtotheconsumｅｒandhaｓdeveｌｏpeｄａsolidbrandimａgｅ.Theclientnowwantsanassｅｓｓmeｎｔastｏtheissuｅｓreｌａt(yī)ｉngｔothecｏrｅbuｓｉｎｅss，ａswellastheopｐortｕｎitiｅｓforthecoｍpanyｔogetｉntotｈｅserviｃｅssｉde，whiｃhｉtvｉewsasahigh-maｒgiｎ/ｈｉgh－growｔｈ－ratｅbuｓinｅsｓ.Thｅｃａndidatenｏｗneedsｔopｒｏvideaｎapproacｈｏrevaｌuativefｒameworkｆｏranalyzinｇeachｏfthetwoｄifｆｅｒｅntprobｌems.

?Aslongasit＇spｅrmitteｄ，ｗｏｒkyouraｎswersoutoｎｐapeｒ．Pencｉlsandpｅnｓ,ｐluｓａｎotebookoｒlegaｌpadshouldｂｅstandardｅｑuipmｅｎtinanyｉnterｖiｅw.“It’sａmaｚｉｎghowmanypeopleshowｕｐｗｉthoutaｐenandｐａpeｒ,”mａrveｌsＫａmenｎaRiｎｄｏvａ,aseｎｉoraｓsｏciateａt(yī)ＭercerManagementConsｕlting．Tｈinkinｇtｈｒoｕｇhａｌlｔｈefacｔsisamuｓt,aｎd光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神Pａge２of3［ＷｅｂＥｘclusiｖe]Yｏudoｎ'thavｅtobeＳhｅｒlｏckＨoｌmeｓtｏacethecasesｉnaconsulｔing-ｆiｒminｔｅrｖｉew.Ｉnｆaｃt,aliｔtleprｅpａraｔioncanmakeｓolvingthemseem,ｗeｌl，eleｍｅntaｒy．ＨYＰERLINK"jａvascript:opｅnWindｏw('sｉdebaｒｓ／sbpopup．ｃｆｍ?ａrtID=1691','yes',３6５，5０0,'nｏ＇);"FirｍsＡrｅＴheretoHelｐＹouHYPＥＲLINK"htｔp：//www.mｂajungle.cｏm/ｍaiｎ.cfm?ｉnc=inc_artｉcle.ｃfm&chid=3&schｉd=７&ＷT=30&ａｒtｉｄ=98001"ＣonsultinｇIｎdusｔryGuiｄeMaｙthｅFiveＦorｃes（Noｔ）BewｉｔhYouSomerｅｃruiteｒsaｒeturｎｅｄｏffwhenｐｏｔenｔｉalhiresdｒaｗonapackａgeｄａｎalｙｔicalframework（ｓuchaｓtheｆivｅforces)tosolveaproblem.Others，ｈｏwｅver，areimpreｓsｅｄ．Tｏbｅoｎｔheｓａfesｉｄｅ,ｉfyouuｓeafrａｍework,ｄon’tstｒaytoofａrｆｒomｔheｉｓｓue.

?EiｌeeｎＣoveney,viceｐｒesidentatL.E.K.Coｎｓｕltiｎｇ,ｗarnｓｃanｄidateｓaｂｏuttheperilsoｆｆrameworks:“Whenpeopｌedeｐｅndtoomucｈonaｐre-estaｂliｓhedframework，tｈeymaｙnｏtbｅthｉnｋingdeeplｙｅnｏughabouttheｐｒoblemaｔhanｄ.Tｈismａyindicatethａt(yī)whenpreseｎｔedwitｈaｎacｔｕaｌclｉentｉｓｓue,ｔhｅyaｒｅnoｔｇｏingtoｆocuｓonthedetaｉlｓandｓpecificsoftheｃlient’spｒoｂlem．Ratｈｅr,theymaybeiｎclｉnedｔoｊumpintoeaｓyａnｄobviouｓsolutions．”?

Ifyoudｏｕｓｅone,ｃｈooseｗisｅly.Iftｈeｃaseisａbouｔａbusinｅssthaｔ＇sconsideringenｔryｉntoanindustry,Portｅｒ'ｓｆivefoｒcｅｓmａyindｅｅdbｅyｏuｒｂestbet.Ifｙｏu'rｅｔａlｋｉngabouthoｗｐrodｕｃｔsｇetfromｓupｐlierｓｔoeｎdcoｎsuｍers,coｎｓｉｄerthevaluechaiｎ.Comｐanｉｅｓtｈａt(yī)ａｒefallingshortonsaleｓcouldｕseａproｆitaｂｉlitｙorcoｓtvs.reｖｅnueａnａlｙsis.Ｉfyou'rｅmarｋetingａｎewｐharmａceutｉcalpｒoduct,ｔｈinkabouｔtｈe４P'sandｔhe３C's．??光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神光華人向上的精神Ｐaｇe3of3[ＷｅbExclusive]Yoｕdｏn'ｔhａｖetｏbeＳherlockＨolmestoａcetｈecasｅsｉnaｃｏnsulｔing-firmintｅrviｅw．Iｎfacｔ,aｌitｔleｐreparatioｎcanmakesoｌｖｉnｇtheｍseem,wｅlｌ，eｌementａｒy.ＨＹPERLINK"javascriｐｔ:ｏpｅnWindｏｗ('sideｂars/sbpｏｐup.cfｍ？artID=169１',＇yes',365,500,'no'）;"FirmsＡreＴheretoHelpYouHYＰERLIＮK＂hｔtp://ｗww．mｂaｊｕ/main.cfｍ?iｎc=inｃ_articlｅ.ｃｆm＆cｈid=3＆schid=7&WT=30&artid=9800１"ＣoｎsｕｌtingＩｎｄustｒｙＧuｉdeReadｙfｏrsomecompany-specificadvｉce？Hｅre＇swhａｔfｉverｅcruiterstoldｕｓaboｕtintervｉewinｇattheｉrｆiｒmｓ．

?RｅcruiｔerNo.1：EiｌeenＣｏvenｅy，vｉceｐresideｎt,Ｌ.E.Ｋ．Cｏnsｕlting

TheQｕeｓtiｏｎs:?Ｔeｓtingaｃandｉｄａt(yī)e'ｓｓkiｌlaｃroｓｓaｒangeofａｒeasisｔhｅprimaryrｅasonL.E.K．ｕsｅｓerｖiews.Coveｎeyinｄicａt(yī)ｅｓthａt(yī)thecaｓｅｉnterｖｉｅwsａremeantto(１)assessaｃandidａt(yī)e’ｓanalｙｔicalａbility,（2）evalｕateacａnｄｉdatｅ'sｃommunｉｃａt(yī)iｏnskillsanｄlogicflｏw,(3）understaｎdhoｗacandidaｔeｒesｐondsｔoredirｅction,ａnｄ(4)tｅsthｉｓ/hｅrovｅrallfitwithtｈefirｍ.MostqｕestiｏｎsL.E.K.recｒuiterｓaskcｅnterarouｎdstｒａｔeｇicｇｒoｗthoppｏrｔｕnitieｓforｐoｔentiaｌｃlieｎts.

WordsofWiｓdom:?Coveneｙpoinｔｓoｕtthatshｅｄｏesn’thavｅapｒefｅrｅncereｇaｒdiｎｇhoｗacandｉdａｔeinitialｌyreactsｔotｈecaseiｎｔervｉewqueｓtion.“Sｏmｅｐeｏpｌeｔakesomeｔimeｔofoｒｍulatetheirtｈouｇhｔs,otｈｅｒpeopleaｓkafewｑｕestioｎs,andoｔｈｅrpeoplejuｍpｒｉghtin,”Coveneysａys.“Rｅｌaｘaｎdtakeyouｒtime,focusonthesｐecｉｆｉｃｉssuesofthｅcａsｅ,remeｍbeｒｔｈereｉｓnｏoｎerightaｎsｗertoｔhecａsｅ,anddon’tusｅtoomaｎyfrａｍeworks．Ｄon’tｔhrｏwinthekiｔchensinｋ,likePoｒter’sfｉvｅｆｏrces，etc.Ｊｕｓｔｂeｃoｎfidｅｎt,andreｌaｘ—ｉtwillrｅalｌyhelpwｉththeｉnteｒvｉew.”

?RecruiｔerNo．2:KameｎnaRiｎdova,ｓeniorassｏciatｅ,MｅｒcｅrＭanagemｅntCｏnsultｉｎg??TheQuｅstions：

ＭＭCａｓkｓmｏstcaｎdｉdateｓone-on-ｏneqｕｅsｔioｎsａnｄdoeｓn’toftｅndoｇrｏupｅxerｃｉｓes．Reflectingthｅfirm’ｓｆｏcｕs，moｓtquestioｎsdｅalwiｔhstrategyｉsｓｕes，ｗitｈoccasionaｌｍaｒkｅｔsiziｎgｑｕestiｏnsthｒowｎｉn.ThｅpｕｒposeoftheｉｎｔerviewfoｒＭMCistｏsｅe(cuò)thecａnｄiｄate＇sabｉlｉtｙtostructｕｒeanｄthinkｔhｒouｇhaｐroblemastheywouldoｎtheｊｏb.

WｏｒdsoｆWiｓｄoｍ:?Riｎｄovasayspｒaｃｔiｃeandfａｍiliaｒｉｔywithcasesｉｓｅssｅntial,andstｒeｓｓestｈatａninterviewcangｏsｏutｈｉfｔｈeｃandｉdatelｏｓｅssiｇhtofｔheｓtrｕctｕreｈeoｒsｈeｉsbｕｉｌdinｇ.Lastly，beaｔｉｎgacｌｅarpathtoanｙｒespoｎseiｓｍoｒｅｉmｐorｔａnttｈangｅtｔingitrｉght.“Yｏucangivｅ（arecrｕitｅｒ)awrｏngaｎswer，butiｆyouthoughtoutloｕdthrｏｕｇｈｔheprｏcess，yｏｕcouｌdｓtillhaｖeaｓｔellａrｉnterｖｉeｗ,”Rindｏvａconcｌｕdes.

?

RecruiterNo.３:ScｏtｔBerney,headoｆＵ.Ｓ．recruitingoperａt(yī)iｏnｓ,ＭonitｏｒＧrｏup

?TheQｕeｓｔioｎs:?Deteｒminingapｅrｓoｎ’saｎａlｙticaｌｓkｉｌlｓ,coｍfortwithmaｎipuｌatingnumbers,ａnｄａbilitytointegrａt(yī)ediｆferenｔpieｃesofdａt(yī)aｉsｔhepuｒposeｏｆｔheｃaseinｔervｉｅｗfoｒMonitoｒGｒｏｕp.Foｒｔｈefiｒsｔroｕｎｄofｉntervｉews,ｃasequesｔｉｏnｓareｕsｕallｙwrittenandareｔwototｈreｅpagesinｌength.Iｎthｅfinalround,ａgroupｅｖentisuｓeｄ．

Ｗo(hù)rdｓoｆＷiｓdｏm:?“Mｙｔaｋeoｎmostotherfirmsiｓtｈatｔheyputaｐreｍiumon[thecandidate’s]abiｌｉtytｏaskquestｉｏnsiｎtｈeinｔerviｅw．Mｏnｉｔｏrcasｅｓputaｐrｅmｉｕmoｎｙourａbilityｔoanalｙｚｅdaｔａ，ｍanipulaｔｅｎｕmｂｅｒs,integrａｔe,eｕｐwithanａnｓwｅｒbasedonthedａt(yī)ayoｕ’vebeengｉven,”sayｓBeｒney.ＬikeL．E．K．’ｓCovｅneｙ,ｈedｏesn’tlｉketoseeｃａndidａt(yī)esｕsetoomａnｙｆramｅworkｓtosｏlveaｐroblｅm.

?RecrｕiｔeｒNo．4:SeanHuurmａn,ｎａt(yī)ｉｏnalrecruiｔiｎgdirectｏr，ＫPMGConｓulｔinｇ

?ＴｈeQuestｉoｎs:

“Thecaseｑuｅstｉonhelpsgetｔoathiｎkingpｒｏｃessandvarioｕschａrａｃteｒｉsticsｏfaｃaｎdｉdaｔeyoudｏｎ’tnｅcesｓaｒilygetiｎanｏrdinaｒｙinterviｅｗ,”saysHuuｒｍａn.“Whenweusecases,weａrereａlｌyｆocusｉnｇｏnｔhｉngsthattiｅｉntothｅclieｎｔ.”ＴheｔypiｃａlKPMGｃｏｎsuｌtａｎthｕnterwａnｔstoknowhｏwacandidａｔecaｎcommunicaｔewｉｔｈtheteaｍ,ｔheｉｒｌeａdｅｒship，aｎｄtheclieｎt．

Huurmａnfavoｒsgrｏｕｐintｅrviｅws，andkｎoｗｓalotｏｆcaｎdｉｄaｔesｃａnbｅｐrｅｐpｅdiｎadvanｃe,ｂutｈeｎotｅｓthattｈｅrｅ’ｓ"noamountoｆｃｏaｃhing"thatcanprepａreｙoufｏragroupprｏject.

光華人向上的精神

WoｒdsofＷisdom:?“Toomaｎypｅopｌejuｍprigｈｔiｎtｏthｅｃaseｓtudyanｄdｏn’ｔputaｎytｈouｇhtｉnｔoiｔ,”saｙsHuurman.“Iｗanｔtｈeｉnｔerｖieweｅｓｔｏthiｎkｔｈingsthrough.”KＰＭGｒｅcruｉｔeｒｓａrｅalｗaystoｌdtｏlｅｔthecaｎdidaｔehavesｏmetimeｔｏthinｋｔｈｒｏughtｈeｃａse,butHuｕrmanindicａt(yī)ｅsthａｔｖｅryfｅwcandidaｔｅstakeａｄvantagｅofit.

Huurｍaｎadｍiｔsthａt(yī)fｅｗrecｒuiｔerswoulｄaskｉｎt