THECONSULTINGBIBLE

Howtoconqueranyconsultinginterviewfromfitquestionstocase

studiesSecondeditionMANAGEMENTC|a%NsULT1zD

Copyright2009ManagementConsulted.AllRightsReserved.

NoticeofRights

Nopartofthisbookanditscontentsmaybereproduced,modified,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,orotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionof

thepublisher(ManagementConsulted).

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

2

TableofcontentsPreface

HowtogetthemostoutofthisguideGeneralinterviewtips

FitandExperientialInterviewQuestions

IntroductionEducationandschoolMBAspecificeducationandschoolResumePostconsultingandyourfuturePersonalityandcurveballStrengthsandweaknessesTeamwork,leadership,andpeoplemanagementIndustry/firminterestandknowledgeInternationalofficesandoverseasapplicantsExperiencedhiresandcareerchangersGeneralbusinessandcurrenteventsRecruitingandprocessrelatedEthicsandintegrity

SizingQuestionsakaMiniCaseStudies

IntroductionQuestion1.HowmanypersonalcomputersareusedintheU.S.today?Question2.HowmanyroundsofgolfareplayedannuallyintheU.S.?Question3.HowmanybasketballswouldfitintotheEmpireStatebuilding?Question4.HowmanylitersofhousepaintaresoldintheUKannually?Question5.HowmuchdoKoreansspendondailynewspapersinagivenyear?

CaseStudiesandExhibits

CoreprinciplesExperttacticsCaseStudy1.RojamMediaCaseStudyCaseStudy2.PegasusInternationalCaseStudyCaseStudy3.PropagandaCookiesCaseStudy4.USConvenience

Brainteasers

Interviewfollowupquestions

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

3456

89131519212527344042454951

535457596163

666768747985

89

92

Preface

Ifyouvesearchedforgoodconsultingresourcesontheinternet,youprobablydidnthavemuchsuccess.Theonesthatdoexist(see:VaultorWetfeet)aresimplyunhelpfulbecause:

1.Theydontfocusontheconsultingindustry,insteadprovidinggeneric

recruitingadvice2.Casestudyguidesaretootheoretical.AsinterestingasPorters5Forces

is,thethreatofsubstituteswontbeveryhelpfulifyoudontunderstandwhenandhowtoapplytheconcept3.Muchoftheinformationisoutofdate.Companyprofilesfeature

outdatedquotessalarylevelsarefromseveralyearsago4.Noexampleanswersareprovided,whichmakesittoughtostructureand

craftanappropriateresponse5.Theinformationiscomposedbyindustryoutsiders,whoquoteinsider

sourcesorconductsurveystogathertheinformation

Thisguideaddressesallofthoseproblems.Inhere,youllfind:

1.Morethan60indepthfitandpersonalityquestionsthatcamedirectlyfrominterviews.Someareasfreshasthisyearsfulltimerecruitingcycle.Ifullybelievethatmasteringthese50willgiveyouthecontent,preparation,andflexibilitytoansweranyfitquestion2.5sizingquestions(whatIcallminicases)withmultiplesolutions,

includingsecretsonhowyoucanconqueranysizingquestionregardlessofcomplexityorambiguity3.4extensivecasestudiescreatedfromscratchtotestyouonthe5case

studyprinciplesthatalltopcandidatesinstinctivelymaster

Iwillbeaddingtothislistonamonthlybasis.Andifyouveboughttheguidenow,youllreceivefreeupdatesforlife.ImagineTheConsultingBiblewith500fit/experientialquestions,50sizingquestions,and50cases.

Onceyou'veabsorbedthelessonsfrombelow,you'llknowhowtoansweranyquestioninanyinterview.Thatsmyguarantee.

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

4

Howtogetthemostoutofthisguide1.Quicklyreadthroughthefitquestionsandsuggestedanswers.Thiswillgiveyouasenseforwhatconsultingfitinterviewsarelike,andhowgoodanswersarestructured

2. Tackle the case studies. Case studies are typically 75% of interviews, and can break an otherwise stronginterviewer.Beinggoodatcasesisnecessarytoreceiveanoffer,butnotsufficientbyitself.

3.Thenreadthroughtheothercontent,suchasWhattheyrelookingfor

4.Eachinterviewquestionshouldhave3components:

a.Whatthey'relookingfortheinterviewersintendedpurposeb.Whatyoushoulddotipsandsuggestedguidelinesforansweringc.AnexampleansweranswersIwouldfeelcomfortablegiving

5.Forthemostcommonandcriticalquestions,I'veaddedawhatyou

shouldn'tdo"sectionaswell

6.Myexampleanswersshouldnotbequotedwordforword.Readthem

forstructureandanswerflow

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

5

Generalinterviewtips*someofthefollowingtipsweretakenfromwww.managementconsulted.com

Beforetheinterview...

1.Rehearsaliskey.Infrontofthemirror,withfriendsandcolleagues,any

chancethatyouget...2....butmakeitsoundnatural.Itsabitironic,butyouneedtohaveanswers

thatarepreparedbutaredeliveredinanengaging,conversationalmannerandnotasifyouwerereadingfromascript3.Dressnicely.Wrinkledshirts=donotthinkahead=unabletoplan

workstreams=poorteammember.Misshapentieknot=lackoffriendsabletodoyouafavor=poorsocialskills=poorteammember4.Scanthenewsinthemorning.Consultantsandmostsuccessful

businesspeople(read:yourtargetaudience)areverywellinformed.Forexample,youlllookoutoftouchifyougointoaninterviewtodaywithoutbeingabletotalkaboutthesubprimeandfinancialcrisisforaminuteortwo5.Prepareandasksmartfollowupquestions.99%ofthetime,youllbe

allowed510minutestoaskquestionsoftheinterviewers.Have23goodquestionsready,andWhydidyouchoosemanagementconsulting?doesnotcountasone

Duringtheinterview...

6.Alignmentiseverything.Talkaboutpastexperiences(academic,

extracurricular,work)andfuturegoalsandhowtheseskillsmakeyouagreatconsultant.Themoreyoucandemonstratethatyouhaveaconsultantstoolboxandsharepersonalitytraits,thestrongeryourcandidacywillbe7.Keepresponsestoopenendedquestionsshortoneminute,max.Have

pausesthatwillallowtheinterviewertointerjectiftheywish8.Avoiddiscussingpersonalissuessuchasyourfamilyandyourfinancial

situationunlessspecificallyasked9.Neversay"Idon'tknow,letmegetbacktoyou."Evenontoughtechnical

questions,it'syourjobtoalwaysattemptananswer.Ifyoumust,prefacewithImnoexpertonthistopic,butthisiswhatIunderstand...10.Discusslessonslearnedandtakeaways,particularlywhenyoudiscuss

errors,mistakes,failures,etc

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

6

11.Alwaysuseanecdotes.Peopleloveagoodstory12.Ineveryanswer,youshouldstriveforno

morethan34pointsmaximum.

2welldevelopedonesareusuallyenough.Neverhavejustonepointtomakeparticularlywhenyoureaskedforyouropinion(eg,Whatmakesagoodconsultant?)13.Havegoodenergy.Somecallitpassionwhateveryouwanttocallit,its

justimportanttolooklikeyoureinterested

Aftertheinterview...

14.Askforabusinesscard,askifyoucanemailthemwithfollowup

questions,andthenactuallyfollowup15.Askyourinterviewertogiveyoudetailedfeedback.Thisfeedbackboth

thepros/cons,strengths/weaknesseswillinfluencethestyleandcontentofyourfutureinterviews.Ifyourfirstinterviewermentionsthatyoustruggledwiththemarketsizingcalculations,youcanbetthatthesecondinterviewerwilltestyourquantitativechops16.Buildrapportwithyourinterviewers.Yoursuccessisaboutthecontentof

youranswersandtheabilitytoconnectwithinterviewers

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

7

FitandExperientialInterviewQuestionsAnintroduction

Consultinginterviewsareabouttwothingscasestudies,andfit/experientialquestions.Thesequestionsarechallengingbecause:

1.Thereisnorightanswer2.Thetypesofquestionsandvariationsinthequestionsarelimitless

Myapproachistofocusonthemostfrequentlyaskedquestions.Therearetensofquestionsthatyouwillencounterinfutureinterviewsthatthisguidedoesnotcover.Buttheonesmostcentraltodeterminingyourinterviewsuccessareincluded.

Agreatpitchermayonlyhaveafewpitchesmastered,buthecanvarythemeffectivelytofaceanybatter.Anon

Keepinmindthefollowing:

1.Structureiseverything.TherearetwopointsIdliketodiscuss.

Threeareascometomind.Ithelpyouavoidrambling,makesyoulooklikeastructuredthinker,andputstheintervieweratease2.Drawonpersonalstoriesandanecdotes.Avoidgenericstatementssuch

asIamaverygoodproblemsolver.Talkaboutwhenyousolvedatoughproblem!3.Alwaysincorporatealignmentinyouranswers4.Discusslessonslearned.WhenaskedquestionssuchasTellmeabouta

leadershipchallenge,endyouranswerwithFromthisexperience,Ilearnedthat....Thisshowsthatyoucansynthesize,anothercriticalconsultingskill

Ontothequestions!

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

8

EducationandschoolquestionsThese questions are for the interviewer to get a handle on your background. They want to know you challenged yourself in school, paid attention to what you learned, and are comfortable communicating thoseinsights.

Theyalsowanttoknowthatyoureacarefuldecisionmaker.Thiswillbeaconsistentthemeacrossmultiplequestioncategories,butyoumustgivetheimpressionthatforimportantdecisionsinlife,youthoughtclearlyandanalyticallyaboutthem(eg,prosvs.cons,costsvs.benefits)

AtrickyareaheresimilartotheExperiencedhiresandcareerchangerquestionsiswhentheyaskwhyyouwanttobeinconsultingifyourbackgroundindicatesadifferentpathtaken.Focusonwherethoseexperiencesandconsultingoverlap(eg,theanalyticalfoundations,theteamworkculture).Showthatyouvedoneyourbackgroundworkonthejob,thefirm,andtheindustryandyouknowwhatyouregettinginto.

In general, this category is about showing your strengths. If you have a high GPA, bring that up. If you havemultiplemajors,emphasizethedifficultyofyourcoursework.

1.Explainaconceptortopicyoulearnedinoneofyourclassesinaminute

They're looking for: strong adhoc presentation skills and an ability to describe something complicated in simpleterms.Showingpassionforacademiccontentisaplus(afterall,consultantsarenerds).

Youshould:haveafewoftheseanswersprepared.Aimforbroadlyinterestingtopics(read:notparticlephysics)andtheanswershouldhavethefollowingcomponents:

1.Contextwhatclass2.Threepointstructureincommunicatingthecontent3.Whatyoufoundinterestingaboutthisconcept/lesson

Exampleresponse:

ItookaclassthefallsemesterofmyjunioryearontheRiseandFallofAncientEmpires.ItwaslooselybasedonthebookbyJaredDiamond.Iwasfascinatedwiththecontentandlearnedafewthingsabouthowempiressucceed:[Explainyourthreepointshere].Iverealizedsincethenthatmanyofthelessonsareapplicabletobusinessesaswell.[Youcaneveninsertacurrenteventdiscussionhere]

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

9

2.Tellmeaboutyourfavoritecollegeclassandshareafewthingsthatyoulearned

They'relookingfor:youracademicinterests,anabilitytocommunicatekeyinsightseffectivelyandconcisely

Youshould:similartothepreviousquestion,prepareafewanswers.Discussabroadlyinterestingclassandcommunicatethe23highlightsofthatclass.Anecdotesareextremelyhelpful.Describinghowyoufolloweduptheclass(eg,doingresearchwiththatprofessor,takingthegradstudentlevelcourseinthesametopic)isaplus.

Exampleresponse:

MyfavoritecollegeclasswasdefinitelyaclassItookonMoneyandBanking.Itwasagreat101tobusiness,andfinanceinparticular.Ilearned[PUTYOURTWOORTHREEPOINTSHERE].Sincetakingtheclass,Ivekeptintouchwiththeprofessorandrecentlystartedtohelphimdoresearchonseveralofthetopicsrelatedtoderivativesandfutures.

3.Iseeyouhavealiberalartsbackgroundinschool.Whyareyouinterestedinmanagementconsulting?

They'relookingfor:demonstratedinterestinconsultingasshownbyhowmuchyou'velearnedaboutthejobandevidencethatyouhavetheanalyticalskillstosucceed.

Youshould:agoodanswerhastwocomponentsonepartthatexplainswhatamanagementconsultantdoesandwhyyouenjoythoseresponsibilitiesandwouldbegoodatthem,andasecondpartthatexplainswhereyouveundertakenanalyticallychallengingclasses,jobs,etc

Exampleresponse:

Ivetalkedtoalotofpeopleintheindustrythatinspiredmetoapply.Consultingseemstobeanintellectualandchallengingprofessionthatreallygivesyouabroadbusinesseducation,twothingsthatreallyinterestme.IknowImaSociologymajor,butduringthepast2yearsIdidseveralresearchprojectsthatrequiredalotofstatisticalanalysis.Inaddition,IspentasummerworkingforalocalaccountingfirmwhichwasabettereducationthananyAccounting101class.Notonlywasitanalyticallychallenging,butInowunderstandfinancialstatementsinsideandout.

4.Iseeyouwereanengineeringundergraduate(orgraduatestudent)withalotoftechnicalexperience.Whyareyouinterestedinmanagement

ManagementConsultedwww.managementconsulted.com

10