Any consultants here?

[thebac]

Check out this blog, if you haven't yet: http://managementconsulted.com/

 

[MrG]

OP, check out this thread.

Originally Posted by ginlimetonic

have you started 4 different threads in this subforum over the past week or so?

SF is probably not the best place for employment advice.

SF is filled with people from a variety of professional backgrounds, many of whom have reached a considerable level of success. It can actually be a great place for employment advice.

 

[Manton]

in b4 fran

 

[GreenFrog]

calling Artisan Fan!

 

[pkblaze100]

As president of one of the two consulting clubs at my school and an MBB summer intern I felt obligated to help with this posting

Ok - first - Absolutely no to the calculator. For additional prep (assuming you cna't practice at school) search online for some MBA schools case book for practice cases. Otherwise practice with people at school (giving cases helped me a ton - It helped me get into the interviewers head)

Ok - My tips for cracking the case interview:

1) First and foremost know the firm's style!!! Ex: McKinsey has very structured cases with multiple parts. They like to see super structured approaches. Accenture uses real cases (interviewer giving a previous project) consistantly. Deloitte like group cases. Bain likes to see you come up with ideas outside the direct scope of the case. BCG likes pressure interviews. Obviosuly this is grossly generalizing.

2) Smile, smile, smile -> be friendly and make appropriate small talk (without derailing the interview)

3) Saying you are stuck is usually not kosher. that being said there are a few methods I use to work through being stuck. a) recap what you've covered so far b) I go through the c-suite in your head and think of any areas I missed - CEO, COO, CFO, CLO, CMO, CTO, CIO, CHO, CCO, CSO. c) ask for a minute to "compile what you've learned so far." d) got through the big stratefy models in your head (4P's, 3c's, Value Chain, Profitability) e) if you are near the end and you have a recommendation ask for help indirectly: ex: "so far we've covered x,y, z and based on this I believe we can come to a strong conclusion. Are there any other areas that client might want me to review prior to meeting the CEO?"

4) Situation Task Action Response technique (STAR) // CAR etc are commone methods though I found them less helpful.

5) be confident in yourself. It is not uncommon for an interviewer to give a little pushback to see if you will cave in on your ideas.

6) The interviewer is there (for the most part) to help you out. They will guide you so pay carefull attention to thier cues. If you keep getting non-helpful information form them move to a different topic, they are hinting that you are going the wrong way.

7) I did use the big frameworks for my interviews (4c's porters etc) but disguised them

8) While real brain teasers are rare now (but I did get one) they have been replaced with market sizing questions

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by pkblaze100

As president of one of the two consulting clubs at my school and an MBB summer intern I felt obligated to help with this posting

Ok - first - Absolutely no to the calculator. For additional prep (assuming you cna't practice at school) search online for some MBA schools case book for practice cases. Otherwise practice with people at school (giving cases helped me a ton - It helped me get into the interviewers head)

Ok - My tips for cracking the case interview:

1) First and foremost know the firm's style!!! Ex: McKinsey has very structured cases with multiple parts. They like to see super structured approaches. Accenture uses real cases (interviewer giving a previous project) consistantly. Deloitte like group cases. Bain likes to see you come up with ideas outside the direct scope of the case. BCG likes pressure interviews. Obviosuly this is grossly generalizing.

2) Smile, smile, smile -> be friendly and make appropriate small talk (without derailing the interview)

3) Saying you are stuck is usually not kosher. that being said there are a few methods I use to work through being stuck. a) recap what you've covered so far b) I go through the c-suite in your head and think of any areas I missed - CEO, COO, CFO, CLO, CMO, CTO, CIO, CHO, CCO, CSO. c) ask for a minute to "compile what you've learned so far." d) got through the big stratefy models in your head (4P's, 3c's, Value Chain, Profitability) e) if you are near the end and you have a recommendation ask for help indirectly: ex: "so far we've covered x,y, z and based on this I believe we can come to a strong conclusion. Are there any other areas that client might want me to review prior to meeting the CEO?"

4) Situation Task Action Response technique (STAR) // CAR etc are commone methods though I found them less helpful.

5) be confident in yourself. It is not uncommon for an interviewer to give a little pushback to see if you will cave in on your ideas.

6) The interviewer is there (for the most part) to help you out. They will guide you so pay carefull attention to thier cues. If you keep getting non-helpful information form them move to a different topic, they are hinting that you are going the wrong way.

7) I did use the big frameworks for my interviews (4c's porters etc) but disguised them

8) While real brain teasers are rare now (but I did get one) they have been replaced with market sizing questions


Please tell me you didn't learn that in higher education. PLEASE!

 

[kxk]

Originally Posted by pkblaze100

As president of one of the two consulting clubs at my school and an MBB summer intern I felt obligated to help with this posting

Ok - first - Absolutely no to the calculator. For additional prep (assuming you cna't practice at school) search online for some MBA schools case book for practice cases. Otherwise practice with people at school (giving cases helped me a ton - It helped me get into the interviewers head) Ok - My tips for cracking the case interview: 1) First and foremost know the firm's style!!! Ex: McKinsey has very structured cases with multiple parts. They like to see super structured approaches. Accenture uses real cases (interviewer giving a previous project) consistantly. Deloitte like group cases. Bain likes to see you come up with ideas outside the direct scope of the case. BCG likes pressure interviews. Obviosuly this is grossly generalizing. 2) Smile, smile, smile -> be friendly and make appropriate small talk (without derailing the interview) 3) Saying you are stuck is usually not kosher. that being said there are a few methods I use to work through being stuck. a) recap what you've covered so far b) I go through the c-suite in your head and think of any areas I missed - CEO, COO, CFO, CLO, CMO, CTO, CIO, CHO, CCO, CSO. c) ask for a minute to "compile what you've learned so far." d) got through the big stratefy models in your head (4P's, 3c's, Value Chain, Profitability) e) if you are near the end and you have a recommendation ask for help indirectly: ex: "so far we've covered x,y, z and based on this I believe we can come to a strong conclusion. Are there any other areas that client might want me to review prior to meeting the CEO?" 4) Situation Task Action Response technique (STAR) // CAR etc are commone methods though I found them less helpful. 5) be confident in yourself. It is not uncommon for an interviewer to give a little pushback to see if you will cave in on your ideas. 6) The interviewer is there (for the most part) to help you out. They will guide you so pay carefull attention to thier cues. If you keep getting non-helpful information form them move to a different topic, they are hinting that you are going the wrong way. 7) I did use the big frameworks for my interviews (4c's porters etc) but disguised them 8) While real brain teasers are rare now (but I did get one) they have been replaced with market sizing questions
pretty golden responses here. the difference between mcK and B is very true. My interviewer at one of the B's was very engaged in guiding me off the frameworks. of course the concepts from these and thinking in these terms will be helpful, but don't be too bogged down by it. esp if you're interviewing right now, likely that you're not doing it with one of the M/B/B, so the adherence to the framework probably is less important. i had a guesstimation problem within one of my case interviews. i was doing a case (about a shipping company) with no problems until he asked randomly, "so what do you suppose is the distance between London and Hong Kong, by ship?" def don't say you're stuck--but be able to fish out for more info and answers. how you react to this situation seems to be a part of the interviewer. always ask for more data--either they will have an entire sheet filled with it, which will help you realize what they're looking for (mck for example) or they'll make **** up on the spot, which will let you know that they're looking for people who can think off the cuff (B/B) absolutely use the general principles (porter's 5 forces, the bcg matrix) but disguise them--shouldn't be too hard. gives off the guise that you're an intelligent, intuitive guy who can figure this **** out on his own. demeanor seems to matter a lot, too. what works, that's a diff question, but be confident, even if you don't know ****. part of being a consultant, according to a managing partner who interviewed me and subsequently decided to offer me, despite that i pretty much bombed all my interviews, in terms of "results"

 

[scientific]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Please tell me you didn't learn that in higher education. PLEASE!

because god forbid that education should lead to gainful employment rather than contempt for capitalism and western civilization

 

[pkblaze100]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Please tell me you didn't learn that in higher education. PLEASE!

Well no - the actual education part focuses on business skills and concepts. I learned that from clubs, classmates, career center, online, meting recruiters etc. While education is great, and learning for the sake of learning is interesting, getting a job matters too

Also just saw this awsome smile I wish I had used earlier

 

[GHo]

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/...america_b64504

Confidence....like George Clooney. (watch first video) solid.

 

[akatsuki]

OK... I think the first round interview went okay - now waiting to hear whether I get to go to the finals.

 

[GreenFrog]

Nice. Good luck!

Question: I've been networking with alums who work at the group I'm interviewing for and I'm trying to prepare for the: "Why us?" question.

There's only so much info you can find about the firm and the group from online resources, so I plan on talking to my contacts and asking for their inside scoop of the firm and culture, etc. Then during the interview, I plan on explicitly saying, "I've been talking to Mr. ____ and Ms.______ and they told me that the culture is like X and Y. I find X and Y appealing because of Z."

How would it be perceived when I tell them straight up that I've talked to people within the firm (i.e. networked, did my homework, and care enough to go through such lengths) and basically regurgitate what they've said?

Would that be seen as impressive or kind of bullshitty?

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by pkblaze100

As president of one of the two consulting clubs at my school and an MBB summer intern I felt obligated to help with this posting

Ok - first - Absolutely no to the calculator. For additional prep (assuming you cna't practice at school) search online for some MBA schools case book for practice cases. Otherwise practice with people at school (giving cases helped me a ton - It helped me get into the interviewers head)

Ok - My tips for cracking the case interview:

1) First and foremost know the firm's style!!! Ex: McKinsey has very structured cases with multiple parts. They like to see super structured approaches. Accenture uses real cases (interviewer giving a previous project) consistantly. Deloitte like group cases. Bain likes to see you come up with ideas outside the direct scope of the case. BCG likes pressure interviews. Obviosuly this is grossly generalizing.

2) Smile, smile, smile -> be friendly and make appropriate small talk (without derailing the interview)

3) Saying you are stuck is usually not kosher. that being said there are a few methods I use to work through being stuck. a) recap what you've covered so far b) I go through the c-suite in your head and think of any areas I missed - CEO, COO, CFO, CLO, CMO, CTO, CIO, CHO, CCO, CSO. c) ask for a minute to "compile what you've learned so far." d) got through the big stratefy models in your head (4P's, 3c's, Value Chain, Profitability) e) if you are near the end and you have a recommendation ask for help indirectly: ex: "so far we've covered x,y, z and based on this I believe we can come to a strong conclusion. Are there any other areas that client might want me to review prior to meeting the CEO?"

4) Situation Task Action Response technique (STAR) // CAR etc are commone methods though I found them less helpful.

5) be confident in yourself. It is not uncommon for an interviewer to give a little pushback to see if you will cave in on your ideas.

6) The interviewer is there (for the most part) to help you out. They will guide you so pay carefull attention to thier cues. If you keep getting non-helpful information form them move to a different topic, they are hinting that you are going the wrong way.

7) I did use the big frameworks for my interviews (4c's porters etc) but disguised them

8) While real brain teasers are rare now (but I did get one) they have been replaced with market sizing questions

In my experience, BCG does not do pressure interviews. They use recent cases that the interviewer has done.

I do think case interview is a wise investment of time. But I also think the "airport test" where the interviewer is trying to determine if getting stuck in an airport for 2+ hours with you is important as well.

 

[akatsuki]

Made it to the final round - exciting stuff... Any advice on the differences the partners are looking for versus the associates?

 

[GreenFrog]

Originally Posted by akatsuki

Made it to the final round - exciting stuff... Any advice on the differences the partners are looking for versus the associates?

congrats! from my understanding, just do what you did to pass the first round. sure, there might be individual differences between the interviewers, but it's impossible to know specifically what each person is looking for unless you have an inside scoop.