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CrackingtheCase:AConsultingInterviewPrimerPage1of3光华人向上的精神"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.ﻫ
WhytheCaseInterview?ﻫCaseinterviewshavelongbeenusedbyrecruiterstoseeacandidate'sthoughtprocessesinmotion.Canyoudeconstructandanalyzecomplex,open-endedbusinessproblems?Doyoustaycalm,orwillyousweatbulletsunderpressureataclientsite?ﻫﻫAtthemostbasiclevel,acaseinterviewisaboutaskingtherightquestions,developingalogicalwayofworkingthroughtherelevantissues,andarrivingatarecommendation.Yourstructuremaybeapackagedframeworkoritmaybevariousframeworksstrungtogether;youmayevenchoosenottouseframeworksatall.What'simportantisthatyoudemonstratesomedefinedstructure.ﻫﻫ“Casestudiesareanimperfectscience,”concedesMichaelGibney,projectmanageratPricewaterhouseCoopers,“butareeasilyimplementableinthe30to45minuteswehaveforeachinterview.”Sincetheymeasureyouranalyticalskills,they'reanimprovementoversimple"fit"or"resumé"interviews.
ﻫInmostcaseinterviews,therecruitergivesyouanexampleofareal-lifeclientproblem.Sometypicalcategoriesinclude:光华人向上的精神"BrainGames:“HowmanytennisballsareintheUnitedStates?”OperationsImprovement:“Whyismyclient’sfactoryrunningbehind?”MarketSize:“Howbigistheglobalairconditionermarket?”Althougheachrequiresaslightlydifferentapproach,allaremeantmainlytoevaluatetheprocessyouuse,nottheansweryoucomeupwith.ﻫﻫPracticeMakesPerfectﻫYouabsolutely,positivelymustprepareinadvanceforcaseinterviews.“Itbecomesprettyclearprettyfastwhohas—andwhohasnot—practiced,”saysGibney.“Iknowthereisabasicsortofbusinessacumenthatmaynotbeabletobepracticed,butcandidatesmusthaveanunderstandableapproachtosolvingproblems.That’swhatourclientsdemandofus.Ifwecan’trelatesolutionstotheclient,it’saproblem.”
ﻫDon’tassumethatattendingacase-orientedbusinessschoolwillgiveyouanupperhand.JohnFlato,CapGeminiErnst&Young’snationaldirectorofuniversityrecruiting,saysthesecandidatesdon’tseemtodoanybetterorworsethancandidatesfromnon-caseschools.
ﻫStudydifferentkindsofcasequestions.Justbecauseyourbuddyinterviewedbeforeyouandgaveyouaheads-uponthequestionsdoesn’tmeanyouhavealegup.Recruitershavetonsofcasequestionsintheirrepertoire,andthechancesoftheirusingthesamequestionmultipletimesononecampusvisitareslimtonone.
光华人向上的精神ﻫGetaclassmateorfriendtorole-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_TOCGeneric.cfm&listid=3&chid=3&schid=7&WT=37"industryguides.)Althougheachcaseisdifferent,withpracticeyouwillimproveyouranalyticalreasoningskillsandsolutionmethod.
ThinkThroughtheProcessﻫWhenitcomestostrategyorproductmarketingquestions,theinterviewerwilloftengiveyouonlythebarebonesofacaseandwillwaitforyoutorequestfurtherdetails:Howmanycompetitorsdoespanyhave?Whatarethemajorcostandrevenuedrivers?Whoarethemajorclients?Anddon'tforgettoaskforthefirm'smission—ifyoudon'tknowwhatacompany'sgoalsare,youmightcomeupwithavalid—butmisguided—solution.Usesomebasicframeworkstodriveyourquestions—thefourP'sandthethreeC's,forinstance.ﻫ
AsamplequestionGibneyusedrecentlyinvolvedamanufacturer/distributor/retailerofcomputerproducts.Thisclienthastraditionallygonedirectlytotheconsumerandhasdevelopedasolidbrandimage.Theclientnowwantsanassessmentastotheissuesrelatingtothecorebusiness,aswellastheopportunitiesforthecompanytogetintotheservicesside,whichitviewsasahigh-margin/high-growth-ratebusiness.Thecandidatenowneedstoprovideanapproachorevaluativeframeworkforanalyzingeachofthetwodifferentproblems.
ﻫAslongasit'spermitted,workyouranswersoutonpaper.Pencilsandpens,plusanotebookorlegalpadshouldbestandardequipmentinanyinterview.“It’samazinghowmanypeopleshowupwithoutapenandpaper,”marvelsKamennaRindova,aseniorassociateatMercerManagementConsulting.Thinkingthroughallthefactsisamust,and光华人向上的精神光华人向上的精神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.
ﻫEileenCoveney,vicepresidentatL.E.K.Consulting,warnscandidatesabouttheperilsofframeworks:“Whenpeopledependtoomuchonapre-establishedframework,theymaynotbethinkingdeeplyenoughabouttheproblemathand.Thismayindicatethatwhenpresentedwithanactualclientissue,theyarenotgoingtofocusonthedetailsandspecificsoftheclient’sproblem.Rather,theymaybeinclinedtojumpintoeasyandobvioussolutions.”ﻫ
Ifyoudouseone,choosewisely.Ifthecaseisaboutabusinessthat'sconsideringentryintoanindustry,Porter'sfiveforcesmayindeedbeyourbestbet.Ifyou'retalkingabouthowproductsgetfromsupplierstoendconsumers,considerthevaluechain.Companiesthatarefallingshortonsalescoulduseaprofitabilityorcostvs.revenueanalysis.Ifyou'remarketinganewpharmaceuticalproduct,thinkaboutthe4P'sandthe3C's.ﻫﻫ光华人向上的精神光华人向上的精神光华人向上的精神光华人向上的精神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.
ﻫRecruiterNo.1:EileenCoveney,vicepresident,L.E.K.Consulting
TheQuestions:ﻫTestingacandidate'sskillacrossarangeofareasistheprimaryreasonL.E.K.useserviews.Coveneyindicatesthatthecaseinterviewsaremeantto(1)assessacandidate’sanalyticalability,(2)evaluateacandidate'scommunicationskillsandlogicflow,(3)understandhowacandidaterespondstoredirection,and(4)testhis/heroverallfitwiththefirm.MostquestionsL.E.K.recruitersaskcenteraroundstrategicgrowthopportunitiesforpotentialclients.
WordsofWisdom:ﻫCoveneypointsoutthatshedoesn’thaveapreferenceregardinghowacandidateinitiallyreactstothecaseinterviewquestion.“Somepeopletakesometimetoformulatetheirthoughts,otherpeopleaskafewquestions,andotherpeoplejumprightin,”Coveneysays.“Relaxandtakeyourtime,focusonthespecificissuesofthecase,rememberthereisnoonerightanswertothecase,anddon’tusetoomanyframeworks.Don’tthrowinthekitchensink,likePorter’sfiveforces,etc.Justbeconfident,andrelax—itwillreallyhelpwiththeinterview.”
ﻫRecruiterNo.2:KamennaRindova,seniorassociate,MercerManagementConsultingﻫﻫTheQuestions:
MMCasksmostcandidatesone-on-onequestionsanddoesn’toftendogroupexercises.Reflectingthefirm’sfocus,mostquestionsdealwithstrategyissues,withoccasionalmarketsizingquestionsthrownin.ThepurposeoftheinterviewforMMCistoseethecandidate'sabilitytostructureandthinkthroughaproblemastheywouldonthejob.
WordsofWisdom:ﻫRindovasayspracticeandfamiliaritywithcasesisessential,andstressesthataninterviewcangosouthifthecandidatelosessightofthestructureheorsheisbuilding.Lastly,beatingaclearpathtoanyresponseismoreimportantthangettingitright.“Youcangive(arecruiter)awronganswer,butifyouthoughtoutloudthroughtheprocess,youcouldstillhaveastellarinterview,”Rindovaconcludes.
ﻫ
RecruiterNo.3:ScottBerney,headofU.S.recruitingoperations,MonitorGroup
ﻫTheQuestions:ﻫDeterminingaperson’sanalyticalskills,comfortwithmanipulatingnumbers,andabilitytointegratedifferentpiecesofdataisthepurposeofthecaseinterviewforMonitorGroup.Forthefirstroundofinterviews,casequestionsareusuallywrittenandaretwotothreepagesinlength.Inthefinalround,agroupeventisused.
WordsofWisdom:ﻫ“Mytakeonmostotherfirmsisthattheyputapremiumon[thecandidate’s]abilitytoaskquestionsintheinterview.Monitorcasesputapremiumonyourabilitytoanalyzedata,manipulatenumbers,integrate,eupwithananswerbasedonthedatayou’vebeengiven,”saysBerney.LikeL.E.K.’sCoveney,hedoesn’tliketoseecandidatesusetoomanyframeworkstosolveaproblem.
ﻫRecruiterNo.4:SeanHuurman,nationalrecruitingdirector,KPMGConsulting
ﻫTheQuestions:
“Thecasequestionhelpsgettoathinkingprocessandvariouscharacteristicsofacandidateyoudon’tnecessarilygetinanordinaryinterview,”saysHuurman.“Whenweusecases,wearereallyfocusingonthingsthattieintotheclient.”ThetypicalKPMGconsultanthunterwantstoknowhowacandidatecancommunicatewiththeteam,theirleadership,andtheclient.
Huurmanfavorsgroupinterviews,andknowsalotofcandidatescanbepreppedinadvance,buthenotesthatthere’s"noamountofcoaching"thatcanprepareyouforagroupproject.
光华人向上的精神
WordsofWisdom:ﻫ“Toomanypeoplejumprightintothecasestudyanddon’tputanythoughtintoit,”saysHuurman.“Iwanttheintervieweestothinkthingsthrough.”KPMGrecruitersarealwaystoldtoletthecandidatehavesometimetothinkthroughthecase,butHuurmanindicatesthatveryfewcandidatestakeadvantageofit.
Huurmanadmitsthatfewrecruiterswouldaskint
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