Jan
1, 2017
The Interview Project: Management Consulting
Over the past five years, COMMIT has gleaned a tremendous amount of insight and lessons from its programs. In 2017, we are excited to begin more deliberately sharing this information with America. We are pleased to share our first article regarding interview preparation for the management consulting sector. For the content of this article, COMMIT interviewed a small group of its transitioning veterans that recently prepared for interviews and secured jobs at tier one management consulting firms. We hope that our information sharing encourages discussion and continued information flow - perhaps even a healthy debate!
Preparing Success in any interview takes the same focus and time that you dedicated to preparing for a professional school entrance exam, like the GMAT. When preparing for an interview with a management consulting firm you should focus on two primary components: studying and networking. Expect to dedicate at least two to three months of preparation to feel comfortable when you begin the interview.
Luckily, studying and networking can and should occur simultaneously. Studying will help you connect with professionals in your desired field. Their feedback and recommendations will expose you to the critical thinking and other skillsets they prize in colleagues and employees, and potentially open the door for the target interview you seek.
Timing can be tricky. You will need to balance your desire for an immediate job interview/offer with the time required to prepare sufficiently for that interview. Exercise patience. It is a good idea to conduct at least ten mock case interviews before you walk into an interview for your desired role. The consulting contacts you made during your networking rounds may be willing to take part in mock interviews to help you prepare.
The Interview Firms typically conduct two days of interviews, with multiple rounds each day. The first day will include two to three separate interviews with Consultants who are one to three years out of business school.
First round interviews usually include a standard “personality/fit” portion followed by a case interview. The personality/fit portion is a critical arena where veterans should shine.
Most questions involve a discussion of your leadership abilities. Do not forget to prepare for this portion of the interview. A typical veteran mistake is to assume he or she has plenty of “leadership stories” and neglect to take time to sit down and polish those narratives.
In most consulting firms, the case interview is the most important part of the interview. Here you will be judged on critical thinking, business acumen, and basic quantitative skills during the “case.” Keep your cool and apply what you learned during your months of studying and networking. If you are successful during the first round of interviews, you will typically be asked back for another day of interviews, one to two weeks later.
The second day consists of two interviews with partners or principals at the firm. Partners/principals tend to ask more open-ended case interview questions that might make you feel they are not conducting an actual “case.” They are. Make sure to answer their question in the same logical and structured format as you did during your case preparation studies.
Success in the second day of interviews will lead to a job offer. If you do not receive the offer use any feedback from the process and apply it to your next interview.
Resources and Additional Information: Learn how case interviews are conducted. Recommended books include: • Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng (Victor Cheng offers his book and all online resources to veterans for free. See www.caseinterview.com for more details.) • Case in Point by Marc Cosentino.After reading Cheng and Cosentino’s books, use Cheng’s LOMS (Look Over My Shoulder). LOMS is a preparation program consisting of audio files of mock interviews.
Quantitative/Math Preparation is crucial. Math mistakes can derail an interview so make sure to always “write out” your answer to longer math problems. If you have written out your work during an interview and make a mistake, the interviewer will often help you or correct the mistake without failing you on the interview. Do NOT do all your math in silence and then throw out an answer. Always connect your final math answer to the larger “so what” of the particular business scenario. Resources include: • Smartphone applications such as “Math Mental Cards” • “Case method” math on Marc Cosentino’s website (see COMMIT for login information) • Purchase GRE Quantitative Preparation Books or utilize free resources such as:https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_math_review.pdf • Khan Academy for simplified instructions on math topics: www.khanacademy.org
Conduct mock case interviews, with a goal of executing 10 mock interviews. These interviews can be done over the phone or in person. Always practice case interviews with someone in the industry. Networking is key to finding enough people to conduct mock interviews. Locate veterans to conduct mock case interviews. You will need a solid pool of people willing to conduct mock case interviews.
• Always ask veterans if they would be willing to conduct a mock case interview.• Make sure you understand the flow of an interview and have rudimentary knowledge before starting. Don’t waste their time. • After practicing case interviews, contact expert case interviewer Marc Cosentino. COMMIT will finance mock case interviews with Marc or his coworkers but you’ll need to have a solid foundation for the sessions to be beneficial. His mock cases are difficult but will provide the finishing touches for your preparation.
Network within the industry. Networking should help you determine if Management Consulting is the right job for you. Conduct a self-assessment. Is this the right job? Does this fit into your five year plan? Are you comfortable transitioning from being a leader to an individual performer? Use the following methods:
• Reach out to fellow veterans in the field. Ask them to share their own transition story. • COMMIT can provide contacts of veterans in the consulting industry. • Cold-calling/messaging” on Linkedin has a high success rate. Fellow veterans want to help you transition.
Lastly, use your contacts to secure an interview at a target firm. Evaluate whether COMMIT has contacts/resources at your target firm. Evaluate whether your new veteran contacts (through Linkedin, etc.) will advocate on your behalf with the target firm’s recruiting team. It is best not to contact the firm’s recruiting team directly or apply for a position on a firm’s website (unless directed). Professional contacts will give you a better chance of standing out amidst the “noise.” Leverage COMMIT’s existing relationships with recruiting personnel.
For the content of this article, COMMIT interviewed a small group of its transitioning veterans that recently prepared for interviews and secured jobs at tier one management consulting firms.
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