What Are Your Interviewers Looking For?

• Analytical Reasoning

• Business Literacy

• Energy and Enthusiasm

• Teamwork

• Interview Etiquette
 Analytical Reasoning

Quantitative Ability
Data
Data Gathering.
Gathering. Did
Did you
you ask
ask smart
smart questions
questions to
to gather
gather all
all of
of the
the
necessary
necessary facts/data
facts/data required
required to
to fully
fully understand
understand the
the problem?
problem?
Focus.
Focus. Did
Did you
you “cut
“cut through
through the
the clutter”
clutter” and
and focus
focus on
on the
the facts
facts that
that
were
were most
most central
central to
to resolving
resolving the
the problem?
problem?

Insight Generation
Translating
Translating “Patterns
“Patterns Recognized”
Recognized” into
into “Potential
“Potential Solutions.”
Solutions.” Were
Were
you
you able
able to
to move
move from
from information
information to
to insight
insight –– moving
moving from
from data
data to
to
conclusions
conclusions about
about what
what itit means?
means?
Creativity.
Creativity. Did
Did you
you process
process the
the facts
facts in
in such
such aa way
way that
that your
your responses
responses
were
were novel
novel and
and non-obvious?
non-obvious?
 Business Literacy

Business and Economics Vocabulary

Comfort
Comfort with
with the
the terms
terms ofof the
the case.
case. Were
Were you
you as
as comfortable
comfortable
with
with the
the business
business and
and economic
economic vocabulary
vocabulary as
as you
you were
were
with
with the
the other
other parts
parts of
of the
the discussion?
discussion?
Quality
Quality understanding
understanding of
of the
the case.
case. Did
Did you
you understand
understand the
the
case
case as
as well
well as
as you
you would
would expect
expect aa senior
senior level
level employee
employee to
to
understand
understand it?
it?
Executive
Executive communication
communication style.
style. Were
Were you
you able
able to
to
communicate
communicate the
the most
most pertinent
pertinent aspects
aspects of
of the
the case
case in
in aa
concise
concise and
and straightforward
straightforward manner?
manner?
 Energy and Enthusiasm

Inherent Interest
Demonstrate
Demonstrate curiosity
curiosity around
around even
even arcane
arcane business
business issues.
issues. You
You
should
should be
be interested
interested in
in any
any issue
issue that
that poses
poses aa difficult
difficult issue
issue worthy
worthy
of
of discussion.
discussion.

Projected Enthusiasm
Engaged,
Engaged, positive
positive and
and energetic.
energetic. You
You should
should demonstrate
demonstrate aa
demeanor
demeanor thatthat is
is engaged,
engaged, positive
positive and
and energetic
energetic even
even under
under
stressful
stressful circumstances.
circumstances.
 Teamwork

Forward-Leaning Posture
Envision
Envision research
research in
in aa team
team setting.
setting. You
You should
should show
show enthusiasm
enthusiasm for
for
tackling
tackling the
the case
case with
with aa team.
team. You
You need
need to
to lay
lay out
out aa basic
basic project
project
plan
plan and
and discuss
discuss different
different ways
ways the
the project
project might
might ‘come
‘come out’.
out’.

Project Management Aptitude

Manage
Manage activity
activity timeframes.
timeframes. You
You should
should be
be able
able to
to separate
separate aa given
given
project
project into
into more
more than
than one
one stream
stream of
of activity,
activity, and
and suggest
suggest how
how these
these
activity
activity streams
streams should
should come
come together.
together.
 Interview Etiquette

• Arrive about 10–15 minutes early

• Dress appropriately

• Refer to your interviewer by name

• Speak professionally (avoid the

phrases “like” and “umm”)

• Send an e-mail or note to thank your

interviewer for his or her time
 Inside the Interview

• Basic case frameworks

• Common interview mistakes

• Tips for success

 Common Interviewing Mistakes

• Making analytical leaps that are not

communicated to the interviewer
• Over relying on case frameworks
• Pursuing red herrings
• Not recognizing blind alleys of inquiry
• Drawing too heavily on industry
knowledge and outside information
• Introducing personal ideology to the case
• Viewing the interview as a failure test
 Tips for Success in the CEB Interview
The Behavioral Interview
• Demonstrate knowledge of the CEB
mission statement
• Show an understanding of CEB’s unique
business model
Setting Up the Case Working Through the Case Closing the Case
•• Ask
Ask clarifying
clarifying questions
questions •• Communicate
Communicate eacheach analytical
analytical •• Summarize
Summarize each
each step
step in
in
leap
leap to
to the
the interviewer
interviewer the
the analysis
analysis
•• Understand
Understand and
and apply
apply the
the
profit
profit equation
equation •• Test
Test conventional
conventional wisdom
wisdom •• Show
Show that
that you
you enjoy
enjoy
business
business analysis!
analysis!
•• Do
Do not
not overuse
overuse case
case •• Demonstrate
Demonstrate comfort
comfort with
with
frameworks
frameworks or
or outside
outside numbers
numbers byby rounding
rounding to
to the
the
industry
industry knowledge
knowledge correct
correct order
order of
of magnitude
magnitude

Take the CEB writing exercise seriously!

 Basic Case Frameworks

• Profitability (Profit = Revenue - Cost)

• The “Three C’s” (Customer,

Competition, and Company)

• The “Four P’s” (Product, Price, Place,

and Promotion)

• Porter’s Five Forces (Suppliers,

New Entrants, Buyers/Customers,
Substitutes, and Competitors)
 Framework: Profitability

Profit

Revenue Cost

Price Quantity Fixed Variable

•• Price
Price •• Customer
Customer •• Capital
Capital •• Labor
Labor
discrimination
discrimination segmentation
segmentation equipment
equipment •• Materials
Materials
•• Changes
Changes in in •• New/existing
New/existing •• Land
Land •• Energy
Energy
pricing
pricing structure
structure •• Loyal/switchers •• Buildings
Loyal/switchers Buildings
•• Viability
Viability of
of •• Channel
Channel
pricing
pricing over
over time
time restrictions
restrictions
•• Discounts
Discounts or
or or
or temporary
temporary
couponing
couponing disturbances
disturbances
•• Competitor’s
Competitor’s •• Changing
Changing
pricing
pricing consumer
consumer demands
demands
 Additional Resources

• Case frameworks

• Interviewing resources
 Framework: The “Three Cs”
The Three Cs Are a Useful Tool for Understanding Sales Oriented
Cases as Well as for Analyzing New Product Introductions

Customer
Customer Competition
Competition Company
Company
•••Competitive
Competitive
Competitive •••Profitability
Profitability
Profitability
•••Demographics
Demographics
Demographics Advantage
Advantage
Advantage
•••Experience
Experience Curve
Experience Curve
Curve
•••Purchasing
Purchasing Criteria
Purchasing Criteria
Criteria •••Market
Market Share
Market Share
Share
•••Capacity
Capacity to
Capacity to Develop
to Develop
Develop
•••Market
Market Size
Market Size
Size •••Perceived
Perceived Value
Perceived Value
Value Product
Product
Product
•••Segmentation
Segmentation
Segmentation •••Price
Price
Price •••Brand
Brand Equity
Brand Equity
Equity
 Framework: The “Four Ps”
The Four Ps Are a Useful Tool for Understanding Marketing Problems

Product
Product Price
Price
••Important
Important Product
Product Attributes
Attributes ••Predatory
Predatory Pricing
Pricing
••Selection
Selection Criteria
Criteria ••At
At Market
Market Pricing
Pricing
••Value
Value Added
Added ••Premium
Premium Pricing
Pricing

Place
Place Promotion
Promotion
••Distribution
Distribution Strategy
Strategy ••Advertising
Advertising
••Location
Location ••Discounting
Discounting
••Organizational
Organizational Strategy
Strategy ••Incentive
Incentive Programs
Programs
 Framework: Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s Five Forces Is Useful for Understanding the Competitive
Intensity and Overall Attractiveness of an Industry

Force
Force Description
Description
Barriers
Barriers to
to Entry
Entry ••Threat
Threat of
of new
new entrants
entrants entering
entering the
the market
market
Threat
Threat of
of Substitutes
Substitutes ••Substitute
Substitute products
products stealing
stealing market
market share
share
from
from competitors
competitors
Industry
Industry Competition
Competition ••Rivalry
Rivalry among
among existing
existing competitors
competitors
Buyer
Buyer Power
Power ••Bargaining
Bargaining power
power of
of customers
customers
Supplier
Supplier Power
Power ••Leverage
Leverage of
of supplier
supplier over
over buyers
buyers
 Interviewing Resources

• Wetfeet
http://www.wetfeet.com/

• Quintessential Careers
http://www.quintcareers.com/
 www.executiveboard.com

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©2007 Corporate
Corporate Executive
Executive Board.
Board. All
All Rights
Rights Reser
Reserved.
ved. •• TMT18S92I7
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