Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Interview Workshop
April, 2002
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This is a guide to recruitment interviews of
Inductis for consultants across levels in all
Inductis offices and business areas
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Agenda
Introduction
Fit Interview
Case Interview
Summary
Appendix
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Introduction
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What Makes A Good Consultant
■ Factors for Success: "The key factors for success in the management consulting
field are qualities of character, intelligence, judgment, the ability to express oneself
persuasively, self-confidence, [and] self-discipline."
■ Problem Solver: "The consultant is a professional problem solver who likes solving
problems for the thrill of it, for his/her own satisfaction. S/he likes to face a variety
of problems frequently. S/he's not the kind of person who could sit for 20 years
behind the same desk. "
■ Team Leader: "The professional consultant must plan and organize much of
his/her own work, must readily grasp and assume effective control of situations
which are inherently unclear, and must be able to lead people over whom s/he
exercises no authority."
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What We Look For
Communication Skills
Analytic and Leadership Ability
Quantitative Skills
Characteristics
Organization
Teamwork
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Our Selection Process
The test contains 3 sections; Verbal,
Aptitude Test Mathematics and Analytics. Each section
contains 10 questions. Total duration of the test
is ½ hour.
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The Fit Interview
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Overview
The main purpose of the fit interview is to discover whether you will "fit" with the firm's
culture and people
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Typical Questions To Expect
Give me an instance where you have delivered a creative solution. What was the
impact of your solution?
Tell me an incident where your views were in conflict with team. How did you
resolve?
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Dos and Don'ts of a Fit Interview
Since the fit interview is designed to see simply if you match well with the firm, it is
difficult to put forth a set of rules. However, there are some basic dos and don'ts
DO:
Relax and be comfortable DON'T:
Get defensive or let nerves overcome
Express your own interests and
you
expectations
Feign interest in subjects to impress the
Convey a coherent picture of yourself
interviewer
and your skills
Tell stories that confuse the interviewer
Ask good questions
Demonstrate your knowledge of the or provide confusing images of who you
are
firm (i.e. its culture and history)
Ask questions for the sake of asking
questions
Appear ignorant about the position for
which you are interviewing or about the
firm with which you are interviewing
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The Case Interview
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Overview
Case interviews seem to be one of the biggest sources of stress surrounding the
interviewing process, but they don't need to be. If you understand what the interviewer
is looking for, case interviews can be quite manageable
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General Hints for Approaching
Cases
No matter what kind of case you face, there are a few guidelines you should always
keep in mind
General Tips
Think first, then speak
Be as clear and concise as possible (e.g. 1, 2, 3)
Ask questions, don't just give answers
Make sure you are answering the problem being asked
Establish the scope of the problem before digging deep in one area
Always state your assumptions
Don't be afraid to take notes if there are a lot of facts
Be sure you explain your thought process/logic path
Select a solution and justify it
Don't forget possible alternatives
Read the newspaper the day of your interview; many times interviewers will pull
their cases from the day's news
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United States Basic Statistics
While you certainly shouldn't go and memorize the census report, there are certain
statistics that you should be familiar with in order to help you solve cases. You should
also be familiar with general demographic trends (i.e. Gen-Xers vs. Baby-Boomers and
income distribution)
Population of the world: Population of the U.S.: Number of households in the U.S.:
6.2 billion 290 million 105 million
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Interviewing Styles
Every interviewer will have a different interview style. When explaining a case you must
feel comfortable with each of the different approaches and be able to adapt your
approach
Case Descriptions
Detailed Problem
Detailed introduction of
case
Specific problem to be Conceptual Problem
solved Brief introduction
A few starter facts Two Extremes Very broad description of
Many additional facts problem (e.g. poor
available, if asked performance)
Conversational feel Few, if any facts available
throughout case interview “What do you think”
responses to many
questions
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Types of Cases
The types of cases you are likely to encounter will generally fit into one of three distinct
groups
Strategy Brain-Teasers
Types of Cases
Special Cases
• Engineering
• Economics
• Data Analytics
• Puzzles
• Miscellaneous
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Strategy Cases
Strategy cases generally involve one or more of the following three issues, but these
certainly do not represent the universe of possible scenarios
Types of Strategy Cases
Costs Marketing
Revenues
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Frameworks for Approaching
Strategy Cases – The Four P's
While you probably do not want to make it obvious that you are using an economic
framework to solve a case, employing the underlying logic should help you structure
your argument and solidify your analysis. One popular framework is the Four P's:
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Frameworks for Approaching
Strategy Cases – The Four C's
Another helpful framework in approaching a strategy case is the Four C's
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Framework for Approaching Strategy
Cases – Marketing Strategy Model
While it is slightly more complex than the previous frameworks, the marketing strategy
model provides an excellent frame of reference for marketing cases
Marketing Strategy Model
Start
What is the relevant market?
What are the costs? Who is buying and who is using the
What is the break even? product?
How long is the payback on Economics What is the buying process?
my investment? How can I segment the market?
Consumer
Marketing Analysis
How does my product fit with Mix
my other products?
How will I differentiate my What are your company's strengths
product? and weaknesses?
How does the product life cycle What are your competitor's strengths
affect my plans? and weaknesses?
Distribution Competition What is your relative size and position
in the market?
How do your resources differ from
those of your competitors?
Brain Teasers and Special Cases are meant to test the following ..
Logical reasoning
Quantitative skills
Creativity
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If You Get in a Jam…
Pause to collect your thoughts. Remaining silent is better than blurting out an
incoherent thought
Recount what you already know to the interviewer. By reviewing what you know
about the case, the next step often becomes more clear
Don't give up. Interviewers are judging your poise and maturity in addition to your
problem-solving skills
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Summary
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Summary
There is no single “right” answer…
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Appendix
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Appendix
Additional Resources
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Sample General Cases
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General Cases
The following sample cases have been compiled from Kellogg’s, Stern’s, and Tuck’s
Consulting Club Guides to management consulting cases. They are intended to assist
you in preparing for your case interview. The suggested approaches are by no means
the only approach you could take, but rather are the ones authors of these guides
thought were most appropriate
Case #1 Case #2 Case #3
You are visiting a new client who sells golf balls in the United States. Why is there no light beer in the UK? You have been called in by a Big 4 accounting
Having had no time to do background research, you sit on the plane firm that is experiencing declining profitability
wondering what is the annual market size for golf balls in the U.S. and in its auditing operation. What levers would
what factors drive demand. Your plane lands in 15 minutes; how would you push to help improve profitability?
you go about answering these questions?
* This case is too complex for BA candidates. Included here for illustrative purposes only 32
General Cases
Guesstimates
While most cases fall into the strategy category, there are several cases that are brain-
teasers. These cases are meant to test your quantitative ability and general logical
reasoning skills
Examples
How many credit cards are there in the How many quarters are there in Yankee How many people in the U.S. wear
world? stadium during a sold out game? earrings?
There are approximately 6 billion people in the world. Yankee Stadium holds approximately 50,000 fans. There are approximately 250 million people in the U.S.
Lets assume that a third live in areas where they cannot There are approximately 150 additional people working Of those about half are women.
get credit cards (rural areas, poverty stricken areas, etc.). at the stadium. Of the 125 million women 4/5 are adults.
Of the 4 billion remaining lets assume three quarters are Of the workers each either carry approximately 40 Of the 100 million adult women about 3/4 wear either
adults (in the U.S. it’s 4/5, but we have a slower birth rate quarters or have 40 in their cash registers to provide pierced or clip-on earrings for a total of 75 million people.
than many countries). change to customers for a total of 6,000 quarters. Of the 25 million girls about 1/5 get their ears pierced or
Of the 3 billion adults a third don't carry credit cards (they Of the fans approximately 4/5 are male. start wearing earrings each year and about 2/5 already
have bad credit, don't believe in credit cards, are Of that 40,000 half are like my dad and have about 10 have until the full 3/4 wear earrings by the time they are
unemployed, etc.). quarters in their pockets at any given time for a total of adults for a total of approximately 15 million girls at any
Of the 2 billion adults who carry credit cards, each carries 200,000 quarters. given time.
on average of 3 cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Of the remaining 20,000 half have no quarters, and half Of the 125 million men, 4/5 are adults.
Express). have 6 quarters to ride the subway home for a total of Of the 100 million adult men about 1/20 wear earrings
Resulting in 6 billion credit cards in the world. 60,000 quarters. (based on my personal experience, but obviously
Of the 10,000 women half have 12 quarters for them and subjective) for a total of 5 million.
their husbands/boyfriends to ride the subway home, and Of the 25 million boys only about 1/50 have parents who
half have 1 quarter to call someone in an emergency for will let them wear earrings for a total of .5 million boys.
a total of 65,000 quarters. For a grand total of 95.5 million people wearing earrings.
For a grand total of 331,000 quarters in Yankee Stadium.
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Sample Special Cases
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Special Cases
There are a variety of other types of cases which you may be asked. They will focus
on your ability to think conceptually, business acumen, and creativity
Examples
The secretary placed on the scale 1 coin from the first batch, 2 from the second, and so on until he put 8 from Arthur does not need to open any chests.
the eighth batch. Since all labels are on the wrong chests, the chest
labelled GOLD OR SILVER COINS cannot contain
If all coins weighed 10 grams each, then the weight displayed on the scale should have been 360 grams ((1 + 2 either gold nor silver, so must contain bronze. Thus the
+ ... + 8) × 10). But, since one batch of coins weighs less, the difference between 360 grams and the weight chest labelled GOLD COINS must contain silver coins,
displayed on the scale should point us to the faulty batch. and SILVER COINS must contain gold.
* Fresh BA’s are not expected to have SAS knowledge. Sample case included for illustration only 36
Sample Data Analytics Cases
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Sample Data Analytics Cases
The following sample cases have been compiled with input from Inductis associates
and managers. They are intended to assist you in preparing for your interview
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Special Data Analytics Cases
(Contd.)
Data Analytics cases will address specialized statistics, mathematics and logical
knowledge
Examples
Probability and Statistics Likelihood Estimation Mathematical
A red and a white die are rolled. Let event C = {5 on red die} and Let X1, X2, …,XN be a random sample from geometric Without finding their numerical
event D = {sum of dice 11}. The 36 outcomes have equal distribution with p.m.f. f(x;p
f(x;p) = (1-p
(1-p)x-1, x=1,2,3… What is values, which is greater, e^(pi) or
likelihood. Are events C and D independent? the maximum likelihood estimator of p (derive)? (pi)^e?
Solve for p:
^
P = ∑ nx = 1 => M.I.E(p) = p
∑ = xn =
n i=1 i X n i=1 i X
1
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Sample Data Analytics Cases
Sample SAS* Case
SAS cases are designed for data analytics candidates to test basic SAS knowledge as
well as approach towards datasets
SAS Dataset Sample Problem
SAS dataset with yearly revenues by state for three Create a new variable, which contains the means
telecommunication companies over time for each company
Problem Rationale
Company State Year Revenue
Verizon New York 1990 $100MM A simple problem that would be given to anyone that
Verizon New York 1991 $120MM claims they have experience with SAS, or those that admit
Verizon New York 1992 $130MM to having moderate experience. There are many ways of
Verizon New Jersey 1990 $90MM getting to the answer, but what is critical is whether
Verizon New Jersey 1991 $100MM candidates start running loops over the data or use some
Verizon New Jersey 1992 $95MM of SAS’s in-built basic functionalities, such as PROC
AT&T New York 1990 $100MM MEANS, SUMMARY, SORT, DATA step, etc.
AT&T New York 1991 $110MM
AT&T New York 1992 $90MM Usually, this type of a problem can be easily extended to
SNET Connecticut 1990 $70MM become more involved, but this is always one of the first
SNET Connecticut 1991 $100MM steps.
SNET Connecticut 1992 $80MM
This type of a question reveals how candidates think
about datasets.
* Fresh BA’s are not expected to have SAS knowledge. Sample case included for illustration only 40
Additional Resources
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Additional Resources to Consult
Before Your Interview
Ace Your Case! The Essential Management Consulting Case Workbook
– Wet Feet Press 1-800-926-4JOB
Competitive Advantage
– Michael Porter
Competitive Strategy
– Michael Porter
The Consulting Resource Packet
– Wharton Career Development & Placement (Packet #13)
Harvard Business School Career Guide: Management Consulting
– Harvard Business School Press 1-800-545-7685
The Ten Day MBA
– Steven Sillbiger
Case Interviews at Consulting Firms Websites
– Wet Feet Press 1-800-926-4JOB
– http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/apply/interviewingtips/casestudy/index.asp
– http://www.bcg.com/careers/interview_prep/practice_cases.jsp
– http://www.bain.com/bainweb/Join_Bain/case_interviews.asp
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