squeaker.net consulting interview preparation

OFW World Business Dialogue 2009

The Consulting Interview

OFW World Business DialogueStefan Menden (www.squeaker.net)


Agenda

• Introduction• The Consulting Interview

– Introduction– Personal fit– Case Interview– Questions

• Summary and Q&A


About me

• Former OFW team (World Business Dialogue 1999)

• Founder of career network www.squeaker.net

• Author of leading German Consulting Interview Prep books

• 3 years Strategy Consulting with Oliver Wyman

• 2 years Venture Capital


The consulting environment

Revenue

per

Consultant

Consultants

Boutique firms Strategy Consulting

Small firms Full Service / I T-Consulting

• goetzpartners• Horváth & Partners• LEK• Monitor• OC&C

• Bain & Company• BCG• Booz & Company• McKinsey• Oliver Wyman• Roland Berger

• Accenture• Bearing Point• IBM• Deloitte


The recruiting process

Select target firms Application Screening

1st round interviews

2nd round interviews

Offer letter

• Recruiting fairs• Company websites• Online Networks• Press• Personal network

• Letter• CV• References etc

• CV screening• Knock-out criteria

• Additional criteria• Overall evaluation

• (Phone interview)

• Cases• Personal Fit• (Quantitative tests)

• Cases• Personal Fit• Partner interview• (Präsentations)• (Group assignment)

• Base salary• Bonus• Perks• Entry position• Location

Internship


The recruiting process

100 75

20

4 1-3

ApplicationScreening 1st round2nd round Offer


Agenda



• Summary and Q&A


The consulting interview

• Introduction / small talk

• Personal fit / experience interview

• Case Interview

• Questions

The consulting reality

• Complex problems

• Demanding hours

• Changing priorities

• Teamwork / new teams

• High impact

• ...

The interviewer‘s checklist

Does the candidate have:

• Drive, motivation• Flexibility• Analytical ability• Quantitative skills• Communicative &

leadership skills• Maturity

Will the candidate enjoy consulting?

Do I want to work with this person?

Why consulting firms use case interviews


The components of the consulting interview

Introduction / small talk

Personal fit / experience

Case Interview

Questions

1

2

3

4

3-5 mins

5-15 mins

30-45 mins

3-5 mins


Part one: Introduction

Do’s

Listen attentively, keep eye-contact

Ask questions, join in conversation

SMILE

Don’ts

Don‘t take over the lead

Don‘t pretend

Don‘t think that this is not already part of the interview

Clarify process

Reduce nervousness

Get first feeling for candidate‘s social skills

Get to know the interviewer

Explain the process

Small talk


Part two: Personal fit / experience interview

Do’s

Present your previous experience in a cohesive way

Add interesting details and personal experiences

Be prepared to answer questions about your CV

Don’ts

Don‘t just repeat what‘s on paper

Don‘t be arrogant

Don‘t be too nervous

Does the candidate fit into our team and culture?

Do I want to work with this person / spend long hours in the same room?

Can the candidate represent our firm in front of clients?

Discuss your CV and personal achievements

Understand your motivations and communication style

Why do you want to become a consultant?

Why with our firm?


Personal fit: Typical questions

„Talk about yourself“

„What are your strong points?“

„What are your weak points?“

„Why did you choose your particular subjects in university?“

„What was your greatest challenge?“ How did you overcome it?“

„Why do you want to go into consulting?“

„When did you lead a team?“

„Your grades are not outstanding, don‘t you think?“


Personal fit exercise: Skill assessment

Take a piece of paper and draw a 5x3 table like this:

1) 1st column: What do you think are the 5 most important skills a consultant needs

2) 2nd column: Score yourself against these skills (Points 1-10)

3) 3rd column: How can you prove this from your CV?


Personal fit exercise 2: SWOT introspection

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats


Part three: The Case Interview

Mini Case

Business Case

Market-Sizing

Brainteaser

The Case Interview

Typical types of questions


Business Cases

• Often based on real cases

• Often a part of a more complex problem

• No one-size-fits-all solutions

• Often include a strategic and a quantitative part

Examples

• Market entry

• Product innovation

• Competitive Response

• Reaction to changing market conditions

• M&A activities

• …


Example case

„Your customer is a European

low-cost-airline. The CEO asks

you to prepare a

recommendation for the board

meeting this afternoon if the

company should offer

transatlantic routes as well.“


How to solve the case

Hypothesize & ask questions

Structure the case

Solve the case

Present and evaluate

1

2

3

4


Frameworks to structure business cases

Profit equation

Michael Porter‘s Five Forces

4 P‘s: Price, Product, Place & Promotion

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

2x2-Matrix

Break-Even-Calculation

4 C‘s: Customer, Competition, Cost, Capabilities

…

Use frameworks to structure problems – not as a one-size-fits-all solution to problems


Structuring problems: The pyramid principle

Haus

Dachziegel

Dach Dachstuhl

Rauchfang

Grundmauern

Ziegeln

Mörtel

Gerade Ziegel

Eckziegel

Beton

Zuschlagstoffe

Wasser

Mörtel

Ziegeln

Schrauben

Kantholz

Dachziegelverbindungen

Eckdachziegel

Gerade Dachziegel

Innenräume

Möbel

Einbauteile

Böden

Tische

Stühle

Einbauteile Badezimmer

Einbauteile Küche

Einbauteile Keller

Holzböden

Spannteppichböden

.......

Fließenböden

AnbauteileFenster

Türen


The most important framework

Profit

Revenue Cost

Price Quantity variable fix

-

x +

The profit equation


2x2 Matrix

high

high

low

low


Porter‘s Five Forces


Break Even analysis


Consultants LOVE charts

Kosten R&D Produktion Vertrieb Logistik

11%

24%

15%

5%6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Hills Wal-Mart Kmart Target Ames

Zielsegment!

x

y

Bekanntheit

€

Firma A

Firma B

Firma CFirma D

SPD

CDU

FDP

Grüne

KFZ

Nutz

Privat

Kauf

Lease

Lease

KaufR&D Launch Serie

Produkt Prozess

1) Balken: Vergleich von Variablen 2) Waterfall: Aufteilung von Kosten

3) Linien: Entwicklung über die Zeit 4) Funktionale Zusammenhänge

5) Bubble-Chart: Relative Positionen 6) Pie-Chart: Anteile

7) Logikbaum: Zusammensetzung 8) Flussdiagramm: Prozesse

2.000900

400

200

500

Kosten R&D Produktion Vertrieb Logistik

11%

24%

15%

5%6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Hills Wal-Mart Kmart Target Ames

Zielsegment!

x

y

Bekanntheit

€

Firma A

Firma B

Firma CFirma D

SPD

CDU

FDP

Grüne

KFZ

Nutz

Privat

Kauf

Lease

Lease

KaufR&D Launch Serie

Produkt Prozess

1) Balken: Vergleich von Variablen 2) Waterfall: Aufteilung von Kosten

3) Linien: Entwicklung über die Zeit 4) Funktionale Zusammenhänge

5) Bubble-Chart: Relative Positionen 6) Pie-Chart: Anteile

7) Logikbaum: Zusammensetzung 8) Flussdiagramm: Prozesse

2.000900

400

200

500


How to tackle the case interview

Do’s Take notes

Ask for missing information

Lead the conversation

Listen for details

Take your time

Structure, structure, structure

Involve the interviewer in your thinking

Clearly state your assumptions

Sum up your conclusions



Do’s

Don‘t „copy-paste“ your solution / framework think!

Practice mental arithmetic and written calculations without calculator

Sanity-check your conclusions and assumptions

Be well prepared and up-to-date on current economic events

Let your hypothesis guide you

Practice cases by inventing your own

Relax, keep cool and have fun!



Don’ts Don‘t be too spontaneous

Don‘t guess

Don‘t go into unimportant details – be 80/20

Don‘t be arrogant

Don‘t come late

Don‘t lose your calm and maturity – imagine you are presenting to your client


Market sizing

Test ability to structure a concrete problem

Test quantitative abilities

Test mental arithmetic skills and written calculation without calculator

Test ability to handle large numbers accurately

Often part of a business case

Examples

Market size / potential of a product or service for a country, region, city

„What is the market size for car stereos in Germany?“

Calculation of the market share of a company

„What is the market share of Volkswagen in Germany?“

Quantitative exercises

„How many tennis balls fit into a Boeing 737?“


Example

“For what price would you buy the Golden Gate Bridge?”

“What is the turnover of the Starbucks on Friesenplatz in Cologne?”

“How many songs are stored on ipods in Germany?”


Brainteaser

• Ability to structure an abstract problem

• Ability to elaborate and present a solution in a coherent way

• Tenacity

• Ability to tackle a seemingly unsolvable problem

• Quantitative skills

• Creativity

Examples

„How many seconds from now until New Year’s Eve?“

„You are on a boat on a lake and raise the anchor – will the water level rise or fall?“

„Why are manhole covers round?“

Weighing balls

Measuring the angle between hands on a clock


Questions

Do’s

Prepare a few questions, that

are not too obvious

are related to your background

are about experiences of the interviewer

Don’ts

Don‘t have no further questions

Don‘t ask „stupid“ questions

Are you really interested in consulting and this firm in particular?

Do you have the right communicative skills?

„Do you have any further questions?“


Agenda



• Summary and Q&A


The components of the consulting interview

Introduction / small talk

Personal fit / experience

Case Interview

Questions

1

2

3

4


More example cases

1. Call-a-bike: A start-up company wants to offer a system of bike rentals in major cities. Charging is by the minute. Can this be a profitable business?

2. MVNO: Your client runs a major chain of drugstores in Germany. As many other retail chains have started selling low-priced pay-as-you-go mobile SIM cards, your client wants a detailed assessment if they should also enter this market.

3. Netflix: Your client owns a chain of DVD rental stores. As revenues and profit have been declining over the last years, they wonder if they should enter the market for movie downloads over the internet. How can you help them?

4. Google: Your client is Google. The founders, Larry and Sergei, wonder if they should buy facebook – and at what valuation. Their private jets land at the Googleplex in 30 minutes and they want an initial assessment from you for their meeting with Mark Zuckerberg this afternoon.


Recommended reading (in German)

www.squeaker.net/insider

www.consulting-insider.com


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