Interviews with management consulting firms

Interviews with management consulting firms

The following post is the result of conversations that took place between Mindbench and its clients regarding the mistakes that applicants make during interviews. This served as the impetus for us to conduct a qualitative survey with clients, applicants, HR personnel, and recruitment consultants active in the management consulting business in order to establish some of the critical talents and major pitfalls of

 

The number of applicants is increasing along with the robust state of recruitment.

The market for recruitment at management consultancies is extremely buoyant at the moment; in fact, it appears to be on track to hit record levels this year. However, the level of competition for these roles is still exceptionally high, as there are a record number of MBAs looking for work in the industry. There are over two hundred people who apply for each position in strategy consulting. The vast majority of these people will be eliminated during the C.V. screening stage and will not proceed any further. However, if you are fortunate enough to make it to the interview stage, the following guidance may be of great use to you.

 

Make Sure You are Aware of Who You are Applying to

Research is a crucial skill set in consultancies of all kinds, and the more important consultants become to their customers, the more these talents are put to the test. The less published information there is, the more essential consultants become to their clients. It is essential that you do not waste time during the interview and that you demonstrate a real interest in the organization and the job that it does. Doing adequate research is the key to success in this endeavor. Investigate the business on the internet; not only should you look at their own website, but you should also investigate any links they may provide, search for articles in the newspaper and websites of industry groups, and investigate the websites of their customers. 

You should make an effort to have a complete understanding of the kind of work they do and what it is like to work for them. Find out which fields and fields of business they operate in, as well as who their primary customers are. Never let fear prevent you from picking up the phone and inquiring about the viewpoints of others. Talk to anyone who has experience working in the industry, or better yet, at that company! Again, a professional recruiting consultant should be able to connect you with people like this and put you in touch with them.

Selling is everything in life, just like it is in business. In this particular scenario, you are there to sell yourself to the consultant; therefore, you should make it as simple as possible for them to engage you. Demonstrate to them how your skills, attributes, and experience will complement and improve upon their own, but you won't be able to do this effectively until you first have a solid understanding of what it is that they do and who they do it for. 

Over the past few years, the importance of a company's culture has steadily increased, and consultants in particular have embraced this concept. Again, you should be able to obtain a decent summary of how they see themselves as a work environment through their website, but keep in mind that this is how they would like to see themselves. You will gain a deeper understanding if you discuss the matter with a current or former member of the workforce.

 

The Perfect Person for the Job

In the first place, we talked about the essential qualities that a candidate ought to already have and, more importantly, ought to be able to exhibit during the course of the interviewing process:

Capacity for strategic thinking: Can this candidate think in terms of the overall strategic trajectory of the company?

The candidate's analytical rigor: do they think in a manner that is logical and methodical?

Mathematical ability: does the candidate have the mathematical aptitude to deal with financial modeling, a comprehension of statistical analysis, corporate financial reporting, etc.? • Commercial awareness: is this candidate able to think in terms of pricing, the competitive environment, and other related topics?

Intellectual curiosity: Does this individual have enough curiosity to delve under the surface and investigate both the surface-level details and the underlying reasons?

In addition to determining these particular characteristics, a variety of other, less physical aspects have been considered. These are characteristics that a consulting firm would ideally like to see possessed by all of its consultants, but which are far more challenging to discover and exhibit:

Drive: has the individual shown the requisite levels of drive and ambition throughout their professional career to this point?

Focus: the candidate should be able to demonstrate that they are able to pay attention to the task at hand while ignoring any potential distractions.

Capability to manage others: has the candidate demonstrated either a willingness or the aptitude to manage others, regardless of the setting? This can involve managing coworkers, managing staff, managing subordinates, or even managing upwards.

Commitment: does the individual demonstrate a willingness to work long hours and under pressure? • Finally, "depth of character this final quality was the one that was the most challenging to characterize. The following quotations from heads of recruitment at consulting firms were insightful when attempting to summarize their perspectives:

"Character is the one thing that you cannot teach, and it is probably the most valuable trait there is," the hiring manager said. "As long as the candidate is reasonably intelligent and willing to work hard, we have training plans and mentoring systems that will enable us to pass on all the skills our consultants need to fulfill their roles. The one thing that you cannot teach is intelligence, and it's probably the most valuable trait there is."

"How do you identify it while you're in interviews?  We have a look at the applicants' prepared answers to the questions that are more likely to be anticipated, and we also make an effort to ask them questions for which they won't have any answers ready. In the end, however, you will recognize it when you see it.

Conducting productive interviews

It is in the best interest of the consultancies to give you the opportunity to market yourself to them so they can hire you. They want you to be able to demonstrate your qualifications, your abilities, your excitement, and even, to a certain extent, your personality!

You need to be able to complete this task in a way that is both effective and efficient; thus, be prepared!

You will be able to speak fluently about any aspect that you are asked to discuss if you have adequately prepared yourself. In addition, you will be able to talk about yourself and your accomplishments in a structured and logical manner. These are all very desirable characteristics in a consultant!

• Practice is the most effective tool for getting ready for anything like this.
• Do some research on the internet and in libraries to find other examples.
• Give some consideration to the questions that you might be asked.
• Speak with the recruitment consultant or the interview coordinator about scheduling an appointment.
• Consider some responses to these questions that will enable you to showcase your finest attributes and bring attention to the accomplishments you've attained.

It is also something that we would strongly urge that you do, and that is to practice answering these questions aloud. Find some friends or others who work in the same field as you and make plans to spend some time together asking each other interview questions and listening to each other's responses. Talk about your own performance as well as the performance of others; there is no alternative to "performing" in front of other people!