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收藏 2010-12-04

PracticeMakes Perfect
You absolutely, positively must prepare in advance for case interviews. “Itbecomes pretty clear pretty fast who has—and who has not—practiced,” saysGibney. “I know there is a basic sort of business acumen that may not be ableto be practiced, but candidates must have an understandable approach to solvingproblems. That’s what our clients demand of us. If we can’t relate solutions tothe client, it’s a problem.”

Don’t assume that attending a case-oriented business school will give you anupper hand. John Flato, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s national director ofuniversity recruiting, says these candidates don’t seem to do any better orworse than candidates from non-case schools.

Study different kinds of case questions. Just because your buddy interviewedbefore you and gave you a heads-up on the questions doesn’t mean you have a legup. Recruiters have tons of case questions in their repertoire, and the chancesof their using the same question multiple times on one campus visit are slim tonone.
Get a classmate or friend to role-play the interview with you, and use anyresources (such as a casebook) that your school's consulting club provides. Themore mock cases you sink your teeth into, the more likely you are to be relaxedand poised for the real thing. Sometimes you learn more by presenting a casequestion to someone than you do when solving the case yourself.

Deliberately pick industries you're not familiar with so as to test youranalytical skills, not memorized facts; for instance, if your pre-B-schoolexperience is mostly in media and entertainment, ask your case buddy to ask youabout steel production or medical device marketing. That said, do considerbrushing up on the basics in several industries—for instance, know the productdevelopment cycle in pharmaceutical research, and understand current trends intechnology. (For more information on various fields, check out our
industry guides.)Although each case is different, with practice you will improve your analyticalreasoning skills and solution method.

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jennej

2010-12-4 14:45:18

ThinkThrough the Process
When it comes to strategy or product marketing questions, the interviewer willoften give you only the bare bones of a case and will wait for you to requestfurther details: How many competitors does the company have? What are the majorcost and revenue drivers? Who are the major clients? And don't forget to askfor the firm's mission—if you don't know what a company's goals are, you mightcome up with a valid—but misguided—solution. Use some basic

frameworks to drive your questions—the four P's and the three C's, forinstance.

A sample question Gibney used recently involved amanufacturer/distributor/retailer of computer products. This client hastraditionally gone directly to the consumer and has developed a solid brandimage. The client now wants an assessment as to the issues relating to the corebusiness, as well as the opportunities for the company to get into the servicesside, which it views as a high-margin/high-growth-rate business. The candidatenow needs to provide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each ofthe two different problems.

As long as it's permitted, work your answers out on paper. Pencils and pens,plus a notebook or legal pad should be standard equipment in any interview.“It’s amazing how many people show up without a pen and paper,” marvels KamennaRindova, a senior associate at Mercer Management Consulting. Thinking throughall the facts is a must, and

you’re not going to do it all in your head.

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jennej

2010-12-4 14:45:39

May the Five Forces(Not) Be with You

Some recruiters areturned off when potential hires draw on a packaged analytical framework (suchas the five forces) to solve a problem. Others, however, are impressed. To beon the safe side, if you use a framework, don’t stray too far from the issue.

Eileen Coveney, vice president at L.E.K. Consulting, warns candidates about theperils of frameworks: “When people depend too much on a pre-establishedframework, they may not be thinking deeply enough about the problem at hand.This may indicate that when presented with an actual client issue, they are notgoing to focus on the details and specifics of the client’s problem. Rather,they may be inclined to jump into easy and obvious solutions.”

If you do use one, choose wisely. If the case is about a business that'sconsidering entry into an industry, Porter's five forces may indeed be yourbest bet. If you're talking about how products get from suppliers to endconsumers, consider the value chain. Companies that are falling short on salescould use a profitability or cost vs. revenue analysis. If you're marketing anew pharmaceutical product, think about the 4 P's and the
3 C's.

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jennej

2010-12-4 14:46:00

"IsThat Your Final Answer?"
Don’t be afraid of pausing. Take the time to draw up notes and sketch out theproblem. Don’t blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period of silence.You’re not on a game show; you’re interviewing to be a consultant, which is abusiness as much about thinking as it is about communicating. Above all, becalm.

If you do respond to a question too quickly, before understanding all the

facts, you may end up contradicting yourself halfway through yourresponse—which could be disastrous. “In our environment and our industry,” saysSean Huurman, national recruiting director of KPMG Consulting, “we need to makesure we’re saying the right thing the first time.”

After all the analysis, however, don't forget to come to some kind ofconclusion as to what the company should do. Consider presenting a decisionrule that the imaginary organization could use to figure out what the bestoption is—e.g., if revenues outstrip costs, then do
x.

Follow the Leader
Many firms use a group exercise in their second or subsequent rounds to see howwell you work with others. If you’re assigned a role other than team leader, don’tfret. It doesn’t matter what your role is in the exercise—just do it well. Ifyou and the team members are told to settle between yourselves who gets to dowhat, don’t fight over who gets to make the presentation or lead the group.Likewise, don’t play the shrinking violet. Remember, the recruiter is watching.

Whatever you do, show confidence, not arrogance. A display of ego before JohnFlato at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a certain red flag. “Obviously, thosewho go to business schools are bright and talented—they wouldn’t be thereotherwise,” Flato remarks. “We hire bright and talented people, but only thosewho can work well with team members and not display arrogance.”

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judy200808

2010-12-23 14:06:03

多谢楼主，虽然一看满篇英文俺们就晕了~~~~~~~~~

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jouventon

2011-1-15 18:01:38

关于面试的吧，标题不清楚。

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