招聘面试怎样应付案例分析面试英文版.docx

招聘面试怎样应付案例分析面试英文版.docx

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招聘面试怎样应付案例分析面试英文版

（招聘面试）怎样应付案例分析面试（英文版）

Rememberyourseventh-gradealgebrateacher’sthreefavoritewords?

"Showyourwork."Atthetime,itseemedsilly:

Whynotjustshowtherightanswer?

Nowthatyou’reolderandwiser,however,youknowthatinmanycaseshowyougettotherightanswerismoreimportantthansimplyknowingtheansweritself.

Thesamegoesforthecasequestionsthatconsultingrecruiterslobatyou.Consultingisademandingjobwithfew"correct"answers;thismethodofinterviewinggaugeshowwellyoumanagetheprocessofgettingtoananswerandhowyouperformundersimulatedclient-engagementconditions.

Wetalkedtoconsultant-huntersatseveralfirmstogleantheiradviceoncrackingthecaseinterview.Here'swhattherecruitersrevealed—andhowyoucanbestprepare.

WhytheCaseInterview?

Caseinterviewshavelongbeenusedbyrecruiterstoseeacandidate'sthoughtprocessesinmotion.Canyoudeconstructandanalyzecomplex,open-endedbusinessproblems?

Doyoustaycalm,orwillyousweatbulletsunderpressureataclientsite?

Atthemostbasiclevel,acaseinterviewisaboutaskingtherightquestions,developingalogicalwayofworkingthroughtherelevantissues,andarrivingatarecommendation.Yourstructuremaybeapackagedframeworkoritmaybevariousframeworksstrungtogether;youmayevenchoosenottouseframeworksatall.What'simportantisthatyoudemonstratesomedefinedstructure.

“Casestudiesareanimperfectscience,”concedesMichaelGibney,projectmanageratPricewaterhouseCoopers,“butareeasilyimplementableinthe30to45minuteswehaveforeachinterview.”Sincetheymeasureyouranalyticalskills,they'reanimprovementoversimple"fit"or"resumé"interviews.

Inmostcaseinterviews,therecruitergivesyouanexampleofareal-lifeclientproblem.Sometypicalcategoriesinclude:

CompanyStrategy:

“Myclientisthinkingofmakinganacquisition,and…”

BrainGames:

“HowmanytennisballsareintheUnitedStates?

”

OperationsImprovement:

“Whyismyclient’sfactoryrunningbehind?

”

MarketSize:

“Howbigistheglobalairconditionermarket?

”

Althougheachrequiresaslightlydifferentapproach,allaremeantmainlytoevaluatetheprocessyouuse,nottheansweryoucomeupwith.

PracticeMakesPerfect

Youabsolutely,positivelymustprepareinadvanceforcaseinterviews.“Itbecomesprettyclearprettyfastwhohas—andwhohasnot—practiced,”saysGibney.“Iknowthereisabasicsortofbusinessacumenthatmaynotbeabletobepracticed,butcandidatesmusthaveanunderstandableapproachtosolvingproblems.That’swhatourclientsdemandofus.Ifwecan’trelatesolutionstotheclient,it’saproblem.”

Don’tassumethatattendingacase-orientedbusinessschoolwillgiveyouanupperhand.JohnFlato,CapGeminiErnst&Young’snationaldirectorofuniversityrecruiting,saysthesecandidatesdon’tseemtodoanybetterorworsethancandidatesfromnon-caseschools.

Studydifferentkindsofcasequestions.Justbecauseyourbuddyinterviewedbeforeyouandgaveyouaheads-uponthequestionsdoesn’tmeanyouhavealegup.Recruitershavetonsofcasequestionsintheirrepertoire,andthechancesoftheirusingthesamequestionmultipletimesononecampusvisitareslimtonone.

Getaclassmateorfriendtorole-playtheinterviewwithyou,anduseanyresources（suchasacasebook）thatyourschool'sconsultingclubprovides.Themoremockcasesyousinkyourteethinto,themorelikelyyouaretoberelaxedandpoisedfortherealthing.Sometimesyoulearnmorebypresentingacasequestiontosomeonethanyoudowhensolvingthecaseyourself.

Deliberatelypickindustriesyou'renotfamiliarwithsoastotestyouranalyticalskills,notmemorizedfacts;forinstance,ifyourpre-B-schoolexperienceismostlyinmediaandentertainment,askyourcasebuddytoaskyouaboutsteelproductionormedicaldevicemarketing.Thatsaid,doconsiderbrushinguponthebasicsinseveralindustries—forinstance,knowtheproductdevelopmentcycleinpharmaceuticalresearch,andunderstandcurrenttrendsintechnology.（Formoreinformationonvariousfields,checkoutour.）Althougheachcaseisdifferent,withpracticeyouwillimproveyouranalyticalreasoningskillsandsolutionmethod.

ThinkThroughtheProcess

Whenitcomestostrategyorproductmarketingquestions,theinterviewerwilloftengiveyouonlythebarebonesofacaseandwillwaitforyoutorequestfurtherdetails:

Howmanycompetitorsdoesthecompanyhave?

Whatarethemajorcostandrevenuedrivers?

Whoarethemajorclients?

Anddon'tforgettoaskforthefirm'smission—ifyoudon'tknowwhatacompany'sgoalsare,youmightcomeupwithavalid—butmisguided—solution.Usesomebasicframeworkstodriveyourquestions—thefourP'sandthethreeC's,forinstance.

AsamplequestionGibneyusedrecentlyinvolvedamanufacturer/distributor/retailerofcomputerproducts.Thisclienthastraditionallygonedirectlytotheconsumerandhasdevelopedasolidbrandimage.Theclientnowwantsanassessmentastotheissuesrelatingtothecorebusiness,aswellastheopportunitiesforthecompanytogetintotheservicesside,whichitviewsasahigh-margin/high-growth-ratebusiness.Thecandidatenowneedstoprovideanapproachorevaluativeframeworkforanalyzingeachofthetwodifferentproblems.

Aslongasit'spermitted,workyouranswersoutonpaper.Pencilsandpens,plusanotebookorlegalpadshouldbestandardequipmentinanyinterview.“It’samazinghowmanypeopleshowupwithoutapenandpaper,”marvelsKamennaRindova,aseniorassociateatMercerManagementConsulting.Thinkingthroughallthefactsisamust,andyou’renotgoingtodoitallinyourhead.

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[WebExclusive]Youdon'thavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.

MaytheFiveForces（Not）BewithYou

Somerecruitersareturnedoffwhenpotentialhiresdrawonapackagedanalyticalframework（suchasthefiveforces）tosolveaproblem.Others,however,areimpressed.Tobeonthesafeside,ifyouuseaframework,don’tstraytoofarfromtheissue.

EileenCoveney,vicepresidentatL.E.K.Consulting,warnscandidatesabouttheperilsofframeworks:

“Whenpeopledependtoomuchonapre-establishedframework,theymaynotbethinkingdeeplyenoughabouttheproblemathand.Thismayindicatethatwhenpresentedwithanactualclientissue,theyarenotgoingtofocusonthedetailsandspecificsoftheclient’sproblem.Rather,theymaybeinclinedtojumpintoeasyandobvioussolutions.”

Ifyoudouseone,choosewisely.Ifthecaseisaboutabusinessthat'sconsideringentryintoanindustry,Porter'sfiveforcesmayindeedbeyourbestbet.Ifyou'retalkingabouthowproductsgetfromsupplierstoendconsumers,considerthevaluechain.Companiesthatarefallingshortonsalescoulduseaprofitabilityorcostvs.revenueanalysis.Ifyou'remarketinganewpharmaceuticalproduct,thinkaboutthe4P'sandthe3C's.

"IsThatYourFinalAnswer?

"

Don’tbeafraidofpausing.Takethetimetodrawupnotesandsketchouttheproblem.Don’tblurtanythingoutunnecessarilytoendaperiodofsilence.You’renotonagameshow;you’reinterviewingtobeaconsultant,whichisabusinessasmuchaboutthinkingasitisaboutcommunicating.Aboveall,becalm.

Ifyoudorespondtoaquestiontooquickly,beforeunderstandingallthefacts,youmayendupcontradictingyourselfhalfwaythroughyourresponse—whichcouldbedisastrous.“Inourenvironmentandourindustry,”saysSeanHuurman,nationalrecruitingdirectorofKPMGConsulting,“weneedtomakesurewe’resayingtherightthingthefirsttime.”

Afteralltheanalysis,however,don'tforgettocometosomekindofconclusionastowhatthecompanyshoulddo.Considerpresentingadecisionrulethattheimaginaryorganizationcouldusetofigureoutwhatthebestoptionis—e.g.,ifrevenuesoutstripcosts,thendox.

FollowtheLeader

Manyfirmsuseagroupexerciseintheirsecondorsubsequentroundstoseehowwellyouworkwithothers.Ifyou’reassignedaroleotherthanteamleader,don’tfret.Itdoesn’tmatterwhatyourroleisintheexercise—justdoitwell.Ifyouandtheteammembersaretoldtosettlebetweenyourselveswhogetstodowhat,don’tfightoverwhogetstomakethepresentationorleadthegroup.Likewise,don’tplaytheshrinkingviolet.Remember,therecruiteriswatching.

Whateveryoudo,showconfidence,notarrogance.AdisplayofegobeforeJohnFlatoatCapGeminiErnst&Youngisacertainredflag.“Obviously,thosewhogotobusinessschoolsarebrightandtalented—theywouldn’tbethereotherwise,”Flatoremarks.“Wehirebrightandtalentedpeople,butonlythosewhocanworkwellwithteammembersandnotdisplayarrogance.”

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[WebExclusive]Youdon'thavetobeSherlockHolmestoacethecasesinaconsulting-firminterview.Infact,alittlepreparationcanmakesolvingthemseem,well,elementary.

Readyforsomecompany-specificadvice?

Here'swhatfiverecruiterstoldusaboutinterviewingattheirfirms.

RecruiterNo.1:

EileenCoveney,vicepresident,L.E.K.Consulting

TheQuestions:

Testingacandidate'sskillacrossarangeofareasistheprimaryreasonL.E.K.usescaseinterviews.Coveneyindicatesthatthecaseinterviewsaremeantto

（1）assessacandidate’sanalyticalability,

（2）evaluateacandidate'scommunicatio