麦肯锡招聘面试案例分析样题和答案英文.docx
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麦肯锡招聘面试案例分析样题和答案英文
McKineyOnlinecasestudy
Tostepthroughthiscaseexample,wewillgiveyousomeinformation,askaquestion,andthen,whenyouareready,giveyouasampleanswer.Wehopethattheexercisewillgiveyouasenseoftheflowofacaseinterview.(Pleasenote,youcanstopthisexerciseandpickupwhereyouleftofflater.Yourcookiesmustbeontousethisfeature).
Inthisexercise,youwillansweraseriesofquestionsasthecaseunfolds.Weprovideourrecommendedanswersaftereachquestion,withwhichyoucancompareyourownanswers.Wewanttoemphasizethatmostquestionsinacasestudydonothaveasinglerightanswer.Inalivecaseinterview,wearemoreinterestedinyourexplanationofhowyouarrivedatyouranswer,notjusttheansweritself.Aninterviewercanalwaysassessdifferentbutequallyvalidwaysofapproachinganissue,andthenbringyoubacktotheparticularlineofinquirythatheorshewantstopursue.
Youshouldalsokeepinmindthatinalivecase,therewillbefarmoreinteractionwiththeinterviewerthanthisexerciseallows.Forexample,youwillhavetheopportunitytoaskclarifyingquestions.
Finally,alivecaseinterviewwouldtypicallybecompletedin30-45minutes,dependingonhowthecaseevolves.Inthison-lineexercise,thereisnotimelimit.
Thereareeightquestionsinthison-linecasestudy.Thiscasestudyisdesignedtoroughlysimulateoneduringyourinterview,soyouwillnotbeabletoskipaheadtothenextquestionuntilyouhaveansweredtheoneyouareon.YoucanrefreshyourmemoryofpreviousanswersbyclickingthehighlightedQ&Alinkstotheleft.Toprinttheanswer,clickontheprinticonthatappearsintheTOPRIGHTcorner.Attheend,youcanprinttheentireon-linecasestudyatonce.
Thecase
Question1
ClientGoal:
Doublethenumberofrecruitswhilemaintainingtheirqualitywithminimalincreaseinresourcesexpended
Ourclientrecruitsgraduatingcollegeseniorsforentry-levelpositionsinlocationsaroundtheworld.Itcurrentlyhiresandplaces500graduatesperyearbutwouldliketotripleinsizeoverthenexttenyearswhilemaintainingquality.Assumethattheincreasemustallcomefromhiringgraduatingseniors.(Inanactualcase,youmaynotbegiventhisandotherassumptionsunlessyouask.)
Theclient'scurrentrecruitingbudgetis$2millionannually,andwhileitisinastrongfinancialposition,itwouldliketospendasfewadditionalresourcesaspossibleonrecruiting.McKinseyisadvisingtheclientonwhatstepsitwillneedtotakeinordertomeetitsgrowthtargets,whilestayingwithinitsbudgetconstraints.
Q1:
Whatleversdoestheorganizationhaveatitsdisposaltoachieveitsgrowthgoal?
A:
Somepossibleleversaregivenbelow.It'sterrificifyouidentifiedseveraloftheseandperhapssomeothers.
∙Attractmoreapplicantsatthesamecost
∙Reviewthelistofcampusestargeted(e.g.,optimizeresourceallocationacrossschools).Thereviewmayresultinaddingcertainhigherpotentialcampusesandeliminatingotheronesthatappeartohavemorelimitedpotential.
∙Reviewrecruitingapproachateachcampus(e.g.,optimizecost-effectivenessofmessagesandapproachesateachschool).
∙Extendofferstoahigherpercentageofapplicantswhilemaintainingquality(e.g.,reducethenumberofpeoplewhoareturneddownwhowouldhaveperformedequallywellinthejob)
∙Improveacceptanceratesamongofferees(e.g.,bettercommunicatethebenefitsofthejobrelativetoalternativesorimprovetheattractivenessofthejobrelativetoalternatives)
Question2
Fortheremainderofthediscussionwe'dliketofocusonthetwospecificleversinvolvingattractingmoreapplicantsatthesamecost.
∙Reviewthelistofcampusestargeted(e.g.,optimizeresourceallocationacrossschools).Thereviewmayresultinaddingcertainhigherpotentialcampusesandeliminatingotheronesthatappeartohavemorelimitedpotential.
∙Reviewrecruitingapproachateachcampus(e.g.,optimizecost-effectivenessofmessagesandapproachesateachschool).
Pleasenotethatifyouidentifieddifferentbutequallyvalidlevers,theinterviewerwouldbeabletoassessthem.Butforthepurposeofthiscasestudy,wearegoingtofocusonthesetwolevers.
Q2:
Howwouldyouinitiallyapproachdeterminingwhethertheclientcanincreasehiringbyadjustingthelistofcampusestargeted?
Whatsortofanalysiswouldyouwanttoconductandwhy?
A:
Youmighttakethefollowingapproach,wherewe'veoutlinedtwoavenuesofanalysis:
∙Estimatethehiringpotentialacrossschools
∙Analyzethenumberofhiresbyschooloverthelastseveralyears
∙Developacomprehensivelistofschoolsthatmeetourrequirementsandaminimumsetofstandardsforrecruits
∙Surveyseniorsattheseschoolstodetermineinterestinanentry-levelpositionwiththeclient
∙Considerthesizeofthegraduatingclassateachschool,determinehowthatclassmightbesegmented(e.g.,eachclasscouldbesegmentedbydisciplineorsegmentedbasedoncareerinterestsinresponsetothesurvey),thencalculatethesizeofeachsegment
∙Estimatetheoptimalcost-per-hireacrossschools
∙Comparethecurrentcost-perhireacrossschools
∙Identifyopportunitiestodecreasethecost-per-hireateachschool
HelpfulTip
Youmayhaveaslightlydifferentlist.Whateveryourapproach,welovetoseecandidatescomeataprobleminmorethanoneway,butstilladdresstheissueasdirectlyandpracticallyaspossible.Ingivingtheanswer,it'susefulifyouareclearabouthowtheresultsoftheanalysiswouldhelptoanswertheoriginalquestionposed.
Question3
Twenty-fivepercentoftheannualrecruitingbudgetisspentoncandidates(i.e.,attracting,assessing,andgettingthemtoaccept).Twentypercentofhiresarecategorizedas"mostexpensive"andhaveanaveragecost-per-hireof$2,000.
Q3:
Whatistheaveragecost-per-hireofallothercandidates?
Rememberthattheclienthires500studentsperyearanditsannualrecruitingbudgetis$2million(informationthatwehopeyounotedearlier).
A:
Theansweris$750perhire(orlessthanhalfthecost-per-hireofthe"mostexpensive"candidates).
Amountspentonthelessexpensivecandidates:
25%of$2millionbudget=$500,000spentoncandidates
20%of500student=100studentscategorizedas"mostexpensive"
100x$2,000cost-per-hire=$200,000spenton"mostexpensive"hires
$500,000recruitingbudget-$200,000=$300,000remainingforallotherhires
Thenumberoflessexpensivecandidates:
500hires-100=400"otherhires"
Cost-per-hireofthelessexpensivecandidates:
$300,000/400=$750perhire
HelpfulTip
Whileyoumayfindthatdoingastraightforwardmathprobleminthecontextofaninterviewisabittougher,youcanseethatitisjustamatterofbreakingtheproblemdown.Wearelookingforbothyourabilitytosettheanalysisupproperlyandthentodothemathinrealtime.
Question4
Q:
Inordertodecidewhethertoreducecostsattheleastefficientschools(i.e.,thosewithanaveragecostperhireof$2,000),whatelsewouldyouwanttoknow?
A:
Someofthepossibleanswersaregivenbelow.
Basicquestions:
∙Whatarethecomponentsofcostsattheseschools(whyisitsoexpensivetorecruitthere)?
∙Whatopportunitiesexisttoreducecosts?
∙Howmuchcostsavingswouldresultfromimplementingeachoftheopportunities?
∙Whatconsequenceswouldimplementingeachoftheseopportunitieshaveonrecruitingattheleastefficientschools?
Questionsdemonstratingfurtherinsight:
∙Whyisthecostloweratmoreefficientschools,andaretherebestpracticesinresourcemanagementthatcanbeappliedtotheleastefficientschools?
∙Ifwereducecostsattheleastefficientschools,whatwillwedowiththecostsavings(i.e.,whatwouldbethebenefitofspendingthemoneyelsewherevs.whereitiscurrentlybeingspent)?
HelpfulTip
Wewouldnotexpectanyonetocomeupwithalloftheseanswers,butwehopesomeofyouranswersheadinthesamedirectionasours.Yoursmaybringsomeadditionalinsights.Ineithercase,besurethatyoucanclearlyexplainhowyourquestionwillbringyouclosertotherightdecision.
Question5
TheMcKinseyteamconductssomeanalysisthatindicatesthatincreasingspendingonblanketadvertising(e.g.,advertisements/flyersoncampus)doesnotyieldanysignificantincreaseinhires.
Q5:
Giventhatincreasedblanketadvertisingspendingseemstoberelativelyineffective,andtheclientdoesn'twanttoincreaseoverallcosts,whatmightbesomeotherideasforincreasingthecandidatepoolonaspecificcampus?
A:
Wearelookingforatleastacoupleofanswersliketheonesgivenbelow:
∙Improve/enhancerecruitingmessages(e.g.,understandtargetcandidategroup,refocusmessageonthisgroup,understandcompetitivedynamiconcampus)
∙Utilizereferrals(e.g.,faculty,alumni)
∙Comeupwithcreativewaystotargetspecificdepartments/clubsoftheschool
∙Rethinkadvertisingspending-whileincreasingblanketadspendingdoesn'tseemtowork,advertisingmightstillbethemostefficientandeffectivewaytoincreasethenumberofcandidatesifitisdeployedinamoresystematic,targetedway
HelpfulTip
Thisquestionisagoodonefordemonstratingcreativitybecausethere'salonglistofpossibleideas.Additionalinsightsintohowagivenideawouldbeapproachedandhowmuchitwouldcostarehelpful.
Question6
Forsimplicity'ssake,let'ssaywe'veconductedmarketresearchandfoundthattherearetwotypesofpeopleoneachcampus,AandB.Historically,ourclienthasalsousedtwotypesofrecruitingmessagesinitsadvertising.Thefirst,called"SeetheWorld,"getsonepercentoftypeAstudentstoapply,butthreepercentoftypeBstudents.The