Preview of the upcoming “Consulting Bible” – the 2 most important and most common interview questions you’ll ever hear

Kevin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:15:40 +0000

Readers will notice that the posting rate has slowed here at Management Consulted. The reason? I’ve been developing a “Consulting Bible” – an insider’s guide to consulting interviews that will cover:

More than 50 fit/personality interview questions with example answers for each. I’m shooting for quality and not quantity – so mastering these 50 will give you the content, preparation, and flexibility to answer just about any fit or behavioral question thrown at you
3 technical “sizing” questions and multiple solutions – including secrets on how you can conquer any sizing question no matter how complex or unstructured
2 extensive, never-before-seen case studies – testing you on the 5 case study principles that all top candidates instinctively know and which you must excel at to receive an offer

Below, I’ll give you a quick preview of the 2 most common and most important fit/behavioral interview questions

#1. Take a few minutes and run me through the key things I should know from your resume

They’re looking for: this question is usually asked for several reasons -

The interviewer was too busy and didn’t have time to review your resume
The interviewer wants to see what you think are your most important experiences and accomplishments
The interviewer wants to test your presentation skills and ability to give an effective soundbite

The secret to this question is to prepare in advance. I guarantee it will be asked of you multiple times in your interviewing life. It’s that common and it’s something that the successful candidates nail

You should:

Briefly highlight your educational background
Highlight at least 2 work experiences touching upon at least 2 bullet points in each
Focus on results and not process (eg, “I implemented a new process that saved each employee 30 minutes/day” and not “I worked on creating a new process for how employees would document how they spent their time”)
Speak slowly and calmly

You shouldn’t:

Speak quickly and rush
Spend all of your time talking about your educational background
Focus on only one work experience – unless that’s truly all you have

Sample response:

No problem. Let’s start with the education portion of my resume: I graduated Yale in 2007, majoring in Economics and Political Science. During my time there, I was actively involved with both the Yale Finance Club – serving as its president while tripling the size of the group, and the school newspaper, where I worked for 3 years before rising to editor-in-chief in my last year. In terms of work experience, the one job I’d highlight is my summer as an investment analyst with Prudential. I spent 3 months with the firm analyzing stocks, providing buy/sell recommendations, and doing fundamental and technical research on a large portfolio. In fact, one of my recommendations ended up being their “stock pick of the month”. It taught me alot about financial markets and how to value companies and their equity.

#2. Why are you interested in management consulting as a career?

They’re looking for: a solid understanding of the job and industry. An appreciation for the skills/personality traits needed to be successful in management consulting. A “subtle sell” of your strengths – as opposed to “direct sell” (an example of a subtle sell would be: “I’ve always been a very curious person with a passion for learning. My understanding of management consulting is that learning is an integral part of the job.”)