816: Be a professional, don't be a business person (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

Going into interviews aspiring consultants will be relying an a huge number of people for help: peers, classmates, consulting alumni, consultants, career counselors etc. This podcast offers some simple suggestions on how to seek and use help without hurting your relationships in the long-term.

11 Juli 20136min

A steep hurdle for many candidates is knowing how and when to ask for information / advice from an interviewer. To help our candidates, we developed the barter system / concept to fix this problem using a very simple technique. As explained in the podcast, the concept requires the candidate to first offer the interviewer their thoughts/ideas before asking for anything more. This ensures the candidate does not fall into the trap of asking for information without offering anything in return.

5 Juli 20133min

Editing out cliches from Deloitte and Accenture resumes tends to take up the majority of time when we work with candidates from these firms, and the other accounting firms like PWC, E&Y and KPMG. Typically, when we start the editing sessions, it is very difficult for the client to see how vague and misleading their resume really is. This podcast explains this concept and can be used to edit your own resume.

29 Juni 201312min

When learning cases, it is far more effective to watch a person on Skype or in person. The problem with merely practicing over the phone or another verbal format is that you cannot observe crucial mannerisms or allow your practice partner to observe you. The only time practicing verbally makes sense is when you have a very experienced person working with you and they can infer things about your performance based on their experience. We advice most clients to practice in person should the opportunity present itself.

23 Juni 20134min

This podcast explains why neatness and writing style is so important. It is really surprising how little care candidates take in writing in an appealing way, considering that is all the interviewer can see for the 30-45 minute case. Neat writing will not get you an offer, but it can be an annoying distraction both to you and the interviewer.

17 Juni 20134min

Entering BBM with a weak school on your resume can create problems. Though, all of them tend to be created by the candidates themselves. These consultants tend to have so many incorrect preconceived ideas of the firm that even when a McKinsey partner tells them something, they tend to go with their preconceived ideas. As strange as that may sound, that is what we have seen happen in many cases. There are certain things you can do this alter this spiral, should it occur.

11 Juni 20135min

As counter-intuitive as this sounds, mathematical precision in cases hurts most candidates. Many candidates focus heavily on being mathematically correct because it is far easier to see if your answer of $230MM is the same as the prescribed answer of $250MM. It is human nature to focus on what can be easily measured versus focusing on what should be measured. Candidates tend to confuse mathematical precision with being analytic. They are not the same and candidates should focus on being analytic, as explained in this podcast.

5 Juni 20134min

If you read forums worldwide everyone is obsessed with cracking the case. Yet, most people cannot communicate like a consultant. We hope by reading this post, candidates spend an equal, if not more, time focusing on their communication skills as well. If you cannot speak like a consultant, you cannot be a consultant.

30 Maj 20135min