533: Starting a business from scratch (with Jeff Lerner)

We would say 90% of candidates with whom we speak do not understand what is confidence, how to build it and how to demonstrate it. We will talk about experiences we have had with candidates with weak confidence levels and what you need to consider when preparing for your own interviews.

9 Juni 201110min

MBA programs want you to believe that joining a school like Stanford, Harvard etc in the MBA program will dramatically improve your chances of success. It will not and that is a huge myth.

3 Juni 201112min

This is a topic which is very dear and close to me. In fact, it is why we started Firmsconsulting and run it the way we do. Very, very few people truly understand the culture of management consulting. Many existing consultants also struggle to understand the culture. Consultants are professionals, not business people. I would strongly urge you to listen to this podcast.

28 Maj 201124min

This is an important podcast because it explains how a consulting career should fit into your overall career planning. Most candidates want to work at BBM because everyone says they should. They also think they know the exit opportunities but have a very weak, and sometimes fantasized, view on exit options.

22 Maj 201114min

You are unlikely to pass a McKinsey case interview unless you can brainstorm. Consulting interviewers are ALWAYS testing for poise, confidence, structure and logic in your response. Most candidates do this well everywhere – except when it comes to brainstorming. Learn how "not" to brainstorm. This podcast looks at one of the most common brainstorming problems. A problem so common, that many simply assume it is the way to brainstorm. Fixing this problem can improve your brainstorming skills by between 5% to 30% percent.

16 Maj 20118min

McKinsey, BCG et al engagements are very different from the stories typically depicted on blogs etc. Too often the writer seems intent on explain how long the hours are and the need to do analyses. That is part of the picture but far from the entire story. Many of these stories are also written bottom-up with an associate or analyst seeing things from their relatively narrow view without a proper feel for the higher level discussions.

10 Maj 201116min

Here we talk about the unusual tactics we used to place a musician into BBM Europe who had just a master's degree in music, from an elite institute and 4 years of experience in the Arts. Lacking a business background she decided to make the transition after her marriage. The tactics are not surprising, but the execution is.

4 Maj 201119min

Having a brilliant profile and credentials is good, but not great. In this podcast we discuss the hurdles which caused a brilliant Wharton MBA to stumble during their interviews. Much came down to the candidate simply not understanding the consulting culture and not acting on feedback. Moreover, McKinsey, especially BCG, look for reserved leaders versus over-confidence. That balance is crucial.

28 Apr 201119min