Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation

As we said earlier, the business of consulting is really the renting of brains, packaged and delivered with an engaging and confident personality.

Maybe you’ve experienced the feeling of being so prepared for an exam that you can’t wait for the professor to hand it out so you can rip right through it. Case questions are the same way. Firms look to see if you have that “rip right through it” look in your eyes. It’s called confidence.

I never like to equate an interview with a test, but they do have in common the fact that the more you prepare, the better you’ll do.

Strengthen your communication skills.

They’ll tell you that silence leads to stupid statements, where interviewees will blurt out irrelevant conversation just to fill the silence, and it’s important to know how you would react in a situation like this with a client.

You should have given this answer a great deal of thought long before you walked into the interview.

The first person spends 25 minutes talking to you about you (why consulting?), asking for examples of leadership, persuasion, failure and team experience. Next a small case, either a market-sizing, factor case, or small business problem. She then ends with your questions for the company.

Cliché time: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Eye contact, a pleasant smile, and a firm handshake are paramount.

defend themselves without being defensive.

You can bet that they will be Googling you