如何应付案例分析面试1
|Cracking the Case: A Consulting Interview Primer| |[pic] | |[pic] | |[pic] | |Page 1 of 3 | |[pic] | |[pic] | |[pic] | |[Web Exclusive] You don’t have to be Sherlock | |Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm | |interview. In fact, a little preparation can | |make solving them seem, well, elementary. | |[pic] | |[pic] | |[pic] | |[|[pic] | |p| | |i|[pic] | |c| | |]|[pic] | | | | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | |Firms Are There to Help You | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | | | | |[pic] | | | | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | |Consulting Industry Guide | | |[pic] | | |[pic] | | | | | |[pic] | | | | |[pic] | |[pic] | |Remember your seventh-grade algebra teacher’s | |three favorite words? "Show your work." At the | |time, it seemed silly: Why not just show the | |right answer? Now that you’re older and wiser, | |however, you know that in many cases how you get| |to the right answer is more important than | |simply knowing the answer itself. | |The same goes for the case questions that | |consulting recruiters lob at you. Consulting is | |a demanding job with few "correct" answers; this| |method of interviewing gauges how well you | |manage the process of getting to an answer and | |how you perform under simulated | |client-engagement conditions. | | | |We talked to consultant-hunters at several firms| |to glean their advice on cracking the case | |interview. Here’s what the recruiters | |revealed—and how you can best prepare. | | | |Why the Case Interview? | |Case interviews have long been used by | |recruiters to see a candidate’s thought | |processes in motion. Can you deconstruct and | |analyze complex, open-ended business problems? | |Do you stay calm, or will you sweat bullets | |under pressure at a client site? | | | |At the most basic level, a case interview is | |about asking the right questions, developing a | |logical way of working through the relevant | |issues, and arriving at a recommendation. Your | |structure may be a packaged framework or it may | |be various frameworks strung together; you may | |even choose not to use frameworks at all. What’s| |important is that you demonstrate some defined | |structure. | | | |“Case studies are an imperfect science,” | |concedes Michael Gibney, project manager at | |PricewaterhouseCoopers, “but are easily | |implementable in the 30 to 45 minutes we have | |for each interview.” Since they measure your | |analytical skills, they’re an improvement over | |simple "fit" or "resumé" interviews. | | | |In most case interviews, the recruiter gives you| |an example of a real-life client problem. Some | |typical categories include: | |Company Strategy: “My client is thinking of | |making an acquisition, and …” | |Brain Games: “How many tennis balls are in the | |United States?” | |Operations Improvement: “Why is my client’s | |factory running behind?” | |Market Size: “How big is the global air | |conditioner market?” | |Although each requires a slightly different | |approach, all are meant mainly to evaluate the | |process you use, not the answer you come up | |with. | | | |Practice Makes Perfect | |You absolutely, positively must prepare in | |advance for case interviews. “It becomes pretty | |clear pretty fast who has—and who has | |not—practiced,” says Gibney. “I know there is a | |basic sort of business acumen that may not be | |able to be practiced, but candidates must have | |an understandable approach to solving problems. | |That’s what our clients demand of us. If we | |can’t relate solutions to the client, it’s a | |problem.” | | | |Don’t assume that attending a case-oriented | |business school will give you an upper hand. | |John Flato, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s national | |director of university recruiting, says these | |candidates don’t seem to do any better or worse | |than candidates from non-case schools. | | | |Study different kinds of case questions. Just | |because your buddy interviewed before you and | |gave you a heads-up on the questions doesn’t | |mean you have a leg up. Recruiters have tons of | |case questions in their repertoire, and the | |chances of their using the same question | |multiple times on one campus visit are slim to | |none. | | | |Get a classmate or friend to role-play the | |interview with you, and use any resources (such | |as a casebook) that your school’s consulting | |club provides. The more mock cases you sink your| |teeth into, the more likely you are to be | |relaxed and poised for the real thing. Sometimes| |you learn more by presenting a case question to | |someone than you do when solving the case | |yourself. | | | |Deliberately pick industries you’re not familiar| |with so as to test your analytical skills, not | |memorized facts; for instance, if your | |pre-B-school experience is mostly in media and | |entertainment, ask your case buddy to ask you | |about steel production or medical device | |marketing. That said, do consider brushing up on| |the basics in several industries—for instance, | |know the product development cycle in | |pharmaceutical research, and understand current | |trends in technology. (For more information on | |various fields, check out our industry guides.) | |Although each case is different, with practice | |you will improve your analytical reasoning | |skills and solution method. | | | |Think Through the Process | |When it comes to strategy or product marketing | |questions, the interviewer will often give you | |only the bare bones of a case and will wait for | |you to request further details: How many | |competitors does the company have? What are the | |major cost and revenue drivers? Who are the | |major clients? And don’t forget to ask for the | |firm’s mission—if you don’t know what a | |company’s goals are, you might come up with a | |valid—but misguided—solution. Use some basic | |frameworks to drive your questions—the four P’s | |and the three C’s, for instance. | | | |A sample question Gibney used recently involved | |a manufacturer/distributor/retailer of computer | |products. This client has traditionally gone | |directly to the consumer and has developed a | |solid brand image. The client now wants an | |assessment as to the issues relating to the core| |business, as well as the opportunities for the | |company to get into the services side, which it | |views as a high-margin/high-growth-rate | |business. The candidate now needs to provide an | |approach or evaluative framework for analyzing | |each of the two different problems. | | | |As long as it’s permitted, work your answers out| |on paper. Pencils and pens, plus a notebook or | |legal pad should be standard equipment in any | |interview. “It’s amazing how many people show up| |without a pen and paper,” marvels Kamenna | |Rindova, a senior associate at Mercer Management| |Consulting. Thinking through all the facts is a | |must, and you’re not going to do it all in your | |head. | | | |Page 2 of 3...
如何应付案例分析面试1