Management consultancies tend to operate two or three stage recruitment processes with multiple interviews during each round. Some firms’ processes include tests, cases studies and presentations.
Across the board, consultancies tend to look for candidates with a solid 2:1 from a good university. For some firms,such as A.T. Kearney and OC&C, a background in engineering, science, business or finance is a distinct advantage, while others, including Roland Berger, don’t prioritise specific disciplines. Whichever consultancy you apply to, to secure an offer you’ll need to demonstrate top analytical ability, entrepreneurship, creativity and communication skills.
For Getting Hired information specific to each firm, check out our consultancy firm profiles.
The Application – CVs, Forms and Covering Letters
Whether in or out of recruitment season, consulting firms receive thousands upon thousands of applications each and every year. So no matter when you’re applying, competition is going to be fierce. It is therefore absolutely paramount you fine tune your application to give yourself the best chance possible of making the interview stage.
Applications are ordinarily submitted online, and you’ll more often than not be required to fill in some basic details before attaching a CV and covering letter. In addition to tailoring your CV specifically for consulting, make sure you tailor it for the specific firms you’re applying to. On the whole though, consultancies look for evidence of the following: Strong academics, team player characteristics, leadership skills, analytical ability, communication skills, international scope, broad interests and accomplishments.
Aside from the prerequisites of accurate spelling, grammar and syntax, employers will want to see how your abilities match the consulting skill set. Consultants assess a situation, identify the problems, find solutions and implement them. You should therefore use examples in your CV of how you have already applied these behaviours.
Tests
At some point during the recruitment process you’ll most likely have to sit some form of tests.
At McKinsey, for instance, candidates sit problem solving papers following their application. These tests challenge data interpretation as well as basic maths skills. However, this is this exception rather than the rule. At the majority of firms, including Roland Berger, OC&C and Bain & Company, maths tests are scheduled for the interview or as part of an assessment day.
Case Studies
Case studies form an integral part of the application process, though they come at different stages and in different forms depending on the firm.
At Monitor, two written case studies on real world business scenarios form the first stage of the recruitment process and are followed up by group and video case studies in the second round. Similarly, group case studies are used to test the hopefuls at OC&C. BCG, McKinsey and Bain & Company incorporate their case studies (often market sizing) into the interview. Bain& Companyis said to pay particular attention to numerical studies, as the firm likes to put candidates’ mathematical prowess to the test.
Each case study will be based on real client projects. Employers will not always be looking for industry knowledge – although that obviously helps – but will simply want to make sure reasoning is sounds and logical. Be sure to ask questions and make your hypothesis and solutions both clear and well-structured.
Interviews
Applicants will generally face two rounds of interviews with consultants, managing directors and partners. Each round will comprise a number of interviews and some firms may even use a third round in separating the wheat from the chaff.
The first round will comprise one or two half hour interviews with a senior consultant. The second could be made of up to four interviews, with each ordinarily around the 45 minute mark. These will usually be case interviews, with at least one a tête-à-tête with a partner. On the whole, the further you go in the interview process, the more senior the interviewer. A.T. Kearney is a prime example, where third round interviews are held by a partner.
Interviews tend to fit into one of two camps – behavioural and business case:
- Behavioural Interview: Before refocusing on business acumen and commercial awareness, firms want to see if their applicants have the brains, the creativity, and the mathematical and statistical know how to make the grade. Furthermore, consultancies use this interview as a chance to gauge whether candidates represent a good cultural fit for the firm. At BCG, for instance, interviewers are reputed to use an ‘elevator test’, questioning whether they could bear to be stuck in an elevator with a candidate for an extended period of time. Your CV will provide the overarching structure for the interview, but don’t go thinking a regurgitation of your education and experience will suffice. Successful applicants will expand on the details of their CV. Make sure you extract and relate your experiences to demonstrate you have what the firm’s looking for – i.e. leadership, communication skills and the ability to work well with others. The saying goes ‘it’s what you say, not how you say it’; but in reality, it’s both what you say AND how you say it. Nowhere is this more true than in a consulting interview. Listen to the interviewer carefully and make sure you actually answer the questions asked. A common interviewer complaint is that too many applicants don’t answer questions correctly.
- Business Case Interview: Having to analyse business cases is probably more in line with what you’d expect from a consulting interview. The interviewer will present you with a business situation and you’ll have to think it over, make your suggestions and give advice. Sometimes the business case will be presented to you orally, and you’ll have to work through it out loud like a guestimate (see the next section). On occasion, the interviewer will give you a hand-out with the information you’ll need to solve the case, or they may make a formal presentation to give you the info you need.
Guesstimates
These are general, and sometimes frankly random, questions, where you are not expected to know the answer.You are however expected to reach a plausible answer, or guestimate.
You may be asked something like: how many pounds of Brussels sprouts are sold in the UK in the month of December? Or: what is the total square footage of fish and chips shops in London? Of course, no one actually expects you to know the answer to these kinds of questions;but you will have to, out loud, think through how you would go about solving it. E.g.every family on average eats four pounds of Brussels sprouts on Christmas Day, and another two on Boxing Day, there are roughly 17million families in the UK, etc.
Brainteasers
This is pretty self-explanatory and can include puzzles, logic questions or riddles. Again, they are mainly used to see how your brain works and how you go about figuring something with limited information. This is definitely the portion of the interview where the firm will want to see your ‘outside the box’ logic and thinking shine through.
For more info on the Consulting Interview process, Make sure you also check out: The Ins and Outs of the Consulting Case Interviews.
Tips and Advice
Although processes vary from firm to firm, there are best practices every job seeker should employ in their applications.
When filling in forms, be sure to check and double check your spelling and grammar. Also make sure you actually answer the questions asked – after all, it’s all too easy to waffle on without getting to the crux!
During assessment days, try not to worry if part of the evaluation doesn't go so well – stay positive and make up the dropped points elsewhere. Do your research on the firm and make sure that your commercial knowledge is up to scratch. If you do nothing else, read the news in the week leading up to the interview and think about what you have read.
There is one last vital piece of advice... one of the biggest secrets to getting hired... if you can, get on an internship scheme! It is a great way to get to know more about the company, the kind of work it does, and will greatly improve your chances of being offered a position.
