Hi! I'm Jenny Rae, the Managing Director of Management Consulted, and today I'm
doing the final deep dive as a part of our case interview series on
communication, one of the key traits that you have to demonstrate in order to
convince the interviewer that you are a future consultant in the making.
In particular today, I'm going to break it down into four different ways that you
can demonstrate communication very specifically throughout the interview,
and you can understand not only what to do, but also more importantly, potentially
what not to do. These come from insights that we've seen across the board with a
whole bunch of our candidates as we're training them for case interview excellence.
So make sure that you pay close attention. Without further ado,
let's talk about the first thing. When you're communicating it's incredibly
important that you provide concise and well-spoken responses to each question.
The person who is really good at this kind of communication isn't rambling.
They're focusing on just using words directly and clearly to make sure that
they're identifying the key issues. This type of person uses summaries. Sometimes,
if they find themselves going a little bit into a development process where
they're just working things out verbally, they bring it all back together at the
end in a summary that makes it look like they planned it all along.
And finally the type of person who uses these concise words and summaries
directly as they're moving through the process, is constantly talking but with focus.
I often serve on panels when I'm
travelling to different universities, and as a moderator or a member of these
panels, one of the most common questions we get asked is, "what is the most
important thing that you see from a successful case interviewer?" And one of the
things that is consistently mentioned across all the panels is that a
successful case interviewer is always talking. They're always walking me
through the way that they're thinking about something, but that doesn't mean
that they're rambling, that they're chattering on, or that they're expounding
on something to the point where I'm done way before they are. So make sure that as
you're going through the process, you're keeping it straightforward and clear, and
if you're ever not doing that, that you're pulling it all back together in a summary.
Some key mistakes that we see in this area - I've already touched on a
little bit here. The first issue that we often see is
that someone has taken time when they're going through the case interview
practice process to answer each question and they can't think on their feet. What
this leads to is a lot of rambling, a lot of confusion, and a lot of just general
nattering on without any focus. And oftentimes they've just relied on their
ability to collect their thoughts for a minute in order to come out with
something composed. You need to practice being able to do this on the fly, and it
does often take practice. So make sure that you don't practice by
giving yourself time to digest every problem, but you just start talking.
The second thing that's really important to focus on is that you must ask clear
questions. If you ask open-ended questions, it's gonna lead you down
rabbit holes that you never want to be down. You'll waste time, and you'll really
lose the ability to focus on the most important issues in the case. So don't
ask open-ended questions, ask clear data-driven and focused questions as
you're moving through the case. And then finally, make sure that you show clients
empathy. This is kind of a funny one, but a lot of times people get so excited to
solve a problem that they'll say guess what - you the client are really falling
behind in this one area, and it makes it sounds like you as the consultant are
excited about it. Now we know that as the interviewer you're probably just excited
about having discovered the answer, but it's really important that after you
discovered the answer you demonstrate that you understand where the clients
coming from, what their concerns are, and how you can appropriately address those.
A one part of communication here is just really making sure that you're talking
in a way that the client will receive - clear and concise statements and also
with messages that they will make sure that they understand. The second thing
that's critical for communication is making sure that you work through
difficulty with a positive attitude. A lot of communication is just the type of
attitude that someone conveys in an interview - somebody who's a can-do person
can use a can-do attitude; somebody who gets frustrated easily is a
perfectionist, who doesn't like it when they make mistakes and beats themselves
up over it. It's not attractive in the actual case interview process. So make
sure that you have a can-do attitude when you're walking through the case
interview process because that will go a long way. Now I'm not talking about just
fluffy, happy, can-do attitude, I'm talking about practical
pedal-to-the-metal can-do attitude. I'm not just talking about like I'm sure we
can solve this case and then fluffing along until later you're not actually
able to solve it. I'm talking about the type of person who can take a moment,
address the issue, make sure that they address it appropriately, and then move on.
So the type of person has a can-do attitude is the type of person that I
would have wanted to hire when I was working at consulting firms, and that
every consultant that's had somebody working for them currently or will have
somebody working for them in the future wants on their team. The next thing is
that you want to make sure that you're demonstrating that you're having fun
when you're walking through the case. If you're having fun in the case - again not
gleeful, blissful fun, the client is having a problem - but fun in terms of
your invigorated by the challenge and excited by the issues. Having fun in the
case is a great sign that you're gonna really like the job as a consultant.
So make sure that you don't come across in one of the following ways which are key
mistakes you can make in this area. The first is don't come across as though
you're getting frustrated and showing it. So it's okay to get frustrated until you
find that moment to regroup and kind of nut down on the key issue that's facing
you with extra vigor, but getting frustrated and throwing your toys or
just flailing out and looking for a whole bunch of potential issues is not a
good way to go about it. So make sure that you don't get visibly frustrated
inside the interview. The second is not regrouping when necessary. A lot of times
people will go through the case and they'll just get frustrated or come up
with an issue and they will constantly just continue to beep on it without ever
stopping. The most critical moment in a case might be when somebody says, you
know what I think I'm really headed down the wrong path here. I don't think that
there's anything fruitful there. Let me just quickly go back to my original
structure and revisit where we're going to go. That moment might help us actually
save the case from what could have been a disastrous performance. And the final
thing which should seem obvious, but you would be amazed at how many people do it,
is quitting. Do not quit in the cases. Oftentimes if an interviewer, especially
in later rounds is really turning up the pressure that what that means is that
you're on to something, that they really want to understand how you think about
things. So if you throw your toys, you get frustrated, you just keep pushing on
issues and get more more frustrated, and then ultimately you
quit, you could have been on the track to an offer but you're throwing it all away.
So make sure you don't quit in the process but that you just take a step
back and reassess whenever you need to. The third piece of communication that's
really critical is I am identifying as the interviewer whether I would like to
work with you and manage you as a candidate. And the way that you
communicate with me is going to really show how appropriate you understand our
relationship should be and what you're going to bring to the table. The ultimate
question in the interview is would I want to have this person on their first case
on the job. In fact, in many final-round interviews, this is the ultimate question
that the interviewers have to answer. They're not trying to figure out how
good you are at 16 different things. They're trying to just figure out the
answer to this one question would I want this person on my team tomorrow. And as a
part of that, it's really critical that you're communicating in a way that makes
it seem like I'm going to understand your process, I'm going to believe what
you say, and I'm going to recognize that you are a thinking and contributing
individual on my team. The second way that you can really show that you're
going to be the type of person who's fun to manage is making sure that you
smile and relax when you're in the interview. Again you don't want to smile
in a way that looks like you're super happy that the client has a disasterous
problem, but you want to smile in a way that acknowledges that you see that the
client has a problem, you've got the solution, and all it's gonna take is 20
minutes of the interviewer's time to make sure that you find it together.
You should show again here that the case invigorates you not that you're beaten
down by it or terrified by it. You should show that you have the ability to really
address the problem and break it down and do so in a timely manner.
Some key mistakes that we see in this area - first is being too serious. If you
are a great person and doing cases but you are too serious and they wouldn't
want to have a beer with you after we're done with the case, this is a problem.
So one of the key issues is making sure that you're the type of person who is
taking everything at an appropriate level of seriousness, but not with the
gravity and the intensity that makes me not want to be around you.
The second is acting terrified. If you act terrified, I will believe that you
probably will not be able to solve my problems for me. If you act terrified in
front of a client, they will also think the same thing. So I don't want to see
you act terrified. I want to see you actually confident - that you're gonna be
able to work through this, break it down, and solve the problem. And then finally,
if you treat the interviewer with either too much formality or too little
formality. If you treat them like a buddy, or if you treat them like Mr. CEO as
somebody that's not approachable and not in a collaborative way, you probably
won't understand how a lot of the firm's work hand in hand with their
clients in order to solve problems. So make sure that as you're working with
them and as you're communicating with them you're including them in your
thought process, you're asking them direct and appropriate questions
whenever needed, but you're also taking a lot of ownership so that you're working
hand in hand with the interviewer to solve the problem. The fourth and final
trait that is incredibly important when it comes to communication is confidence.
You can probably forego almost everything else that I said - structure,
problem-solving, and communication - if you get this one thing right. If you can
convey confidence, you're not only going to make it from the first to the second
round, but you're also going to land the job. And confidence does spill over
into other areas. If you're confident, you're more easily able to structure.
If you're confident, you're more easily able to do the math and problem-solve inside
the case. But confidence is the most important trait that you can exhibit,
especially in your communication style when you're walking through the case.
Now ultimately everything comes down to this. When you're working with a client in
real life for consulting, your ability to tell them how embattled you believe that
your solution is the right one for them, and your ability to drive them to
implement it, is a measure of your success as a consultant. Here the same
thing is true- can you walk me through the problem? Can you solve it for me? And
can you convince me as an interviewer that this is the right solution for me?
You also have to make sure as you're going through this that you're confident
enough to have the composure to ask the right questions. We've already talked
about asking too many questions or asking general questions, but the right
questions, well-timed, and very insightful can be incredibly helpful in
demonstrating confidence in the case. In fact, the best consultants are the ones who
can ask 3 to 5 questions of any client and ultimately get directed
toward what they think the answer is going to be. So make sure that you are
identifying these two traits. Now key mistakes that we see in the realm of
confidence and these come up all the time. The first one we call it boiling
the ocean. It's when you're not sure where to focus and you try to do
everything. Boiling the ocean is a key problem in cases because you waste time,
and you don't focus on the key issues. You're not demonstrating confidence when
you're looking at everything. You're gonna have to pick and choose. So make
sure that you're developing as your training for cases and understanding of
what's important to clients, what the key issues are that consistently come up and
how most accurately you can go through solving them. The second thing is not
knowing when to move on. A lot of people really over invest in the first section
of their case. They don't know when to identify that that section doesn't
really have a lot of fruitfulness to it and they can move on. Look, in cases you
can always go back if you miss something. So make sure that you know when the
appropriate timing is to move on to other areas. It's more than likely that
what will happen is that you'll discover that the real nut of the case is
actually later on and you weren't missing it but you were just pushing on
an area that was not going to bear any fruit. But it is really important to make
sure that you understand that skill and that you don't fall into the trap of not
moving on when it's appropriate to do it. And the final thing with confidence is
not rising to the challenge when you're tested. If I question you, make sure that
you come back at me with a thorough explanation of how you were thinking, but
also an appropriate reconsideration of it. When I say rising to the challenge, I
don't mean like I said earlier defending to the death, that's not what I'm looking
for. I don't want you to back me into a corner. I'm also not looking for you to
just fall over and say, oh yeah I realize I'm totally wrong, it wasn't right at all,
and have no idea what I'm doing. What you want to do is some balance between the
two where you say, "here, here's what I was thinking when I was going through the
process this way. I realize now that there's some other ways that we could
think about it." Lay out those on the table and then see where the interviewer
wants to take it. It'll show that you're confident in your approach, that you had
a reasoning behind what you did, but also that you're flexible to move on. If you
can pull all of this together making sure that you're clearly
communicating, making sure that you're going back and correcting any issues
that you've got when you've got them, making sure that you're very clearly
walking somebody through your entire thought process, and finally exhibiting
confidence throughout the whole interview - that you've got this on behalf
of the client, you're going to solve their problem - you are going to become an
excellent case interviewee. As you're walking through the process,
make sure that as you're practicing, you are talking consistently, that you're
getting your thoughts out in the air, and that you're learning to balance what
you're thinking and what you're speaking as you go through the process.
Because great communication as a consultant is a learned skill, not necessarily something
that you have to have naturally. So as you're going through the process, if you
need more assistance we've got great resources for you. The first is our
Consulting Interview Bible. The second are one-on-one prep sessions where you
can test out your skills with us. And finally, we've got tons of articles and
great free content on the web at managementconsulted.com.