Type # 1 is the « odd question » genre, for example : « how many chimpanzees can you fit in a stadium ? » There is no shortage of seemingly weird or off-beat interview questions to ask potential management consultants. These questions are aimed at creating a dialogue and moving the you away from rehearsed answers. They are also meant to see how you react to the unexpected. Just bear in mind that there is no perfect answer to these questions. The only wrong answer, in fact, is « I don’t know. » Just to make sure, we’ll be rehearsing some of these questions together anyway.
Type # 2 is a less offbeat, yet still ambiguous question, such as : « They’ve been bleeding money for three years, how do you fix this issue ? »
You will need to :
- Specify the terms used by the interviewer. For instance : « what do mean by ‘bleeding money’ ? Negative operational earnings ? Negative earnings after taxes ? Or negative free cash flows ? ». Do not hesitate to prod for more specific information.
- De-construct the problem into sub-sets of questions.
- Analyze each sub-set.
- Develop hypotheses (could it be due to operations ? DSO ? other cash issues ?)
- Ask for specific data that will help you challenge these hypotheses.
- Provide options.
- Conclude.
Type # 3 is a mathematical problem solving test, aimed at testing judgement involving numbers, along with some numbers-crunching, and in some instance, some spreadsheet-building ability. McKinsey calls this the PST (a.k.a. Problem Solving Test. Expect some questions regarding break-even analysis, and free cashflow computations, among others. Do expect that some figures will be missing. You will be expected to ask for more specific data.
Type # 4 is called the interviewer-led interview. In this type of interview, the interviewer asks you to look at one issue after another. It is more directive that the other types of interviews and you will need to go through each stage as directed by the interviewer.
Type # 5 is a group interview where several candidates (all in the same room) are presented with a strategy case. You are expected to work as a team, use collaboration and constructive criticism and jointly solve the case – not eliminate the other candidates.
modifier.