Congratulations! You received an interview with a consulting firm!
Management consulting interviews generally have two types of assessments, behavioral and casing. This blog will help shed some light on what to expect and how to prepare for behavioral assessments.
Behavioral interview questions help shed significant light on you as a candidate. Recruiters are assessing your background, your project experience, and your ability to fit into the company.
Examples of these questions could be something as simple as:
- Tell me about yourself?
- Tell me about a strength/weakness?
- Tell me about an interest you have?
Although the specific language of behavioral interview questions will change, a successful response requires two things:
- A deep understanding of yourself
- A structured method to present your response
1. Knowing Yourself
I have been fortunate to have coached many peers through application and interview processes. A common theme I’ve noticed is that we know less about ourselves than we think. Many times, you will have worked on a plethora of experiential learning opportunities. However, due to the quick pace of university, you go through the motions without unpacking what you have accomplished.
I urge you to write down 5 meaningful recent experiences you have gone through. They could be class projects, internships, club projects, side-gigs, or something else. Write down everything you did, not just formal accomplishments and tasks that a leader told you to complete. This could include personal communications, presentations, developing deliverables, brainstorming, managing people, or implementing policies.
2. Structuring Your Response: The STAR Method
Once you have a list of past experiences, it is time to develop structured stories that communicate your experiences and learnings. Using the STAR method of structuring behavioral responses will help to make your stories more concise, intelligible, memorable, and effective.
STAR is an acronym which will help you to remember the four elements that you need to include in each story: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
- Situation – Describe a few relevant details about the environment you were in. Some factors to describe may include the organization, team, or stage of development. Clearly identify the issue you were faced with. Explain why this challenge was important.
- Task – Describe the opportunity you were about to embrace to tackle the previously mentioned challenge. What task did you specifically have?
- Action – What tangible actions did you take to solve the problem? This could include working with other team members, developing a deliverable, or persuading leadership.
- Result – After solving the problem, what effects did your actions have on the bottom line, team, or wider organization? Try to quantify your result. The percent change equation works great: ((new-old/old) x 100).
3. What to Expect
HireVue
Many large firms will begin your application process with a first round behavioral interview through HireVue. HireVue is software that recruiting teams use during the interview process. Companies will generally ask a few questions, and you have an opportunity to record a response.
Typical questions could include:
- Tell me about an ethical dilemma you’ve faced?
- Tell me about a time when you worked on a diverse team?
- Tell me about a challenging experience you’ve faced?
You will have a very limited amount of time to prepare your answer and respond. For example, after a question is delivered you may have 30 seconds to prepare your answer and then 2 minutes to record a response. Sometimes you are given the ability to re-record your response.
Phone Screens
With some firms, a recruiter may call you to chat before organizing a formal interview. These phone screens may last around 15 to 20 minutes and are an opportunity for the recruiter to gather more details about you than they can obtain just from your resume. This is your opportunity to shine in a semi-casual environment. Be prepared to explain your relevant background and how it connects to the job opportunity, as well as why you are excited about this position and organization.
First Round Interview: Behavioral and Case Questions
As mentioned, consulting firms generally assess candidates based on behavioral and casing data points. Traditionally candidates would be asked to attend an in-person interview, but some firms will organize a Zoom interview instead. In either case, you can expect to be asked a few behavioral questions as well as a case question.
Be prepared to explain your relevant background, why you are interested in the position, and the particular organization.
Now you are ready to excel in the behavioural interview. Good luck!
Zuhair Imaduddin is a labor relations student at Cornell University. He was a Product Management Intern at PNC Bank and is an incoming Innovation Development Summer Analyst at JPMorgan Chase.
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