“Your GPA is a 3.4….that’s pretty low”

“Oh well – I tried”……(room bursts into laughter)

Offer received from Big4 Consulting firm …..case closed.

During the Placement week1 after my MBA, I didn’t have much going for me. I was leaving for my MBA exchange program at UC Berkeley the week after and only had 2 interviews lined up. One of them was with a Big4 Consulting firm.

Did I mention I hadn’t practiced any cases with the Consulting teams in B-school and had read just 20 pages (of the 280) in the book Case in Point – the bible for Consulting prep? Yikes! Talk about being underprepared.

The feedback I got later from the Consulting Partner was that my case analysis was average, but where I stood out was my interaction with the interview panel. They loved my attitude, executive presence and confidence! THEY wanted to have me on their project teams!

That’s when I understood the key principle of Consulting - Relationships. People want to work with people they LIKE. And as I progressed in my career across 2 Big4 Consulting firms, I found myself banking on the same principle as I interacted with clients or interviewed candidates.

Now for the REAL tips on how to prepare for interviews with top Consulting firms. There are usually 3 rounds of interviews, if you ignore the initial interview with HR to assess if you’ll be a good fit at the firm.

1. Case Interview:
If you can get through most of the cases in the book - Case in Point, you’re golden. Studying in groups also helps a lot of candidates prep for case Q&A.

But the most important thing to understand is that you are not being evaluated on getting the exact answer to the case calculations, down to the third decimal! You are being evaluated on HOW you think through the case.

Here is where you demonstrate your logical thinking, problem-solving and analytical approach - 3 key skills Consulting firms look for in a candidate during interviews.

2. Industry Knowledge:
Have you spent the last 1 year reading The Economist or similar content? You may just sail through this one!

Important thing to note is: Consultants think in THREEs. So they will always ask questions in THREEs. Always mention the top 3 trends, top 3 risks, top 3 issues, top 3 reasons, etc. when you answer any question on industry knowledge.

3. Behavioral Interview:
This one seems like the easiest but is actually the most tricky of the lot. That’s because it is so subjective that the interviewer can take you out of the race with a mere “she’s not a good fit” or “I don’t like his attitude”.

Consulting is all about Client Service, and in this round, the Partner is deciding if you can be ‘client-facing’. That means if you were hired, could you interact successfully with a client on Day 1. Would you have the right communication skills, executive presence and the ability to think on your feet?

You’re also being evaluated on whether you’ll be able to withstand the not so glamorous part of Consulting. And by that I mean the late nights, client complaints, Partner demands, working through travel, compromising your personal life etc. etc. etc.

It all boils down to the right attitude. This is your chance to convince the interview panel (mostly through examples of prior experiences) that you have the right attitude to chug along when it gets tough.

So the best way to ace an interview with a top Consulting firm is to keep your wits about you! Remember, interviewers are also human. They are looking at you as a future team member and working partner.

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Punya is a former management consultant with 15 years of experience at 2 Big4 firms, serving top Fortune500 clients. She has lived and worked in 6 countries and changed 3 careers working across several industries. Punya is passionate about coaching new and aspiring Consultants to succeed in Management Consulting.