Growth School

Bonuses

Management
Consulting
Riya Chhabra
 CONTENTS
TABLE OF
The Case
1 Interview
Cheat Sheet

eGuide - how to
2 prepare for any
job interview

The consulting
3 ‘Jargon Destroyer’
guide
 The Case Interview
Cheat Sheet

Top 10 tips for answering business case questions successfully :-

1. Take notes
As your interviewer presents your case, be sure to take careful notes
on the numbers or other facts given. (Always bring a notepad and a
pen to a consulting interview.) If you plan on drawing graphs, add
brownie points by bringing graph paper (which shows major
foresight). Take notes so you don’t have to ask your interviewer to
repeat information

2. Make no assumptions
As a case interviewee, you should never make any assumptions. Your
interviewer will inevitably leave things out of the case presented to
you. (If an apple juice manufacturer has seen its expenses rise
dramatically, for example, your interviewer probably won’t mention
the tree blight that’s constricting the supply of apples.) You should
assume the persona of an actual consultant trying to learn about an
assignment. You should also ask if the company has encountered a
similar problem, or what other companies in the field have done when
faced with similar situations. Your interviewer may not release that
information but will be impressed that you asked these sensible
questions. Some good basic “professional” questions to ask, which
apply to most cases:

• What is the product?

• Who hired us?
• How long will this engagement last?
• Has the company faced this problem (or opportunity) before? If so
how did it react? What was the outcome?
• What have other companies facing this situation done?

3. Ask questions
Your interviewer expects you to ask questions – as many intelligent
questions as you need to obtain an accurate picture of the relevant
facts in the case. Many inexperienced case interviewees make the
error of asking their interviewer too few questions. They may be afraid
that they will look ignorant, or not wish to “bother” the interviewer.
Remember – not asking questions is a fatal error in a case interview. I
you don’t know the first thing about the helicopter market, ask how
much it costs to manufacture a rotor.
 The Case Interview
Cheat Sheet

If you need to estimate the demand for a beef-flavored potato snack

in Wichita, Kansas, then feel free to ask the population of Wichita and
environs. You will often find that your interviewer will direct your line of
questioning to a specific area, but you must always be ready to
control the conversation in case the interviewer does not direct your
reasoning. If you are unsure, simply ask the interviewer. For instance, if
you find the interviewer offering little direction as you move through
your initial questions, you may wish to ask, “I find the lack of a risk
assessment to be a potential showstopper. Might I ask some detailed
questions about this?” Or you might say, “Given what you have told me
about the situation, I would like to find out more about the client’s
current relationship with its distribution partner. Would that be OK?” In
this way, you take charge of the line of questioning without stepping
on the interviewer’s role.

4. Listen to the answers you get

One interviewer warns: “Many candidates get so caught up in asking
the perfect questions that they don’t listen to the answers they
receive. They go through a mental list of all the questions they want to
ask, and ignore the response they got. That throws off their reasoning.”
Make sure you respond to the information you receive and
incorporate it into your analysis.

5. Maintain eye contact

Always maintain direct eye contact during the case interview. Eye
contact is critical when answering case questions – it demonstrates
confidence and authority. Remember that in consulting you may find
yourself in front of 20 executives at a major corporation presenting a
strategy you were briefed on only a half-hour ago. And then you have
to answer questions! So you can see why business case interviewing is
so important to consulting – it simulates the work environment
consultants must face every day.

6. Take your time

It’s perfectly fine to take a minute to think through your answer – in
fact, most interviewers find it preferable. “Whenever I asked to take the
time out to collect my thoughts,” reports one consultant who’s
undergone “dozens” of case interviews, “my interviewers always said,
‘Okay, good, go ahead.’” On the other hand, while “a minute of deep
thinking” is fine, “five minutes is really overkill.You don’t want your
interviewer waiting there for five minutes. The case is only supposed to
be 15 or 20 minutes.”
 The Case Interview
Cheat Sheet

7. Lay out a road map for your interviewer

After you’ve selected your approach, don’t keep it a secret. Tell your
interviewer what approach you’re going to take. For example, you
might say, “First, I’m going to discuss the Mexican and Canadian
markets. Second, I’ll ask about our entry strategy. Finally, I’m making a
recommendation.” “One of the most important things consultants
have to do is present complex ideas in a lucid manner,” explains one
interviewer. “That’s why you should take time to explain your
reasoning. Not only will it impress your interviewer and allow you to
confirm any assumption that you’re making, but it will allow you to get
your own thinking straight.”

8. Think out loud

In order to navigate case interviews successfully, you will need to act
quickly and confidently. The business case is an opportunity to show
the interviewer how you think. Your interviewer wants to know that you
can reason in a rapid and logical fashion. As you assess, compile, and
analyze the elements presented to you, be sure that you speak aloud
and explain your reasoning. This is the only way the interviewer can
assess your performance. You may not be entirely comfortable
thinking out loud. So if you’re not feeling confident thinking aloud, try
practicing by yourself. Start with something simple like explaining
aloud to yourself how to change a tire or how you brush your teeth.
Minimize “ums” and other fillers, so that what you say is concise, direct
and clear.

Next, try practicing on friends or family. Have them ask questions for
which you must assess a situation. For example, they might ask, “I’m
not sure at which bank I should open a checking account. What are
the trade-offs between Bank X and Bank Y?” or “I’ve got $50 to spend
on groceries, so what should I buy?” Even speaking to yourself in front
of the mirror will build your confidence thinking “on the fly” while
simultaneously speaking.

9. Present your thinking in a clear, logical manner.

Where useful, use frameworks and business
concepts to organize your answer
You should develop a framework for assessing case interview
questions which can be applied to different situations. In general, in
any situation you will want to:
 The Case Interview
Cheat Sheet

• Understand the scope of the engagement

• Pinpoint the objectives
• Identify the key players
• Work towards a recommendation

Beyond this, you may choose any line of questioning or structure with
which you feel comfortable. As you practice, you will find yourself
developing this framework unconsciously as you attempt to gain
clarity over a situation. Capture and package this framework, and
have it available by memory (or on paper if you wish) for use at any
time.
Where useful, also use advanced business concepts and frameworks
to help organize your thoughts and impress your interviewer.

10. Quickly summarize your conclusions

You have limited time in your case interview to make your point. If you
are uncomfortable with quickly summarizing your conclusions, think
about being faced with this classic situation:

“A consultant working for a multinational corporation inadvertently

bumped into the CEO of the corporation while waiting for the elevator.
As they got on the elevator, the CEO announced that he was on his
way to a Board of Directors meeting on the 34th floor. He then
instructed the consultant to brief
him completely on the major findings of the project in the time it took
the elevator to go from the 1st floor to the 34th floor.” While this is no
doubt an urban legend, it is extremely likely that you will encounter
time-pressured situations many times in your professional career,
especially in consulting, where time is a precious commodity. If you
are taking a while reaching your conclusion, your interviewer may ask
you for the “60 second pitch.” Practice summarizing your answer in a
minute or less.
 INTERVIEW PRACTICE

Practice is key. Find a partner to practice interviewing with, using the

below guide.

Who should you practice with?

The easiest partner will be a peer who either comes from your
targeted sector or who is looking to break into your targeted sector.
Ideal number of participants: 3
Role(s): each student takes on the respective roles of candidate,
interviewer and observer once

Which areas should the feedback focused on?

Answers that were particularly good and why; answers that were
not as good and what you recommend to say differently
Structure of the answers – is it clear what the key points are? Use
of STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework
Story telling – examples given are relevant and support the
description of skills and achievements
Motivation and energy
Body language: eye contact, posture, smile, nervous habits, pace of
speech, tone and voice

Interview practice questions

The first question will very often be “Walk me through your resume” or
“Tell me about yourself”. There are 5 different fit question areas that
you should be preparing for

Work experience and Education: focused on gaining an

understanding of your educational and work related experience in
order to determine your readiness, and looking to identify the
alignment between your pre-degree experiences and your post-
degree goals

What do you most value about your education? Why?

Why did you / did you not choose to take an MBA?
What is the most significant thing you have learned to date?

Personal insights

What is your major weakness? Why and what are you doing
about it?
Which area of development are you finding it most difficult to
address?
What are your greatest strengths?
 INTERVIEW PRACTICE

Which 2 or 3 major accomplishments best demonstrate your key

strengths?
What does teamwork mean to you?
What's the last book that you read?
What would your previous employers/group members say about
you?
How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies?
Why should we hire you in preference to anyone else?
What do you do when you know you are right and others disagree
with you?
How do you react to criticism / negative feedback?
With what kind of people do you most enjoy working? Why?
What risk do you most regret not having taken? Why?
What are you most proud of about yourself? Why?
What drives you in life?

Goals, short term and long term (Hint: you want to remain in the
target position for 3 to 5 years)

What do you want to be doing five years from now? Why?

If you do not get a role as an X, what career path will you follow?

Industry and firm: test your understanding of the industry, gauge your
knowledge of the firm and your potential “fit”

Why do you want to do consulting?

Why do you want to work for our firm?
Why are you interested in this role? What do you want to do in your
next career role?
What style of management do you prefer?
Tell me about your last boss.
What interests you about our products and services?
What have you learned from your previous jobs? Which did you
enjoy most and why?
What do you think make a good Strategy Consultant / Marketer

General business: test your knowledge of current business issues and

determine your ability to “think on your feet”

What is your greatest achievement? Failure?

Tell me about a time when .... leadership / teamwork / challenge
(client, team individual) /problem solving ...
Tell me about a time when you had to improvise on a project
Tell me about a time when you had to get buy-in from your team
on your idea(s) and about
a time when you had to get buy-in from someone senior to you on
your idea(s)
Tell me about a time when you missed a deadline
Tell me about a time when you had difficulty getting information /
data from a team mate (or client, ...)
 INTERVIEW PRACTICE

Also be prepared for

If I were to make you an offer, would you accept?

Who else are you talking to?
What are your grades so far?\

PRACTICE QUESTIONS – SPECIFIC TO A CONSULTING ROLE

What do you think are the 3 most important skills of a

Management Consultant?
Why do you aspire to be a management consultant?
Why consulting and not an industry/ line management position?
If you were the CEO of a company, what would you hire a
management consultant for?
What subjects have you studied and how will they be relevant to
consulting?
How are your grades?
Can you give me an example where you made a significant
contribution to a team project?
Describe a failure in your recent past.
Could you describe a situation where you overcame obstacle to
achieve your goal?
Describe a problem you have solved where you applied your
analytical skills.
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

30,000 foot view:

A phrase used to describe a high-level, summary view of the situation.
30,000 can be replaced by any large number to indicate the same
thing

80/20 rule:
Belief that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes; in
consulting, this term is usually used to imply that 80% of an
assignment can be finished in 20% of the time, by focusing on the
right things

Action Plan:
A plan specifying how certain actions should occur, by what date, and
by whom

Adding Value:
Quite simply, that value is being added. This is often a butt of many
consulting jokes, and also known as “creating impact”

Answer-First
To state a hypothesis and/or take a stab at an answer without having
all the supporting facts first; based on pyramid principle

At the end of the day (EOD):

A phrase used to attempt summarization, introduce an air of finality
and perhaps close off certain avenues of discussion; since most
consultants’ days do not end with the setting of the sun, at the end of
the day most of them are still working

B2B:
Business to business, referring to a company’s primary audience for
sales and marketing

B2C:
Business to consumer, referring to a company’s primary audience for
sales and marketing
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Bandwidth:
Capacity, free time, ability to do (additional) work; generally used to
indicate that speaker cannot or would not prefer to do additional
work, as in: “I don’t think I’ll have any bandwidth this Friday”

Beach:
The consulting equivalent of sports’ being on the bench, it is viewed
with worrisome anxiety by junior consultants and relieved gratitude by
senior consultants

Benchmarks:
Metrics or standards competitors in the client market attain. Usually
for operational efficiency

Best Practices:
Actions similar companies take to best reach benchmarks.

Big 3:
McKinsey, Bain, BCG aka “MBB”

Big 4:
Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Bird’s Eye View:

High level view

Boil the Ocean:

As the name states, clearly an impossible task. Generally, a project
manager or partner will say “Let’s not boil the ocean” as a pretext for
suggesting a ton of analyses that in effect, often ends up boiling a
very large lake, if not exactly the ocean

Bottoms-Up:
Expression meaning to look at the smallest units possible to initiate
analysis (eg, bottoms-up analysis of a company would start with its
lowest-level employees and then work its way to upper management)
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Buckets:
Categories; this is the extent of this word’s definition, so it remains a
mystery why people choose to employ the former term; also used as a
transitive verb to mean ‘categorize’

Buttoned-Up (aka Buttoned down, weirdly):

To indicate that a particular piece of work or analysis is
comprehensive, accurate and capable of withstanding close scrutiny

Buy-In:
Agreement, support; it is unclear why ‘buy-in’ has come to supplant
these terms, as no actual purchasing occurs

CAGR:
Compound annual growth rate. Pronounced cayy-gurr.

Campus Hire:
A consultant hired directly from undergraduate or business schools,
as opposed to “experienced hire”

Capacity:
Your available time and energy for additional tasks. Usage “I have
capacity this week - what can I help with?”

Charge Code:
A unique code provided with each project/assignment to which you
can charge work-related expenses

Circle Back:
To follow up with indicated individuals at a later point in time, usually
to review progress on the current topic of discussion; this phrase is
somewhat redundant, as it is impossible to trace a circle that does
not connect back with itself
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Core Client:
A client with a long-standing firm relationship, and one in which there
is continual dialogue between senior executives even if there are no
ongoing projects

Core Competencies:
The notion that companies have a limited number of things they are
innately good at. Identify and retain core competencies during
restructuring. Spin-off or sell non-core competencies

Crisp:
An adjective indicating that the referenced work or analysis is
thorough and complete, perhaps by gastronomical allusion to food
that is fully prepared. Also used in reference to succint
communication.

C-Suite:
Refers to any executive that has a title starting with a capitol “C”, like
“CEO”, “COO”, “CFO”, etc.

Deck:
Your Powerpoint slides, sometimes referring to the master “deck” for
the team

Deep Dive:
Similar to “double click”, this means a thorough in-depth exploration
of a particular topic

Deliverable:
Anything that is owed by you to your manager/team, or owed by team
to client

Double Click or Drill Down:

Similar to “deep dive”, this means a thorough in-depth exploration of a
particular topic
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Due Diligence:
Comprehensive study/survey of a business model with an aim to set
clear expectations, risks, dependencies, etc as part of a business
proposal

EBITDA:
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization

Elevator Test:
A test of one’s ability to explain concepts in a short-period of time
(typically 60 seconds or less). The elevator test represents a
hypothetical situation where you are sharing the elevator with a VIP
and need to give them a quick summary/presentation during the ride

EOD:
“End of Day”. Typically referring to the current time zone. “Please get
that report to me by EOD.”

Engagement:
Your Powerpoint slides, sometimes referring to the master “deck” for
the team

Experienced Hire:
A consultant hired from another company, typically with a higher
starting position and salary than 1st year consultants.

Fact Pack:
Typically a “pack” of information that provides the essential “facts” on
a project/industry/company

Gantt Chart:
Type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule with start and
finish dates, deliverables, etc
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Granular:
A detailed level of abstraction; often used in the context of increasing
the fineness of the analysis, as in: “We need to get more granular
here”.

Greenfield:
A new opportunity for a company.

Hands:
Often prefaced with ‘client,’ indicates the interpersonal skills of an
individual in relation to a particular group of people, as in, “That
manager sure has great client hands”

Hard Stop:
Used to indicate that after the time indicated, the listeners are on their
own, because the person stating that they have a hard stop sure isn’t
going to be around to help after then

High-Level:
Similar to 30,000 mile view, but high-level can also mean a very
rudimentary analysis (often lacking in detail)

Key:
Critical, essential, required, important, central; the key analysis is
generally the linchpin; often used as a noun, and with such frequency
that its significance has been diluted, since everything is now ‘key’

KPI:
Key Performance Indicator

Let me play this back:

Paraphrasing what has been said, to ensure understanding and
alignment on message
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Let’s close the loop:

Drive alignment and decide next steps, so nothing is hanging

Leverage:
A fancy way of saying “use” as in “Let’s leverage this set of data”

Low-Hanging Fruit:
The initial opportunities, areas of exploration, etc. that are easiest to
cover; intended to evoke visual imagery of fruit-laden trees,
suggesting that much remains beyond the lowest boughs; syn. quick
win

MBB:
McKinsey, Bain, BCG aka the “Big 3”

MECE:
Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive. A term originating at
McKinsey and common across management consulting firms, it’s a
grouping principle that in the words of Wikipedia, “data in a group
should be divided into subgroups that comprehensively represent that
group (no gaps) without overlapping”

On Board:
The status of being assigned to a case, engagement, or project

“On the same page”:

Being aligned, or agreeing with each other regarding understanding
of the problem, and consequently next steps

Opportunity Cost:
Being aligned, or agreeing with each other regarding understanding
of the problem, and consequently next steps

Optics:
How something will appear to others, as in, “Well, you could do that,
but I’d be concerned about the optics.”
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Paradigm:
Consulting-ese for “pattern” or “model” or “framework”

Ping:
Synonym for “contact”; originated as an onomatopoeia for the sound
that is emitted when someone receives an instant message, but
nowadays can refer to any form of contact including email or even
tapping someone on the shoulder

Pipeline:
Typically used to reference the current and upcoming list of client
engagements

POA:
Plan of action

Production / Visual Graphics:

In noun form, a department (either internal or outsourced) of the
consulting firm that assists in producing the materials needed for
presentations, meetings, etc

Progress Review:
In noun form, a department (either internal or outsourced) of the
consulting firm that assists in producing the materials needed for
presentations, meetings, etc

Provide Color:
Explain better, usually with insights and data to make a compelling
narrative

Push Back (verb form) or Pushback (noun):

Politely dissenting. This phrase attempts to avoid any negative
connotations of controversy
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

QC:
Quality control, typically referring to need to check for typos, grammar
mistakes, calculation errors, etc

Right Sized:
Reduce, euphemism for downsized

Sausage making:
The detailed workings of something - e.g., could be deciding specific
assumptions of an excel model, or finding time on the calendar with
someone. Often used to test how involved someone wants to be
example “let us know if want to be involved in the sausage making,
else we will circle back with a synthesised view next week”

Sandwich Method:
A structure for providing feedback that resembles a sandwich – one
positive comment, then a developmental critique, ending with a
positive comment

Scope:
The agreed-upon list of deliverables and boundaries that underpin
any client engagement

SME:
Stands for “Subject Matter Expert”. Typically used in enterprise
companies who have very niche roles.

Sniff Test:
As in evaluating food for rancidity, this term is used when gauging the
viability or reasonableness of a particular analysis; var. smell test

Stand Up Call:
A ‘quick’ round table team call to update status from each team
member/lead. Usually no longer than 15-20 mins.
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Straw Man:
An outline of a narrative. This is a slightly expanded hypothesis,
presented purely for the sake of argument, with the implication that it
is not designed to withstand repeated attacks

Summer:
Abridged noun form of summer intern

Take The Lead On:

A clever phrase often used by more experienced consultants when
they wish to delegate a task (ranging from big or small), e.g., “Why
don’t you take the lead on making dinner reservations for the team,”

Takeaway:
The main point or message that should be retained upon the
conclusion of the discussion, often prefaced with “key”

Target:
The company being analyzed for purchase/merger in a Merger and
Acquisition case

Up Or Out:
Employee promotion policy where if you’re not promoted “up”, you’re
counseled “out” of the company. Many consulting firms use up or out
but not all

Upward Feedback:
The process of providing feedback “upward” to more senior
employees, from managers to partners

Utilization Rate:
Client service hours vs. time on beach. If below 50%, prepared to be
“right sized”
 Glossary of Consulting
Jargon

Value-Add:
Quite simply, that value is added, mashed into a hyphenated noun
form. See “adding value”

Wordsmith:
To make trivial or generally unnecessary edits to text that may only
subtly change the meaning, if at all

Weeds
Weeds are the details of a situation, project or goal. Though very
similar to "drill-down," "weeds" refers to diving straight into the details
before the encompassing summary. For example, if your consulting
firm completes many similar projects, you might not need to hear the
summary because you already know it. You can instead dive right into
the details, or "weeds."

White space
"White space" describes an unexplored area of a company that could
generate more business or revenue. For example, the business might
not realize their services could benefit a market they've never tested
before, making it a possible exciting and lucrative opportunity (a
greenfield opportunity).

Workstream:
A group of tasks that make up a project. Usage – “The team was
developing various workstreams to complete the client deliverables”

Zero-Defect or “ZD”
A mindset of double and triple-checking work before submitting; no
defects