How to prove you are fit for consulting?
In the previous article I spoke about why it is important to pay due attention to the motivational part of consulting interview preparation and what in my opinion is “due” attention. Now I will tell you how to do it in the most effective way.
Consultants love logical stories
And it is clear why: they are loved by the clients. Clients of consulting companies pay money not for the mountain of numbers generated by various models, financial documents and reports on the state of the markets. And not for the scattered facts that can be heard from numerous gurus and market experts. Clients pay for the solid business stories of their companies, which tie together the available data from different sources, establish causal connection, draw conclusions and propose the next steps in understandable language. Drawing up such business stories is the main work of consultants ranging from a senior analyst and above.
Therefore, candidates who wish to become analysts and associates at some point should fully demonstrate the ability to tell such stories. But unlike the stories of business consultants, the narration of candidates answers only one question – why are you better than other candidates?
What is the clue of a good story?
The main elements of a high-quality story are (1) a clear and well-defined structure, (2) a detailed factual basis, and (3) logical conclusions and next steps. In this series of articles, I will talk mainly about the first and third parts, leaving the details for your independent study.
- (1) Why consulting? Why do you want to work in consulting?
- (2) Why specific company? Why do you want to work in our company?
- (3) Why you? Why do you think that you fit?
In the next article we will go through each of these three questions.