Speed Date - Kearney Mediterranean

Hi,

You will have the following questions:

“Tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume”- this is how Consultants usually begin the interview. It's an opportunity for them to learn about you and to pick some interesting facts. "Tell me about yourself question" is similar to "Walk me through your resume"

1. This is not the story, so you don't need to have the story structure
2. This is not about the challenge, it's about your career path
3. Depending on your experiences either start from the first or from the last role (the later you are in your career the more sense it is to start with the last one)
4. You can mention your unique selling point and structure your lifepath around it
5. Add 1 memorable projects or experience with high impact / cool companies and brands involved that will stay in the memory of the interviewer
6. In the end, say why consulting is a logical continuation of your career path

“Why consulting?”, “Why McKinsey” or “Why BCG” questions are used to assess your motivation to be a consultant in general and to work in that particular firm. They will check how you have done your homework and what you’ve learned about them. They also want to make sure that you have a clear intention to work in consulting.

• The answers to these questions are supposed to be short and take no more than 30 seconds each.
• For each question, you should provide three bullets points with different reasons.
• Make sure that you guide the interviewer through your reasoning. Words like “The first reason”, “Moreover”, “Finally” will help you.

When answering “Why consulting” questions, provide three reasons why you want to pursue a career in a consulting firm. A general rule is to find the reasons that are important for you and logically fit everything you have done before (e.g. you want to grow further in financial services and get exposure to these clients). You can always use some personal rationale like your experience of working with consultants on a client side.

 "Why this company" is a more specific question and can include the following arguments:

• The general marketing story the company is trying to sell (e.g. Bain is a small "Family" company)
• Brand / positioning / market share in the region
• More clients / projects / expertise in the industry you are interested in
• More well-known stories of success in your city
• Your friends working there
• Your interactions with the other consultants before the interview
• Your prior experience of working with the Firm on a client-side
• Office traditions
• Work experience with firm alumni
• etc

Best!

Hi there,

In terms of the fit questions you can expect, the most common ones are:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why consulting
3. Why Kearney
4. Give me an example of when you led a team
5. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone not agreeing with you
6. What has been your major achievement so far
7. Why should we hire you

Questions about experiences (4, 5 and 6) are standard at McKinsey, but other companies may ask them as well. To prepare those questions, I would recommend the following checklist:

1. Understand the difference between, leadership, impact and drive areas. You can find a link with their differences here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-pei-difference-drive-and-personal-impact-918#a1780
2. Identify good stories for each area. Ideally you want to have at least two stories for each area.
3. Use a structure for your story. I would suggest to use the STARR model (Situation, Task, Action, Rational for Action, Results)
4. Identify for each story one sentence clarifying what the story is about and start with it. Think of it as the title of a journal article.
5. Practice live, collect feedback from people listening to you, reiterate until when you get fluent and persuasive

Best,
Francesco

Hello there!

As you may see from the name, the format is similar to the concept of speed-dating. There are several stations and the candidates move between the interviewers.
Basically, they want to see how you react under pressure and give quick but clear answers.

The preparation doesn't differ much from a usual interview, just a couple of things to bear in mind:

• treat it as a conventional interview
• pay attention to details
• prepare answers to Why you/Why us/Why now questions properly
• practice using time-limit

It's also a good idea to find a partner and practice under time-pressure.

Do you have any further questions?
GB

Hi there,

This is more or less an HR screening!

You need to absolutely be prepared with your answers to "Resume Walkthrough", "Why Consulting" and "Why Kearney".

Furthermore, during this time you should be sure to demonstrated not just your genuine interest in Kearney/Consulting, but also clearly demonstrate your ability to think sharply, communicate clearly, and generally have the traits required for a consultant.

May I ask if this is a group interview or one-on-one? This affects the dynamics of the screening and affects how you will need to conduct yourself.

Hi,

The speed date consists of the standard fit part of the interview. It involves questions related to your experience to assess your personal impact, leadership, and entrepreneurial spirit.

I have specific sessions to prepare impactful stories about your background and to structure strong answers for the 3 most common questions they ask (Why you? Why consulting? Why Kearney?). Feel free to text me if curious to know how I can help you with your speed date.
 
Best,

Antonello

Hello!

As you say, it´s purely fit. 

On top of the insights already shared in the post, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 2 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200

Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!