First round interview with a senior director

Question

I have an upcoming first round interview for a mid-size strategy consulting firm, but the interview is with someone at the senior director level. I've been told the interview will mostly consist of "resume and scenario-based questions", so I assume no formal case. Is this normal, to interview first with a senior director, and what should I expect? (i.e. how would an interview with a senior director be different from a more standard first round with HR or an analyst/associate)? I am really banking on there NOT being a case interview for this 45-minute conversation, but I will definitely be reviewing my approach briefly before stepping into the meeting.

Answer 1

Hi Ibrahim,

it is actually possible you will get a case during the interview. This happened recently to a person I helped with the preparation – had to interview with a senior partner and was ensured by HR it would have been a conversation only. However, it turned out that the senior partner asked him a short case during the interview. In his specific case that was not an issue as he was already strong on the case part, however he could have blown the interview if he had not prepared. The true is, a senior partner can ask what he wants during the interview, whatever HR said.

As for the type of interview, it will likely be very similar to a first round, with more fit questions asked (if you get a case: intro+behavioural part 10-15 mins + case 25-30 mins+ your questions 5 mins).

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

It would really help if you write here the name of the company

Answer 3

Hello Ibrahim,

I hope this short message finds you well and helps you in your preparation. The more senior level the interviewers are, the more creative they become during the interviews. What does it mean? That they can take the conversation wherever they want and with no specific order (they can jump from a fit question to a numerical question, then return to the fit part and finish with a small case)

However, the mechanics and gist of the interview won't change. They have to answer the following critical questions:

1) Are you a good fit for the company? This is basically the fit part of the interview in which you probably can expect a) stress interview b) going very deep into specific examples c) multiple skills assessment from previous experience

2) Do you have the skills set to become a good consultant? This is basically the case part in which the interviewer can ask you a) out of the hood numerical questions b) short interview cases c) real cases that the interviewer is currently working d) cases that the interviewer is inventing while he is speaking to you.

One final recommendation is not to feel nervous if you feel that the interview is not "structured", this is how senior level professional approach their interviews.

Regards,

Hugo

Answer 4

Hi Ibrahim,

I am having a similar situation as yours, but I am applying for a junior position in technology strategy in a mid-size company. I am interested to know how to prepare for my first round interview with a partner and two managers too. Could someone shed us some lights? Thanks a lot.