Oliver Wyman Interview

Hi Samya,

1) Would welcome tips to prepare for it in 7-8 days? Key areas that I can focus on?

If you are starting from zero, 1 week is most likely not enough to prepare well – in this case I would recommend to postpone the interview.

If you already have good preparation and just need final refinements, it could be enough.

You can find some tips for the preparation below:

▶ How to Prepare for a Consulting Interview

2) What kind of behavioral fit questions should I focus on at EM -1/ 2 level for a strategy house?

Besides the standard fit questions, at EM level they might ask questions on:

1. Experience with managing teams/projects/proposals
2. Your knowledge/view of your specific industry

Common questions you can expect are:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why consulting
3. Why OW
4. Give me an example of when you led a team
5. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone
6. What has been your major achievement so far
7. Tell me about a time when you failed
8. Why should we hire you

Good luck!

Francesco

Dear candidate, 

Well this is a great question,

Focus on

a) your interest specifically in this firm and in this role, why you are exceptional at it, what makes you an outstanding candidate?

b) who have you networked with at the firm, what events did you go to, things that show you are already contributing to their success. In particular your area of expertise of why you are a great senior level candidate.

c) Try to come across as partner level executive if applying for an EM  importantbis very senior, very valuable, very great leading clients and managing client engagements. For example if you have first experience of business development and extra consulting activities it is helpful. You can also mention how well you manage teams, projects, challenges, new engagements. A lot is often asked about your management ability.

If you try to prep a bit higher than EM it is great because many firms see also a lot of senior level candidates for example as experienced hires or see for example APs from smaller consulting firms that are outstanding, taking only an EM role. That is why this way you find safely everything you need to excel.

Best regards

Hi Samya,

Congrats on the interview!

First, I really hope you're not just starting? If you have 0 knowledge of case prep, you need to get a coach. Otherwise it's very long odds you'll be ready in time.

If you're not just starting out, the best thing you can do is 1) Figure out your gaps/weaknesses and then 2) Address those gaps and weaknesses.

It sounds simple,but that truly is the magic! 

Focus on your weak points.

For fit/behavioral, you need to be ready with why consulting, why OW, and your resume walkthrough.

Then, in addition to that, you need to practice your flexibility in answering any question. They can ask you whatever they like (and they do…I have the list!), so you need to practice your ability to answer questions…not memorize a list of possible questions (an impossible task)

Here's some reading to help:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview

If you still have not yet gone for your interview and are prepping - do take note that sometimes the questions asked at the EM level will be slightly different from a normal junior consulting role.

The rationale is that they want to test your ability to be an EM - which involves alot more than just solving for one specific workstream.

E.g. on the fit side you might be asked more questions around client engagement, -actual- experience in an -actual- official leadership role; on the case side you might be asked questions around scoping etc

If you have such a short advance time to prepare, you should ask for specialized help (yes, a coach). Do not get one just doing interview simulations, you need one with a mentoring approach, so that they can give you useful tips on how to improve.

Second best option is to start doing several cases with peers so you get comfortable again with communicating throughout a case.

Hello,

Congratulations on receiving an interview! 

I'm sure this will not be a surprise to hear, but my advice would be to focus on live case prep. I would do the following: if you have limited experience with case interviews, spend a couple of hours getting acquainted with the format (skim Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets, read the case interview prep material available on PrepLounge, etc.). Once you are more or less clear on what a case interview looks like, try practicing one with a case partner or a coach. You might feel like you're not quite ready yet, but candidates learn very quickly once they start practicing live, and given your short time frame for prep it will be key to get things going soon! Practice a couple of cases in the first few days, see how it goes. Then, if you notice any particular areas you need to work on (e.g., frameworks, math), do a couple of sessions specifically targeting those in the subsequent days. Round it out with a couple of full live cases again, and hopefully you should be in a much better position than where you started!

If you're interested in working with a coach during this process to help you ramp up more quickly, feel free to reach out - I specialize in working with candidates who are just getting started with prep, and help them evade common roadblocks and make rapid progress right from the start.

Regarding fit interview questions, I would think about common interview questions that focus on your roles in leading a team, coaching/mentoring colleagues, working with clients, and communicating with leadership. The EM is the day-to-day lead on the project, so those are going to be the key skills they are looking for.

Best of luck!