Do you think you influence the people around you ? If yes give an example.

1st round interview Actively preparing for interviews with Bain and BCG associate consultant HR hr consulting
New answer on Nov 12, 2020
5 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Nov 10, 2020

I was asked this question in one of the interviews foe a certain consultancy firm. Now I know I can influence people around me but couldnt specify it with a certain example. Can someone please help me with this question.

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Ian
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Content Creator
replied on Nov 11, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

This literally a leadership / persuasion question!

So, take your leadership or persuasion story and leverage it here. Talk about a time where you had to get people to do something.

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Adi
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replied on Nov 11, 2020
Accenture, Deloitte | Precision Case Prep | Experienced Interviewer & Career Coach | 15 years professional experience

Hey there, needless to say, we influence/pursuade/convince people all the time (work/school/family) to get something (important/critical/urgent) done thats of benefit to you and others around you. So dig a little deeper and am sure you can come up with plenty of examples from your work/school life.

Once you have a good example in mind, its then a matter of delivering it impactfully. Storytelling comes in very handy. Have a look at this thread for some tips:https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-answer-tougher-fit-questions-8190

Key aspects to keep in mind in influencing/convincing/pursuading scenarios:

  1. Think of win-win not win-lose
  2. Listen well, empathise with everyone involved in the scenario
  3. Ask questions, get their inputs and understand their thought process
  4. Remain calm and assure everyone that you are acting in best interest of them all
  5. Bridge the information/data gap to assure the other party i.e if they need more information/data how are you going to provide that
  6. Ideally arrive at the solution together and avoid being authorative (sometimes you have to if the situation demands)

Practice this a lot. This won't come to you overnight.

Check out youtube videos by Dan Ariely (famous behavioural economist) & Dan Pink (my personal fave writer on these subjects).

Good luck!

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Gaurav
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updated an answer on Nov 11, 2020
#1 Career Coach for Aspiring, Practicing & Ex-Consultants|The Only 360° Coach - Ex-Mckinsey, Certified Coach & Recruiter

Hello!
I agree that in answering this question you must show your leadership and teamwork skills.
We can influence people consciously and unconsciously every day. That is why we need to pay attention to what we say and use words carefully because they can make an impact in both good and bad ways, even if we don`t try to influence them directly.

According to the way of your behavior and communication, you can make people feel more comfortable, so they will start to show better results at work or generate new ideas, just because they stop to be closed. It is crucial to have strong listening skills because for people is important not to be interrupted, and they will feel more confident and valuable.

With good advice and support, you always can help the person improve the situation and find the best solution. Even if you are just polite and friendly to him, you can improve his mood and as a result, he will have better productivity or quality of life.

Do you need any further help?

All the best,

GB

(edited)

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Ivan
Expert
replied on Nov 11, 2020
ex McKinsey transforming your way of thinking - beyond the cases

Hello, I'd share 3 tips here:

1. find a case where you had had no formal authority over the people you influenced. E.g. 'leading from behind'

2. stay highly structured-no random thoughts until probed by an interviewer. Rely on PARADE for there should be quite a clarification of R-what has been your official Role?

3. Make sure to bring an 'outro' of what happened after you successfully completed the task. Such as you were promoted or invited to lead another project thanks to your influence skills.

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Clara
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Content Creator
replied on Nov 12, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

This is clearly a FIT question!

Leaderhip and/or personal impact, depending on how the rest of it goes.

Furthermore, you can find 3 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

On top, 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.

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

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Ian gave the best answer

Ian

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