Fit preparation experienced hire Strategy& Germany

Hi,

this might get a little longish, following your structure. Answers based on my experience as interviewer and Manager at Strategy&.

A: Interview

1. Generally: no. Cases usually are based on the experience and daily work of the consultants, who interview you. Some will be more quantitative, some more qualitative. Mostly no "extremes", such as the pure market estimations you mentioned. Brainteasers are frowned upon and will usually not occur.
2. Generally: no. Harsh, "bad cop"-style interviews are discouraged. Of course you will be challenged and you'll be asked tough questions, but the interviewer should remain friendly at all times. Yet, there may be exceptions and some interviewees may find certain interviewers less appealing than others.
3. Expect more senior interview partners (Senior Manager, Director level) early on in the process. Be prepared to explain your motivation very well. The overall process may be also more individual (than for graduate recruiting) based on your experience and the impressions your interviewers have of you.

B: Consulting Approach

1. "Strategy to execution" is an offering Strategy& offers jointly with PwC. Of course, not all projects will be set up this way, depending on client demand. But yes, if a project is set-up in the "strategy to execution" design, Strategy& focuses on the strategy/ design phase and gradually hands over to PwC for implementation. Classic projects of such would be large-scale transformation or Mergers and following Post-Merger Integrations.
2. How does any consultant company measure success? Let me answer with a hint of humor: if the client is happy, the project is a success.
3. USP is definitely the above mentioned "strategy to execution" approach and more generally the opportunity to bring in experts from the broad PwC network. With the global 250k+ employees, there is usually an expert for anything no matter how exotic the topic may be.

C: Organization

1. Open feedback culture. You should receive direct and actionable feedback on the job. There are of course formal processes to support this, e.g. at beginning/ mid/ end of project. Feedback is naturally also part of your review cycle.
2. Discussion is encouraged. You may openly discuss within your team and yes, the best idea will win. Of course, in times of high workload and tight deadlines, leadership styles tend to get more directive and discussion may be less. As the saying goes "in times of storm, there can be only one captain".
3. As I am lacking inside knowledge about other consultancy organizations, I'll refrain from answering this question.

Hope this answer helps you. If there should be any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

Best

Oliver

Hi,

a) 1 - nope, depends on the interviewer. A lot of them have MBB background and interviewers will be similar to MBBs

2. Nope. But you might have good and bad interviewers. However, they don't coordinate it

3. Depending on your expertise, they'll test your industry knowledge

B.

1. Nope, it's all types. The check is a bit higher with S& and they have long-standing clients. Also, PWC wold offload some clients if there is a conflict of interest with the audit

2. Too complicated. 60% of projects unfortunately lead to nowhere. And its not related to a particular consulting company. The internal measure of success is - were you available to sell the next project and is the client happy? 

3. There is no USP, this industry is not that creative

Best

Hi there,

I'll try to keep it short.

A. The focus of the interview depends on the interviewers and their preferences & experience. The same applies to "bad cop / good cop" mentality - totally depends on the interviewer - or his mood at this specific moment.

B. "Strategy to execution" > other types. Completely agree with Vlad and Oliver on measuring the success.

C. Again, as Oliver said, you should be ready to speak your mind as well as receive criticism. Think about it when discussing the personal fit part.

Hope it helps,

Cheers,

GB

Hi there,

Wow! You've been incredibly thorough.

Honestly, while I appreciate this thoroughness, I do have two pieces of advice:

1) Try not to overcomplicate here. A1 and A2, B2 and B3, and C1 and C2 are just either too detailed, the wrong thing to focus on, don't really matter, or you'll never find an answer for

2) These types of questions need to be asked (and should have already been asked) during your informational chats and networking with this firm!

Hello!

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 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

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

Hi - you've got some great answer already. Is this for the Munich or Frankfurt office? Feel free to DM and I can provide some specific pointers