Hi, a friend of mine was asked a similar question in a recent interview. The interviewer basically wants a reason why not to hire someone. What do you think would be the best approach to answering the question? Do you think it would be better to mention (1) a general reason regarding your personality/weaknesses that is no dealbreaker but can be mentioned or (2) more focus on "the project" like "english is my only second language so i would probably have trouble working on a spanish project" or " i have no finance major so i think there would be other more suitable colleagues that could be staffed on a finance-focused project". i'd be extremely glad about feedback other suggestios! (:
Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!
Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!
Give me a reason why i should not put you on a project?
Overview of answers
Upvotes
Best answer
This is a great/tricky question!
It's a disguised "weakness" question :)
The key here is two-fold:
1) Your weakness isn't really quite a weakness in the right context (i.e. I get too excited about things and forget to wait for my team, I get really committed/devoted quickly and sometimes forget to take care of myself, etc.)
2) You've learned (from some interesting experience) how to tame the weakness. I.e. you know when it happens, why it happens, and you have methods to address it...so, ultimately it's not even a thing that really happens anymore.
Some helpful Q&As:
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-do-you-consider-to-be-your-weaknesses-4818
Was this answer helpful?
Hey, I personally dislike such questions and they are meaningless. It will serve the interviewer and interviewee better if they just directly ask for a weakness. No interviewee will jump out of their seat and list out 5 good reasons why they shouldnt be staffed on a project.
In my view, the main reason not to hire someone or staff them on a project should be "lack of fit". They are obviiously others reasons (better candidate pool etc) but for the purposes of your question "fit" is key. So if this question gets asked thats the angle you could focus on...why work on a project when there is no/little fit in terms of skills/experience you can bring & also in terms of aspirations to work in that project/industry/client.
Was this answer helpful?
Hi there,
It's a weakness - "under the right circumstances strength" - question.
You can mention a weakness that is not a deal-breaker, but the point that is the question was asked regarding a specific project - you wouldn't be mentioning something unimportant anyway.
So, in that case, you'll need to think about the weaknesses that could be seen in a positive light.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
GB
Was this answer helpful?
This is a tell me about a weakness question in a different form. Be honest and identify a real weakness (one not critical to the job of a consultant), and talk about how you are addressing it. Watch out for the pitfall of saying something that isn't really a weakness. Interviewers easily sniff that out and it looks disingenuous.
Was this answer helpful?
Hello!
It´s a classic FIT question, similar to the "tell me about a critical piece of feedback you have been given".
If you want to deep dive on the topic, 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!
Was this answer helpful?
Related Cases
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is a German-owned water provider company based in the southwest of the United States. As the biggest water provider in the region, they serve the majority of the southwest region.Profit growth has slowed down considerably in recent years, and the company is finding it difficult to co
...
Our client is a German-owned water provider company based in the southwest of the United States. As the biggest water provider in the region, they serve the majority of the southwest re
...
(Open whole case)
7.5k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is an Italian multinational manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products. One of their most popular products is Hazella, a hazelnut spread.Despite its worldwide popularity, Hazella is considered to be high in calories by some customers. For this reason, our client has deve
...
Our client is an Italian multinational manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products. One of their most popular products is Hazella, a hazelnut spread.Despite its worldwide po
...
(Open whole case)
4.6k
Times solved
Advanced
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Our client is Party Burger, a restaurant chain in the US serving premium burgers and salads for lunch. They rely on the quality of their products to attract customers, and they are usually fully booked. However, reviews have pointed out that the service offered could be improved. Our client is conce
...
Our client is Party Burger, a restaurant chain in the US serving premium burgers and salads for lunch. They rely on the quality of their products to attract customers, and they are usually f
...
(Open whole case)
4.6k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is an Indian sugar producer exporting solely to Indonesia. Indonesia imports 5m tons of raw sugar per year.To make raw sugar, our client processes sugarcane at a cost of $25 per ton and they have a capacity of 1.5m tons per year. The only competitor that has lower production costs is from
...
Our client is an Indian sugar producer exporting solely to Indonesia. Indonesia imports 5m tons of raw sugar per year.To make raw sugar, our client processes sugarcane at a cost of $25 per t
...
(Open whole case)
2.8k
Times solved
Advanced
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is the US-based biotech company Top Chemicals. They have just developed a fertilizer that is waiting to get approval for commercialization. They hired us to identify the best price for it.
Our client is the US-based biotech company Top Chemicals. They have just developed a fertilizer that is waiting to get approval for commercialization. They hired us to identify the best price for it.
(Open whole case)
2.4k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
