S T R I C T L Y P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L" Yale Graduate Student Consulting Club (YGCC) Interview Bootcamp Alice Qinhua Zhou All rights reserved. www.yale.edu/consulting Thank the following YGCC sponsors GPSS! 2 You need to pass a long journey before getting the offer Ability Attitude Communication Collaboration Personal Brand Personal Network Resume and Cover letter Problem Solving Test (PST) Ability Communication Interviews One-on-one Presentation Group Ability Attitude Communication Collaboration 3 Resume and cover letter presents proofs of your value Value Ability Attitude Proof GPA, Honors, Awards Resume presentation Display Professional format • Use template • Bulleted text Enrich experience Communication Collaboration Personal Brand Personal Network Leadership Teamwork Big school, firm Reposition past • Result oriented • Be specific • Throw them the bones 4 McKinsey PST tests quantitative competence • 60min multiple choice written test Use promotional code: YGCCGURUS 30% discount on practice PST tests Go to club website http://www.yale.edu/consulting/McKinsey_PST.html 5 The journey will be tough, but you will not be alone. Emotion Satisfaction Optimism Doubt Realism Confidence Performance Learn This Boot Camp brings you here Practice Interviews Time YGCC will assist you throughout the journey 6 The funny video includes most of the basic elements of case interview, mimicking real-life associate level consulting work Collect background info Identify key question MECE complete issue tree in the context Prioritize Hypothesize Analyze Right: dig deeper … Buy in / Deliver results Manage reaction 10 Wrong: navigate to paralleled items Break down problem MECE Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive Increase What we can do with the price of a sandwich if we still want to sell it? Remain the same Decrease Increase What we can do with the price of all the goods in stop & shop? Remain the same Decrease Change the mix 15 Engagement structure Collect background info Identify key question MECE complete issue tree in the context Prioritize Hypothesize Analyze Right: dig deeper … Buy in / Deliver results Manage reaction 22 Wrong: navigate to paralleled items Step 2.1: Prioritize based on impact and difficulty Result Impact Financial Non-financial High Difficulty Effort Low • Don’t need to draw out the matrix, keep it in the back of your mind! 23 Step 2.2: Develop specific and testable hypothesis • • • • • Good hypothesis: testable If hypothesis is right, dig deeper; If wrong, navigate to the parallel items in the structure; If all parallel items are wrong, your structure is not MECE Deeper in the tree, more info given, easier to hypothesize 25 Engagement structure Collect background info Identify key question MECE complete issue tree in the context Prioritize Hypothesize Analyze Right: dig deeper … Buy in / Deliver results Manage reaction 26 Wrong: navigate to paralleled items Step 3: Analysis Plan Collect data Interpret data Present result So what 27 Engagement structure Collect background info Identify key question MECE complete issue tree in the context Prioritize Hypothesize Analyze Right: dig deeper … Buy in / Deliver results Manage reaction 42 Wrong: navigate to paralleled items Summarize • “The engagement manager come in ask for your update.” • “You run into CEO in the elevator. “ • “CFO requests to see your team in 15min.” Purpose Buy in client during the analysis • Doubt on recommendation • Resistance on the change Deliver insights after major analysis Manage reaction proactively • Rationally address • Synthesis after every major analysis • Keep the big picture in mind • Emotionally support • Tailor your answer to the audience Format (RRRN) Recommendation • “To achieve XXX, I recommend XXX” Reason • Major bullet points Risk • Assumption • Top three concerns: “I understand that …” Next Step • Analysis in the row • Implementation plan 43 Thank the following YGCC sponsors Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS)!