Pablo Picasso once said that action is the foundational key to all success. For management consulting aspirants like you, this means you have to exert effort for interview preparation before you may be chosen to fill the vacant position. You must be able to create an impression on the recruiter through your skills, know-how and professional projection.

In this industry, there are two types of interviews - fit and case. The former assesses if you are a match for the vacant consulting position. The questions revolve on your education, personal background, personality, skills and professional experience. You will be asked to describe yourself and your goals. If you're a recent graduate, recruiters will probe on your understanding of management consultancy, GPA and extra-curricular activities at school. If you're an experienced professional, expect to answer questions regarding your responsibilities in your previous jobs. Queries about your personality will also be posed. You might need to share about how you deal with colleagues, how you overcome stumbling blocks or how you lead a group.

The latter, on the other hand, focuses on your technical skills. It evaluabtes if you have remarkable problem solving capability and sensible judgment. Here you will be presented with a vague business case that is similar to what consultants deal with on a daily basis. You analyze all the factors affecting it, and at the end of the interview, you present sound recommendations to the interviewer. In some instances, you will be given estimation questions. As its name suggests, you have to guesstimate an acceptable answer based on a logical explanation. An example of this type of question is, "How many mobile phones are sold in California in a month?" On rare occasions, brain teasers may be posed. If you're not sure of the right answer, it's alright. Interviewers are only after about how you answer the riddle.

To prepare for interviews, the first step is to predict the possible questions and rehearse your answers. From the description above, you must have an idea of what it will be like. If you feel it's insufficient, you can conduct web research. Samples of common fit interview questions are provided by many career web sites. You can start with their list, but also come up with your own based on your cover letter and resume. Case interviews need a more technical preparation. There's a need to familiarize different types of business scenarios, and learn tips on how to deal with them. Visit your target firm's career pages, too, since they give interview tips and guidelines. If someone can share some relevant information based on first-hand experience, it would be much better.

Consulting firms prefer applicants who can come up with organized answers, and this is quite possible if you master the tools in structuring answers. If you're given a situational question during fit interviews, be guided by the STAR formula. Begin with the 'Situation' or 'Task', followed by the 'Action' you carried out and then the 'Result' of what you did. For case interviews, you have to master management consulting frameworks. This requires some time and dedication but once you become skilled at utilizing them, it will be much easier to resolve business cases. You just have to refer to the step-by-step guide in mind as you dissect the problem and provide solutions to it.

In both interviews, be physically prepared. The night before the big day, get enough rest. It would be better not to review consulting concepts anymore because it may exhaust you and cause you to panic in front of the interviewer. Instead, iron your business suit, clean your shoes, trim your fingernails and stuff your bag with a copy of your job application, pen, paper and other things you might need.

The following day, get to the firm a few minutes before the schedule. Use the waiting time to adjust to the office atmosphere and to attend to personal necessities. Arriving late implies you don't respect the interviewer's hectic schedule. If something happens along the way, call the contact person right away and explain your situation.

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