Guide to Fit Interviews Cracking the fit code…

Mohit Kant

Where are you?

Mohit Kant

Speak with

second year

students

Attend firm

information sessions

Network with

alumni

Conduct informatio

nal interviews

Practice case and

fit interview

s

Apply and drop

resumesInterviews

September

January/February

Now is the time to ramp up the Interview prep

November

How do employers think?

• Hiring is time consuming. mistakes can be costly

• Employers look for three qualities Passion for the function, industry & company

Cultural Fit (For eg. Amazon Vs. Microsoft)

Relevant skills to succeed on the job Recruiters believe that your past behavior is the best predictor for your future

behavior!

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How do employers think?

Mohit Kant

Hiring Managers are looking for: • Technical Acumen I.Q . 40% • Social Acumen E.Q . 50% • Clarity of Purpose I have a Clue 10% IQ = Intellectual Quotient EQ = Emotional Quotient (the behavioral stuff)

Source

Fatal mistakes• Not selling yourself enough to justify an offer

• Providing an unstructured answer

• Providing generic (* non-memorable *) answers

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Fit interview framework

Tell me about a time…

Leadership Ability

Teamwork

Conflict Management

Analytical Skills

Client

Sr. Team Member

Boss

Peer

Outsider

Qualities

StakeholderCreate all possible Quality + Stakeholder trees to cover

approximately 75% of

Behavioral questions

Baseline Questions

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Baseline questions

• Please take a minute and run me through your resume

• What do you think makes a good management consultant?

• Tell me your greatest professional weakness• What drew you to McKinsey/Bain/BCG/etc?• Why this office? • What would your friends say is your biggest strength?

• What motivated you to look into consulting careers?

Baseline questions help employers form initial impression on your

candidacy Mohit Kant

Uncover the unasked questions

• Have you dealt with a difficult person? If so, explain how you managed the situation.

• Describe a scenario where you lead a team in the face of a major obstacle.

• Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership

• Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone of something

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Can he/she persuade people?

Can he/she lead a team?

How does he/she handle

adversity?

How does he/she manage difficult people?

Structure, Be Succinct..

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Context (20%) Action (60%) Result (20%)

• Tell them what you’re going to tell them (brief background, your role, the problem)

• Tell them (how you thought about the situation, what did you end up doing)

• Final punch (what was the impact? Quantify)

Tell a story, don’t answer a question

How to prepare?

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• Write down & bucket stories into categories (leadership, team etc.)

• Bucket again into tiers (tier -1, tier -2 etc.)• Practice narration till it becomes second nature

• Get feedback from MBA2s, Friends and Peers on content, structure and Delivery

• Once content and structure are finalized, focus on other attributes – eye contact, hand movements, portraying confidence

Real interview

The primacy and recency effects: The primacy effect means that people remember the first thing they read or see. The recency effect means people remember the last, or most recent, thing they read or see.

BE MEMORABLE!

USE ANECTODESTAKE A PAUSE DURING

TRANSITIONS

EMPHASIZE IMPORTANT INFORMATION

BE JOVIAL

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Do you have any questions for me?

• Research your interviewers (if feasible)

• Talk to as many people as possible before the interview

• Ask questions very specific to the organization for eg: If a company launched a new service, ask how the market is responding and share your opinion

LAST CHANCE TO LEAVE A STRONG IMPRESSION

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Other resources

Other resources

1.Michigan Alumni Interview Handbook2.Olin’s Consulting Interviews Handbook

3.Univ. of Michigan Guide to Interviews

Mohit Kant