Introduction to Interview Prep

For Management Consulting

Please enjoy some snacks!
Who are we?
Topics today
1. What is consulting? (5 min)
2. Resume crash-course (10 min)
3. Basic definitions (15 min)
4. Case interview role-play (Bruno and Paul, 20 min)
5. Resources (5 min)
6. Syllabus for Spring and Questions (5 min)
What is consulting?
A great opportunity to...

1. Leverage analytical skills / problem solving

2. Have a positive impact on consumers (indirectly)
3. Develop business and interpersonal skills that last a lifetime (Real life MBA)
4. Work with complicated problems and create innovative solutions
13 firms that recruit at Stanford (this represents most, but not all)
Resume: key points
● 1 Page (maximum 2)
● Consistent format; check and re-check for errors
● Make professional and quantify your impact
● Key areas to highlight
○ Education
■ Include GPAs, latin honors
■ Test scores (include percentiles, especially if non-US exam or old exam format)
○ Leadership
○ Accomplishments
○ Work Experience
○ Awards, Honors
○ Other Activities, Skills, Languages
Resume examples
Resume example
Basic definitions
● Profit = Revenue - Cost
○ Revenue = Price X Volume
○ Cost = Fixed Cost + Variable Cost
■ Variable Cost = Unit Cost X Volume
● Profit margin = Profit / Revenue (%)
● Revenue = Sales
● Cost = Expenses
Let’s calculate the annual profit for Netflix:
● Profit = Revenue - Cost
● Monthly Profit = Revenue/mo - Cost/mo
○ Revenue/mo = $10/subscription/month X 100M
subscribers
○ Revenue/mo = $1000M (or $1B) per month
○ Cost/mo = $500M/month (Fixed) + Variable Cost
■ Variable Cost = $4/subscription/month X
100M subscribers
○ Cost/mo = 500M + (4 X 100M) = 900M
● Profit/mo = 1000M - 900M
● Profit/yr = $100M/mo (X 12 months) = $1.2B per year
● Profit margin = Profit / Revenue (%) = 100M / 1000M
● Profit margin = 10%
Some more basic definitions
■ M&A = Merger & Acquisition
■ Framework (or Issue Tree) = the logical guide you rely upon to solve the case
● Designed during the interview
● Concise
● Case-specific
● “MECE” = Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive
○ Consists of “Buckets” - separate areas to drive to test hypothesis
● Concisely presented
Some ways to create MECE buckets
○ Financial / Non-financial
■ Financial
● Revenue
● Cost
■ Non-financial
● Market growth rate
● Competition
○ Internal to organization / External to organization
○ For “entering a new market” type of case:
■ Buy a company with capabilities the client needs
■ Build the capabilities within the client’s organization
■ Partner with another company to gain needed capabilities
Cases with broad contexts / unique framework
● EXCELLENT to do these types of cases (or to make them up) since many real interviews
use them, especially for McKinsey
● Great for MECE training (speed, creativity, and conciseness)
● Help you become a non-robotic, conversational case pro
● Often more fun than a “traditional” case

Example: A major league baseball team is trying to decide whether to sign a young recruit onto their team,
with the hope that he would achieve superstar status. They have observed his skills directly and have
access to some stats, like his previous teams’ win-loss records, his batting averages, and his fielding
statistics. The general manager thinks the player would be a fantastic addition, but the team’s VP of
finance disagrees. Which areas would you consider to determine whether the team should acquire?
Paul’s
framework
Today’s Case
In a “real” case:

1) 10-20’ fit (most firms) aka “Personal Experience Interview” (PEI) (McKinsey)
2) 20-30’ case
3) 5-10’ Q&A
Today’s Case - National Magazine
Our client is a national monthly magazine that wants to restructure its printing
division. They currently have 2 facilities where they print their magazines and
want to move to only one facility.

They hired us to tell them if this is a good idea or not.

Main Question! This is what your
recommendation will be about
Today’s Case - National Magazine
Framework presentation:
Today’s Case - National Magazine
Q1:

What will be the total cost per unit after the consolidation? What facility
should they keep if at all?

Q2:

What are the risks involved in moving to only one printing facility?
Note taking - sample structure
# - New Question
Name of the Client / Question
Notes from the introduction

Question Development

Framework
Conclusion

Conclusion
Note taking - an example
Question 2

Question
Question 3
Framework

Conclusion
Giving a Case
To train well you need partners who know the case well and can give quality feedback.

The following are points to keep in mind before giving a case:

○ Read through all figures and calculations

■ Make sure you know what information can be given/how
○ Know the trigger for each step, including when to go into the math
○ Math is usually simple, but make sure you understand it so you can help troubleshoot if
something goes wrong
○ Feedback is Key, don’t be afraid of brainstorming if the main points are not discussed
■ Ask “What else” to keep the discussion going, or
■ “What about Area X”
Giving a Case

○ For interviewee led (BCG style case) let the interviewee drive case/decide where to
go next instead of immediately correcting mistakes
○ Cases are conversations, but if interviewee spends too long on the wrong track,
interviewer should cut case short or nudge them in right direction, remember the
case should be less than 30 min
○ Feedback at end of case should be specific (i.e. do X, Y, and Z to improve)
How to get more “business-savvy” for cases
As much as cases are about logic, they are easier to navigate if you understand business jargon

○ Read the News

■ FierceBiotech
■ Endpoints
■ The Economist
■ The Wall Street Journal …
○ Listen to Podcasts
■ Motley Fool
■ Freakonomics
■ Planet Money
■ Numbers Geek
■ McKinsey podcasts
■ Market Place ...
Checklist
Keep this main points in mind to have great case results

❏ Have clear, organized notes

❏ Focus on the main question
❏ Always have a hypothesis in mind, and communicate it / update it
throughout the case
❏ Talk, clarify, question -> The interview is a conversation
Other events/resources
ADC Resources -> Through our website you can access Case/Math/Framework books

Case partner matching spreadsheet goo.gl/KoMLiQ

Syllabus for Case Interview Prep
Date Room

■ Intro 04/04 Alway M112

■ Profitability 04/11 Alway M106

- Nothing Scheduled 04/18 Alway M112

■ Market entry/growth strategies 04/25 Alway M112

■ Breaking the Fourth Wall: Interactive Case Practice 05/02 Alway M112

■ M&A / Pricing Strategies 05/09 Alway M112

■ New Product Launch / Competitive Response 05/16 Alway M112

■ Breaking the Fourth Wall: Interactive Case Practice 05/23 Alway M112

- Nothing Scheduled 05/30 Alway M112

■ Complex Cases 06/06 Alway M112

■ Personal Experience Interview (PEI) TBD TBD