Interview questions can range far and in between a large range based on the person, company, and level you are interviewing for at a consulting firm. First round of interviews are probably one-on-one interviews and it is best to prepare ahead of time. Let us look at some popular Interview Questions for Entry Level Consultants and Consulting and strategies on how to best answer them.
Tell us about yourself?
This is the classic and most common opening question in all interviews. First impressions mean a lot in all interviews and consulting is no different. Be ready to answer this question in some form or fashion. Start with a quick mention of your education but no need to get into the details of each of the classes you took. Only mention when you graduated and why this is relevant to your interview. For example, you can say you obtained an MBA last Fall since you wished to grow your career and enter the world of consulting for the interesting and challenging opportunities it provides. Mention your professional work history from your resume and highlight as many relevant bullet points that can relate to consulting. Do not deep dive any, as if the interviewer is interested, they will ask you to explain more later.
Do not spend too much time getting into your hobbies or anything unrelated to the position early on. The first question is to determine if you are the right fit before digging further into the details and whether you play hockey on the weekends is irrelevant.
Why are you interested in consulting?
This question is asked to see if you have really done your homework into how a consulting organization works and operates. It is a good thing you have read this book! You are well on your way. The interviewer wishes to know not only how well you understand consulting, but also how you plan to handle the potential negatives such as long hours, travel, and difficult clients. Try to focus your answer on the learning opportunities that only consulting can provide. Explain your interest in opportunities and ability to learn quickly, take on interesting challenges, or how you wish to become a subject matter expert and a trusted advisor in one area. Try to pepper in past anecdotes of experience you may have had that prove you are being genuine in your answer.
Avoid answers such as “I want to travel or have my food expensed”. These are not valid reasons you would want to join a firm and show short-sightedness and immaturity in the toll consulting can take.
Interested in a career in consulting? Be sure to pick up my book An Introduction to Consulting available now!
Tell me about a time you displayed leadership?
No matter what level you join a consulting firm, leadership is a primary skillset you must have. In consulting you will spend a lot of time working in teams to plan, execute, and implement solutions for clients and those all require some degree of leadership. For this answer, have one prepared that highlights a time you had to step up to be a leader and help solve a real problem from your past experiences. Outline how the different efforts you made contributed to the overall success of the problem at hand.
Tell me about a difficult problem you occurred in the past and how you overcame it?
This question is like the leadership question and should be answered in a similar format. Instead of a scenario of where you had to be a leader, this one is more open-ended to any problem you may have had such difficult teammates, changing deadlines, etc. Have an answer prepared that starts with the issue that had occurred, your role in identifying it and the steps you took to cause a successful resolution.
Interested in a career in consulting? Be sure to pick up my book An Introduction to Consulting available now!
Why do you want to work for this firm?
This question is designed to test your knowledge of the consulting industry and your motivation for picking a specific firm. Highlight some of the key reasons for your interest in the specific firm you are interviewing with. Do your research before going into the interview. Figure out what areas this firm focuses on and excels in. Be sure to mention those and how those align with your goals and career aspirations. Mention how not only how the company can help you grow and obtain your goals but also how you can help the company grow and obtain theirs.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Another common question across many industries. For this question, have 2-3 of each strength and weakness prepared. For the strengths, it is important to show confidence but not arrogance. The goal is to highlight qualities such as focus, dedication, creativity, and relate to how you apply them to your day to day tasks, especially at work. The interviewer is looking to see if what you bring to the table is going to be a fit for the role they are hiring for. In consulting, strengths such as leadership, work ethic problem solving, hard-working are usually ideal.
The weakness portion of the answer is always a little trickier. You want to appear self-aware of your flaws but not list out items that will eliminate you as a candidate. It is also easy to see through “weakness as strength” answers such as “I work too hard”. Try to be honest about your answers and mention shortcomings that are not critical and how you have begun to take steps to grow and evolve.
Logical Thinking Questions
Logical questions are usually theoretical or analysis driving questions. The purpose of these questions is not to see if you get the exact right answer but to evaluate your thought process and methodology of problem-solving. Now is not the time to be quiet. Be sure to talk through your solution and draw out your answer as you process the solution. It ok to backtrack if you have gone down a path that does not make sense. Just be sure to show why you feel you made an error and how to correct it. Visuals will be your friend if you have access to a whiteboard or notepad. Here are some sample questions to give you an idea of what to expect.
- How many airplanes leave from Boston’s Logan Airport on Monday?
- How many quarters can fit in this room?
- How many lightbulbs are there in Manhattan?
- How many passengers fly through LAX in a calendar year?
More Questions for Interview Questions for Entry Level Consultants and Consulting
Here is a list of more common questions you may see in an entry-level interview. Be sure to practice with a friend and have answers to many of these ready before you show up to your interview.
- Please describe your most important leadership experience and the impact that you had as a leader.
- Describe a problem that you would like to tackle at why, and how would you pursue it.
- If I were to speak to your colleagues from your most recent internship (or friends in school), what would they say about you? What are the strengths and weaknesses they would share?
- Describe a situation where you failed. What did you learn about yourself and how did you change as a result?
- Why our firm instead of your current firm? What do you know about us compared to your firm?
- Tell me about a project that didn’t go well and why and what you would do differently next time?
- How do you quantify a lead?
- Can you describe your brand?
- How have you dealt with low team morale in the past? Provide an example of when you had to give a bad performance review.
- Describe a project which challenged you. Describe a client relationship that was challenging.
Interested in a career in consulting? Be sure to pick up my book An Introduction to Consulting available now!
Interview Questions for Entry Level Consultants and Consulting