| Topic Name: |
Interviews |
| Message Name: |
interviewing 101 |
| Date Posted: |
01/22/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Hey, I also have a PowerDay on Jan 26th in Richmond. I've accumulated some cases to practice with. Send me an email: 'seking at gmail.com' |
| Message: |
The most asked questions:
Prometric testing:
3 multiple choice tests that serve as screens
a. Math Test
A 35 minute 30 question math test. Sample question: Shows two graphs with revenues and expenses. Asks if revenues continue to grow at same rate and expenses grow at half the rate what are profits in two years. Easy as pie. However, when there are thirty pies it becomes difficult. Very few people finish the test, if you do you're doing well. You should be able to make it well past the halfway mark to pass this. It is the most difficult of the test.
2. Behavioral test
Sample: In a group setting do you a) always, b) sometimes, c) never take the lead?
I personally think this test is silly and don't think it does any service to the process except waste candidates time but it does identify those that are clearly a bad culture fit. Lots of time. Answer honestly.
3. Experience test
I'm less familiar with this but it is a comprehensive inventory of your past experience with software etc. No suggestions here other than don't lie. I don't know how this is used in the process but I don't think it is a big part.
If you pass these you go on to 1:1 interviews (ON-SITE "POWER DAY")
a) Behavioral interviews
Consists of 3-6 typical behavioral questions "tell me about a time when you convinced a group to change a current standard". Then answer. Your answers should clearly set up the situation and explain your actions. Expect to talk at length (2-5 minutes) about your answer with a number of follow ups. Don't use a phoney answer because usually the follow ups will identify a liar pretty soon. This is a key interview for the process / project / relationship manager roles.
b) Case interviews
The granddaddy of them all. 1:1 Case with another analyst. This is the no BS interview. If you make a mistake it will be spotted. Almost everyone makes a few mistakes along the way so don't worry. It will start with a simple business situation, about half are credit card related, half are drawn from other businesses. For example: I own a restaurant we're thinking of adding home delivery...
After that there will be a mix of qualitative (what type of marketing, other considerations etc) and quantitative questions (if startup costs are $10k and we expect x deliveries when will we cover initial costs) that start out easy (simple breakevens) and gradually increase in difficulty until you get to a complex interrelationship between variables that really tests your conceptual skills (perhaps you've assumed that you have unlimited drivers but all your orders come in a two hour window - you need to adjust your analysis for that). In this respect C1 cases go further down the analytical road than some other companies (though I found them similar to McKinsey cases). This turns off some marketing students but turns on some engineering students but in general if you're someone who enjoys numbers you'll like the case. The other great thing about it is that they are very reflective of the analyst role and how we approach the business - so they do a great job at identifying good / bad analysts. This interview is essential for the analyst position but all who apply must show some aptitude here. For practice sites like vault probably have some good advice, and C1, McKinsey etc have good sample cases. My best advice is to be clear in your thinking so the interviewer knows how you approach a problem. If we ask "maximize profit" a good start is profit = revenue - expenses, then talk about each side separately. Too often people jump straight into revenue or marketing ideas and miss opportunities. Cap One cases are also quite structured - so there is not a lot of "hidden clues" that you need to identify by asking clever questions like in some other cases.
And that's it.
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