As a former advanced degree candidate who applied to consulting while finishing medical school, I would like to share my experience with those of you who are in the middle of making a similar jump out of academia.
As I stated in part 1 of this series, many of my M.D. and Ph.D. colleagues had similar questions about how to best position themselves to land a job in management consulting, and so I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts with a larger audience. In the first part of this two part series I outlined four general categories and explored the first two in depth:
- Doing your homework!
- The Application Process
- Case & Fit Practice
- Excelling in the Interview
So, the rest of this post will focus on the two remaining areas: proper case practice, and things to remember during the interview.
3. Case & Fit Practice
Case Practice
One of the good things about preparing for the case interview is that there is no shortage of resources to assist students in understanding the fundamentals. For those who are completely new to case practice, I would strongly encourage you to spend time reading (and re-reading) Case in Point 10 by Marc Consentino and Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng. In my experience, these are the most tried and true texts when it comes to adequate case preparation. Victor Cheng also has a number of YouTube videos as well as the very high yield Look Over My Shoulder (LOMS) audio recordings that give listeners a first hand experience on what it sounds like to go through a case with an experienced interviewer. Those of my peers who used LOMS listened to them 3-5x before their first round interview.
Once you are comfortable with how a case interview is structured and the pace of it, you should find individuals to practice with. In searching for the right practice partners, look for people who are serious about improving their case interview skills. I would suggest reaching out to people in your consulting club, especially those who are also going through the application process. There are also some websites that look to pair people for case practice, where people can interview each other via Skype or Google Hangout. You can also ask questions and look for case practice partners by posting in the community forum of this website.
Once you are comfortable with the partners you have, look for actual practice cases that you can use during your practice sessions with your partners. For me the most helpful place to find high quality practice cases was at the business school of my university. Many business schools have a consulting club where they put together a casebook with tens of solid practice cases, many of which are based off actual cases given to those who interviewed at consulting firms. Take the time to meticously go through as many of these cases as possible either in a one-on-one interview session or even on your own when you have time. The more you expose yourself to the various topics, exhibits, and styles of casing the better prepared you will ultimately be.
People often ask how many cases they need to do in order to achieve a high enough proficiency to get the job offers they covet. The answer to that is there is no real answer. The best advice I received is that quality matters significantly more than quantity. Being able to go through cases and receive quality feedback on your strengths and weaknesses will take you much further than simply reading through practice cases in the same way you would casually peruse a magazine.
Math Practice
One of the easiest ways to mess up your interview is to make a mistake with the mental arithmetic. I know that seems somewhat extreme, but math is an integral part of consulting and partners can’t risk you making a mistake when the client is paying the firm so much money. So, one of the skills that all candidates need to work on is their mental math focusing on addition, subtraction, division, rounding, percentages, and fractions. For many APDs who use computer algorithms to do their math calculations, this will be one of the hardest parts of the interview process.
Below are some tips that I found useful:
- If you mess up don’t let it derail you. Re-focus and stay calm
- Be comfortable with various units of measurement
- Understand basic profitability equations
- Lose the calculator during practice sessions
- A.B.C = “Always Be Checking” your work to make sure results make sense in the context of the case
If you need resources to help you practice your mental arithmetic consider using Prep Lounge and Case Interview.
Fit Practice
The importance of the fit/personal experience interview is often underestimated and therefore candidates fail to put in the time and energy necessary to do well. An applicant can be rejected based on poor fit interview performance. While the personal experience portion of the interview only takes 10-15 minutes it requires deep thinking, personal reflection, and detailed preparation. What interviewers are trying to determine is whether or not you are someone who they would want to work on a project with for 12 hours a day, would you be able to support the team and take on some of the work load, and will you be happy in consulting in the long run. Interviewers will usually cover leadership, teamwork, impact, and achievement experiences during this portion of the interview.
Some of the mistakes that I see people making when I do practice interviews with them include not providing a clear structure, not selling themselves as much as possible, and using generic, non-specific responses. Below is a list of tips that I commonly give my academic peers:
- Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) method when structuring stories
- Responses should be specific or structured, incorporating as many numbers as possible
- Find a partner to practice fit interviews with
4. Excelling in the Interview
If you make it to either the first or final round interview, CONGRTULATIONS!
Take a moment to revel in your accomplishment because a majority of applicants don’t make it to this stage of the process.
In my experience, each firm has a unique interview process. The main differences that you will notice include location of the interview and the rank of your interviewers. It’s important to have an understanding of what the overall process is for each firm that you apply to, and be ready to exceed expectations.
Pre-First Round
In some cases firms will have some form of pre-test or problem-solving test (PST). The most notable firm who employs this method before inviting applicants to a first round interview is McKinsey. The McKinsey PST consists of approximately 26 questions that must be answered in 60 minutes. The test is heavy on mathematical computations, logic questions, and data interpretation. Luckily no business background is needed to do these questions, but I think it is helpful to have some understanding of commonly used terms.
McKinsey has three practice exams on their site that are great practice. The more questions you are able to work through the better, and practicing in a timed-setting will also prove beneficial. I would also recommend reading and re-reading the “Definitive Guide to the McKinsey PST” by Victor Cheng on his website. You can also find more practice opportunities (if you’re willing to pay) on sites like MConsulting Prep.
First Round (On site)
Your first round interview may take place in person or over the phone. Face-to-face interviews will either take place at the firm’s nearest office location or possibly on campus if your university is a target school. MBB (Mckinsey, Bain, and BCG) usually want to meet in person for each round of interviews. Usually you will have a week or two between the time you receive an invitation and when the interview is scheduled.
One of the nice perks of interviewing with consulting firms is that they will pay or reimburse all travel and lodging expenses. This was a very pleasant surprise coming from academia where most people have to cover their own expenses when interviewing for graduate school and post-graduate residences and fellowships. I would strongly encourage you to reserve flights and hotels in advance. After that has been handled, take time to review who you will be interviewing with so that you are knowledgeable about their background and experience with the firm.
First round interviews on site will most likely be conducted by Consultants (2+ years experience) and Engagement Managers (4+ years experience). The interview day will consist of 2-4 interviews that are 45-60 minutes each. Each interview will consist of two parts (this applies to both first and second round interviews):
- Fit Interview: ~ 25% of interview
- Case Interview: ~75% of interview
Make sure you eat a good breakfast and aim to arrive 10-15 minutes before your interview. When you arrive, pick up your nametag and an interview day packet. The recruiting coordinator will usually hand these folders to you. In many situations, there will be a consultant who will be there to interact with applicants, answer questions about what to expect, and continue to sell you on the firm. These are usually individuals who graduated from your school or come from the same region. Be pleasant and interact with them, and of course remember that you are being judged and evaluated the moment you step into the firm’s reception area.
Once your name is called, greet your interviewer with energy and enthusiasm and try to maintain that throughout the interview. The excitement you display in the interview is the same level of engagement that they would like to see if you get an offer. When you enter the interview room try and sit next to the interviewer instead of across the table. This way they can see your work and make the interview more of a problem to be solved as a team rather than a confrontation.
First Round (Phone Interview)
For APDs, especially those looking to go to boutique life science firms, you will more than likely have a phone interview. Those interviewing you will be of similar seniority as described above. The structure and number of interviews will be the same in terms of the fit and case interview portions. The two main differences are that phone interviews are usually shorter (25-45 mins) and of course are on the phone. The key to excelling in this interview setting is making sure that you are constantly describing what you are doing since the interviewer cannot see. From how you are setting up your paper, to describing how you are setting up your framework, and to orally walking them through every calculation you do. There really is nothing worse than dead silence on the phone for 20-30 seconds leaving your interviewer feeling lost to what’s going on.
Second Round/Decision Round
Preparation for this round should begin with feedback from your interviewers from the first round. Learning what you did well and what you need to improve on is a key part of the process because the firm wants to know how coachable you are from interview to interview.
This round is fairly standard regardless of which firm you interview with. You will get flown to whichever office you would work in if you get a job offer and you will be interviewing with senior members, most likely partners and principals. The structure of the interview is the same as the first-round interviews with a fit and case portion. One difference you may experience in the second round is how more senior members present cases compared to the more junior members of the firm in the first round. Partners will often present cases that they have actually worked on and will do so in a much more conversational manner compared to the structured questioning of consultants and engagement managers. I also experienced more pressured questioning in which the interviewer would ask me to give multiple answers/possibilities (5-10) for a given question one after another without time to think in between.
Be consistent and continue to do the things that have made you successful in getting to this point and you will put yourself in the best position to get that coveted job offer.
Conclusion
Making the transition out of academia and into consulting can be a grueling and arduous process, but being resilient and continuing to push yourself each day will allow you to maximize your potential as you pursue a job in a competitive field. It’s important to pace yourself in order to guard against burnout. You don’t want to push yourself so hard that your mind and energy are drained and you aren’t able to perform at your best when you need it most.
Kevin Anderson is a graduating medical student at Duke University School of Medicine and will be starting at LEK Consulting later this year. He’s most passionate about healthcare redesign, patient engagement, and the life sciences. His free moments are spent traveling and enjoying sporting events with his wife and daughter.
Image: Pexels
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