People & Ideas
Strategic impact, tangible results
Consulting Ca Book and Tips for Interviewing
Welcome to the A.T. Kearney Way of Consulting
First and foremost, we would like to commend you on your interest in strategy consulting.
You are about to embark on an extraordinary journey and we at A.T. Kearney would like to prepare you in the best manner possible. As you begin to think about the upcoming recruiting ason, we hope you will consider exploring career opportunities with A.T. Kearney.
This is a very exciting time to be a part of our firm. In January 2006, A.T. Kearney returned to being a fully independent, consultant-owned firm. As an “80-year-old start-up” we have combined eighty years of delivering value to our clients with an entrepreneurial spirit and fresh perspective. Our firm has enjoyed a lot of success in delivering cutting edge work across strategy, operations and other functions for industry-leading and big-brand clients.
As you explore possibilities at A.T. Kearney, we encourage you to visit our website and participate in our on-campus recruiting events.
At A.T. Kearney we are looking for people who love to reach out. People who want to stretch their tal
ents. People who will challenge themlves to achieve meaningful, measurable results for their clients, their firm and themlves.
People with Ideas That Last
Your interest in a consulting career with us suggests that you may be one of tho people, and we have designed our interview process so that you will have every opportunity to show it.
The A.T. Kearney interview quence for MBA candidates eking an Associate position consists of two rounds. The first includes two 45-minute interviews conducted back-to-back on campus or in another convenient location. The cond, which normally takes place at our nearest office, involves meetings with A.T. Kearney’s nior consultants.
沈义伦If you are invited to complete the full quence, you can expect that both rounds of interviews will be a combination of ca and fit interviews. This means that in addition to discussing our firm and your future with it, the A.T. Kearney consultants you meet will also prent you with real-world business problems and ask you to develop solutions.
For Associate candidates in the cond rounds, a standardized ca prentation will also be included in the process, in addition to regular ca and fit interviews. Candidates will receive a written ca, along with other necessary materials, and will be provided with 60 minutes of individual preparation time to read and analyze the ca, determine key issues and recommendations and prepare slides for prentation. Candidates will then make a 20-minute prentation to A.T. Kearney consultants, followed by a 10-minute Q&A ssion.
Experience shows that the applicants who are the most successful in a ca interview are tho who enter it with the right frame of mind and the best preparation. The following information is designed to help you achieve both.
Why the Ca Format?
While we look for many qualities in an applicant, the most important is his or her ability to think and communicate as we believe a successful consultant should.
A ca interview offers you the opportunity to demonstrate your consulting potential.
The ca format is a simulation in which your interviewer, in the role of client, prents you with a co
mplex business problem and eks your initial recommendations for solving it. In the process of developing and conveying your ideas, you will have the chance to display many of the characteristics that make for successful consulting. The include your ability to gather and synthesize information, to postulate alternate solutions, to formulate the one with the greatest impact and to communicate it with power and poi.mg42机枪
Ultimately, both you and we will come out of the ca interview with a better n of your “fit” with the consulting profession in general and with A.T. Kearney in particular.
What to Expect
The ca format prents challenges different from tho of a more conventional interview. Here, you will not only discuss your qualifications but also demonstrate them. The cas you encounter will be bad in part on actual A.T. Kearney engagements or projects. They will focus on areas such as the following: •Industry Analysis
•Profit Improvement
• Investments
•Market Expansion
•Pricing Alternatives
How to Succeed During Your Ca Interview
In general, the best way to approach problems like tho listed above is to enter the interview as a consultant would enter a client’s office or board room — ready to u your imagination, gather and analyze information, arrive at solid conclusions and communicate them persuasively. We asked for the advice of A.T. Kearney consultants who have conducted ca interviews and they offered the following:
实施1. Approach the Ca Logically. The most important thing is to rely on what
your education has trained you to do: u your logic and knowledge to identify the esnce of a problem and shape a solution that will produce tangible,
measurable results
•Listen and Clarify. The interviewer, like a real client, will offer you an initial t of facts. Be certain you understand them completely. Be certain, also, that you help the client clearly express the objectives his or her hypothetical company expects to accomplish as a result of your recommendations. In the interview, as in a real consulting situation, the client may not provide all the information you need without some probing on your part. Be prepared to ask thoughtful questions that will illuminate and fill the gaps.
•Think “Top Down.” As you analyze the information you receive, begin with the “big picture.” Understand the overriding issues and u them to prioritize and organize tho of lesr conquence.
•Hypothesize. While you listen and question, begin developing alternative solutions. Continue questioning until you are confident as to which will offer the greatest potential for impact.
•Frame. Test your hypothesis with further questions and fine-tune it bad on the answers.
•Communicate. Prent your solution in a way that is poid, clear and
conci. State your assumptions and revisit them when the need aris. Be “coachable,” soliciting fe
edback and integrating it quickly. At the same time, be firm about the things in which you believe strongly.
•Know Your Limits. If things aren’t going well, don’t try to “tough it out.”
Acknowledge that you are stuck, ek more information or pursue a different
logical path. Remember, the simulation is designed to reflect the reality of consulting, including the fact that it can be complex and ambiguous.
2. Think Creatively. In the consulting profession it is not enough to be logical.
You will also need to be creative. With this in mind, here are some things you should try to do during your ca interview:
•Challenge Conventions. Be willing to be different. Step outside the
古驰男士皮带proverbial “box.” Resist the temptation to rely on past problem-solving
approaches and, instead, allow yourlf to engage in free association. At什么然无存
A.T. Kearney we are looking for people who can offer a new slant on old
problems — that’s what we mean when we say that ours is a firm where your ideas make a difference.
自制阿胶糕•Approach the Problem from Multiple Directions. Look for different ways to characterize the issues facing the hypothetical company. Consider each as a different starting point toward a potential solution. Look beyond the numbers to the products, process, people and politics behind them.
•Adopt the CEO/Shareholder Perspective. Remember, you are not simply trying to solve a problem — you’re solving it for someone’s benefit. In this
ca it is a CEO in his or her role as chief strategist and protector of
shareholder value. Ultimately, producing results means increasing the
underlying value of a company.
•Consider Organizational and Cultural Aspects. Think about the ways in which both a problem and its potential solution will influence the jobs,
采访法responsibilities and attitudes of the hypothetical company’s people.
The above are some of the “do’s” that will help you maintain a creative edge.
Here are some of the “don’ts.”
— Don’t Force Your Solution to Fit a Standard Framework. The only things it needs to fit are the problem, the business and the objectives.
— Don’t Speak Before Thinking Carefully.
— Don’t Search for a “Silver Bullet.” Complex problems rarely have simple solutions.
— Don’t U “Buzz Words.” Be simple and direct.
3. Send the Right Signals. The success of an engagement will often rest on the
strength of the working partnership that develops between the consultant and client. The same is tru
男人吃什么壮阳最快e during the ca interview.