2. OUTLINE
1. Importance of fit interview
2. How to prepare
3. Types of questions
4. Best practices and common mistakes
5. Partner up and practice
3. IMPORTANCE OF FIT INTERVIEW
Fit interview
(10-15 min)
Ice Breaker
(1-5 min)
Questions
(1-5 min)
Case interview
(25-35 min)
Full-time position interview
Fit interview is just as important as the case
interview, if not more
Determines your likability
Contributes to how helpful the interviewer will
be during the case interview
4. PURPOSE OF THE FIT INTERVIEW
1. Assess your ability to prioritize information and
communicate succinctly
2. Gauge how you mesh with the firm and office
Professional presence
Airport test
3. Evaluate your understanding of consulting and
the specific firm
4. Assess your soft skills and character
Leadership
Teamwork
Communication
Drive to achieve
Problem-solving
6. RESOURCES FOR LEARNING
ABOUT CONSULTING
YouTube videos
Victor Cheng
Managementconsulted
Management Consulting Prep
Consulting prep websites
www.vault.com
www.caseinterview.com
www.managementconsulted.com
www.mconsultingprep.com
www.glassdoor.com
Firm websites
Case interview prep books
7. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
1. Resume-based
General
Specific
2. Why consulting and why the firm
3. Self-awareness
4. Story
5. Curveball
8. GENERAL VS. SPECIFIC
RESUME QUESTIONS
Walk me through your resume
Tell me about yourself
What experiences have made you who you are
today?
Tell me something about you that is not on your
resume
How did you choose to study/work at X
school/company?
Tell me your role at X [company]. How did that
grow or change and why did you leave?
9. ANSWERING GENERAL RESUME
QUESTIONS
Highlight your education followed by relevant
experiences (consulting or business, if any)
Underscore soft skills
Use reverse chronological order
Do not rush or ramble (aim for 1-2 minutes)
10. Structure your answers
Mention consulting soft skills and key words
Quantify your achievements when possible
Highlight any awards and honors
Be concise (~1 minute)
ANSWERING SPECIFIC RESUME
QUESTIONS
11. SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTIONS
My role as a teaching assistant for the Cell
Biology course consisted of three aspects. First, I
served as the communication liaison between
instructors and students; second, I organized
weekly Q&A sessions; and third, I assisted the
instructors in grading students’ performance. I
worked as TA for 2 consecutive years, serving
more than 10 instructors and 80 students, and
was 1 out of 50+ awarded the best TA prize last
year.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTION
12. SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTIONS
My role as a teaching assistant for the Cell
Biology course consisted of three aspects. First, I
served as the communication liaison between
instructors and students; second, I organized
weekly Q&A sessions; and third, I assisted the
instructors in grading students’ performance. I
worked as TA for 2 consecutive years, serving
more than 10 instructors and 80 students, and
was 1 out of 50+ awarded the best TA prize last
year.
SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTION:
STRUCTURE
13. SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTION:
KEYWORDS
My role as a teaching assistant for the Cell
Biology course consisted of three aspects. First, I
served as the communication liaison between
instructors and students; second, I organized
weekly Q&A sessions; and third, I assisted the
instructors in grading students’ performance. I
worked as TA for 2 consecutive years, serving
more than 10 instructors and 80 students, and
was 1 out of 50+ awarded the best TA prize last
year.
14. SPECIFIC RESUME QUESTION:
NUMBERS
My role as a teaching assistant for the Cell
Biology course consisted of three aspects. First, I
served as the communication liaison between
instructors and students; second, I organized
weekly Q&A sessions; and third, I assisted the
instructors in grading students’ performance. I
worked as TA for 2 consecutive years, serving
more than 10 instructors and 80 students, and
was 1 out of 50+ awarded the best TA prize last
year.
15. WHY CONSULTING
Really asking: Why are you a good fit to be a consultant?
Demonstrate a clear understanding of consulting
Display a genuine interest in consulting
Answer why you can succeed in consulting
Highlight relevant achievements
Touch upon soft skills
Develop a unique and creative story
Average: Only a simple reason
Good: I have three reasons
Great: Let me tell you a story
16. WHY THE FIRM
Really asking: Why are you a good fit with the firm?
Demonstrate a genuine interest in the firm by
knowing:
People (networking)
Specific aspects of past achievements or cases
Staffing model
Unique culture or initiatives
Do not compare the firm with the others
Convey what you can do for the firm, not just how
great the firm is
Develop a unique and creative story
17. SELF-AWARENESS QUESTIONS
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What would your mentor/supervisor say is your
biggest weakness/strength?
What are your short and long term goals?
What would you miss about academia?
Tell me about a time when you failed
Give me an example of a time when you had to
resolve a crisis
18. SELF-AWARENESS QUESTIONS
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What would your mentor/supervisor say is your
biggest weakness/strength?
What are your short and long term goals?
What would you miss about academia?
Tell me about a time when you failed
Give me an example of a time when you had to
resolve a crisis
19. STRENGTHS
Pick 3 strengths that are consulting soft skills
relevant
Provide brief, supporting illustrations
Highlight achievements
Quantify results
Be confident, not arrogant
Try to tell stories
20. WEAKNESSES
Pick 2 weaknesses
Choose examples that are:
from the past to distance yourself
distant from the consulting soft skills
Acknowledge assertively and say how you
have improved
Try to tell stories
21. STORY QUESTIONS
Specific examples of how you have
demonstrated key consulting soft skills
Leadership
Teamwork
Communication
Drive to achieve
Problem-solving
22. STRATEGY FOR STORY
QUESTIONS
Look at your resume: how do your experiences
demonstrate key soft skills?
Generate relevant stories for each soft skill
Formulate the story with the STAR method
Practice being structured but natural-sounding
Refine the stories and receive feedback
23. THE FIT MATRIX
Story A Story B Story C Story D
Problem solving X X
Leadership X X
Teamwork X
Communication X X
Drive to achieve X X X
26. STAR METHOD: TASK OR TROUBLE
Identify the task or trouble at hand
Highlight specific constraints or challenges
such as (for example, deadlines or costs)
Mention potential consequences if the issues
were not resolved
27. STAR METHOD: ACTION
Clearly describe specific actions that you took
to complete the task
Highlight your rationale behind the actions
Did you consider any alternatives?
Demonstrated consulting soft skills
28. STAR METHOD: RESULT
Conclude with the results/outcome of your
actions
Quantify the impact if possible
Did you meet your objectives?
What did you learn from the experience?
What are the implications?
29. STAR METHOD:
LEADERSHIP EXAMPLE
Situation: Students in the department felt they were not
getting enough exposure to other research topics outside
of their lab.
Task: Other departments have had success bringing in
external speakers for weekly seminars. Thus, I decided to
try to institute a similar program in my department.
Action: I spoke to departmental administrators about
funding for honorariums. I created a committee of
interested students to send invitations to potential
speakers and arrange the logistics for the program.
Result: The department granted me $3000 in funding.
With this fund, we have hosted >30 external speakers
since June, and >100 students and faculty have attended
each seminar. With our success, the department supports
the permanent installment of this seminar progam.
30. COMMON MISTAKES WHEN
SELECTING STORIES
Using stories:
Irrelevant to the question
Too far in the past
That can not be backed up with details
Point: Avoid using the same story multiple times
in the same interview session
31. COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN
PRESENTING STORIES
Giving a rehearsed speech
Using “we” instead of “I”
Being vague or generic
Not structuring the story
Spending too much time on the context
Telling stories with so many facts that the
interview does not know how to follow up
32. RANDOM CURVEBALL QUESTIONS
Some questions are unpredictable
How do you feel about [a current business event]?
What is the most interesting business problem that
[pharma/biotech industry] faces today?
Intended to determine how you react under
pressure
Strategy: Breathe, take time to think and
demonstrate confidence in your answer
34. PRACTICE SESSION
Choose one
1. Why consulting?
2. What is your proudest achievement?
3. Tell me about a time when you led a team
4. Tell me about a time when you worked with a
difficult person
Apply the STAR method
Partner up and share your answers
35. APPLICATION DEADLINES
DATE/TIME EVENT
September 4th (Monday) LEK 2018 Life Sciences Specialist
No due date available ClearView Life Science Strategy
Consultant (Experienced Hire)
No due date available Putnam Associates Life Science
Consultant (San Francisco and Boston)