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Industry: Management consulting
Company: LEK consulting
Position: Associate
Result: Selected
Setting: On-campus recruitment
Management consultants enhance the performance of organizations and assist them in solving problems and maximising growth and value. Their services are recruited for external advice and to attain access to consultants’ specialized expertise. L.E.K. Consulting is a global management consulting firm.
This article is about the interview experience of Neeti Khanter, an SRCC alumna who was selected for the position of Associate at LEK consulting as a part of the company's on-campus placement program.
The article covers various topics related to the recruitment process adopted by the organization, details of the interview process, and expert tips on how to prepare for the interview.
All information and insights have been shared by the above-mentioned candidate.
Recruitment process
The recruitment process began with CV shortlisting, which was followed by a workshop with LEK associates and consultants. After the workshop, the candidates took part in a buddy program followed by the personal interviews.
The workshop
This was a workshop-cum-interactive session. The representatives from the company talked about the real-life cases they were solving at the time and the candidates were allowed to clear all their doubts and queries about the firm as well as the process. They were also given a few cases and asked to solve it in groups.
Buddy program
Each candidate was assigned a buddy from the organization whose work was to assist the candidate in solving cases. The candidate solved two cases, one was a profitability case and the other was a guesstimate.
Interviews
Disclaimer: The candidates' interview was slightly different from that of the others as she was late for it due to being caught up in another interview. She says that it might have been cut short by one round.
There were three rounds of interviews, all of which were eliminative and had one panel member each. Two rounds happened on the same day while the third one had to be postponed to the next day due to time constraints.
First-round
This was a technical round and lasted for about an hour.
The interviewer made sure that she did all the calculations and not just the basic framework of the case.
This round involved the interviewee employing skills like data interpretation, calculations and critical thinking.
Some of the questions asked were:
a) What should a rational person choose between Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar?
b) Considering I chose Hotstar, how many others are watching the India-Pakistan live test match with me?
The recruiter was looking for:
Case solving skills.
Skills in mental-mathematics.
How segmented her approach was.
How well she could personalize it, especially concerning the second question which was such that she had to tailor her approach based on his preference.
Second round
This round was a combination of HR and Technical questions and lasted for 20 to 30 minutes.
Some of the questions asked were:
a) What should I choose out of all the business schools, if I'm planning to do an MBA abroad? (She had to answer based on her understanding, conventional preference and then tailor it according to him.)
b) What's your opinion on Modi and his government or how he is governing the country? (She had to answer based on political opinion/opinion on current affairs.)
What was the recruiter looking for?
How well she could solve a scenario based on the interviewer's preference and by including various parameters.
How well-read she is.
Her ability to handle curveballs while staying calm, composed and confident.
Her questioning, critical thinking and analytical skills.
Here the interviewer was looking more towards the strategy than the implementation of it thus he stopped her 10 minutes into solving the case and moved onto other questions.
Third round
This was a partner round and consisted of a combination of HR and Technical questions which went on for 20 minutes.
Some of the questions asked were:
a) Why she'd choose LEK over other consulting firms that came to the campus. (Here she had to list down various parameters, compare LEK with other global consulting firms, and then justify the answer.)
What was the recruiter looking for
Good communication with a partner.
A well-read and well-researched approach towards LEK.
Balance between honesty and diplomacy
Candidate’s Preparation Journey
The candidate's preparation went on for about a month.
She began with solving guesstimates with her case group and then moved onto solving cases.
Practised with basic cases first and gradually shifted to more unconventional ones.
Solved cases with seniors who were already placed in companies. These included the cases they had received in interviews as well as the ones their company buddies had given them during their process.
The last two weeks were jam-packed with cases, not just with friends and seniors but also with buddies from other companies.
Tips to Crack the Interview
Don't obsess over the result as a result-based approach can make you nervous and in this field, it is extremely important to always maintain a confident and straight face in front of your clients even when curveballs are thrown at you.
Solve as many cases as possible with friends, seniors and buddies. This will give you confidence, expand your knowledge base, and make you a better critical thinker.
Don't just stick to book-based cases as no book can teach you how to tackle a real-life case.
Interact with people from other colleges. This will help you know how your peers are performing.
Research about your company and have conversations with people regarding it.
Make efforts to form connections with representatives that come for the pre-placement talks. This will give you a lot of first-hand knowledge regarding the company.
Always try to ask a question about the industry/firm/job from the interviewer. This shows your level of interest in the job and your enthusiasm to learn.
We thank the candidate for sharing these insights with us that have given us a detailed perspective on both the overall recruitment process and how to crack it.
Stay tuned for more such interview experiences.
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