Interview Guide Inductis

8/6/2019 Interview Guide Inductis

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A Guide to Interviewingat Inductis

www.inductis.com


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2What We Look For

Analytic andQuantitative Skills

Leadership Ability

Teamwork

Ethics and Integrity

Organization

Computer Skills

Communication Skills

Characteristics


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3Our Interviews

Fit CaseOffer

Typically each interview is a mix of a fit interview and a case interview.To receive an offer you must succeed in both


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4

Objectives

The main purpose of the fit interview is to discover whether you will "fit" with the firm'sculture and people

The Fit Interview: Overview

To explore your personal integrity and ambitions

To learn about your interests and to see if they matchthose of the firm

To see whether you can "present" yourself in a coherentmanner

To ascertain your level of knowledge and interest inconsulting

To provide an opportunity for you to learn more about ourfirm


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5Typical Questions to Expect

Tell me something about yourself

Give me an instance when you performed under stress

Give me an instance where you have delivered a creative solution. What wasthe impact of your solution?

Tell me an incident where your views were in conflict with team. How didyou resolve?


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6The Dos and Donts of a Fit Interview

DO: Relax and be comfortable Express your own interests and

expectations Convey a coherent picture of yourself

and your skills Ask good questions Demonstrate your knowledge of the firm

(i.e. its culture and history)

DON'T: Get defensive or let nerves overcome

you Feign interest in subjects to impress

the interviewer Tell stories that confuse the interviewer

or provide confusing images of whoyou are

Ask questions for the sake of askingquestions

Appear ignorant about the position forwhich you are interviewing or about thefirm with which you are interviewing

Since the fit interview is designed to see simply if you match well with the firm,it is difficult to put forth a set of rules. However, there are some basic dos and don'ts


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7The Case Interview: Overview

To ascertain how you think through problems

To determine your ability to structure a logical argument

To test your analytic and quantitative skills

To give you a flavor for the types of problems consultantswork on

Objectives

Case interviews seem to be one of the biggest sources of stress surrounding theinterviewing process, but they don't need to be. If you understand what the intervieweris looking for, case interviews can be quite manageable


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8General Hints for Approaching Cases

Think first, then speak Be as clear and concise as possible (e.g. 1, 2, 3)

Ask questions, don't just give answers

Make sure you are answering the problem being asked

Establish the scope of the problem before digging deep in one area Always state your assumptions

Don't be afraid to take notes if there are a lot of facts

Be sure you explain your thought process/logic path

Select a solution and justify it Don't forget possible alternatives

Read the newspaper the day of your interview; many times interviewers will pull theircases from the day's news

No matter what kind of case you face, there are a few guidelines you should alwayskeep in mind


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9Basic US Statistics

Population of the World:6.2 billion

Population of the U.S.:290 million

Number of adults in the US:210 million (18+ yrs.)

200 million (25+ yrs.)

Number of Cars perHousehold:

2.5

Number of US Households:105 million

Minimum Wage:approx. $5 per hour

While you certainly shouldn't go and memorize the census report, there are certainstatistics that you should be familiar with in order to help you solve cases. You shouldalso be familiar with general demographic trends (i.e. Gen-Xers vs. Baby-Boomers andincome distribution)


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10Interviewing Styles

Detailed introduction ofcase

Specific problem to besolved

A few starter facts

Many additional facts

available, if asked Conversational feel

throughout case interview

Detailed Problem

Brief introduction

Very broad description ofproblem (e.g. poorperformance)

Few, if any facts available

What do you thinkresponses to many

questions

Conceptual Problem

Case Descriptions

Two Extremes

Every interviewer will have a different interview style. When explaining a case youmust feel comfortable with each of the different approaches and be able to adapt yourapproach


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11Types of Cases

Special CasesEngineeringEconomics

Data AnalyticsPuzzles

Miscellaneous

Strategy Brain-Teasers

Types of Cases

The types of cases you are likely to encounter will generally fit into one of threedistinct groups


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12Strategy Cases

Types of Strategy Cases

Costs

Revenues

Marketing

Strategy cases generally involve one or more of the following three issues, but thesecertainly do not represent the universe of possible scenarios


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13Frameworks for Approaching Strategy Cases:The Four PsWhile you probably do not want to make it obvious that you are using an economicframework to solve a case, employing the underlying logic should help you structure

your argument and solidify your analysis. One popular framework is the Four P's:

What product do you want to sell?What product are you able to produce?What advantages does your product offer?

What price must you charge to make a profit?What price are consumers willing to pay?What price are your competitors charging?

Where is there a demand for your product?Where are your suppliers located?

What distribution channels are being used?

Who is your target audience?How do you reach them?How much do you want to spend on promotions

and advertising?

The Four P's

Product

Price

Place

Promotion


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14Frameworks for Approaching Strategy Cases:The Four Cs

What do the customers want and need?How will you satisfy those needs?What is most important to the customers?How much will they pay for it?

What are your competitors doing?

What are their strengths and weaknesses?How are they meeting the customer's demand?What is their cost structure?

What are your company's capacities:- financial- organizational

- production- marketing?What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What is your cost structure?- fixed costs- variable costsHow have your costs changed over time?

The Four C's

Customers

Competitors

Capacity

Costs

Another helpful framework in approaching a strategy case is the Four C's:


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15Framework for Approaching Strategy Cases:Marketing Strategy Model

ConsumerAnalysis

CompetitionDistribution

MarketingMix

Economics

What is the relevant market?Who is buying and who is using

the product?What is the buying process?How can I segment the market?

What are your company'sstrengths and weaknesses?

What are your competitor'sstrengths and weaknesses?What is your relative size and

position in the market?How do your resources differ

from those of your competitors?

What are the costs?What is the break even?How long is the payback

on my investment?

How does my product fitwith my other products?How will I differentiate my

product?

How does the product lifecycle affect my plans?

How can my product reach the consumer?

How much do the players in each distribution channel profit?Who holds the power in each distribution channel available?

Start

While it is slightly more complex than the previous frameworks, the marketing strategymodel provides an excellent frame of reference for marketing cases


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16Brainteasers and Special Cases

Ability to breakdown a complex problem into simple steps

Conceptual reasoning skills

Logical reasoning

Quantitative skills

Basic Economics Knowledge

Basic Engineering Knowledge

Creativity

Brain Teasers and Special Cases are meant to test the following


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17If You Get In a Jam

Pause to collect your thoughts. Remaining silent is better than blurting out anincoherent thought

Recount what you already know to the interviewer. By reviewing what you knowabout the case, the next step often becomes more clear

Don't give up. Interviewers are judging your poise and maturity in addition to yourproblem-solving skills


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Thank-you for applying to Inductis.

We look forward to meeting you through the interview

process.

Additional information on the company can be foundon our website: www.inductis.com

Interview Guide Inductis

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