Sun Cloud Tech

As a consultant, you will be expected to function as a reliable engineer, but also, for the first time, take responsibility for a team at a high level - all this whilst working in harmony within an already established team. This includes taking a proactive stance, a logical and safe approach to resolving problems and conflicts, and a good understanding of the environment in which you will work, etc.

For this reason, consultant interviews tend to have a more informal style and contain questions of a more personal nature often revolving around current projects, which will help them understand your motivations in more depth and gauge whether you will be a good fit for the team.

Interviewing Tips

We all develop individual talents and based upon our past expriences build up our profile. We then go ahead and summarize our achievements in a well formatted and a presentable resume. With the hopes that interviewer will simply stick to our highlighted experiences and catch up on our highlighted keywords. Seldom will the interviewer pose questions only over your written experiences, they would judge your skills in multiple aspects ranging from your dressing style to communications skills to how you present yourself in difficult situations..

Tips

Interviewers are obligated to have a deeper meaningful dialog to find the best candidate. For this reason you as an interviewee must put your best foot forward. This blog entry is to give you some standard and some advance interview preparation tips!

Basic Preparation Tips

Brush up on your mentioned strengths and achievements. Whatever are those, be poised to answer them in a confident manner Then listen, in order to understand the ask, a consultant must be an outstanding “active listener”.

Dress comfortably

Always wear something appropriate, comfortable and something which allows a positive impression. Remember picture speaks a thousand words. Doesn't mean you have to wear expensive suits/dress but don't turn up into interviews in your shorts either..

Come prepared

If you do enough preparation, you will know all the key questions (or versions of questions) that are likely to come up. This means that you are unlikely to get any surprises. Some of these can be predicted – each panel member will focus on asking questions that are relevant to their role (i.e. they are all on the panel for a reason – to represent a specific interested group of people).

• The College rep. - you will be asked general questions about your training, e.g. what you might change in training, what were the best bits of your training, how you keep up to date, and what are your career aspirations (you need a plan for where you see yourself in 5, 10 years time – you can use CAMPS for this and many of the College rep’s questions)

• Software Engineers – software strengths, immediate last experience, what were your contributions? Any production challenges? What was your individual contribution to resolve them?
• Clinicians – managing juniors, change in the department, what you will do with your non-clinical time, how will you develop education and wellbeing, you have a disagreement with your colleague – how do you cope?
• Manager/Director governance, leadership, management styles, how do you measure success/failures – key findings and what would you do to improve them, how you measure quality, difficult personnels or situations?
• Medical Director governance, SI experience, something specific to the department (which directorate), CQC report – key findings and what would you do to improve them, how you measure quality, do you want us to be involved with research going forward?
• Chief Exec – how will you improve revenue flow? How do you improve quality without increasing costs? How do you attract investors?

Active Tense

Most candidates are worried about bragging and, consequently, try to tone down their contribution. They also allow the whole team to take credit for what is often their own personal achievement. So for example, candidates would say "I was involved in drafting a business case" when what they should really say is "I drafted a business case on xxx for review by the lead engineer/clinician and the managers, which was subsequently agreed and implemented with minimal modifications". Using a more active style of wording makes the difference between an "okay" candidate and a confident candidate who can demonstrate they value they can add to the department.

Active/Passive

Example of a passive sentence is "I am involved in teaching on a regular basis". The use of the word "involved" merely conveys that the candidate is present but does not describe any of the contribution he or she is making. There is a difference between simply running through slides which were handed out to you, and actually writing new material for your lectures, both of which fall into the category of "being involved". This sentence "I write and deliver lecture to GPs on a quarterly basis on topics such as x, y and z", for example, would have a far greater impact.

Stop obsessing about your body language

There is little point in worrying about how you cross you fingers or your legs if what comes out of your mouth makes no sense. Body language is not part of the marking sheet interviewers have. In fact most people will ignore your body language unless it is really bad, in which case it most probably means that you have very little confidence and therefore that your answers are also very bad.

Most people have a normal body language and interviewers will make allowances for the fact that you are a bit nervous. If you spend the time preparing well for your interview, you will gain much more confidence in yourself and your body language will follow naturally. The more you think about your body, the less you are able to think about your answers.

Be personal in your appraoch

For each question, there are a number of points that can be raised. Most people who have prepared will automatically come up with these points and, in order to make a difference, you will need to personalise your answers otherwise you will sound the same as everyone else. Depending on the question that you have been asked, this can be achieved in different ways.

• If the question is about your interpersonal skills, try to bring in a few examples that demonstrate your experience. For example when discussing team playing, describe situations where you gained experience of team work. You should not go into too much detail but be specific enough to be credible.
• Steer clear of definitions and grand statements. An interview is a conversation, not a speech or a verbal essay. You need to appear natural and confident in what you say. Do not be scared of expressing your ideas in your own words. For example, when is the last time you used the word "flourish" at home or at work? So why insist in using it in your description? Too many people try to explain simple ideas using pompous words because they feel it makes them sound better. In reality it makes them sound vague, theoretical and, sometimes, confused ... the interviewers are confused too!
• Don't be afraid of expressing how you feel, what you liked, why you enjoyed it, etc. They want to recruit human beings, not clones. Also, talking about feelings helps bringing out your enthusiasm and passion for what you do. It is very difficult to be passionate when talking about cold facts. Facts are important to sell your credibility but not your motivation

Organize your answers

Many candidates' answers are made up of a long list of ideas, most of which are irrelevant or not backed up. There is no point putting across 20 ideas if the average human being can only remember 3 or 4 ideas at a time. You will just drown your interviewers in a mass of information they can't digest. As a result they will either lose interest and start looking through the window, or they will get a headache trying to make sense of it all. Put yourself in their shoes! They have been sitting there listening to the same old answers from everyone. Make their job easy, don't make them think too much, organise the information for them. In our experience, those who get the jobs are not those who have an absolutely flawless content in their answers. They are those who have a good structure and make them personal, even if they only have 70% of the expected content.

Don't try to be different by looking for unusual answers

Many candidates believe that they need to be different to stand out. This makes them scared of addressing some questions and they live in fear of sounding boring. As a result they try to be clever and to find "unusual answers". This is a dangerous game. What makes you stand out is not the fact that the content of your answer is wildly different to your competitors' answers, but the manner in which you express and back up good ideas, and the confidence that you have in your delivery and in your opinions. Consultant interviews are not about being original; they are about being all-rounded.

Don't assume that standard answers will make you succeed

Many candidates believe that by regurgitating a ready-made answer, they will get the job. This is a myth. You should not believe anyone (no matter what your friend states) who tell you that you will get the job by learning a standard answer. What will really make the difference is the personal style that you adopt in formulating them and how you back up your claims with relevant and well developed examples.Your answer must be UNIQUE, not the same as hundreds of others.

Effective preparation period

Many candidates either under-prepare or over-prepare for their consultancy interviews. Most people also prepare in the wrong way.

Under-preparation: Being under-prepared is often the result of the misconception that, because interviewers can ask so many different questions, it is very difficult to prepare for anything. As a result, answers become disorganised, contradictory and lengthy, the candidate loses his/her way in unnecessary details and misses out crucial opportunities to put across his/her skills in a positive light. Other candidates also wake up too late or leave it until they get short-listed to start thinking about their interview. In many cases, it is too late.
Over-preparation: Over-preparation often combines with poor strategy and results in candidates rehearsing answers until they are perfect. People who make this mistake are easily thrown off balance by questions they have not prepared; the answers they give sometimes also do not quite match the question asked. Generally, they come across as bad listeners and are unable to deviate from their prepared answers.
Wrong preparation: Many candidates believe that preparing for an interview consists principally in taking a list of hundreds of questions and testing their ability to come up with "something" quickly. Rehearsing answers to many questions is the final step of the process, where you pull together all the elements that you have gained during your preparation. Don't try to answer 100 questions in 10 minutes as it will only result in making you sound vague on the day.

Advanced Preparation Tips

While we have tried breaking our interviewing tips into basic vs advanced. Identify your strengths and break them down into a strong feature. Our advanced tips may sound familiar to most, still think them over and practice how you present your strengest traits say in front of a mirror!

Don’t be afraid to ask reasonable questions

In the beginning, you’ll typically be given important information about your case. Listen to it and take notes. And when the interviewer asks if you have any questions before proceeding—the answer is “yes”

• First, summarize the situation and problem at hand, and ask clarifying questions if something was unclear (e.g., if there was a word you didn’t understand). This will not only highlight your listening skills, it’ll let you double-check that you understand the case that you’re about to start solving.
• Then, do one better: Ask a “step back” question. A step back question is one the puts the case into context, and gets at the bigger picture beyond the information you were given upfront. For instance, if you’re given a case about a private equity firm that’s deciding whether or not to acquire a given company, a step back question could be: “Is this private equity firm also looking at other acquisitions in the industry and therefore evaluating this target versus others?” Most people don’t do this—so if you do, it’ll help you stand out as thoughtful and genuinely interested in the problem rather than just focused on getting through the interview

Engage your interviewer

Asking questions is also a great way to build a rapport with your interviewer from the start. Think of the case not as a test, but as a conversation through which you need to solve a problem. With this mindset, ask your interviewer for more information when you need it, explain your assumptions as you go, and talk him or her through your approach. All of these things will lead to a productive conversation, and you’ll likely find your interviewer quite helpful, especially if you get stuck.

Sometimes he or she may steer you in a different direction or suggest you think of things in a different way—and you should pay attention to such subtle cues and guidance. The more you bring your interviewer along in your thinking, the more he or she will enjoy working through the case with you, and the more opportunity you give him or her to help you solve the problem you’ve been presented with

Structure your answers

A good structure is really the key to doing well with a case. It’s more important than your answer and it’s more important than the knowledge you bring in—it’s your chance to show “how you think.” The interviewer wants to know that you can take a bunch of information thrown at you and create a logical structure, process it, and get to a good answer (not “the” answer, mind you—with cases, there aren’t single right answers).

So, when asked to solve the problem at hand, first ask for a moment to think through it and collect your thoughts. Then, grab your pen and paper and get to work. Your goal, in the next 30 seconds or so, is to outline a logical structure that will help you work through the major issues of the case

A good structure breaks down the problem into components. For example, if you’re asked about profits, then you can split that into two components: “increasing revenue” or “decreasing costs.” Then, you can split each of those further—increasing revenue means “increasing your price” or “increasing the number of things you sell;” decreasing costs means “decreasing fixed costs” or “decreasing variable costs.” On the other hand, if you were asked about growth, you could break you answer into “selling more of what we have today” and “selling new products” or “selling in our existing markets” and “moving into new markets.”

Write down your structure, then explain it to your interviewer. And only then should you dive in to how, specifically, you would up the selling price, decrease manufacturing costs, or move into Asia. The bonus of this approach: If you go down one path and get stuck, you have an outline to fall back on.

Rather than flailing around in the dark trying to structure your answer, have some set structures to use.

PERM Personal experience, research/education, management. You will always get an open question, likely for your first question. This can take various forms but can be answered using this structure. Some examples of this type of question:

• Tell me about yourself
• Talk me through your CV.
• Summarise your experience to date.

You can tailor the answer, but PERM allows you to remember all the key areas.

SPIES Seek information, patience, initiative, escalation, and support. You are likely to be asked a question about dealing with a problematic colleague. Using SPIES helps to keep you on track.

• A junior colleague consistently turns up late to her shifts.
• A senior colleague comes into work looking dishevelled and smelling of alcohol.
• Another colleague repeatedly underperforms and makes questionable decisions.

IMSO Incident, Mission, Steps, Outcome. This structure is useful for any time you are giving an example. It stops you from spending the whole time telling the story about what happened and reminds you to focus on what they want to know – what you did and how you achieved it.

• Tell me about an example where you had a challenging consultation.
• Tell me about a time when you struggled with competing demands.
• Give an example of a time when you made a change against resistance.

Recognize case archetypes

Now, here’s a secret: There are really only a handful of case “types” that you will be given. They include entering a new market, developing a new product, growth strategies, pricing strategies, starting a new business, increasing profitability (or increasing sales or reducing costs), and acquiring a company. Turning around a company and coming up with a response to a competitor’s actions are also possibilities, but they’re asked much less frequently. So, plan ahead and come up with clear structures in mind for each “type.” There is no right structure, and you should, of course, adapt your structure to be relevant to the case at hand. However, thinking through structures ahead of time will help you make sure you stay focused on the key issues during the case, even if unfamiliar jargon is thrown your way. Plus, structures give you a framework for organizing and talking through your information, and a safety net to fall back on if you get stuck. As you practice cases, you should test out and refine your structures. See if they help you cover the important information and lead you down the path to solving the problem—and if not, revise them accordingly.

Practice your solution

Many people freeze up on the quant section. And the best advice here is: The more you practice, the easier it will get. Here are a few pointers:

• Write out your formulas and thought processes as you’re doing your math. This will help you see if you need to ask for additional information to answer the question. Also, if you hit a wall, the interviewer will be able to help get you back on track more easily if he or she is aware of what you’re trying to do.
• Play and practice with numbers. If you trip up on zeros, try dividing and multiplying in scientific notation. Practice taking 10%, 20%, 25% of a number (moving the decimal over for 10% and halving it for 5% usually works well). Have an idea of what 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, and 1/10 are in percentage terms.
• When given a quant question, again, ask for a moment to gather your thoughts and structure the approach. Never feel pressured to respond right away.

Knowledge of industry

You never know what industry the case you’re given will focus on. However, the more relevant you can make your questions and answers to the industry, the better. Two things can help here.

• First, as you practice, keep a running tab of specific attributes particular to an industry (e.g., for airlines: the market is competitive on pricing, economics of coach vs. business travel are very different, capacity utilization is important, unions and fuel can be big drivers of cost).
• Second, keep current with the news. Reading The Economist every week is a great way to keep abreast of major trends in different industries and countries.

Practice Again..

Read through cases yourself, do cases with your friends, and try out the cases on a company’s website. Often, business schools will compile case books and circulate them as well. Case in Point by Marc P. Cosentino is a good place to start. The more you practice, the more variants you will see, and the more comfortable you will be on the day of your actual interview.

Also, there’s no substitute for talking through cases out loud. Reading cases on your own, or doing them online, can be great for helping you practice your structures and your math, but there’s nothing like having to articulate your thought process in real time. Do yourself a favor by simulating the interview environment beforehand—grab a friend and give each other cases. You’ll also be surprised by what you can learn from sitting on the other side of the table

Five examples at hand

It should not come as a surprise that you are going to be asked to give examples. And there are certain examples that are likely to come up. So have them planned in advance so you aren’t having to anxiously pull something out of the depths of your brain.

• A time when you made a mistake
• A time when you had a conflict with a colleague
• A time when you had a conflict with a patient
• A time when you led a team/brought about change
• A time you dealt with a stressful situation or managed risk

All the best!!

While these tips may help you develop an edge ultimately its your confidence, presentation skills, avid listening skills and calm composure whcih will make the eventual impact. Practice and always put your best foot forward!