"How to prepare for consulting interviews?" is a question you're probably asking if getting into one of the top consulting firms is on your roadmap. Preparation is essential for any good interview, and nothing beats knowing what kinds of questions you're likely to face. To help you prepare for your consulting interviews, we have curated a list of questions asked by companies during the interview process. These questions are directly picked from the first-hand accounts of your seniors who were asked these questions during their interviews. Whether you're an aspiring management consultant or you're already on your way to your first interview, we hope this article helps you prepare.
List of companies:
- Deloitte
- IQVIA
- Cognizant
- BCG
- Chainalytics
- EY
- Avalon Consulting
- Capgemini
- Lava International
- United Health Group
Deloitte
- Questions about previous work experience and industry
- Related guesstimate - credit card transactions in a year in your city and related cross questions
- Guesstimate: Number of ATMs in Kozhikode
- Guesstimate: Estimate the no of balls in air in Mumbai at 5 PM on a Monday evening.
- Guesstimate: Annual ticket revenue of an airline
- Case on Business Solutions Company facing slowdown in growth rates
- Case based on a manufacturer of apparels for blue collar workers
- Retail Banking Case - US based Retail Bank and has stagnated profits. List down the internal and external factors and identify the cause
- Profitability(quant analysis) and marketing (theoretical inference) strategy case study
- ERP Company case - Company sells ERP solutions and has profits stagnated. What should the company do? Qualitative factors were asked, and Data sheets were given to come up with a suitable strategy
- HR questions to check personality fit for Deloitte
- Why do you want to do consulting?
- Why Deloitte?
IQVIA
- Questions on CV
- Case on a Pharma firm that wants to release a new drug in Indian market
- Role play scenario, where the interviewer becomes the marketing head of a company, and you have to convince him/her on your strategy
- Guesstimate questions on calculating the number of aircrafts in the world.
- Guesstimate: Estimate number of Diesel engines in the world. What are the different ways to find the same
- Why do you want to join a niche sector?
- Basic HR questions
Cognizant
- Why Cognizant?
- Questions on Job experience, CV related questions
- Where have you imparted leadership skills other than office work?
- Questions to gauge interest in analytics
- Questions on Big Data
- What are the new techniques in data analytics?
- Problem-Solving : Business model to Create value in the Airline Industry
- What are your career aspirations?
- Why Consulting and why not Marketing now rather than later?
- Other HR related questions
BCG
- Questions based on your profile
- Case based on your interest: You are organizing a concert for the Rolling Stones in India, how will you go about it? (Need to talk about everything, combined profitability and market entry case)
- Case : Your client is an agricultural fertilizer manufacturer, makes a commodity product. What strategy will you suggest them so that they can sell their product at a premium?
- Few Guesstimate Questions
- What is the achievement you are most proud of?
- Why consulting?
- Basic HR questions
- Do you have any questions for us?
Chainalytics
- Tell me something about yourself?
- Guesstimate questions and discussion
- CV based questions
- Work experience related questions.
- Why do you want to join this company?
- Some HR questions
- Technical questions related to under graduation subjects
EY
- Tell me about yourself
- Questions about previous work experience
- Situation based questions on ethical dilemma and how it can be resolved
- If you had to meet a CEO to determine the problems faced by his/her company, which questions would you ask the CEO to solve the problem?
- Some basic management accounting questions
- What do you know about the role offered?
- How will you contribute to the role?
- Six live sessions on Management Consulting.
- Guaranteed capstone project.
- Lifetime access to the recordings of the sessions.
- Certificate to boost your resume.
- You may also sign up for one-on-one guidance sessions, additional preparation materials, and a live project.
Avalon Consulting
- Tell me about yourself and your interests
- Walk us through your resume
- Resume based questions
- Guesstimate questions - no. of iPhones in India
- Data interpretation - Gave 3 charts and asked for insights, reasons, explanation
- HR questions testing consulting skills
- Take any contemporary topic, tell me your views and convince me in 3 mins
- General conversation on the topic you chose
Capgemini
- Questions on projects undertaken in undergraduate college
- Questions on past work experience
- Questions about the willingness for a PPO
- Why Supply Chain Management?
- Question on willingness to learn new tools
- Why Capgemini?
Lava International
- Tell us about yourself
- What moral qualities do you have?
- Give us examples of when you showed these qualities
- Tell us what you did you do in your previous company?
- What is DevOps?
- Tell us your journey to MBA, why did you decide to do what you are doing right now?
- Cases to solve: Prove that weather in Kozhikode is better than Hyderabad, statistically
United Health Group
- Questions on your CV and interests
- Come up with a marketing plan to launch a new CRM software and market it to various companies (B2B strategy) (Many follow up questions to gauge your thinking ability)
- Which marketing concepts and theories have you learned and explain their use sequentially while launching a product
- Explain the differences between Balance sheet, Income statement and Cash flow statement
- Explain the Micro economics concepts that you learned (Demand - Supply curve and Marginal utility concepts)
- Imagine that there is a product that is well established in the market and the firm decided to raise its price. What implications does it have on all the marketing, finance and micro economic concepts you mentioned?
Interviewing for a management consulting role can seem intimidating at first, but by knowing what to expect and practicing for each part of the interview, you'll be able to demonstrate that you're a great fit for the role. And, if you want to stay on top of your game, learn from industry experts, and work one-on-one with experts to hone your interview skills and land your dream consulting job, check out InsideIIM's Management Consulting Batch 2.
InsideIIM's Management Consulting Batch 2 (rated 4.67 /5), created in collaboration with experts from top consulting firms such as McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., and Accenture Strategy, is exactly what you need to advance your consulting career.
Program Highlights:
📚 Case Practice: Master the art of solving case-based interview questions. Understand various case types, frameworks, and industry drivers. Practice with real case studies and learn from the best.
🔢 Guesstimates: Develop your guesstimate-solving skills. Learn when to use top-down and bottom-up approaches. Build a solid foundation in statistics and relevant data.
🎙️ Know Thyself: Ace common interview questions like "Tell me about yourself," "Why Consulting?" and "Why XYZ firm?" Learn how to effectively present your CV and experiences.
📈Back End Roles: Learn more about firms, roles, and recruitment processes beyond MBB to widen your net of opportunities.
🚀 Final Tips for Success: Boost your confidence, seek help when needed, create a connection with interviewers, and respect their time.