Personality/case interview at EY: Any experiences?

Hi,

If you have not done any cases yet:

• Take a 1-week vacation to prepare
• If it is not an internship with a dedicated interview period, please reschedule the interview. You can't imagine how many people have failed just because they didn't take enough prep. There is absolutely no penalty for rescheduling.

Start preparations: 

I recommend the following approach:

1) Start with "Case in point" book - you can download this book for free everywhere. It's not the best guide on how you should approach the cases, however, it will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally. !!! Find experienced partners or coaches who can provide a good feedback!!!

3) Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen to LOMS (his website).

4) Start with the following cases (relevant for ATK) and apply some high-level recommendations on structuring:

1. Market sizing - structuring from the supply or demand side. Structuring using a formula or using an issue tree
2. Profitability - basic profitability framework. Remember about different revenue streams and product mix
3. Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). Always start with the big picture "market". Finish with something specific to the case (e.g. How to enter?"). Structure it as if you are defining the work streams for the real project.
4. Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.) - Structuring as a process / value chain, with inflows, operations, and outflow

Here is a good list of articles regarding the different parts of the case:

1) Start with clarifying questions:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/clarifying-questions-1786#a3956

2) Communicating while structuring. Here is a long post by me on how to communicate the structure during the case study:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-communicate-its-structure-for-the-case-study-1313#a2806

3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about hypothesis here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-state-a-hypothesis-and-match-to-the-structure-1156#a2268

4) Communicating while making calculations: 

• Always tell the interviewer your approach
• Check with the interviewer that your approach is correct
• Come to the interviewer with some preliminary answers
• Check your assumptions with the interviewer

5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables

• Take a minute to look at the graph. Read the graph title. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc). Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary). Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
• Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think out loud on potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
• Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

6) Communicating while having questions on creativity

• Ask an interview for a minute to think
• Think of several buckets of ideas (e.g. organic growth / non-organic growth / differentiation). Remember to think as big as possible
• Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible
• Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas

7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-answer-first-should-the-conclusion-be-1231#a2493

8) Communicating your FIT stories

Use the top-down approach while communicating your stories. "The Pyramid Principle" is the must-read by ex McKinsey on this topic.

I recommend using the STAR framework:

• In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
• Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
• Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
• The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

Best!

Hi Alina,

quoting a previous answer, a good preparation for a consulting interview will move through the following areas:

1. Define a calendar. Calculate the hours you have available in the next 10 days, then divide your preparation in the activities below.
2. Get a general understanding of the process. As first thing you may want to get a general idea on what a consulting interview is about. Case in Point is an ok starting point for that although not enough for being fully prepared nowadays.
3. Work on improving structures, fit questions and communication. You can start from the Case in Point structures and fit questions, and create your own evolution reading MBA Handbooks (target 20-30 cases at least) and practicing live cases with peers on PrepLounge. Try to concentrate on public sector cases, but do not neglect other type of cases as well. In general, the most common types you can find in an interview are profitability and market sizing, followed by M&A, market entry and operations, depending by the firm.
4. Iterate the process to eliminate the last mistakes. After the first 5 sessions, try to book sessions with candidates more experienced than you - in this way you will learn a lot faster. You can also speed up the process booking coaching sessions with an expert.

In general you should focus on three areas in your preparation:

1. Fit questions (eg Why do you want to work for EY?)
2. Cases (eg Our client is a public utility losing money, how would you fix the problem?)
3. Your questions at the end for the interviewer.

All these steps are important for your final assessment. Fit questions preparation takes less time than the case to reach a good level, so it is ok to dedicate less time overall compared to the case prep. However, be sure to have all the key questions prepared - if are unable to provide a good answer to questions like “Why our company” or “Why should we hire you” it’s unlikely you can move to the next round.

Best,

Francesco

Hi!

The application process for me (Germany) was: 1) online application, 2) online assessment, 3) recruitment day. The online test assesses verbal, numeric and analytical skills. I didn’t prepare for that, it was quite simple. On the recruitment day you have to solve a case study with other candidates and then present the results. I prepared extensively for normal case studies and personal fit questions like for the other interviews I had, so I didnt really focus on group cases. It was a bit difficult for me on the assessment day as I felt mentally unprepared for the situation. I don't know which location you are applying for but hope this is still helpful info. 

Greetings

Can someone please advise me the best source for supply chain case studies ? Thank you in advance