Hello, I would appreciate some guidance for the final round Partner interview at Deloitte Consulting (S&O) London

Hi there,

final partner interviews vary depending on company, region, office and the individual partner of course. However, it is not uncommon that partners won't go through a case exercise with the candidate again but rather test their suitability in terms of business competence, team fit and perceived presentability to clients. 

At the partner stage, candidates will have gone through a series of successful case interviews already. Partners still need to “validate” this pre-selection. While some might like to do brain teasers or small cases, they also tend to favor talking about the industry/functional area they are active in. They try to see how the candidate is able to engage with those topics and often even try to sell the candidate on the firm during the final round.

When preparing for such interviews, it makes sense to research the interview partners up front (if their names are provided) and check what recent publications and/or conference contributions they might have. It is also good to know about the main trends and drivers in their respective industry/functional areas.

Hope that provides additional perspective.

Hi Anonymous,

the structure of the final is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however there is more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main difference you will find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. may not have a “proper” structured case to present – during one of my MBB finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because during the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on:

• Review in detail your PEI stories – they will matter more than in the first round. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do almost exclusively in interviews with peers.
• Prepare cases as you did for the first round. More market sizing practice may be useful to think outside the box if you get unusual questions.

In case you need help with unusual cases please feel free to PM me, I do a specific session on them (eg How would you estimate the effect of the Coronavirus on the economy in the UK)?

Below you can find some tips for the call:

• Prepare the place for the call. A quiet environment is a must-have. Pay attention to what the interviewer will see in the background (sometimes when I do coaching via Skype I see really strange stuff;) )
• Prepare on the wall in front of you the material you need (structures, tips for fit part, etc) so you won't have to look for it during the interview
• Prepare your own questions. Relevant questions at the end are a great way to show your interest in the company and get additional points. This is particularly important in a phone/video interview, as the interviewer will naturally connect less with you. In the first reply at the link below you can find some tips on the ideal questions to ask at the end of your call: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/open-house-at-bcg-311
• Smile during the call. Even if they cannot see you it's a good way to show energy
• Use numbers when communicating your structure. This applies to both face-to-face and video interviews, but it is particularly important for the video ones. Good communication will make easier for the interviewer to follow you, since he/she cannot see you. As an example:“In order to help our client, I would like to focus on three main areas. First, I would like to focus on [FIRST TOPIC], secondly on [SECOND TOPIC], finally on [THIRD TOPIC]. Let me start with the first one."

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hello!

Normally, I would agree with Francesco on the fact that you should expect the classical structure (FIT + BC + Q&A).

However, given that this is last round and it´s been reduced to 30 mins, I would expect only FIT and if so a little busienss case -not the full thing, but maybe some questions regarding a potential business idea, etc.-

What is for sure is that FIT will be invtensive and you need to re-prepare that part in depth. 

For the Skype part, don´t worry at all. Is true that communicating is more tricky, but it´s totally doable. Best is to practice over Skype as much as possible, to precisely adjust your usual communication. 

PM me if you want to follow up on a sesion! 

Cheers, 

Clara

Hello,

The partner round is not much different from the previous one, most of the times it follows the same structure. There are anyway some small but significant differences:

• Special focus on Fit Interview, that is gonna be probably longer and more intensive
• Communication and personal fit will be the crucial part of your interview
• Less structured and complex cases, sometimes stated with a simple question without additional information (e.g. would you buy a Chihuahua or a St. Bernard?)
• Brainstorming session about potential innovative solutions for the case or even for real life events particularly popular in the last period (e.g. coronavirus)

Best,
Luca

Hi, being a partner interview of only 30 minutes I expect more emphasis on the fit part (PEI + your questions to the interviewer). The business case - if any - could be a quick market sizing or structuring of a decision where you have to identify the main KPI and discuss pros and cons.

Best,
Antonello