Inhouse Strategy Fit Interview

Question

I am interviewing with the hiring manager for an in-house strategy position. It will be a fit interview about my background. My quesiton is, on top of general interviewing advice (i.e STAR methods, PEI framework), what are some common key points interviewers are looking for? Especially when the job description looks general, I find it hard to personalize my response and don't want to make my interview too scripted or general.

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on invitation!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, recruiters typically look for cultural fit and alignment with the company's values. I would advise you to research the company's mission and values and relate your experiences to these points.
Moreover, they want to understand your motivation for the role and how your background fits the job. I would advise you to clearly articulate why you are interested in this position and how your previous experiences make you a good fit.
Lastly, please keep in mind that even if you should always structure your answers, canned frameworks like STAR or PARADE are rarely helpful in coming across as authentic.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi there,

Congrats on the interview! :-)

Let's break it down.

Question types

You need to prepare for four types of questions

Resume-based questions (introduction of your background, questions about specific experiences)
Simple fit questions (why you, why consulting, why our firm, what can you bring to the table?)
Domain questions (in your case this would be supply chain, procurement)
Story questions (show traits important in consulting such as leadership, stakeholder management, persuasion, and impact in longer stories, not just brief answers)

Answer format

Focus on three things:

Structure: You don't need the STAR framework for this but could still number your points and signpost them before diving deeper into it - similar to a case framework you present
Authenticiy: It's not about being cliche or not. It's about being authentic and discussing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation honestly. Interviews can spot if an answer is genuine (e.g., you are motivated by seeing progress in the people you are working with)
Examples: Provide examples from your life to support these statements (e.g., you remember a situation where you coached a fellow student and saw them improve on a specific topic)

Don't overthink it!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 3

Hi there and congrats on your upcoming interview!

I think more importantly than the methods and frameworks is actually being very on top of your relevant experience. So actually identifying those experience (prioritize in order of importance for the role) and remembering well a good level of details (no need to share all of that, but more to be ready to share in case asked).

Other key points tested in the interview besides your experience is your motivation for the role. Even if you say the job description sounds general, do try to think what could it mean to do strategy for that company and what makes you interested in that.

I think having well prepared (researched, structured, etc) answers for the experience and motivation sections should get you to a right spot of personalized answers, but not over-scripted.

Hope this helps,

Ariadna

Answer 4

Have your pitch ready.

I.e., what are your strengths that should lead them to hire you?

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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Answer 7

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