Silly question

Question

Dear XYZ,

I am a part of the recruiting team at (one of the MBB). I understand that you are interested to explore a career opportunity with us.

To help us understand your background better, we would like to have a brief chat with you. Let us know what time works best for you this week and we can speak at a convenient slot.

Look forward to talking to you soon.

Above is the email I received yesterday. I have few questions regarding this
1) Will this phone call be evaluative in any sense? Will they ask FIT questions?
2) How quickly the entire process of recruitment takes. Should I delay the phone call in order to get some time to prepare for cases and FIT questions?

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

It seems the call will involve fit questions only; still, to be 100% sure, I would suggest to reply asking confirmation how much time you should allocate for the interview and if it will involve a case as well.

To answer you questions:

1) Will this phone call be evaluative in any sense? Will they ask FIT questions?

Yes, will definitely be evaluative and for sure they will ask fit questions

2) How quickly the entire process of recruitment takes. Should I delay the phone call in order to get some time to prepare for cases and FIT questions?

In case you feel you are not ready on the fit part (and case, if they mentioned that will present as well, although sound unlikely from the email), you should definitely delay the phone call.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

It will help if you provide the name of the company.

In general, it is a 20-30 min call with:

Story about yourself
Why consulting, Why company X
Additional fit questions (PEI stories, failure, strengths&weaknesses, etc). Usually with no additional questions so it's much easier than on a real interview
Your questions to HR

Good luck,

Vlad

Answer 3

Hi A,

Yes, the call will be evaluative. It might include the FIT part and storytelling.
It's important to be always well prepared. So I would recommend postponing the call if you feel unconfident and not prepared.

Best, André

Answer 4

Hi Anonymous,

This call can be considered as a fit part of a round interview. Prepare a couple of stories to tell according to potential experiences and questions they might ask you.

Among those are:

standard fit questions "Why consulting?", "Why this company?"
the behavioral part which means, you will have to tell about your roles in specific situations;
your questions about the company. I recommend prepare them in advance, so they are not going to be unconsidered and obvious.

Delaying the call is not going to be an issue if you really need some extra time for preparation. Feel free to discuss your options.

Do you need any further help?

GB

Answer 5

I agree with the other experts. You should expect any point of contact to be evaluative. Not all might make it into the final evaluations, but the chance is there, so you should treat them as being part of the recruitment decision making.