QUSTION TO EXPECT
1. What attracts you to Monitor in particular?
Highlight the things Monitor itself is proud of (like its unstructured career
path, its lack of a forced “up or out” policy, and its casual dress code). Try to
align your own strengths with those of Monitor.
2. What do you do in your free time?
Monitor, moreso than most other consulting firms, will actually be interested
to hear about your minor passions like cooking Tuscan cuisine or butterfly
watching. But don’t sound like too much of a loner. The firm wants team
players.
3. Tell me about a challenge you recently faced.
And, of course, how you overcame it. The classic consulting behavioral “fit”
query.
4. What are you most proud of on your resume?
Choose something the interviewer wouldn’t necessarily pick up on. In
particular, since Monitor is an entrepreneurial firm, you should highlight any
successful business venture you might have had.
5. Written case: There is a wine distributor in Spain with extensive
distribution problems. What sort of alternative channels should the company
pursue?
As is the wont of this case, insiders report that interpretations and inferences
are crucial. “All the key information is provided in the written case study,”
says one. “But you must look more closely for the details. Not everything is
so overt.
6. Your resume tells me that you enjoy a variety of activities. Tell me, what are
your dislikes?
Remember that Monitor’s “fit” interviews are built right into resume-related
questions and case studies. Here, Monitor is looking for self-awareness and
honesty in a candidate, but it is also looking for a calm, cool, and collected
response. A response that implies an aversion to group activities (an anti-team
player mentality) or a rebellious streak (an inability to deal with difficult
clients in a diplomatic fashion) will send the candidate right back to Resume-
Sending 101.
7. Written case: You are a large cola manufacturer that is considering
expanding its business into the beer industry. You need to find out whether
the market for soft drinks will be larger than the market for beer by the year
2004. How do you determine this?
First and foremost, the candidate needs to determine the lowdown on the
company’s current situation. How large is this manufacturing company?
How many people does it reach? Is it losing business in the soft drink
industry, and therefore seeking a boost in sales by way of a new venture? The
answer to specific inquiries is, of course, secondary to a more general
question: is one industry truly more lucrative than the other? All those graphs
will tell you.