A market sizing case is typically presented during management consulting case interviews. Answering this vague and grueling problem allows you to showcase your analytical skills – or lack thereof.

The question, “How many curtain rods were bought in the United States last year?” is truly daunting, especially if you have to answer it within a few minutes. To nail down the question, you need to think of an effective strategy quickly, do some calculations mentally and express your ideas comprehensively. To illustrate these requirements, let’s try to sort out the question.

Make Assumptions

It’s impossible to resolve the question without enough information, or at least assumptions. You can always ask the management consulting interviewer to give you more details. At times, they keep facts to themselves unless asked. However, you should not be totally dependent on them. You must come up with your own assumptions, especially for items you are confident of.

To satisfy the question above, you need the following facts or assumptions:

• Number of new houses built each week in one state = 50 houses (assumption)
• Number of new houses renovated each week in one state = 35 houses (assumption)
• Number of curtain rods bought for each house = 10 rods (assumption)
• Number of weeks in a year = 52 (fact)
• Number of states in the USA = 50 states (fact)

Finalize the Equation

Once you have your assumptions, finalize the equation that will lead you to the answer. For this scenario, you can take the paragraph below as a sample dialogue.

“To resolve this case, we have to add the number of new houses built and the number of houses renovated each week in a state. Then we’ll multiply the sum by 10, the assumed average number of rods bought for each house. The product will be multiplied by 52 weeks to get the total number of curtain rods bought last year. The answer will be re-multiplied by 50, the number of states the USA has.”

After laying down the equation, do the math. Some firms allow you to use a calculator but if you want to earn plus points, do it mentally. Given this rationale, it is wise to practice mental calculations thoroughly before the management consulting case interview.

Be More Specific

If you are aware of the population of each state, you can make your equation more specific. For instance, you can divide the states into three categories: states with a big (1), medium (2) or small (3) population. To classify the states, you can base your assumption on the land area and level of industrialization. Obviously, you need to assume more houses in the first than the second and third groups. This method seems more taxing but it yields a more correct estimate.

Note that market sizing cases during management consulting interviews do not have correct answers. Recruiters of Bain, BCG and other top tier consulting firms use them to find out how logically you process your thoughts. This is considered a main indicator of how effective you will be in solving real-life problems.

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Self-confidence during management consulting interviews is a turn-on for recruiters of Bain, BCG, McKinsey and other top tier management consulting firms. It makes you look more professional, it fuels your eloquence, and it makes you feel you deserve to get the job. The good news is that developing it shouldn’t be a stretch for you.

The Roots of Confidence

Confidence starts with yourself; no one else can give that to you. This implies that for this characteristic to bud, you must go back to your being. Focus on the bright side. Ponder on your strengths that make other people grateful. Recall how active you were at school or in an organization. Remember how you impressed your boss and colleagues with your achievements at work. Call to mind those moments when you were able to give pride to your family. These little but positive tidbits of self-appreciation reminds you of your worth as a person.

The Nature of Management Consulting Interviews

Being informed of what you are getting into helps you prepare for the challenge. In management consulting, recruiters conduct interviews for a couple of reasons: to know you and to assess your skills. In behavioral interviews, they will pose questions about your education, experience, goals and other relevant areas. These are formulated based on the cover letter and resume you submitted to them. During case interviews, they present a business case. You are then expected to evaluate it and give some recommendations for its resolution. This requires you to master consulting frameworks. They provide a step-by-step structure on how to approach each case.

The Positive Effects of Practice

“Practice makes it perfect” is an adage that never gets old because of the truth it conveys. The mastery you get from rehearsals also adds up to your confidence level. When you practice for a management consulting interview, you go through possible situational questions. You also study different business cases, operational strategies, marketing strategies, financial reports and techniques for answering. Your familiarity in these areas increases the chances of encountering the same concepts during the interview, making you feel more convinced of your answers. If possible, try to practice with a friend who can give you feedback on your answers and body language.

Awareness of the Nontechnical Aspects

The nontechnical aspects of the interview also have an impact on your confidence. In one of your practice sessions, try to grab a mirror and observe your body movements. Do you have a poor posture? Do you fold your arms, cross your legs and do other defensive gestures? Do you fondle your hair, bite your nails, tap the table with your fingers and jiggle your leg? These forms of fidgeting indicate you are neither comfortable nor confident with your answers. Further, put on some professional clothes for the interview. Your getup also influences your manners. It stirs you to answer and behave like a real expert.

Aside from developing your confidence, prepare for the other factors that affect your performance in an interview.

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The University of Rochester Consulting Group is composed of students and professionals who offer pro-bono management consulting services for the Rochester business community. Some of their expertise includes business plan development, communication services, market research and advertising.

The Three Advantages

The group believes that they have three advantages over others. First, they focus on helping small businesses flourish in the future while training their members to become valuable employees. Second, they provide personal interaction and warm local presence that lead to a high degree of comfort level between clients and problem solvers. Third, the group can provide a team possessing a wide range of management consulting skills, knowledge and experience. It has a diverse network of student consultants, professional contacts and academic partners, as well.

Past Projects

The club has worked on a few notable projects. It has once written a newsletter, a manual and a market research for Hayes Asset Management, a small asset company in the downtown area. In another project, they investigated the online brand of AHEAD Energy for the non-profit organization’s web redesigning strategy. As the club significantly contributes to clients from different industries, its members have developed not only their analytical skills but also their ability to network with key people.

Visit University of Rochester Consulting Group’s Website

If you are interested in the projects the group has worked on, please visit their website. Companies who want to make use of the club’s services can contact the officers through their site, too.

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Eckhart Consulting is an undergraduate club of the University of Chicago that offers pro-bono and affordable management consulting services. In collaboration with experts from top-tier management consulting firms, the club has advised a diverse set of clients since 2002.

Becoming a Member

Undergraduates who wish to be a part of the club need to send their application for review. They will undergo case and behavioral interviews to prove they have the competencies. Once accepted, they must devote at least five hours per week and must deliver quality output for the clients. The main advantage they get is they are given ample number of opportunities to analyze, discuss and resolve real-world business cases.  Their interaction with clients also serves as a perfect time to network with people in local industries.

Case Competition

The club partners with the consulting club of Northwestern University and Boston Consulting Group for an annual case competition in spring. Students at both schools form teams and present their recommendations to clients. Those who did well in the first round are then invited to the final round at BCG Chicago’s office. This activity is good for those who wish to improve their confidence and management consulting skills.

Visit Eckhart Consulting’s Website

If you’re interested in knowing more about the club, please visit their website.

Caltech Consulting Club targets to turn California Institute of Technology into a source of professional world-class management experts by presenting the ins and outs of the industry to the Caltech community through networking activities, resources and other events.

Quarterly Coffee Hours

The club facilitates one-hour coffee sessions with speakers from various management consulting firms. In 2011, they invited Kayvan Ardalan from Bain and Meg Kedrowski from BCG to share insights about their firm, some job application tips and their experience. With these experts around, the activity becomes a great opportunity for members to extend their network.

Hands-on Experience

Every summer, the club exposes its members to real-world problems of local businesses. Teams of students get specific assignments from partner companies. Apart from enriching their analytic thinking, research ability and other management consulting skills, they also get an idea of the common problems of organizations. Previously, they have worked with LA Foodbank Project. They came up with logistical solutions for the efficiency of the donation pickup process.

Visit Caltech Consulting Club’s Website

Drop by their website to know more about the club. On their resources page, they have collected links from top tier firms that you will find useful. If you need a general guideline on the recruiting process in this industry, download this management consulting career guide. It contains guidelines every consulting aspirant needs – from knowing what firms look for in applicants to acing case interviews.

With the number of qualified candidates applying for management consulting positions each year, how will you stand out from the crowd? Simple. One initiative is to write an attention-grabbing cover letter.

Preliminary screening is a tedious job for recruiters. Going through piles of documents regularly can be boring and time-consuming. Truth be told, most of them don’t go over each job application word for word due to lack of time. This doesn’t mean they’re ineffective, though. With their years of experience, they would know within 30 seconds if you are for further assessment or not.

And you will increase your chances, if you follow the guidelines below.

Connection between You and the Firm

The cover letter may be your marketing tool, but it doesn’t mean you should write a litany of your strengths and weaknesses. In fact, your information is pointless if you fail to consider the side of the management consulting firm. Don’t just mention you have good verbal and written skills; include how these can help you formulate reports for clients. Don’t just say you value team work; connect it with collaboration with colleagues and clients’ employees. You must establish a link between your abilities and the firm’s needs to signify it’s you who they are looking for.

Correct Explanation

It’s true that some recruiters read your resume first before going over your cover letter. However, this doesn’t mean the former has more bearing than the latter. There is some information that only your cover letter can provide. For instance, it can explain why you decided to shift from investment banking to management consulting. It can also elaborate the reason for the six-month gap between your second and third job. It can expound why being a volunteer has equipped you for a consulting position. It is preferable to spend time on both documents equally.

Name Dropping

If you’ve been considering management consulting as a career option, you would know that networking plays a huge role in getting a slot in a firm. If you’ve interacted with a consultant of your target firm in an event, mention that person in your cover letter. Describe how he or she answered your networking questions and explain how that encounter has inspired you to apply. Make sure, though, that the person has a good reputation in the industry. Otherwise, your application will be doomed.

Using Keywords

Most recruiters would just skim over your cover letter for important keywords. Did you go to Harvard to college or did you get a high GPA? Have you previously worked for Deloitte, Bain or any local boutique consulting firm that is well-known for its excellent training and work values? Have you mentioned problem-solving capability, analytical thinking and other success factors necessary for any consulting position? Mention them meaningfully in your cover letter to grab the attention of recruiters.

Before submitting your application to management consulting firms, proofread the document a few times. Ensure you have the correct name and address of the recipient. Watch out for grammar and spelling errors, too, for they are off-putting.

Management consulting recruiters often start the screening process with a quick look at your resume. They assess your qualifications based on the responsibilities you had, your skills and the results that you achieved.

Your management consulting resume must be well-structured and well-written enough to merit the attention of the readers. Consulting aspirants who have the capability to woo recruiters with their written marketing tools are somehow regarded as good communicators. They can concisely summarize their credentials in a one-page document. Below are some tips on how to build a good resume.

Conduct Research about the Company

Many skip this prerequisite activity with an assumption that it doesn’t have anything to do with the management consulting application. What is always being overlooked is the significance of research in guiding the content of the resume. When you have ample information about the consulting firms, you can easily relate your competencies to their goals. This connection is what recruiters are after of because it tells them how you can be productive for the organization. The best candidates are sometimes rejected when this connection isn’t established at all.

Choose the Right Information

When writing a resume, don’t focus on its length, but on its quality. Babbling about your qualifications without careful thought doesn’t impress management consulting recruiters. Remember that there’s no need to reveal everything you’ve experienced; choose only those that are relevant to the position. Highlight your accomplishments at work or school by using definite verbs and quantitative information. The more specific you are, the more credible your resume becomes.

Use a Structure

A resume structure refers to how you organize the content of your powerful document. It organizes your ideas and makes your resume easier to read. Here are some important tips to remember:

• Use subtitles to indicate another set of information. Insert white space in between categories to avoid crowded text.
• Don’t use too small or too large font. The former tires the eyes, the latter occupies too much space.
• Fancy fonts are not acceptable, either. Use Tahoma, Times New Roman, Verdana and other traditional styles.
• Use bullets to enumerate accomplishments. It makes the content a lot easier to read.
• Write the resume as concisely as you can. A resume with one to two pages is ideal. Anything more than exhausts the readers.

Proofread for Errors

After writing your resume, proofread it a few times. Since recruiters need to assess hundreds of qualified applicants for a single position, they will definitely put aside applications with loopholes such as spelling errors and grammar mistakes. Read it thoroughly; better yet, ask for somebody’s help. You must have a friend or know someone who’s willing to review it for you. You can use online checkers but don’t trust the software completely for they sometimes have irrelevant suggestions, too.

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Writing an interesting cover letter is one effective way of catching the attention of recruiters. If you don’t sell yourself perfectly, you will most likely not be considered for an interview. The cover letter demonstrates your written communication skills; skills that are very important for management consultants.

You can avoid these mistakes by completely being aware of the areas where applicants tend to fall short. Five of them are the following:

#1: Resume Rehash

Your cover letter is not a resume revision in narrative form. What you need to do is to highlight your main accomplishments that would prompt the recruiters to refer to your resume for more details. Your cover letter can also explain your main goals, inconsistencies in your resume, gaps in employment, or career shifts.

#2: Grammatical and Typo Errors

Writing skill is an important capability management consultants must possess because they need to:

• Write progress reports
• Send emails to clients and colleagues
• Create presentations for senior management

Hence,typographical and grammatical errors on cover letters may imply incapability to produce those deliverables. Your job application should be thoroughly proofread before it’s sent out. Ask a friend or a professional to help you out for their fresh eyes may notice errors you might have overlooked. As experienced by many, too much familiarity can lead to blunders.

#3: Inaccurate Information

At times, when you’re sending your application in succession, you tend to forget to change the name of the firm, the contact person or the position you’re applying. This projects your carelessness, something detrimental to your application.

To let you understand the scenario empathetically, imagine yourself getting a letter from a random stranger. When you open it and notice it’s addressed to someone else, what will you do? You will perhaps stop reading it because it’s not meant for you anyway. If a recruiter does the same thing with your application, you will lose your first opportunity to get through the process successfully.

#4: Generic Cover Letter

Are you just using, “Dear Sir or Madam,” or “Dear HR Director,” for your recipient?  Then perhaps you are just using a one-size-fits-all cover letter. Using generic cover letters isn’t that terrible, but it is a lazy approach of reaching out to the management consulting firm. Recruiters will readily notice if you’ve written your application specifically for a specific position because of its personal feel. Hence, if you’re after of a good impression, go an extra mile in preparing your cover letter. It might be time-consuming but the value it creates is worth the effort.

#5: Irrelevant Information

The cover letter you send for a management consulting firm must contain relevant information. Babbling in detail about your life story or work history bores recruiters, and in consequence, it may put your application aside. Keep your thoughts simple in four or five paragraphs. Research on what needs to be included in the document. Remember that this document is not an autobiography but a marketing tool. Write only what the recruiters need to know.

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The Indian School of Business Consulting Club equips its members with the tools and resources required for a consulting career. Its activities and services reinforce one of the top career choices among ISB students. It also guides students in coming up with informed decisions as they pursue their career.

Activities with Premier Consulting Firms

This student-led association arranges sessions with top leaders from top tier management consulting firms. BCG has conducted a workshop on resume writing, AT Kearney has introduced its way of consulting through an interactive dialogue and McKinsey has discussed approaches on how to resolve case interviews. The knowledge students get from experts are quite significant in their career preparation.

Collaboration with Alums

In 2010, Alumni Shadow Program was one of the club’s initiatives. Students visited alums in their workplace to peek at the type of management consulting job they are doing. This exposes them to actual work scenario and the culture of the industry, and at the same time, build long-term networks with professional consultants.

Visit Indian School of Business Consulting Club’s Website

If you visit their website, you will see some of the photos taken during some of the activities mentioned above. Further, you will get to know their officers and some of the accomplishments in the past years.

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The value of your resume is measured by the impression it creates on the management consulting recruiters. Since it is normally skimmed in less than a minute, ensure that it is well-customized, sells you properly, and contains no embarrassing errors.

Mistake #1: Irrelevant Details

“The longer, the better” is not the main principle to be followed when creating resumes. The ideal length is one to two pages; anything more than that is dragging and unnecessary. There’s no need to list all the details from your first to last job, especially if they are irrelevant to the position you’re applying for. Too much personal information is unnecessary or inappropriate for a management consulting position, so you can just take them off. Don’t beat around the bush or get too wordy. If a term can encapsulate two words or a phrase, then use it.

Mistake #2: Failing to Emphasize Accomplishments

Management consulting recruiters will pre-assess your capability to analyze, problem-solve and lead through your accomplishments. They will go through the information under your work history or extracurricular activities at the university to look for indicators of critical success factors. There’s nothing wrong with describing what you have done, but it will create more impact if you list your accomplishments instead. Saying, “Resolved human resources issues for ABC Company” is not as impressive as “Updated the salary structure of ABC Company that led to 30% increase in employee satisfaction.”

Mistake #3: Failing to Proofread

Grammar and spelling errors are unpleasant to the eyes. They imply you are poor at written communication, one of the major skills necessary for management consultants. The mistakes can also mean you’re not accurate with details, another characteristic important in dealing with information. To make things easier for you, use spell and grammar checkers. If you can tap a friend or a professional to review your application, it would be much better. With their fresh eyes, they are keener in noticing slip-ups you might have overlooked.

Mistake #4: Underestimating Layout

How reader-friendly the layout of your resume also matters. If you squeeze in too much information in a page, recruiters might be too exhausted to peruse your data. Use adequate spacing in between categories and wherever it is needed. Margins on all sides must not go below half an inch. Bold, italicize or underline information for emphasis. Arial, Times New Roman, Tahoma and other readable fonts are preferable. Use bullets to present your ideas concisely.

Mistake #5: Submitting a General Resume

Don’t commit the blunder of assuming all management consulting firms will appreciate your general resume. Remember that they are unique from each other; therefore, you must ensure that you are a perfect fit to their work culture, values and practices. To do this correctly, conduct a research about your target firm beforehand, and write your resume in accordance with their goals.

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