July 7, 2000
Kellogg TMP
Recruiting Experience and Advice
. Kearney 7/28981/A
Agenda
Introduction
TMP and the Recruiting Process today
The Recruiting Process checklist
• Perform an honest self-inventory
• Get to know the different firms
• Develop a targeted resume
• Prepare (prepare, prepare) for your interviews
Resume Review
Final Thoughts
Questions and Answers
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Consulting interviews — are you ready?
Get ready for a wild roller coaster ride!
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Personal
Life
Interviews
Job
TMP
Courses
Community
Service
This fall will be an exasperating juggling act
. Kearney 7/28981/A
TMP and the Recruiting Process today
The good
• More firms are starting to recognize the TMP program as fertile recruiting ground
• Kellogg is supportive of TMP participation in the placement process
• You tend to have more work experience than your full-time counterparts
• You have demonstrated the ability to successfully manage a demanding schedule
• The New Economy has made talented people harder to recruit, so most firms are looking more closely at
“non-traditional” hires
The bad
• You do not have the advantage of a summer internship
• You do not have as ready access to information as full-time students
• You will not have as much free time to engage in recruiting as full-time students
• You do not have the same network as the full-time students
The ugly
• Many recruiters still go on campus looking for full-time students. Some are not even aware of the TMP
program
Be positive. TMP Recruiting is getting better all the time
. Kearney 7/28981/A
Be honest with yourself, consulting may not be right for you
The Recruiting Process checklist
Perform an honest self-inventory: When I grow up, I want to be…
What characteristics are you looking for in a job?
What characteristics do you want to avoid in a job?
What special requirements do you have?
• Geographic location
• Travel versus non-travel
• Office environment versus industrial setting
How does my family factor into the equation?
Do your desires fit with your abilities?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
How will all of the above change in 5 years? 10 years?
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The Recruiting Process checklist
Get to know the different firms
Identify resources and collect information
• Company literature
• Web pages
• Wet Feet Press
• Harvard Business School guide to Management Consultants
• The Directory of Consultants and Consulting Organizations
• Periodical searches
• Your peers/fellow students
• Do not forget about the consultants! Remember: Kellogg Alumni help Kellogg students
Create your own list of key requirements
Measure all the firms against your key requirements
Rank and segment the firms that most interest you
Develop a plan to talk to every firm on your shortlist. You will need this for your bid strategy
Remember, work is a four letter word: do not get caught up in the hype!
Make an educated decision about your next employer
. Kearney 7/28981/A
The Recruiting Process checklist
Develop a targeted resume
Use an “action, results” format (., do not tell me what you are responsible for, tell me the success you
have had)
• “I did this, leading to that”
• Make sure that the results stated are important to your targeted firms
• Quantify your achievements where possible, but do not ignore nonquantifiable results
Speak in the vernacular of your targeted audience
• Use consulting buzzwords where appropriate
• Sanitize your resume of phrases that an outsider will not understand
• Does your resume pass the “Mom test?”
Do the obvious
• Show promotions
• Italicize key words
• Make sure dates are consistent
• Spell check!
• Use high quality, white paper
Tell me something about yourself
• Differentiate yourself but be professional
Do you know how many resumes we see?
Spend the time to give yours a chance
. Kearney 7/28981/A
The Recruiting Process checklist
Prepare (prepare, prepare) for your interview
The General Interview
• Anticipate all questions
• Work up responses to anticipated questions (be as honest as you can!)
• Draw upon your past experiences to create stories and show depth
• Rehearse not sounding rehearsed! (We know you practice, but do not overdo it)
• Preparation does not mean leaving your personality at home
— Show me your human side
• Remember, the interview goes two ways
— Have at least three intelligent questions prepared
— Do not be afraid to ask the difficult questions
— Take a good, hard look at the people you are interviewing with and their surroundings
Be yourself. If you cannot get an offer as
yourself, you do not want the job!
. Kearney 7/28981/A
The Recruiting Process checklist
Prepare (prepare, prepare) for your interview
The Case Interview
• Practice makes perfect
• Consider the types of cases and what preparation might help you
— Profit and loss: “The Mind of the Strategist,” Chapter One, by Kenichi Ohmae
— Strategy and Industry analysis: Porter’s Five Forces model
— Organizational Design
— Operational Efficiency
— I am sure you can think of others
• Given the above comment, do not try to force fit every case into some pre-established structure!
• If it helps, develop a standard introduction
— Understand the end state where you want to be when you have finished the case
— Next, start at a fairly high level and think through what you need to do to get to your desired end state
— Explain the methodology you will use to solve the case
— Understand and organize what information you have been given up front and what else you will need
— Start asking questions
Humble pie does not taste good, but do not take the rejection personally
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The Recruiting Process checklist
Prepare (prepare, prepare) for your interview
The Case Interview (continued)
• During the interview
— Listen, Listen, Listen. Most information is given to you for a reason
— Think transparently (this is not, however, a license to babble)
– If the interviewer does not understand where you are going, he/she cannot help you
— Ask questions. Help the interviewer help you
— Drive to a conclusion and state it (within your time limit)
— Double back if necessary to make sure you have not missed something, or left something undone
Humble pie does not taste good, but do not take the rejection personally
. Kearney 7/28981/A
. Kearney Resume Review
E-mail Resumes to Jeff Chang
@
Deadline to Submit Resumes for Review
July 21, 2000
Contact Number
(312) 223-7543
. Kearney 7/28981/A
Final Thoughts
Time is short, get started now
Develop a game plan for
• Learning about firms/obtaining interviews
• Succeeding in case interviews
• Dealing with the worst
Develop your support network to deal with the stress of it all
• Family and friends
• Non-Kellogg career mentors
Be yourself and have fun
Never say never!
Best of luck. Oh, by the way, did I mention that
. Kearney is the consulting firm of the 21st century?
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Appendix 1 — Common
Mistakes
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Common mistakes during the consulting interview process
Most importantly, be courteous to your fellow
students. The alumni bridge is a bad one to burn!
Self-Inventory
Not being honest about what you want for your future and which career path is right for you
Failing to realize that the Kellogg degree opens many doors — there is more to life than consulting
The firms
Getting caught up in the name/image of a given firm and ignoring their personality and/or practice specialty
Falling for the recruiting “sales pitch” and not asking enough questions
Ignoring/snubbing the Big 5
Resume
Chronologically listing daily responsibilities and not emphasizing accomplishments or leadership abilities
Ignoring the CMC format (., more than one page, grammatically correct sentences)
Interview/closed list
Being too pushy about getting on closed lists
Taking the interview process too lightly
Failing to practice a full repertoire of cases
Taking rejection personally
