Management Consulting Firms Hiring Fewer, Higher Caliber Employees

In a competitive workplace where more and more people vie for fewer and fewer consulting positions, it is critical that job seekers be able to handle all aspects of the recruiting process. Increasingly firms are moving away from the traditional resume-based question and answer type interview in favor of a multi-faceted evaluation process.

This trend reflects the demands clients are placing on consulting firms to accomplish more while charging less. Rather the discounting fees, firms have adapted by relying on high caliber consultants who are able to accomplish more for clients than those with fewer skills.

As a result, many consulting firms have modified their recruiting practices to reflect their growing needs for candidates with multi-faceted skills.

Candidates today must contend with a timed problem solving test, multiple case interview questions, and several rounds of interviews.

"While management consultants continue to be in high demand, firms can no longer afford hiring mistakes. More than half the major firms we follow revamped or modified their recruiting process in the past 3 years - all in hopes of more effectively identifying the top candidates while weeding out the rest," said Victor Cheng, founder of CaseInterview.com, a website that provides free case interview training programs for aspiring management consultants.

"It is not easy to find someone who is good with clients, highly skilled in math, business savvy, a good presenter, and works well with colleagues," says Cheng. "Sure all candidates say that are good at all this, but employers have realized they need to test, evaluate, and determine the proficiency level of these skills independently of just taking a candidate's word for it."

Whether candidates are seeking a Deloitte interview or a prestigious McKinsey internship, they must be prepared for a more elaborate and challenging recruiting process.

Cheng says, "From consulting cover letters to resumes, it is critical to be extremely focused on every aspect of the interview process today if a candidate hopes to succeed in landing a dream job tomorrow."

CaseInteriew.com provides free case interview training materials for job seekers looking to enter management consulting. Victor Cheng, a former consultant, resume screener and case interviewer for McKinsey & Company, founded the company to make the recruiting process less intimidating for job seekers.