Strategy& Profile

The process

The Strategy& Application process is divided into the following stages:

• Resume and cover letter
• Online assessments
• Interview – first round and second round

The interview process at Strategy& begins with the submission of a resume and cover letter online. Their typical recruitment cycle occurs in the fall of each year, but they do occasionally hire off-cycle, particularly at smaller network firms. They are looking for candidates who demonstrate their strong characteristics in their applications, as well as strong academic records and relevant experience.

Strategy& has adopted PwC’s online assessments, which consist of three stages: a numerical reasoning test, a games-based assessment, and a video interview. The assessments take more than 2 hours in total and are spread out over 4 weeks, so it may take some time to be invited for final interviews.

Strategy& has adopted the “super day” interview format, in which both the first and second-round interviews will be held on the same day. Candidates who pass the online tests are invited to the first round of interviews. On the morning of the interview day, there are two first-round interviews. Junior consultants typically conduct the first round of interviews, which consist of 15 minutes of a fit interview followed by a case interview question. The first round includes two interviews, and candidates will be given feedback and a decision at the end of the day.

Senior consultants (partners and directors) conduct the second round of interviews, which follows the same format as the first round. Candidates will be given feedback or a job offer following the second round of interviews.

Types of Interview

Across their network, Strategy& employs two interview formats: experience/fit questions followed by a case interview question and a structured case interview.

Case Interview (Question)

Strategy& case interviews are all based on real-life client examples. Interviewers are encouraged to use their own client engagements for case interview questions because they are familiar with them and can easily provide data and context. This is the most common interview format used by Strategy& because it is the most similar to the job requirements and allows the interviewer to answer the question, “Can this person do the work of a Strategy& consultant?”

During a case interview, they evaluate candidates on a variety of factors, including

• Methodology and structure
• Thinking analytically and creatively
• Data application
• Communication abilities
• Business knowledge

Scoring well in all of these areas will result in advancement to the next stage or, eventually, a job offer.

Experience/fit questions

Prior to beginning the case interview, experience questions are asked, and Strategy& will use questions such as:

• What piques your interest in Strategy&?
• Why do you want to work as a consultant?
• What is your most memorable experience?
• What experience do you wish you could relive, and how would you change it?
• What was the most difficult decision you had to make in the last year?
• What is an example of when you demonstrated initiative and leadership?
• Which aspects of your internship did you dislike the most?
• What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
• What qualities do you think you’d bring to a case team?
• Describe a role in which you changed the course of a team. How did you manage it?

The key to answering these questions is to create a structure that can be used for all of them. By structuring your response, you demonstrate that you apply a considered approach to your answer even when discussing non-business-related topics.

Case Interview (Structured)

The structured case interview at Strategy& is similar to the written cases provided by BCG and Bain. The candidate is given an information pack of 15-20 pages to read and 10 minutes to answer three high-level questions. During the 10-minute reading period, the interviewer will leave the room.

As with the case interview, there is no correct answer, and the important part of your answer is the consideration of trade-offs for making decisions and comparing the various strategic options available to the business in question. The interviewer will put your ideas and recommendations to the test to see how solid they are and what steps you took to get there.

To perform well in a Strategy& case interview, you must meet the criteria outlined above, which can be accomplished by following a structured approach to case interviews. The following is the structure of a Strategy& case interview:

• Situation and issue
• Validation of hypotheses
• Framework creation
• Root cause investigation
• Calculation in mathematics 
• Test of creativity
• Recommendation

Important Tips – How to prepare for a Strategy& Case Interview

Sharpen your mathematical/analytical skills

Case interviews are high-pressure scenarios in which you don’t have the security of notes or the internet to fall back on. One of the questions in in-person interviews will almost always have a quantitative aspect or a market sizing inquiry.

These necessitate lengthy math calculations without the use of a calculator. It’s a good idea to practice long addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction if you haven’t done so recently. Quick math skills demonstrate competent numeric skills while also reducing needless pressure during the interview, resulting in improved overall performance.

Practicing case interviews

Practicing case interviews, like practicing algebra, is the best method to improve your performance. Through practice, you will begin to establish a solid approach that meets the case’s structure and framework requirements, as well as realize how to successfully navigate the case.

If you’re applying to Strategy&, you’re presumably also applying to other strategy consulting companies; this approach will apply to all of them because case interviews are a part of their application process.

Develop a structure to crack cases

The structure is the most important criterion for a candidate in a case interview, especially using a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) method. As previously said, you can apply structure to the FIT questions, and it is strongly advised that you do so.

To answer the question “take me through your CV,” for example, separate your experience into the following categories: 

a) Relevant consulting experience
b) Non-consulting experience, followed by a brief description of each bucket’s experience.

This demonstrates that you understand consulting and what is relevant, as well as a vital consulting talent – organized thinking. You will receive a good score if you can display strong structured thinking during the interview