USC Consulting Club
Introductions
Case Workshop Program – Meeting 2
Bain Debrief
Case Practice
by Leland Char and Wilson Kyi
Consulting
Deliverables
Agenda
1. Introductions (25 min)
1.
2.
Ice Breaker – Resume exchange
E-Board
2. Consulting Overview (20 min)
1.
2.
Video
Talk About Consulting and Recruiting
3. Case Practice (60 min)
1.
2.
3.
How to Case
Case Interview
Walk Through Case
4. Bain Debrief (10 min)
5. Deliverables for Next Week (5 min)
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Icebreaker
Ice Breaker + Resume Edit
• Get into groups of 6 with people you do not know
• Trade your resume with someone in the group
• Get to know each other and edit each other’s resume
(10 minutes)
• Introduce each other to the rest of the group and say one
interesting thing and one resume improvement
(20 minutes)
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
E-Board
Zhenni Liu
Vice President of
Recruiting
Shen-Shen
Wu
Senior
Vice
President
Introductions
Steven
Boiko
Vice
President of
Technology
Ashley Yu
Vice President
of Operations
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Success Measures - Web Hits
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Bankers Versus Consultants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROlDmux7Tk4
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Let’s Dissect the Video
• Blackberry’s four years old – consultants are issued new blackberry's when
starting work
• Banker is at “the tanning salon” – UV rays causes skin cancer
• “One shitty idea then take six months just to make it” – most engagements are
about 3 months
• “Dow is still bigger than your bonus” – on a per hour worked basis consultants
make more than bankers, bankers bonuses are getting crushed
• “No discernible skill” – Presentation, PowerPoint, teamwork, analyzing and
critical thinking skills (from Google search)
• “KEEP YOUR F#$*ING WORK-LIFE BALANCE” – work life balance is actually a
positive to most sane people
• “Take this mouse and get back to making $60K a year” – it’s actually around
70K which is equivalent to banker starting salaries
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
What Is Consulting?
Overview
Management consultants provide advice to business leaders about their companies’ most
challenging business issues. It generally divides into four categories: strategy, human capital,
operations, and technology.
Strategy
 New market entry
 Growth strategy
 Industry / company due
diligence for private equity
 Product and pricing
analysis
Major firms:
 Bain & Company
 Booz & Company
 Boston Consulting Group
 McKinsey & Company
Introductions
Human Capital
 Employee rewards and
incentives programs
 Mergers & acquisitions
 Retirement
 Workforce
communications
Major firms:
 Aon Corp
 Deloitte Consulting
 Mercer, LLC
 PricewaterhouseCoopers
 Watson Wyatt
Consulting
Operations
 Efficiency improvements
 Production cost
minimization
 Inventory management
 Outsourcing versus inhouse strategies
Technology
 Implementing ERP
Upgrading existing
technologies
 Decision support systems
(business intelligence)
 Data center operations
Major firms:
 Accenture
 A.T. Kearney
 Deloitte Consulting
 KPMG
 PRTM
Case Practice
Major firms:
 Accenture
 Booz Allen Hamilton
 Capgemini
 Deloitte Consulting
 IBM Global Services
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Challenges
Consulting is not for everybody, it is a high-intensity, stressful environment …
Work-life
balance
 Typically 50 - 75 hours per week
 Hours vary based on deadlines, client needs, and project type
 Late hours and tight deadlines are common
On-call
 Weekend work, while not the norm, is not uncommon and is
expected when the need arises
 Varies considerably by firm, industry, office and project
Travel
 Typical schedule is “5 - 4 - 3”: five day workweek, four days at the
client site, three nights spent away
High
attrition
Introductions
 Major consulting companies have an “up or out” policy
 Consultants are often solicited for other jobs and many take these
opportunities
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Rewards
However, consulting offers opportunities not found elsewhere …
Learning
curve
 Exposure to top management at a young age
 Consultants learn a LOT about various industries and functions
quickly
Accelerated
career path
 Extensive exit opportunities
 Three years in consulting can provide opportunities that require
much more than three years of industry experience
 A new, different project every few weeks or months
Challenges
 Something new every day
 Consultants are challenged to stretch in new ways
Pure
strategy
Introductions
 High-level corporate strategy
 Projects that shape business strategy and organization
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Sample Career Path
Undergraduate entry point
Graduate entry point
Bain
Associate Consultant
Consultant
Manager
Partner
Booz
Consultant
Associate
Principal
Partner
BCG
Associate
Consultant
Principal
Partner
Business Analyst
Associate
Assoc. Principal
Partner
McKinsey
Time at
position
1 - 3 years
2 - 3 years
3 - 4 years
7+ years after MBA
Est. total
comp. (1)
$60 - $100K
$120 - $225K
$250 - $400K
$500K - $1mm+
Perform analysis
Manage
workstream
Manage project
Business dev.
Duties
Time at position and duties are similar across
firms, while compensation differs across firms
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Recruiting Numbers
Firm’s Perspective
Résumé Drop
150 - 200
résumés
Introductions
Round 1
Round 2
40 - 80
interviewed
10 - 15
interviewed
Consulting
Case Practice
Offer
3 - 8 offers
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Recruiting Numbers
Résumé Drop
15 - 20 résumés
Round 1
Round 2
Offer
3 - 5 interviews
1 - 3 interviews
0 - 2 offers
Student’s Perspective
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Plan B (and C and D … )
There are more people interested in consulting and corporate strategy jobs than
available internships
… HOWEVER, there are more full-time positions available, it’s okay.
– This is less the case in harder economic times, when firms tend to fill full-time positions
from the summer internship pool.
– Plenty of students work “in industry” over the summer and turn it in to a full-time
consulting job.
As a result, having a Plan B is critical (and if Plan B is competitive, have a Plan C and Plan
D)
Two large factors in deciding on a Plan B:
– Quality of experience: will I enjoy and learn from the experience?
– Transferability to consulting: how will the internship help me pitch myself to consulting
firms?
Start early! Many Plan B’s recruit at the same time as consulting interviews.
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Plan B (and C and D … )
There are more people interested in consulting and corporate strategy jobs than
available internships
… HOWEVER, there are more full-time positions available, it’s okay.
– This is less the case in harder economic times, when firms tend to fill full-time positions
from the summer internship pool.
– Plenty of students work “in industry” over the summer and turn it in to a full-time
consulting job.
Remember the bigger picture: the consulting job search is a
As a result, having a Plan B is critical (and if Plan B is competitive, have a Plan C and Plan
full-year process!
D)
Two large factors in deciding on a Plan B:
– Quality of experience: will I enjoy and learn from the experience?
– Transferability to consulting: how will the internship help me pitch myself to consulting
firms?
Start early! Many Plan B’s recruit at the same time as consulting interviews.
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
How to Case
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Case Interview Timeline
1 minute
Introduction
Set the agenda
5-10 minutes
Open “resume” discussion (education,
employment history, motivations, style)
20-25 minutes
Introduce, or “set up”, the case
Discuss relevant aspects of the case
Wrap up the case
4-5 minutes
General questions and answers
0-1 minutes
Discuss next steps
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Types of Cases
Market
Sizing
How many toilets are in the United
States?
Business
Case
Target has seen a decline in revenues
over the past five years; what should
it think about?
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Types of Business Cases
Business
Case
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Case Structure
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Case Frameworks - Profit
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Case Frameworks – Three C’s
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Case Frameworks – The Four P’s
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Concluding the Case
Do’s
Don’ts
• Summarize your analysis
• Forget to conclude
• Provide a clear
recommendation
• Waffle or be indecisive
• Ask for feedback
• Highlight any additional
information you need
• Forget the original
question
• Identify any implications
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
XX
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Market Sizing: Two Approaches
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Market Sizing: Two Approaches
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Market Sizing: Two Approaches
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Try This Case
Problem statement: You are thinking
about either opening a coffee shop in
the downstairs of the CAA building or
working as a consultant at McKinsey.
Which one would you choose to do?
Open a Coffee Shop
Introductions
Consulting
Become a Consultant
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Relevant Information
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
There are some food shops downstairs but no other coffee shops
The CAA building has two towers connected by an over bridge
The building is about 12 floors high
Each floor on an individual side holds about 100 employees
McKinsey is only on the 8th floor of the left side and are in the office only on Friday
The CAA staff occupies the entire right side of the building
CAA is a talent agency that has regular clients visiting the agents in the building
McKinsey consultants make ~$70,000 in year 1, ~80,000 in year 2, 0 in year 3 and 4 (due
to business school), ~120,000 in year 5 as an associate, and this will grow at a rate of 15%
All other information should be based on reasonable assumptions
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Bain Debrief
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Deliverables for Next Week
1. Finish Final Copy of Resume
2. Apply to all OCR companies and online companies on
the recruiting tracker
–
All members must contribute twice to the recruiting tracker
spreadsheet
3. Highly Recommended: Give two cases and receive two
cases this week with an individual in program
4. Finish reading or skimming over Case and Point
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
Dinner at the Lab Tonight
Introductions
Consulting
Case Practice
Bain Debrief
Deliverables
USC Consulting Club
Introductions
Case Workshop Program – Meeting 2
Bain Debrief
Case Practice
by Leland Char and Wilson Kyi
Consulting
Deliverables