Insead Consulting Club Handbook 2011
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INSEAD CONSULTING CLUB HANDBOOK 2011 Note: The INSEAD Consulting Handbook 2011 is strictly for the use of current INSEAD students. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the permission of the ICC - INSEAD Consulting Club sponsored by: Table of Contents OVERVIEW 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Consulting job search at INSEAD ......................................................................................................... 5 3. Consulting industry: history, structure and global trends .................................................................. 7 3.1 History ........................................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Global trends ............................................................................................................................... 11 4. Profiles of consulting firms ............................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Accenture .................................................................................................................................... 14 4.2 Arthur D. Little ............................................................................................................................ 15 4.3 A.T. Kearney ................................................................................................................................ 16 4.4 Bain & Company .......................................................................................................................... 17 4.5 Booz & Company ......................................................................................................................... 19 4.6 The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ........................................................................................... 21 4.7 L.E.K Consulting ........................................................................................................................... 23 4.8 Marakon Associates .................................................................................................................... 24 4.9 McKinsey & Company ................................................................................................................. 25 4.10 Oliver Wyman ........................................................................................................................... 27 4.11 Roland Berger Strategy Consultants ......................................................................................... 28 4.12 Others ....................................................................................................................................... 29 5. The Consulting job ............................................................................................................................ 30 5.1 Career development paths ......................................................................................................... 30 5.2 Processes: staffing, promotions, opportunities .......................................................................... 31 5.3 The everyday work – key tasks ................................................................................................... 32 5.4 A week in the life of a Consultant ............................................................................................... 33 6. Networking with Consulting firms - Why and how? ......................................................................... 34 6.1 Tips for informational interviews ................................................................................................ 34 7. Cover letter and CV preparation ....................................................................................................... 35 7.1 Goal of your cover letter and CV................................................................................................. 35 7.2 Tips for cover letters and CVs ..................................................................................................... 37 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 2 7.3 Sample cover letters ................................................................................................................... 38 8. Other resources ................................................................................................................................ 41 9. The consulting interview process ..................................................................................................... 43 9.1 Case & Fit interviews- what is being tested? .............................................................................. 43 9.2 Case interview overview ............................................................................................................. 45 9.3 How to prepare for the case interviews? ................................................................................... 46 9.4 Types of cases ............................................................................................................................. 47 9.5 How to ace a case?...................................................................................................................... 48 9.6 Using a Framework ..................................................................................................................... 50 10. Case examples ................................................................................................................................. 54 10.1 Discount retailer case (BCG) ..................................................................................................... 54 10.2 Medical software industry case (BCG) ...................................................................................... 60 10.3 Jet fighter manufacturing case (BCG) ....................................................................................... 68 10.4 Gas retail case (BCG) ................................................................................................................. 73 10.5 Consumer ADSL services cases (BCG) ....................................................................................... 77 10.6 Call center case (BCG) ............................................................................................................... 81 10.7 Supermarket deli turnaround case (BCG) ................................................................................. 85 10.8 China outsourcing case (BCG) ................................................................................................... 89 10.9 Specialty paper sales case (BCG) ............................................................................................... 93 10.10 Oil tanker case (Booz & Co.).................................................................................................... 96 10.11 Video game case (Booz & Co.) ................................................................................................ 97 10.12 Toy manufacturer case ......................................................................................................... 100 10.13 Pen manufacturer case (Booz & Co.) .................................................................................... 101 11. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 108 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 3 1. Introduction ICC (INSEAD Consulting Club) is pleased to present the ICC Handbook 2011, following up on the tradition created by the 2005 class. This book is created with the aim of assisting INSEAD students to prepare for a career in consulting and be successful in their job search and recruiting process. The purpose of the ICC Handbook is to provide you with the background knowledge you need to consider a career in consulting and to conduct informational interviews. The book has two distinct sections, Overview (sections 1-8) and Case preparation (sections 9-11). The first section gives a general overview of the management consulting industry and opportunities offered to MBA graduates. It then features the profiles and some additional insights on the Consulting firms that visit the INSEAD campus for each recruiting campaign. Next it goes on to share the career progression and what to expect in a consulting job. We have also included samples of cover letters to serve as guidance to the first stage of the recruiting process. Finally we share a list with a variety of other resources available for INSEAD students to help them in their pursuit of a Consulting career. The Case section of the book gives guidance on case interview preparation. It explains how to prepare for a case interview, types of cases, and possible tools and frameworks to use while cracking the case. In addition it provides thirteen case examples on how to solve actual cases. We would like to acknowledge the support we received from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), who is continuously sponsoring the production of this book. Since the inception of the ICC book in 2005, BCG has been a leading contributor