Pfit interview
• Why do all these internships and work so hard?
Gives me energy, I enjoy doing it
• Wat drijft jou? Waarom zou je dit doen?
antwoord van corstiaan (ING) = creatief oplossingen bedenken en zo mensen helpen. Daar haal ik energie uit.
Tell me about a time when you showed leadership?
Took over Daniel’s work of creating a deck to present the business its development for a key meeting with BlockUniverse BSG/Markt verhaal
• Biggest accomplishment?
Synance Youngest team member, 6-person team, partnerships / BESI Pitch (presented and actioned on as P2P target by JPM)
• 3 Strengths
Stress resistant (IB + kite surfing) / understanding complex things quickly (JP BESI pitch, pre-wired back-end structures, MS Taurus) / working efficiently by thinking a step ahead (setup automated manual comps pull, logo’s sitecore, chronos - update all figures, know what an MD wants) / thinking conceptually & thinking ahead (Ilaria, chronos jaws slide & databook) / collaborative nature
• 3 weaknesses
perfectionist / awareness / ambitious (at cost of social ties) / critical (yields work of a higher standard, but can clash with some hierarchical cultures)
• What makes you special?
background, achievements / Ability to maintain rational/calm and put things into perspective, youth, heated arguments, prevent escalation, habit of taking a step back
• Biggest risk you’ve taken?
Working in London / Synance
• What type of team-member are you (leader, analyst, creative)?
lead by example (synance Daniel story, markt story, sacha pws)
• What type of leader are you
Lead by example (siblings’ education / Synance)
• How does your behavior in a group affect the behavior of others in the group?
Manual comps (extended from project to full team, convinced the team to do this / PWS met sacha (ambition drives others, helpful) / Synance
• Example of a time where you failed?
cum laude high school / Synance / corona game / 140k deadlift
• Give me 3 examples of times that you failed and how you responded
Synance / corona game / deadline JPMorgan
• Tell me about a time when you set the bar really high and couldn’t achieve the goal?
Synance / cum laude high school / SBV + thesis
• Tell me about a time where you had to convince someone?
Synance: BlockUniverse + Hiring people + Pitch at ECE / MS automated comps pull
• Were you ever in a conflict with a team, how did you solve it?
Chronos private placement / Blockuniverse (payout dynamics, distribute EV using synance tokens, or buy up synance tokens of the proceeds)
• What has been the most complex problem that you have ever solved?
New type of VC fund / Thesis / Liquidation preferences
• Waar ben je het meest trots op van je CV?
Synance
• Most impressive feat buiten je CV om?
Siblings’ education
• Waar zie je jezelf in 5 jaar?
X position at the company
• Wat heb je geleerd van iemand anders dat je wilt toepassen bij BCG?
Kasia Natural awareness / Leading teams and calls (MS/JP seniors)
• Wat wil je leren/verbeteren aan jezelf?
Awareness, step up (leading calls)
• Welke drie dingen zou je anders doen?
go on exchange / Summer Internship / Eerder orienteren op consulting / Join Triton Early
• How do you deal with criticism?
MS many feedback sessions, try to improve
• How do you deal with stress?
Control the situation and gain rest
• What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
MS Chronos – analyzed situation and actioned to resolve it
• What could be obstacles when working here?
Ramping up asap / no obstacles
• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem Liquidation preferences / Thesis BSc
• Give an example of how you set goals
Synance / MS Offer / Secure 9 of 10 IBC offers
• Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it MS offer / PWI game sales network / Cum Laude
• Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done
E-commerce Jonny, worked till 5 / BESI Pitch JPM (P2P target pursued)
• Tell me about a time when you had to stretch yourself to achieve something that was important to you (Why was it a stretch? Why was it important to you?)
Finalize dealwork at MS as Anna came for the weekend in London / BESI JPM Pitch (perform well)
• Can you tell me about something important that you needed to accomplish that you didn’t really enjoy doing? What were your initial thoughts when you got that assignment? How did you proceed?)
MSc thesis write-up of methodology
• Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks
MS mixed deadlines and a new request
• Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure
MS Jonny till 5 (just before meeting) / Error in model Epos Now (liaised with Andrea on phone + fixed model)
• How do you handle a challenge?
Give an example 3 hour task JPM (analyzed approach, executed, communicated along the way)
• Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?
3 hour task JPM (communicated lack of time early on) / Senior mixed up the versions of a deck (called directly, and sent over correctly compiled version)
• What was your biggest failure in life, and how did you deal with it?
Tirza mavo /
• Give me an example when you had to take a quick and risky decision
Send deck directly to client for Chronos
• Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision
Model error Epos Now / Speak-up during Chronos client call with CEO / Philips Vector CEO said deal was in jeopardy
• Give me an example for when you had to be extremely creative in your life
liquidation preferences SBV / Thesis BSc / Synance business pivot
• Give me an example of a time when you solved a problem in a very analytical way
liquidation preferences SBV / Thesis BSc
• Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree
Leenstelsel / WFH
• Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision
Disband Synance / Work longer at Middendorp, said so as team lead / Decide to focus on 1 project at MS
• Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year
Going to MS London / deciding to go for consulting
• Give an example of how you worked in a team
Synance / Philips / Rabobank/ JPM / MS
• Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa)
Buddy JP, BESI Pitch
• Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead
MS Manual comps / Synance / CIM TIP Trailers JPM
• Give me an example of a time when you motivated others
Synance / PWS / MS Manual comps TMV
• Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively
Chronos PP, tight deadline (delegated to 3 people) / Synance
• Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete
BESI Pitch / Liquidation preference report / Thesis
• Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem
BESI Pitch / Thesis
• Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem
Template chronos. Instead of chasing teams for it, just remake it yourself.
• Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way
Chronos way of working / Synance payout model / Pitch ECE
• Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion
Synance Blockuniverse partnership / ECE Pitch / Manual Comps pull
• Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures
Chronos jaws slide
• Explain a concept or topic you learned in one of your classes in a minute
Gravity model for Migration flows (Thesis) / Inflation-linked bonds and investor behavior / interest-rate parity
• Tell me about your favorite college class and share a few things that you learned
Random forest /Financial data analytics (create a corpus, conduct sentiment analysis and visualize outcome)
• Why did you major in Finance?
Enjoyed Finance courses during BSc / overlap quant + qualitative / like working with numbers and thinking about businesses
• Which industries are interesting to you and why?
Tech (semi's?) / healthcare
• If I could only know one experience from your resume, what would it be?
Synance / MS / JPM
• What do you plan to do after this job?
Enter start-up ecosystem, become a board member (of NGOs as well)
• Imagine that tomorrow, you picked up the New York Times and there was an article about you on the frontpage. What would the title say?
Ruben started a tech company resolving aimed to solve societal challenges
• What 3 words would your friends use to describe you?
Ambitious, knowledgeable, energetic
• What would your friends say is your greatest flaw?
Critical / should take time off
• Tell me about your hobbies/personal interests
Boxing, kite surfing, piano, social time
• Greatest failure and lessons learned
Synance / Tirza mavo
• If you didn’t do consulting, what else would you do?
Investing / corporate development
• What types of constructive feedback have you received from prior jobs?
Eye for detail / walk around more / don’t take on too much work
• Tell me about a time when you were leading a team that faced a significant challenge, and how you led your team to overcome that challenge
Synance business pivot / TMWV Manual comps pull / Chronos PP urgent timeline, called up entire team
• Tell me about your most challenging leadership experience. This can be from work, from school, etc.
Synance + BlockUniverse Merge
• Tell me about a time when you manifested leadership - in the sense that you didn’t have a formal leadership role, but you recognized an opportunity and stepped up to lead the team?
Chronos PP urgent / Philips DD call
• Tell me about your leadership style
Lead by example / engaged leader
• How would you deal with a difficult boss?
Analyze what does not work, and adapt to resolve. Otherwise speak with the boss on what can be improved.
• How would you deal with difficult coworkers/colleagues/teammates?
Analyze what does not work, avoid difficulties. Otherwise be upfront and speak about it.
• What do you think makes a good management consultant?
x
• What have you done to prepare yourself for the job?
CAse practice
• Any particular areas of management consulting that you find really interesting (for instance, particular industry, or a particular function such as operations)?
Operations
• Spend a minute and tell me what you think is the most interesting business issue in the news today
Banking crisis (UBS and Credit Suisse) / interest rate hike
Tell me about a company you admire and why?
BESI / Philips
• What company do you think is having a tough time right now, and what would you recommend they do to improve their current situation?
Philips
• How do you think the recent economic crisis is going to affect the consulting business?
Aversely
• Give me an example of a tough quantitative/analytical work assignment or class that you've taken.
Thesis BSc / Liquidation preferences / LBO besi or fagron
• Can you tell me about a situation where ethics played an important role?
Equality of opportunity, ethics paper
• Have you cheated or knew someone who cheated? How did you react in this situation?
Told them first to come clean, didnt need to force their hand
1. How do you maintain self-motivation when you experience a setback on the way to achieve your goal?
a. See everything as a journey rather than a destination, rationalize (everyone has setbacks), or see it as a learning opportunity (synance, lots of pivots)
2. Give me an example of when you enabled others to identify improvements to how they approached work. What was the result?
TMWV manual comps / Philips automated DD / MS feedback sessions / Chronos meetings to discuss comments
3. Give me an example of a recent merger that you think will pay dividends. Why?
Credit Suisse and UBS
2. Describe a time when you attempted to develop a strong relationship with a teammate, manager or customer/client. Address your specific actions, challenges and your solutions, as well as the result
Synance Team / CEO Vector Philips / Kyra
3. Tell me about a time when you worked with others to achieve a common objective. Share the specific actions, challenges and solutions, and the team’s ultimate performance
Synance / Chronos tight deadline PP
• Describe a situation in which you learned something significant from a mistake you made at work or in a school project?
Sent a deck too early MS Andrea