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If you’re on this page, you likely have an Arthur D. Little interview coming up. Congratulations! It’s a great idea to spend time preparing for your consulting interviews to make the most of this opportunity.
In this article we’ll share:
Let’s get started!
To ace the interview, it’s important to know the company you are interviewing with. In the case of Arthur D. Little, the world’s first management consultancy established in 1886, this is especially true. In its 135 years, the company has fostered a collaborative and forward-thinking culture, with a focus on putting “client first.”
The firm serves a wide range of industries including:
Their services range from strategy and organizational transformation to digital transformation and sustainability.
Arthur D. Little interviews screen for candidates who exhibit independent thinking, creativity, and the ability to put ideas into action. Its collaborative culture also stresses identifying candidates who can work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams and have an aptitude for navigating new experiences. Learn more about what Arthur D. Little looks for in candidates here.
Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 85% of our clients pass the case interview.
Arthur D. Little interviews assess your analytical and communication skills through case interviews and case study presentations. The recruitment process has 4 stages:
As highlighted above, you’ll have 4 to 5 case interviews during the recruitment process. The Arthur D. Little case interview may either be a traditional case interview or a written case/presentation.
While it may seem a daunting task, both case interview formats are primarily assessing the same qualities, i.e., your analytical skills and your ability to communicate. The interviewers are trying to understand whether you can:
Arthur D. Little case interviews are generally interviewee-led, which means you’ll have to structure your approach to solving the problem, then guide the interviewer through your thought process and conclusions. We recommend you navigate through the case interview by following a tried-and-tested 4-step approach:
The case interview will start with a hypothetical company facing a business problem. Your interviewer will share crucial information about the problem. Take notes during the interview and repeat the problem you’ve been asked to solve back to the interviewer in your own words. Remember, it’s important you’re solving the correct question!
Avoid the temptation to immediately jump into a laundry list of potential solutions. Instead, keep asking pertinent questions to understand the problem statement better. If you are unclear about any aspects of the client’s business or industry, you should ask about them now.
Once you understand the question, structure your approach to solving the problem.
In a case interview, request time to structure the problem – interviewers appreciate it if you take a couple minutes to think through your approach. Similarly, in a written/presentation case interview, take time to structure the problem before sifting through data looking for an answer. Otherwise, you might spend too much time reading the data and not have the time you need to write your presentation.
List what you need to learn about the client’s situation. You may structure the problem based on business frameworks you’re familiar with or, better yet, develop your own structure. Developing your own structure to break down a problem shows you’ll have the skill to solve problems you’ve never seen before.
See our article on Business Frameworks for more on how to structure consulting case interviews. Make sure you communicate the structure with your interviewer (whether in the general interview or the written/presentation case interview).
See our article on Written Case Interviews for more tips on how to approach the Arthur D. Little presentation case interview.
After you structure the key aspects of your approach, walk through these issues step-by-step. Ask for data that helps you drive the analysis. This may be information the interviewer has shared in the initial conversation or on charts. For written cases, data may be buried among other, less relevant information in the pack you received.
Walk your interviewer through the analysis, presenting the supporting data in a clear and concise manner. While analyzing the data, form and revise your hypotheses based on the information shared and continue referring to your structure while analyzing the case. Otherwise, you risk running down a particular branch of the issue tree and ignoring other important aspects of the problem.
Conclude the interview with a logical summary outlining the problem you set out to solve, key conclusions you’ve reached based on the data shared, and a persuasive recommendation on how you’d help the client resolve the challenge. Make sure you communicate the solution in logical steps and that the interviewer (client) follows your logic. A strong conclusion leaves a great impression on the interviewer.
For a detailed example of how to crack a consulting case interview, see our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep.
Behavioral or fit questions will be a part of almost all your Arthur D. Little interviews. The interviewers are looking to understand whether you are a good fit for the company and have independent thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurial qualities. They are also assessing your ability to work in teams, put ideas into action, and learn from new experiences.
It’s great to practice and prepare for the common interview questions in advance by thinking of situations that best portray your skills. Learn more about the common questions and how to answer (and NOT answer!) these by reading our Ultimate Guide to Behavioral Interviews.
Take time to develop stories to illustrate your leadership, entrepreneurial, and teamwork skills. Your behavioral fit is as important as (if not more than) your analytical abilities.
Also, develop stories to show that you’re a self-starter and a leader. Practice these stories with interview prep partners until you have your answers polished (but don’t practice so much that they sound memorized or robotic).
Case studies are difficult and learning to case takes time, but investing this time is critical if you want to land a job in consulting. Ensure you’ve mastered each of the 4 steps to solving a case interview. Prepare before your interview by practicing cases with friends and peers, or better yet, work with one of our coaches.
Listening is one of the most important skills in consulting. Listen to your interviewer’s instructions, feedback, and questions, and ask probing questions to understand the case. It is better to ask a question than to misunderstand key data or important aspects of the business problem!
Structure your thoughts carefully and avoid going deep into a rabbit hole. Involve the interviewer(s) in your thought process to allow them to gauge how well you structure your problems in logical steps.
At the end of the case, remember to communicate your recommendations and the data that back them up concisely and in a logical manner.
Arthur D. Little case studies not only test your ability to solve problems, but also your resilience, listening skills, ability to work on a team, and reactions to difficult situations. Be prepared for rapid questions, and avoid reacting to situations in an unprofessional manner.
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In this article, we’ve covered:
If you have more questions about the Arthur D. Little case interview, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s case coaches will answer them.
Other people prepping for their Arthur D. Little interview found the following pages helpful:
Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on consulting interview prep. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 85% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how Stefan was able to get his offer from Arthur D. Little.
Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 85% of our clients pass the case interview.
We are sharing our powerful strategies to pass the case interview even if you have no business background, zero casing experience, or only have a week to prepare.