Case interviews in Valcon If your application follows the contour of a future colleague, you will be asked to do a cognitive test. If we decide to continue the process, you will be invited for a first interview including a first-round case. The second round of the recruitment process is a case preparation and presentation with a panel consisting of a Valcon partner and a representee from our People & Culture department. You can read more about the cognitive test on page 20. First-round case interview You will be asked to solve a case in the first round of Valcon’s recruitment process. It is a candidate-led case, which means that you will be expected to drive the case process. The interviewer will ask you an overall question, and you will subsequently need to structure the analysis on your own, deciding direction and key focus points as you go along to arrive at the correct answer. When asked relevant questions, the interviewer will reveal more useful information. This initial case is meant to show the interviewer how you approach and tackle new problems. It furthermore gives them an idea of your business acumen, arithmetical skills and ability to structure open-ended questions. Final-round case interview The final round of Valcon’s recruitment process is a case preparation and presentation. You will be handed a case along with an extensive collection of data and will then be expected to prepare a presentation of your results over the span of six hours. Our final round case interview is designed to closely simulate a real-life project that you may encounter as a management consultant. You are, among other things, expected to: • Handle large amounts of data • Identify core issues • Choose the most relevant data to go with your conclusions • Prepare a coherent presentation of the case company’s challenge with data and suggestions • Communicate your findings in a confident, persuasive and concise manner to the ‘client’ as well as be able to tackle client questions on the spot • Show your ability to handle a delicate client situation with respect and empathy The final round case interview holistically tests your consultant skillset and offers you a look into what being a management consultant entails. What do we look for? Overall, there are three questions that we seek to answer during the case interviews: 1) Can you help solve our clients’ problems? The skills that management consultancies look for when doing case interviews are generally the same but with different emphases. After all, we need you to help solve our clients’ problems. Therefore, our consultants look for your underlying ability to break down and solve complex problems by determining the core challenges. They will asses your ability to act independently, reason logically, make fact-based conclusions and adapt to changing situations. 2) Are you a good fit for Valcon and our clients? As a consultant, you will interact with a lot of different people and personalities. The consultants therefore need to know how you deal with constructive input, if you approach problems with analytical rigour, if you are tactful, and if you can present your arguments clearly to others. They will also consider if they can picture themselves working with you, often relying on the “car ride to Jutland” test – would they be comfortable in a car with you for several hours? Therefore, do not be afraid to show who you are. 3) Is Valcon the right fit for you? Finally, we want new colleagues who like what they do and who thrive when being challenged. Our consultants will look for passion, integrity and a will to learn; always keeping Valcon’s core values in mind. It is very important to us that there is a match between the candidate and Valcon. No “one right kind” of candidate While our consultants look for certain skillsets during the case interviews, they also keep your background in mind when assessing you. We do not have “one right kind” of candidate or education. You should therefore consider which specific strengths and weaknesses you bring to the case solving. In Valcon, we actively aim to promote diversity. We employ people with diverse educational backgrounds in, for example, political science, psychology, engineering, economics, international politics, IT, business, marketing and finance. 4
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