麦肯锡招聘面试案例分析样题和答案McKiney On line case study

McKineyOnlinecasestudyTostepthroughthiscaseexample,wewillgiveyousomeinformation,askaquestion,andthen,whenyouareready,giveyouasampleanswer.Wehopethattheexercisewillgiveyouasenseoftheflowofacaseinterview.(Pleasenote,youcanstopthisexerciseandpickupwhereyouleftofflater.Yourcookiesmustbeontousethisfeature).Inthisexercise,youwillansweraseriesofquestionsasthecaseunfolds.Weprovideourrecommendedanswersaftereachquestion,withwhichyoucancompareyourownanswers.Wewanttoemphasizethatmostquestionsinacasestudydonothaveasinglerightanswer.Inalivecaseinterview,wearemoreinterestedinyourexplanationofhowyouarrivedatyouranswer,notjusttheansweritself.Aninterviewercanalwaysassessdifferentbutequallyvalidwaysofapproachinganissue,andthenbringyoubacktotheparticularlineofinquirythatheorshewantstopursue.Youshouldalsokeepinmindthatinalivecase,therewillbefarmoreinteractionwiththeinterviewerthanthisexerciseallows.Forexample,youwillhavetheopportunitytoaskclarifyingquestions.Finally,alivecaseinterviewwouldtypicallybecompletedin30-45minutes,dependingonhowthecaseevolves.Inthison-lineexercise,thereisnotimelimit.Thereareeightquestionsinthison-linecasestudy.Thiscasestudyisdesignedtoroughlysimulateoneduringyourinterview,soyouwillnotbeabletoskipaheadtothenextquestionuntilyouhaveansweredtheoneyouareon.YoucanrefreshyourmemoryofpreviousanswersbyclickingthehighlightedQ&Alinkstotheleft.Toprinttheanswer,clickontheprinticonthatappearsintheTOPRIGHTcorner.Attheend,youcanprinttheentireon-linecasestudyatonce.ThecaseQuestion1ClientGoal:DoublethenumberofrecruitswhilemaintainingtheirqualitywithminimalincreaseinresourcesexpendedOurclientrecruitsgraduatingcollegeseniorsforentry-levelpositionsinlocationsaroundtheworld.Itcurrentlyhiresandplaces500graduatesperyearbutwouldliketotripleinsizeoverthenexttenyearswhilemaintainingquality.Assumethattheincreasemustallcomefromhiringgraduatingseniors.(Inanactualcase,youmaynotbegiventhisandotherassumptionsunlessyouask.)Theclient'scurrentrecruitingbudgetis$2millionannually,andwhileitisinastrongfinancialposition,itwouldliketospendasfewadditionalresourcesaspossibleonrecruiting.McKinseyisadvisingtheclientonwhatstepsitwillneedtotakeinordertomeetitsgrowthtargets,whilestayingwithinitsbudgetconstraints.Q1:Whatleversdoestheorganizationhaveatitsdisposaltoachieveitsgrowthgoal?A:Somepossibleleversaregivenbelow.It'sterrificifyouidentifiedseveraloftheseandperhapssomeothers.•Attractmoreapplicantsatthesamecost•Reviewthelistofcampusestargeted(e.g.,optimizeresourceallocationacrossschools).Thereviewmayresultinaddingcertainhigherpotentialcampusesandeliminatingotheronesthatappeartohavemorelimitedpotential.•Reviewrecruitingapproachateachcampus(e.g.,optimizecost-effectivenessofmessagesandapproachesateachschool).•Extendofferstoahigherpercentageofapplicantswhilemaintainingquality(e.g.,reducethenumberofpeoplewhoareturneddownwhowouldhaveperformedequallywellinthejob)•Improveacceptanceratesamongofferees(e.g.,bettercommunicatethebenefitsofthejobrelativetoalternativesorimprovetheattractivenessofthejobrelativetoalternatives)Question2Fortheremainderofthediscussionwe'dliketofocusonthetwospecificleversinvolvingattractingmoreapplicantsatthesamecost.•Reviewthelistofcampusestargeted(e.g.,optimizeresourceallocationacrossschools).Thereviewmayresultinaddingcertainhigherpotentialcampusesandeliminatingotheronesthatappeartohavemorelimitedpotential.•Reviewrecruitingapproachateachcampus(e.g.,optimizecost-effectivenessofmessagesandapproachesateachschool).Pleasenotethatifyouidentifieddifferentbutequallyvalidlevers,theinterviewerwouldbeabletoassessthem.Butforthepurposeofthiscasestudy,wearegoingtofocusonthesetwolevers.Q2:Howwouldyouinitiallyapproachdeterminingwhethertheclientcanincreasehiringbyadjustingthelistofcampusestargeted?Whatsortofanalysiswouldyouwanttoconductandwhy?A:Youmighttakethefollowingapproach,wherewe'veoutlinedtwoavenuesofanalysis:•Estimatethehiringpotentialacrossschools•Analyzethenumberofhiresbyschooloverthelastseveralyears•Developacomprehensivelistofschoolsthatmeetourrequirementsandaminimumsetofstandardsforrecruits•Surveyseniorsattheseschoolstodetermineinterestinanentry-levelpositionwiththeclient•Considerthesizeofthegraduatingclassateachschool,determinehowthatclassmightbesegmented(e.g.,eachclasscouldbesegmentedbydisciplineorsegmentedbasedoncareerinterestsinresponsetothesurvey),thencalculatethesizeofeachsegment•Estimatetheoptimalcost-per-hireacrossschools•Comparethecurrentcost-perhireacrossschools•Identifyopportunitiestodecreasethecost-per-hireateachschoolHelpfulTipYoumayhaveaslightlydifferentlist.Whateveryourapproach,welovetoseecandidatescomeataprobleminmorethanoneway,butstilladdresstheissueasdirectlyandpracticallyaspossible.Ingivingtheanswer,it'susefulifyouareclearabouthowtheresultsoftheanalysiswouldhelptoanswertheoriginalquestionposed.Question3Twenty-fivepercentoftheannualrecruitingbudgetisspentoncandidates(i.e.,attracting,assessing,andgettingthemtoaccept).Twentypercentofhiresarecategorizedas"mostexpensive"andhaveanaveragecost-per-hireof$2,000.Q3:Whatistheaveragecost-per-hireofallothercandidates?Rememberthattheclienthires500studentsperyearanditsannualrecruitingbudgetis$2million(informationthatwehopeyounotedearlier).A:Theansweris$750perhire(orlessthanhalfthecost-per-hireofthe"mostexpensive"candidates).Amountspentonthelessexpensivecandidates:25%of$2millionbudget=$500,000spentoncandidates20%of500student=100studentscategorizedas"mostexpensive"100x$2,000cost-per-hire=$200,000spenton"mostexpensive"hires$500,000recruitingbudget-$200,000=$300,000remainingforallotherhiresThenumberoflessexpensivecandidates:500hires-100=400"otherhires"Cost-per-hireofthelessexpensivecandidates:$300,000/400=$750perhireHelpfulTipWhileyoumayfindthatdoingastraightforwardmathprobleminthecontextofaninterviewisabittougher,youcanseethatitisjustamatterofbreakingtheproblemdown.Wearelookingforbothyourabilitytosettheanalysisupproperlyandthentodothemathinrealtime.Question4Q:Inordertodecidewhethertoreducecostsattheleastefficientschools(i.e.,thosewithanaveragecostperhireof$2,000),whatelsewouldyouwanttoknow?A:Someofthepossibleanswersaregivenbelow.Basicquestions:•Whatarethecomponentsofcostsattheseschools(whyisitsoexpensivetorecruitthere)?•Whatopportunitiesexisttoreducecosts?•Howmuchcostsavingswouldresultfromimplementingeachoftheopportunities?•Whatconsequenceswouldimplementingeachoftheseopportunitieshaveonrecruitingattheleastefficientschools?Questionsdemonstratingfurtherinsight:•Whyisthecostloweratmoreefficientschools,andaretherebestpracticesinresourcemanagementthatcanbeappliedtotheleastefficientschools?•Ifwereducecostsattheleastefficientschools,whatwillwedowiththecostsavings(i.e.,whatwouldbethebenefitofspendingthemoneyelsewherevs.whereitiscurrentlybeingspent)?HelpfulTipWewouldnotexpectanyonetocomeupwithalloftheseanswers,butwehopesomeofyouranswersheadinthesamedirectionasours.Yoursmaybringsomeadditionalinsights.Ineithercase,besurethatyoucanclearlyexplainhowyourquestionwillbringyouclosertotherightdecision.Question5TheMcKinseyteamconductssomeanalysisthatindicatesthatincreasingspendingonblanketadvertising(e.g.,advertisements/flyersoncampus)doesnotyieldanysignificantincreaseinhires.Q5:Giventhatincreasedblanketadvertisingspendingseemstoberelativelyineffective,andtheclientdoesn'twanttoincreaseoverallcosts,whatmightbesomeotherideasforincreasingthecandidatepoolonaspecificcampus?A:Wearelookingforatleastacoupleofanswersliketheonesgivenbelow:•Improve/enhancerecruitingmessages(e.g.,understandtargetcandidategroup,refocusmessageonthisgroup,understandcompetitivedynamiconcampus)•Utilizereferrals(e.g.,faculty,alumni)•Comeupwithcreativewaystotargetspecificdepartments/clubsoftheschool•Rethinkadvertisingspending-whileincreasingblanketadspendingdoesn'tseemtowork,advertisingmightstillbethemostefficientandeffectivewaytoincreasethenumberofcandidatesifitisdeployedinamoresystematic,targetedwayHelpfulTipThisquestionisagoodonefordemonstratingcreativitybecausethere'salonglistofpossibleideas.Additionalinsightsintohowagivenideawouldbeapproachedandhowmuchitwouldcostarehelpful.Question6Forsimplicity'ssake,let'ssaywe'veconductedmarketresearchandfoundthattherearetwotypesofpeopleoneachcampus,AandB.Historically,ourclienthasalsousedtwotypesofrecruitingmessagesinitsadvertising.Thefirst,called"SeetheWorld,"getsonepercentoftypeAstudentstoapply,butthreepercentoftypeBstudents.Thesecond,called"PathwaytoLeadership,"getsfivepercentofTypeAstudentstoapply,butonlytwopercentoftypeBstudents.ThechartbelowliststhebreakdownoftypesAandBstudentsatsomeofourmajorcampuses,andthemessageourclientisusingoncampus.School%ofTypeAStudents%ofTypeBStudentsRecruitingMessageUsedonCampusUniversity180%20%PathwaytoLeadershipUniversity248%52%SeetheWorldUniversity370%30%PathwaytoLeadershipUniversity460%40%SeetheWorldQ6:Assumingthere'snodifferencebetweenthecostsofeachmessage,whatcanyoutellmefromthisinformation?School%ofTypeAStudents%ofTypeBStudentsRecruitingMessageUsedonCampusUniversity180%20%PathwaytoLeadershipUniversity248%52%SeetheWorldUniversity370%30%PathwaytoLeadershipUniversity460%40%SeetheWorldA:Accordingtothesenumbers,theclientshouldusethe"PathwaytoLeadership"messageacrossallfouruniversities.The"SeetheWorld"messageispreferableonlyifmorethan80%ofthestudentsatagivenuniversityareoftypeB.HelpfulTipAnevenmoreinsightfulresponsewouldmentionthattheultimateanswerdependsonthecostofeachmessage,whetherthecostincreasesdependingonthenumberofstudentsatthecampus,andhowinterestedweareinstudentsofTypeAvs.TypeB(e.g.,willonetypebemorelikelythantheothertogetanofferandtobesuccessfulonthejob).Onecouldimagineusingbothmessagesonsomecampusesiftheadditionalcostwerejustifiedbytheresultingincreaseinhires.Question7University4graduates1,000seniorseachyear.Q7:HowmanynewcandidatesmightbegeneratedbychangingtherecruitingmessageatUniversity4toPathwaytoLeadership?A:Theansweris20candidates(i.e.,anincreaseofover100%).NumberofeachtypeofstudentatUniversity4:1,000seniorsx60%=600TypeAstudents1,000seniorsx40%=400TypeBstudentsCandidatesattractedbeSeetheWorldmessage:(1%x600)+(3%x400)=18candidatesCandidatesattractedbyPathwaytoLeadershipmessage:(5%x600)+(2%x400)=38candidatesIncreaseincandidatesresultingfromchangeinmessage:38-18=20morecandidates(anincreaseofover100%)Question8Q8:Whatsortofnextstepsshouldwetellourclientwe'dliketotakebasedonwhatwehavediscussedtoday?A:Theabilitytocometoalogical,defensiblesynthesisbasedontheinformationavailableatanypointinanengagementiscriticaltotheworkwedo.Eventhoughwe'dconsiderourselvestobeveryearlyintheoverallprojectatthispointinthecase,wedowanttobeabletoshareourcurrentperspective.Theidealanswerwouldincludethefollowingpoints:FINDINGS•Thereappearstobeanopportunitytosignificantlyincreasetotalapplicantsofthesamequalitythatwearegettingtodayatthesameorreducedcost:•Increasingblanketadvertisingisineffectiveandcostly,butchangingtheadvertisingmessageonsomecampusescouldincreaseapplicantssignificantlywithoutincreasingcosts.Atoneofthecampuseswe'velookedat,University4,thenumberofapplicantswouldgoupmorethan100percent•Thecost-per-hirevariesdramaticallyfromschooltoschool.ThissuggeststhattheremaybeopportunitiestoreducecostsincertainplacesorreallocateresourcesmoreefficientlyNEXTSTEPS•Weplantoexplorefurtherideasforincreasingqualityapplicationsbychangingthemixofschools,beginningwithamoredetailedreviewoftheopportunitiestoreducecostsatcertainschools•Afterlookingatleverstoincreasetotalapplicants,wewillbeanalyzingopportunitiestoimprovetheofferrate(i.e.,ensurewe'renotturningdownqualityapplicants)andtoincreasetheacceptancerateWewillexamineadditionalmethodsforattractingmoreapplicationsfromourcurrentcampuses(e.g.,referrals,clubs)inadditiontoassessingtheimpactofimprovedmessagingonc