3 Tips For The Personal Fit Interview

Take these elements into account when reviewing the questions.

Published in

consultingacademy

3 min readJun 7, 2019

Things you should know

Consulting firms have more or less the same type of clients and deliver the same services. As a result, they look for the same elements in the candidates they want to hire. Before we dive into the specific questions, we lay out 3 elements you should be aware off. These will help you understand how you should answer the personal fit questions.

1. Provide a clear and structured answer

Weak candidates come unprepared to their interviews, tell long stories and get lost in the small details while failing to clearly draw the big picture.

Strong candidates do:

Practice and review the questions they might have to answer
Prepare a small draft answer for each question
Start by explaining the context (big picture) of their story
Focus on the key elements of their story
Are structured and calm
Use the STAR or 3 words method (see further)

Instead of getting stuck into the details, practice your answers and review your structure. Focus on the big picture and only discuss the most relevant details.

2. Use distinctive and personal answers

Your goal as a candidate should be to make a strong and favorable impression on the interviewer. The best way to do so is not by telling:

Impersonal or generic stories
Stories where you didn’t have an important role
“Mind blowing” stories that are not realistic (even if true)
Stories that put you in a bad spot

Rather, great candidates tell stories:

That are realistic
Where they had an important role
That are personal and unique

Great candidates understand that the best answers manage to strike the right balance between humility and ambition. These candidates tell convincing stories that places them at the center of the action. At the same time, their stories aren’t complex, unrealistic or generic.

3. Disclose information

Most consulting firms require their candidates to go through 3 to 5 rounds of interviews. As a matter of fact, consultants do not want to take any risk when recruiting someone and thus want to know as much as possible before offering anyone a job.

Great candidates clearly understand this and make sure that:

Each answer is different and brings new information
Answers are clear and unambiguous
Their stories are short and representative

Weak candidates tell vague stories that do not paint a clear picture of who they are and what interests them. Strong candidates make extensive use of personal stories and examples in order to convey a clear and imaged story that has a strong impact on the interviewer.