1 - Interview

Monitor Deloitte MENA (Dubai)

First, I was invited to complete an online test, which was basic arithmetic and
SAT math. The test was timed- you're given very little time (in the "couple of
minutes" range- not the "one hour" that was publicized). Don't panic. You'll want
to efficiently complete as many questions as possible (I didn't finish, but was able
to get more than half right with complete confidence that they were all correct
answers).
(Advice: Attend a webinar. Monitor Deloitte's Dubai office does offer one. It will help
you receive this invitation.)

After a week, you'll be invited to a first round interview. Nothing difficult here- you'll
have to complete a case study interview. Be sure to engage the interviewer with
confidence and to explain and show your work, step-by-step, in an organized manner.
(Your interviewer will collect your work.) My interviewer was kind enough to guide me
at times, so exhibiting humility was essential. In addition to the case interview, there was
a routine behavioral interview with the same interviewer. Be prepared to go over your
resume, to explain your interest in consulting and in the specific office, and to articulate
your strengths and interests.

Finally, after ~10 days, I was invited for a final interview in Boston.
This consisted of a group case study interview: you and a collection of fellow candidates
have 30 minutes to read the same ~20 pages of literature consisting of emails, memos,
charts, etc. You'll want to exhibit good time management, skim through literature, and
take notes on important trends you've gathered through analyzing the data. A macro view
of the company's situation will be key. Afterwards, each candidate will be assigned 3-5
unique questions pertaining to the case and will be given 15 minutes to prepare answers,
which will be presented publicly to the group at-large. Each presentation lasts ~10
minutes with ~5 additional minutes of questioning. Use the white board as you would use
your notepad during an individual case study- show key elements of your work-
equations, diagrams, etc.- and circle your answers. Engage your peers, be confident, and
don't be afraid to ask questions. Act as if they are your teammates.
(Advice 1: be sure you are answering the questions you've been assigned. It's very easy to
accidentally answer others' assigned questions).
(Advice 2: take good notes in your pad; the interviewers claimed that they don't look at
the notes, but it wasn't exactly clear that this was the case.
(Advice 3: don't be afraid to press your colleagues with questions- follow up on
disagreements and don't beat around the bush! My group was very civil and kind to one
another, and nobody wanted to truly challenge a colleague's argument or answer (in other
words, nobody was an ultra-competitive tool). This actually bugged one of the senior
 interviewers! A more junior interviewer did not share his colleague's sentiments.)
Afterwards, you are treated to lunch- a great opportunity to chat with the other
candidates. This was personally a great experience since the group of people I was with
were very friendly and supportive of one another. The three interviewers who were taking
notes at the group interview will pull each person out one-by-one for the behavioral part
of the interview. You will take part in two-three behavioral interviews. You'll be asked to
evaluate and critique your own performance. You'll also be asked typical cookie-cutter
questions like "describe your strengths and weaknesses." Finally, be prepared to ask some
questions.
(Advice: Pray that you don't get the last interview. One of my colleagues told me that
they were almost forgotten, that their final interview consisted of little substance, and that
they were rushed).

Overall, the interview process was a great learning experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my
interviewers and the other candidates' company.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the HR Department of Monitor Deloitte's

Dubai Office. While other major firms (e.g. McKinsey, Simon-Kucher, etc.) had the
decency to follow-up with a personal call and with interview feedback in the same day or
week, the Dubai office failed to send me any information re: my status. This happened
despite a thank you note and an inquiry. After a month of silence, I called the firm with
the given extension, and I learned the extension didn't exist. Then, I sent a kind email and
received an automated reply- a denial- within a few hours. I received a second rejection
email almost a month later. Such protocol is understandable after a 1st round interview,
but minimal courtesy is to be expected after a final interview from an elite firm.
Unfortunately, another candidate I know had the same distasteful experience with the
Dubai office last year. (Fortunately, I've found through personal experience that the HR
department in the U.S. offices is very responsive, timely, and considerate).Show Less

Interview Questions

 Why Monitor Deloitte? Why Monitor Deloitte in the Dubai office? What are your top
strengths? What is a weakness you have? How do you think you did in the group
interview presentation?
 2 - Interview

The recruiters for Monitor were very energetic and personable. During the
interview process, we were given a case study of around 10 pages consisting of
a 4 pages worth of summary and 6 pages worth of graphs and charts. I was given
25 minutes to answer 3 questions within the 10 pg packet. When the interview
started, the first question was about the quantitative section. I had oversimplified
the quantitative question using assumptions from previous experience. The interviewer
made me go over the entire quantitative question and walked me step by step, at that point
I saw I had forfeited the interview from his tone. The interviewer was a industrial
engineer from Georgia Tech, he seemed mild mannered and cerebral. Main point is to
take the full time to nail the quantitative portion and to thoroughly read the summary
within a confined time to allow for problem solving. Also, your notes will be taken up so
its important for you to demonstrate organization.Show Less

Interview Questions

 Why Monitor? Answer Question

CASE:

Interview Questions

 Take this packet of information about a hot dog stand business and build a marketing plan
and forecast financial performance.

3 - Interview
I was initially contacted months ago, and asked if I was interested in coming in for an
interview. The first interview occurred approximately three weeks ago.

The first interview started with a case interview. I was given ~30 minutes to review a
packet of information (text and charts, ~15 pages) and a series of questions about that
information. Following that time period, the interviewer returned and asked me to give
answers to the questions, explaining my thought process in detail. Some of the questions
were quantitative in nature, others were more qualitative. This case interview was then
followed up by a 1 on 1 "fit" interview. (e.g. "Why consulting?" "Why Monitor?" etc.)

Approximately a week later, I was invited for a second interview and given detailed
feedback from my first interview.

The second interview was a group interview, with approximately five candidates. We
each reviewed identical packets of material for 30 minutes. We were then each given an
individual packet of material to review for another 30 minutes (each individual had a
unique individual packet which was related to the group material). Each candidate was
then given ~15 minutes to present their individual material and the questions they were
given. They also presented their answers, but solicited feedback from the other members
of the group. Cooperation and collaboration is the name of the game for this group
interview, not competition!

4 - Interview

Overall it was a great experience to interview with Monitor Group. People were
very nice, polite, and very relaxed, to the point where sometimes it felt like an
informal conversation. Monitor really will test how good you can take feedback,
and if you can improve upon the feedback received from first round.

FIRST ROUND. 1 hour long. It starts with 15 minutes of going through 2-3 pages
of text, and about 5-6 slides in a laminated booklet, and attempt to answer 3-4
questions. After the 15 min are up the interviewer comes in and asks you to walk him/her
through your answers to the questions. After the initial 15 minutes I had just finished
reading the booklet and started answering the first question, so I got kinda nervous since I
did not have good answers to the other questions. First questions is quant, and the other
ones are qual. Try to STRUCTURE your approach to every question and be open about
the information you are missing and what you would need to answer the question, then
the interviewer can help you answer them. The name of the game here is "LET"S SEE
HOW YOU THINK (how structured you are), AND WALK ME THROUGH YOUR
THOUGHT PROCESS (communication skills, clear, concise). Last 15-20 min of
fit/behavioral interview.

After a few days I was contacted for a final interview at their HQ.

FINAL ROUND. Group presentation. About 3 hours long. The name of this game is
COOPERATION and TEAM WORK. Get to know the candidates before the interview
starts. Give tips, be willing to receive tips. First 30 min everybody gets same laminated
booklet of about 16 pages, with a a mix of text and charts (no questions yet). The next 30
minutes everybody gets 1-2 pages of a personalized section of the case, which also
contains 3-4 questions that are exclusive to you. Take the time to read, understand, and
prepare your presentation. Your section will probably be testing your weaknesses from
the first round interview, so make sure you work on the feedback you get from the first
round interviewer. After the first hour, everybody has 15 min to present and 3 min to
prepare the board and for the team to read your section. Use the whole board, include the
team on your analysis. BE A GOOD LEADER. YOU OWN YOUR 15 MIN. DON'T
OVERPOWER THE CONVERSATION, BUT DON'T LET OTHERS DOMINATE
 YOUR PRESENTATION. Last 30 min spent on a one-on-one behavioral/feedback
interview/session with a consultant.

Got offer a few days later.

Make sure you go through the case example Monitor has on its site. Know
SPECIFICALLY why you want to work with Monitor and not other consulting firm.
Monitor is very unique, so it's not that hard to find differences, but make sure you do your
homework. And network, network, network.Show Less

Interview Questions

 Why Monitor? Why consulting? Answer Question

 What are the two things that you are more proud of on your resume? What has been the
best experience, and why?

5 - Interview

Applicants go through 3 different interviews; 1 fit interview ( resume and

background) and 2 case studies ( with a few fit interview questions as well).

Case studies consisted of 10-15 pgs of text, graphs and 3 questions ( 1 quant, 2
qual) to be answered. Pharmaceutical and running shoe company were the two
industries presented during my interview. Make sure you review all the graphs
and text before interviewer enters room. Segmenting and searching for all the
quantitative numbers needed to answer the question was the most difficult part in my
opinion. Qualitative were reasonably straight forward, but be confident in your answers
and presentation

6 - Interview
Interviewing process was in 2 stages. First stage was a combination of a case interview
and a behavioral interview. Case interview was reasonably simple and the interviewer
was very helpful and encouraging. The objective of the case was to determine which
company could be acquired among the options. Behavioral interview was pretty standard.
Second round was a day long marathon. Comprising of 1 group case interview lasting 3
hours, where we interview with the other candidates and the ability to work in a team is
assessed with the problem solving skills. One individual written case interview. Two
behavioral interview. The chat in behavioral interview could go in any direction based on
your background what the interviewer find interesting in your profile. The interviewers
are very friendly, helpful and made a sincere effort to know us.
7 - Interview

Interview process started with an online application. Shortlisted candidates were

then invited to sit an on campus analytics test.

Candidates who passed the test were invited to a case study interview. Case
study was very similar to that on the Monitor website - watch out for small details
in the fine print.

Candidates who performed well in this round were invited to final round
interviews and flown to Johannesburg. The first day consisted of a dinner with
company executives followed by a group case study interview(similar to first round
except done in a group setting and a more difficult case) Monitor executives watch
silently. The final interview consisted of a role play dealing with client interaction.

Ended up not getting an offer to the botching the group case study(made a market sizing
mistake)
Received extensive feedback after the interview process as well as throughout the
interview process - a consultant would call one up to prepare one for each round of
interviews.

Personal Interview followed by Case Interviews - Profit and Loss case,

Profitability case, business expansion case, Merger and Acquisition Case, People
Strategy case, Partner Case - Why, Where, How, Business Strategy, Porters five
forces (no brainer) , More strategy cases, M & A Case

8 - Interview

Written case study interview. I was placed in a room with two other candidates
and given 20 minutes to go over about 15 pages of texts and graphs. The case
was on a pharma company who wanted to buy out one of its rivals. One quant
question, two qualitative questions. There is no way you will finish in 20
mins....you have to have a rough idea of what you are going to answer before
speaking to the consultants. Organization is critical when answering. Overall its a very
casual interview.