Are you preparing to apply for a graduate role at ?

OC&C Strategy Consultants is a prestigious consulting firm, so you can expect a rigorous application process that you should be well-prepared for.

This in-depth guide will walk you through the whole application journey, with specific tips that will help you land that job and kickstart your career at OC&C.

First and foremost, it’s very important to get to know why OC&C stands out in the consulting landscape.

OC&C Strategy Consultants was founded in 1987 by Chris Outram and Geoff Cullinan, former partners at Booz Allen & Hamilton. The firm positions itself as a pure-play strategy consultancy, focusing largely on the strategies instead of dwelling on implementation and other services.

With offices across major cities including London, New York, Paris, and Shanghai, OC&C has maintained a boutique culture despite its global footprint.

Their philosophy is to use “uncommon sense”, treating each problem as unique and coming up with tailored, tangible solutions rather than pulling generic answers from a playbook.

As you can imagine, becoming part of a company that takes pride in its unique approach to consulting means you should prove that your analytical intelligence and creativity can keep up and grow in their environment.

OC&C positions you can apply for

As a graduate, you can apply for an Associate Consultant (Strategy or Analytics) role. If you’re an MBA graduate, you can apply directly for a Consultant position.

When you look through their vacancies, they may specify which specialisation each role focuses on:

• Advanced Analytics & AI
• B2B Services
• Consumer Goods
• Digital Businesses
• Leisure & Hospitality
• Private Equity & M&A
• Retail
• TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom)

When to apply to OC&C

Vacancies for Associate Consultant roles become available on their website in early September, with deadlines in early November (Strategy) or mid-November (Analytics).

For MBAs, there are two application windows for full-time positions: March to April and August to September.

Otherwise, you can tune in on their LinkedIn and social media pages, or sign up through their careers portal to receive OC&C job alerts.

OC&C application process overview

As part of applying to OC&C, you'll need to go through the following stages: 

1. Online submission of CV & cover letter
2. Online test
3. Screening interview
4. OC&C case study interviews (Two rounds)
5. Receipt of offer

The entire process usually spans 2-3 months, typically with 2-week intervals between stages.

Patience and unwavering perseverance can go a long way when aiming for a consultant position at OC&C.

Now, let's explore each stage in detail.

Stage 1: OC&C online application

First, you must apply online through OC&C’s careers portal.

They have their job vacancies listed, each with details on what they’re looking for in a candidate.

Once you’ve found the role that suits you, you can tailor your approach to the application process based on that specific role.

Tips to make your cover letter & CV shine

On your online application, your first ticket to a career at OC&C is a promising cover letter and an outstanding CV to go with it.

Here are some tips when preparing your CV and cover letter:

• Highlight your analytical skills and problem-solving experience.
• Showcase your extra-curricular or academic activities that prove your commercial awareness.
• Mention any relevant strategy consulting experience or projects.
• Demonstrate your understanding of OC&C's positioning as a strategy-focused consultancy.
• Emphasise what genuinely motivates you to be part of the team.
• Tailor your application to show characteristics that align with OC&C, including curiosity, collaboration, and a strong desire to solve problems.

You can also consider getting your CV professionally reviewed. Alternatively, if networking with someone from OC&C is possible, a referral or advice about your CV can be a significant advantage.

Stage 2: OC&C online test

If your application passes the initial screening, you'll be invited to complete OC&C's 45-minute online tests.

These consist of a verbal reasoning assessment and a numerical reasoning test similar to the GMAT, to evaluate your mathematical skills and critical thinking.

Here are pointers to help you practise for the OC&C test:

• Work on improving your speed while maintaining accuracy.
• Take full practice tests under timed conditions.
• The questions will become harder the further you progress into the test.
• Your ability to interpret data, charts, and tables will be tested.
• Familiarise yourself with consulting-style business cases, including formulas.
• You will also have to exhibit your creativity in approaching these cases.
• You are not allowed to use a calculator during the test.
• Review basic math concepts, percentages, ratios, and data interpretation skills.
• The written test will include a few motivational questions (more on this later in the article)

With these pointers in mind, the best way to practise is to take consulting mock tests and research related questions online.

OC&C’s online test is not that different from other consulting firm screening tests, so you can also look into review resources for McKinsey PST, BCG, and the Bain SOVA Test.

Remember, your time management, accuracy, and analytical thinking are crucial if you want to ace your screening test.

Stage 3: OC&C screening interview

If you’ve passed the online test, then you’ll be invited to a screening interview. This is typically a one-way video assessment or a phone interview before you move on to the case interviews.

While it’s a short interview, typically with just three questions, you want to prepare for:

• PEI (Personal Experience Interview) or behavioural questions
• Fit interview questions
• Some case study questions

Tips for answering OC&C PEI & fit interview questions

To win that OC&C dream job, you need to prove that you have more than just the skills to be a consultant— you are also a perfect fit for OC&C and what it stands for in the consulting landscape.

Therefore, it’s really important to put effort into your answers to PEI and fit questions. They may have already appeared in the online test, and these questions will also be asked in the next stages of your application.

Take your answers to heart, and you can lay them all out whenever you need to.

Below are some of the standard questions for OC&C interviews. Coming up with strong and meaningful answers will help your application stand out:

1. Tell me about yourself.

This seemingly simple question is your opportunity to craft a compelling narrative about your academic journey and experiences.

Keep your response concise but impactful. Don’t recite your entire CV, and focus instead on your relevant skills, academic achievements, and extra-curricular activities related to consulting.

Highlight aspects of your background that align with OC&C's strategic focus. You can also briefly touch on what motivated you to pursue a career in consulting. Conclude with what drew you to OC&C specifically.

2. Why choose OC&C Strategy Consultants?

This question tests whether you've done your research and understand what differentiates OC&C from other consultancies.

To answer, demonstrate your knowledge of OC&C's positioning as a strategy specialist, their culture, and boutique nature, then relate that to yourself and why they appeal to you.

Reading through their website and online brochures will already give you a lot of insights about the consulting firm.

When coming up with your response, it’s a good idea to make sure that your answer is not something you can simply use in other consulting firms’ interviews.

Remember how OC&C takes pride in crafting unique, tailored solutions for its clients? Get into that thinking when coming up with an answer for this question.

3. Why consulting?

This lets OC&C know that you have a good understanding of consulting as a career and that you have realistic expectations about the job. You should be able to demonstrate your grasp of both the rewards and demands of consulting.

You can share how you first got interested in consulting. Emphasise interest in problem-solving and the analytical nature of the industry.

Discuss how it aligns with your skills and career aspirations. If possible, discuss specific examples of how you’ve excelled in consulting-like situations in the past.

Highlight your excitement or eagerness to take on business challenges, indicating your growth potential.

Avoid clichés like "I want to make an impact" without substantiating them. Instead, provide concrete reasons why consulting is the right path for you and how your background has prepared you for this career.

Aside from being knowledgeable, you also want to be genuine in your answer.

More OC&C Interview Questions

You should be able to answer the questions above confidently and naturally.

In addition to these questions, you should also expect other behavioural questions to come up in OC&C’s screening interviews.

Below are some examples of questions you can prepare for:

• Tell me about a time you solved a complex problem.
• Tell me about an achievement that's not on your CV?
• How do you approach analytical challenges?
• How do you handle tight deadlines?
• Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership.
• Describe a situation where you had to influence others.
• Talk about a time you had to work with sensitive information.
• Give an example of when you had to work with difficult team dynamics.

Stage 4: OC&C case study interviews

After getting through the screening test and interview, you will participate in two rounds of case study interviews.

• First round of case interview - Typically, 2 case interviews and fit interview questions conducted by managers.
• Final round of case interview - Typically, 2 case interviews and behavioural interview questions conducted by partners or associate partners.

This is the last stage of the application, so give it your all during prep time and in the actual interview.

Unlike the previous stages, you should now articulate your solutions right in front of an interviewer, which may add pressure to presenting your answer.

So, aside from practising how to solve these cases under pressure, you should also rehearse your delivery. Staying calm and collected will help you ace these interviews.

How to solve an OC&C case study interview

In this crucial part of the application process, be sure to establish your presence as you approach the presented cases.

You also want to be mindful of the time. While these projects actually take months in reality, you have 30 to 45 minutes to present a short yet concise approach to each problem.

Here are the steps on how you can navigate these cases and come up with an effective strategy:

1. You will receive the problem and the relevant background information. Most of these cases are based on actual OC&C projects, meant to test how you will approach these real-life scenarios.
2. It’s natural to ask questions if you need to clarify anything. It’s very important that you fully understand the case and your objective.
3. Structure your framework (ideally MECE) to turn the complex problem into a logical, organised manner. You can ask for a few minutes to think about the problem and come up with an answer.
4. Next, you will discuss your framework, starting with the area where you propose to begin. The interviewer may ask you questions in an interviewer-led interview, but sometimes you’ll have to take the stage in a candidate-led interview.
5. Based on your case, you will have to solve certain quantitative problems. This may be about market sizing, profitability, etc., but it’s smart to first share your approach before solving any equations, just to confirm that your interviewer agrees with that approach. Next, be sure to speak as you solve, walking them through your thought process.
6. You will also encounter qualitative questions. You’ll typically need to present ideas, solutions, and recommendations based on the case you’re given. Maintain your strategic thinking and compose a structure that supports your answers.
7. Finally, wrap it up with a strong strategy that you’ll recommend to the client in the case study. This should be concluded from your presented framework and calculated data.

Sample OC&C Case Interview Questions

Below are the types of problems you will generally encounter during the OC&C case interviews. These scenarios are usually framed with companies in industries that the prestigious firm specialises in.

• Market entry strategy: Assessing whether a company should enter a new market
• Profitability issues: Analyzing why a company's profits are declining
• Pricing strategy: Determining optimal pricing for products or services
• Competitive response: Developing strategies to respond to competitor actions
• Growth opportunities: Identifying and evaluating options for business growth

To give you a better idea of what kinds of problems may come up, here are some specific examples:

1. "A luxury fashion retailer is experiencing declining profits despite stable revenues. What factors might be causing this, and what strategies would you recommend to address the issue?"
2. "Our client is a European grocery chain considering expansion into the Asian market. How would you evaluate this opportunity and which country would you recommend they enter first?"
3. "A multi-channel retailer has significantly different profit margins across its online and physical store operations. How would you approach optimizing their channel strategy?”
4. "A luxury hotel chain is considering introducing a premium membership programme. How would you design this programme and determine appropriate pricing?"
5. "Our client is a successful fitness equipment manufacturer looking to diversify their revenue streams. What adjacent markets might they consider entering?"

Final tips for your OC&C interviews

You want to leave a good impression throughout the interview process. Here are some final reminders you need to consider before heading into the interview room.

Be presentable.

Your professional appearance creates a crucial first impression and demonstrates your seriousness about the opportunity.

Show up in business formal attire for both in-person and virtual interviews. That means a suit and tie or a smart dress with a blazer. Wear accessories and groom your hair accordingly.

For virtual interviews, make sure you have a clean background, good lighting, a quiet environment, and a stable internet connection.

Be on time.

Timeliness is also a crucial trait you don’t want to tarnish right off the bat. Arrive 10-15 minutes early for in-person interviews, or log in 5-10 minutes early for virtual interviews.

Plan for contingencies like traffic, transit delays, or technical issues. In case you can’t avoid the delay, notify your interviewer or recruiter right away.

Be authentic.

OC&C values individuality within its collaborative culture. Show your genuine personality while maintaining professionalism.

You can speak honestly about your experiences, motivations, and your enthusiasm for the role and firm. After the interview, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t forget to extend your gratitude to the interviewers.

This way, you can engage with them without appearing scripted.

Be well-prepared.

It’s best to prepare as early as possible, and continue keeping yourself in check in between stages of the application process.

If you find the initial interview easy, expect the next stages to be more challenging and keep yourself motivated to clear them with the best efforts you can give.

You can consider getting a case interview partner who will help you practise and observe your performance.

Be meticulous.

Aiming for a lucrative job at OC&C means your attention to detail should be top-notch.

Keep this in mind when approaching the problems presented to you. Double-check your calculations, take structured notes, organise your responses, and manage your time efficiently. Listen to your interviewers and take their opinions into account.

Show them your performance doesn’t fail under pressure, and you’re ready to grow with OC&C.

Stage 5: The Outcome

With all things said and done, you go home and wait for the results.

It can be beneficial to jot down notes of questions that stumped you during the interview, just so you can review them if you need to.

During this waiting period, it’s also a good time to decompress after all that practice and pressure.

It usually takes a few days to receive the results of your OC&C application.

We hope this guide has helped you understand and prepare for your application at OC&C Strategy Consultants.

It takes a lot of effort, practice, and genuine commitment to land that dream job in consulting, but it rewards those who persevere.

We wish you good luck on your OC&C application!

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