Here's how you can impress consulting firms during candidate interviews.

Here’s how you going to impress me: 1) Your LinkedIn - you are consultant, your profile must look professionally, 2) You are on time and have quality camera & microphone - don’t call from kitchen!!, 3) Don’t lie - if you don’t know something, say it, 4) You are very good demonstrating what you know, 4) You can clearly articulate reasons why you decide (for example; technology component in case I give you), 5) If you say you code - you will show me you can code and explain code, 6) Know details - I ask questions about technology or project, be ready to explain details, 7) Be confident - speak clearly, with confidence, as consultant but don’t lie (never), 8) Answer the questions - don’t try to ditch questions, answer even if it’s don’t know

There are various factors one should keep in mind Understand the firm's history, values, culture, and recent projects. Demonstrate Strong Analytical Skills Be prepared to solve case studies effectively. Show your ability to use data and logical reasoning to arrive at conclusions. Articulate your thoughts clearly and concisely. Practice active listening and respond thoughtfully to questions. Highlight your past experiences that align with consulting work, such as problem-solving, teamwork, and project management. Provide specific examples of how you added value in previous roles. Anticipate common behavioral questions and prepare your responses. Reflect on past experiences where you demonstrated leadership and adaptability.

This is a great way of demonstrating consulting capability. Case preparation - both from your own experience as well as hypothetical. The objective is to convey the ability to research, analyse, frame, synthesize, execute, govern and deliver strategic or tactical business value and outcomes. If the case preparation can showcase these elements, it would be a very positive and productive interview.

One could argue pretty convincingly that soft skills are actually more valuable from a "getting hired" perspective, beyond technical, business or domain skills - more as a differentiating factor than a clincher. Technical and domain skills can be learned from many sources, and in well defined ways - but soft skills are almost entirely a function of early childhood environments and the ability to assimilate from observation. You could attend a dozen soft skills trainings, and they may give you some clues .. but you've been there and you know how it goes. And the interviewer knows it too.

Personal fit from a consulting perspective, as I see it, is about how well one can relate to a wide spectrum of personalities and stakeholders. E.g. customers, peers, analysts, engineers, business, leadership, vendors, partner organizations, etc. Yes, passions and interests can play a role in identifying some common ground, but having a personality that is flexible, adaptable, people centric, well versed in cultural aspects, easy to get along with, open to opinions and differing viewpoints, striking a balance between assertiveness and accommodation .. these will be greater indicators of personal fit.

Asking insightful questions will address a key unspoken question - is she/he really interested in the company or just another job? Have they taken time to understand the business, the trajectory, the market/competition, key drivers, financial situation, etc. Do they care about the culture and day to day job enough to want to know now about it? Do they care about how they will fit into the environment?

Talk strategic business value - in the work you did, want to do and your understanding of its importance. Talk execution - how you've seen failures and money burns and successes and the need for rigor. Talk transparency and intent - to drive success through people and how you see it as the most critical bit. Illustrate a hypothetical scenario for the potential company based on your research of their business and connect all the dots. You will land well.