Challenges facing clients interview question

[Lauren]

Hi, I have an upcoming CC interview and am struggling to answer the possible interview question 'what challenges are our clients facing?', mainly because of how broad it is. The trends which immediately come to mind are ESG, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues, is it worth focusing on maybe 2 of these and looking at broad themes? I'm conscious of not wanting to bore my interviewer with a really long answer but equally I think a broad question like this might require a more substantial answer?

 

[Kubed]

Hi, I have an upcoming CC interview and am struggling to answer the possible interview question 'what challenges are our clients facing?', mainly because of how broad it is. The trends which immediately come to mind are ESG, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues, is it worth focusing on maybe 2 of these and looking at broad themes? I'm conscious of not wanting to bore my interviewer with a really long answer but equally I think a broad question like this might require a more substantial answer?

Hey, yeh I think you're right that this is quite a broad question. It's probably worth looking at the main sectors that CC works in and then identifying more specifically what trends are occurring in those. From there, you can identify any challenges, commenting on how these fit into the trends and providing your own analysis/thoughts. I would also try to tie it back to how various practices in the firm may support this client through these challenges. You're right in that this needs to be a fairly substantial answer. Also I don't think you're at risk of boring your interviewer as long as your answer is not purely narrative/descriptive, rather it should focus on the analysis.

 

[James Carrabino]

Hi, I have an upcoming CC interview and am struggling to answer the possible interview question 'what challenges are our clients facing?', mainly because of how broad it is. The trends which immediately come to mind are ESG, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues, is it worth focusing on maybe 2 of these and looking at broad themes? I'm conscious of not wanting to bore my interviewer with a really long answer but equally I think a broad question like this might require a more substantial answer?

Hey, yeh I think you're right that this is quite a broad question. It's probably worth looking at the main sectors that CC works in and then identifying more specifically what trends are occurring in those. From there, you can identify any challenges, commenting on how these fit into the trends and providing your own analysis/thoughts. I would also try to tie it back to how various practices in the firm may support this client through these challenges. You're right in that this needs to be a fairly substantial answer. Also I don't think you're at risk of boring your interviewer as long as your answer is not purely narrative/descriptive, rather it should focus on the analysis.

You have some excellent advice here from @Kubed! Honestly I think you're both on to all the right things, but perhaps you can show you have done your research and really impress the interviewers by naming some of CC's top clients in a range of sectors. You could then present mini case studies of the kinds of issues that are affecting each of them before tying it together into an overarching theme of some sort. Just a thought!

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi, I have an upcoming CC interview and am struggling to answer the possible interview question 'what challenges are our clients facing?', mainly because of how broad it is. The trends which immediately come to mind are ESG, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues, is it worth focusing on maybe 2 of these and looking at broad themes? I'm conscious of not wanting to bore my interviewer with a really long answer but equally I think a broad question like this might require a more substantial answer?

You have some excellent advice here from @Kubed! Honestly I think you're both on to all the right things, but perhaps you can show you have done your research and really impress the interviewers by naming some of CC's top clients in a range of sectors. You could then present mini case studies of the kinds of issues that are affecting each of them before tying it together into an overarching theme of some sort. Just a thought!

Hi @Lauren,

Congratulations for the CC interview. That's amazing news and you really should take stock of being invited to interview at a MC firm. CC would be a fantastic place to train. I am really happy to hear that you are obviously putting a lot of thought into your preparation for it!

As @Kubed touched on, this is a very broad question. Both @James Carrabino and @Kubed have provided you with some fantastic advice on this.

The way I would go about answering this question is:

1. Give a brief structure of your answer. I.e., I will first do X, then Y etc. See structure below. Giving structure will make your answer seem thoroughly thought through. It will also be easier for your interviewers to follow.

2. Give a short list of the issues that you have thought about and that are relevant to the question.

If the interviewer is particularly interested in a topic, they can probe you on it after you have developed your favoured theme/reason. It also demonstrates that you have thought around the question and have extensive knowledge of what you are talking about.

3. Narrow down your answer to your favoured reason(s)/theme(s).

Personally I would say something like "as highlighted, there are a number of major challenges confronting clients. However, I am going to discuss this". You could justify this, or just go straight into your deeper analysis.

4. If you can (and you have time), use James' recommendation and to kick-off your deeper analysis, illustrate your point with a few of CC's top clients and tie off your answer with a case study. I think that this could really impress if done right.

Two notes of caution:

a. This is potentially a lot to fit into your answer, especially with the case study at the end.

To account for this, you could say, "I am very happy to illustrate this further with Z case study. Would that be appropriate?".

This displays a willingness to go above and beyond with your answer, awareness/social sensitivity because you have realised that you have been answering for a very long time, confidence/adaptability because you are able to throw back a question to your interviewers and finally, enthusiasm, as you have clearly done your research.

b. If you do this, make sure you are comfortable talking, in detail, about all the topics you mention in 1. Also, be sure to know your examples inside out and know about the clients you mention too.

For example, your interviewers could take you on a tangent about a particular client you have mentioned: "Ah! That's interesting, I actually did some work with this client and they are thinking about doing this. What do you think about that and how does it fit into their broader business model?". This would be a difficult line of questioning, but given you have mentioned it, it is fair game.

This caution goes to the classic piece of advice: do not bring up anything that you are not comfortable talking about. I talked about a situation here where I did exactly the opposite of this and it did not go well!

I really hope that helps @Lauren. Please do reach out if you would like any further clarifications or help! 😇 🚀