hi everyone, i'm having my 1st interview round with adl in 3 days time and would be very grateful to receive responses on what to expect during the 1st stage interview.thanks

i'm through for the 2nd round!

Well done!

tell us more about the process? Which practice, which region?

hi, i've just had my 2nd round interview this morning, by a senior manager who worked as an engagement manager with mck.1st round;video conferencing interview. i went to my target ADL office and a consultant from one of the regional offices interviewed me.The basics: CV interview, decribe yourself etc. (very brief, about 5 mins)1st case: a telco in middle east who has been a monopoly player for many years is now facing threats due to its government's decision to open up the sector for foreign players. i was asked to identify issues deemed important for the company and why they are important? the interviewer made it very specific that i just need to highlight the issues and not to go deep into solutions.i came out with 8 issues based on 3 parameters of selection, for further analysis for reduction to three. the interviewer then gave me point and statistics for each point. after further analysis, i came out with the top three issues that i considered important for presentation the board.next, i was asked on what do i think about the company's cost structure compared to international players. i broke down the cost elements into capex and opex, since the company was a monopoly that the network infrastructure were already in place and recovered economically, hence there is capex. as regards opex, i assumed low marketing cost due to monopoly status and high overheads due to its status being a former government department, i.e. made corporate via privatisation. in conclusion, lower cost structure compared to international operators. i was right on this.next, a question on ADL's fees charging strategy. I mentioned about starting with the end in mind and three business objectives for ADL to consider prior to charging fees. Based on this objectives, i developed a matrix of situations. next, i was given a situation about a government wanting to develop a land for a certain industry. i was asked to advise the government on what it needs to think and consider. then, it was the time for me to query the consultant.2nd round:case 1: advise a ceo on 5% drop of its credit card inbound call centre revenue. spent sometime to understand the role of the inbound call centre and how revenue is calculated and the drivers. the result show huge call centre staff turnover. the interviewer stopped me when i got the answer and gave good advice on how i should have structured my approach.case two: calculations. Year 3 cumulative cost savings of IT and Billing costs following an outsourcing exercise. The interviewer stopped me when i got the final structure/table of computation correct as to him the rest is automated. however, he really observed my assumptions and computations on the % of cost savings, unit of computation i.e. cost per customer, yearly cost savings etc etc.

can you imagine working with this guy? i would hate it! talk about going through the motions!!also, what is a former McK engagement manager doing as a 'senior manager' at ADL?? bit of a step backwards isn't it?i would thank the OP for the detailed post, but believe he only did it for his own benefit/self-reflection

thanks for the detailed insight! how many rounds of interview are there in total?all the best

to the 1st anon: this is a free-for-all forum, and you deserved the right to express you views and thoughts, as I and others too.to the 2nd anon: i'm through for the 3rd stage and will share the details.

Very interesting, George. I seems you have a very structured mind. I have been invited to a 1st interview in ADL Brussels, I will read attentively your next steps. Keep us informed. Success.

Hi FRA,i just had my 3rd stage interview yesterday, by a manager.it was the most difficult process, i would say. the cases were fine and doable but the interviewer made the whole thought process difficult by scrapping and challenging most of the assumptions used. my analysis is : i think the interviewer wanted to test whether i was a TCUP material (think clearly under under pressure).the 1st case was on the number of fixed phone in a country i knew very little about.i divided the phone lines to residential and business lines. assumed urban-ratio population breakdown of 40-60 and break the assumed national population based on that ratio. thereafter, i broke down the the population with household ratio ratio of 1:10 and 1:5 for rural and urban areas respectively. thereafter, i assumed that phone household penetration in urban is 100% while in rural area is 60%. following that you will get the phone lines for residential.as for business, it is a bit complicated as you need to go through the list of working population, then the industry, then % of phone penetration. he discarded my initial snapshot approach of basing the number on SMEs and businesses. in the process, the interviewer kept on asking me to change the approach and assumption.the 2nd was on a problem faced by a steel manufacturer on rising raw material cost. i structured the approach by [1]analysing the problem i.e. the type of raw material, rate of increase, trend, % of manufacturing cost[2] industry, i.e. customer, economics, competitor[3] the profitability function the interviewer then asked me to give 5 potential solutions, he did not give me the time to structure and gained mental composure on this. he wanted me to write and think-loud the solution there and then. i gave 8 and 3 got marked down as not acceptable [such as raising prices and improvements of manufacturing process] as those had already been implemented by the company. the solutions include acquisitions of suppliers, branching out into other businesses (as this raw material represents 50% of manufacturing cost, the rate of rise has been 30% and was expected to continue, the rise was due to huge demand for from steel companies companies in China due to massive construction growth over there, local demand for the company's steel product has been stagnant), use of substitute raw materials, formation of consortium of steel manufacturers for better mileage in negotiation with the suppliers etc.all the best to you.

Hi FRA,i just had my 3rd stage interview yesterday, by a manager.it was the most difficult process, i would say. the cases were fine and doable but the interviewer made the whole thought process difficult by scrapping and challenging most of the assumptions used. my analysis is : i think the interviewer wanted to test whether i was a TCUP material (think clearly under under pressure).the 1st case was on the number of fixed phone in a country i knew very little about.i divided the phone lines to residential and business lines. assumed urban-ratio population breakdown of 40-60 and break the assumed national population based on that ratio. thereafter, i broke down the the population with household ratio ratio of 1:10 and 1:5 for rural and urban areas respectively. thereafter, i assumed that phone household penetration in urban is 100% while in rural area is 60%. following that you will get the phone lines for residential.as for business, it is a bit complicated as you need to go through the list of working population, then the industry, then % of phone penetration. he discarded my initial snapshot approach of basing the number on SMEs and businesses. in the process, the interviewer kept on asking me to change the approach and assumption.the 2nd was on a problem faced by a steel manufacturer on rising raw material cost. i structured the approach by [1]analysing the problem i.e. the type of raw material, rate of increase, trend, % of manufacturing cost[2] industry, i.e. customer, economics, competitor[3] the profitability function the interviewer then asked me to give 5 potential solutions, he did not give me the time to structure and gained mental composure on this. he wanted me to write and think-loud the solution there and then. i gave 8 and 3 got marked down as not acceptable [such as raising prices and improvements of manufacturing process] as those had already been implemented by the company. the solutions include acquisitions of suppliers, branching out into other businesses (as this raw material represents 50% of manufacturing cost, the rate of rise has been 30% and was expected to continue, the rise was due to huge demand for from steel companies companies in China due to massive construction growth over there, local demand for the company's steel product has been stagnant), use of substitute raw materials, formation of consortium of steel manufacturers for better mileage in negotiation with the suppliers etc.all the best to you.

Hi FRA,i just had my 3rd stage interview yesterday, by a manager.it was the most difficult process, i would say. the cases were fine and doable but the interviewer made the whole thought process difficult by scrapping and challenging most of the assumptions used. my analysis is : i think the interviewer wanted to test whether i was a TCUP material (think clearly under under pressure).the 1st case was on the number of fixed phone in a country i knew very little about.i divided the phone lines to residential and business lines. assumed urban-ratio population breakdown of 40-60 and break the assumed national population based on that ratio. thereafter, i broke down the the population with household ratio ratio of 1:10 and 1:5 for rural and urban areas respectively. thereafter, i assumed that phone household penetration in urban is 100% while in rural area is 60%. following that you will get the phone lines for residential.as for business, it is a bit complicated as you need to go through the list of working population, then the industry, then % of phone penetration. he discarded my initial snapshot approach of basing the number on SMEs and businesses. in the process, the interviewer kept on asking me to change the approach and assumption.the 2nd was on a problem faced by a steel manufacturer on rising raw material cost. i structured the approach by [1]analysing the problem i.e. the type of raw material, rate of increase, trend, % of manufacturing cost[2] industry, i.e. customer, economics, competitor[3] the profitability function the interviewer then asked me to give 5 potential solutions, he did not give me the time to structure and gained mental composure on this. he wanted me to write and think-loud the solution there and then. i gave 8 and 3 got marked down as not acceptable [such as raising prices and improvements of manufacturing process] as those had already been implemented by the company. the solutions include acquisitions of suppliers, branching out into other businesses (as this raw material represents 50% of manufacturing cost, the rate of rise has been 30% and was expected to continue, the rise was due to huge demand for from steel companies companies in China due to massive construction growth over there, local demand for the company's steel product has been stagnant), use of substitute raw materials, formation of consortium of steel manufacturers for better mileage in negotiation with the suppliers etc.all the best to you.

i'm through for the final 4th round. interviewing with the MD.

So than? Are you in ADL? In which country did you had these interviews?