【正文】 eighing, the scale tips to Side A, we know that the odd ball is heavy. (If it tips to Side B, we know the odd ball is light, but let39。ll discuss one solution. Start with the simplest of observations. The number of balls you weigh against each other must be equal. Yeah, it39。s P/E ratio is 55 times earnings, whereas Company B39。s the terminal value。 What was the oute? t know the first thing about the helicopter market, ask how much it costs to manufacture a rotor. If you need to estimate the demand for a beefflavored potato snack in Wichita, Kansas, then feel free to ask the population of Wichita and environs. 3. Be prepared to take charge. You will often find that your interviewer will direct your line of questioning to a specific area, but you must always be ready to control the conversation in case the interviewer does not direct your reasoning. If you are unsure, simply ask the interviewer. For instance, if you find the interviewer offering little direction as you move through your initial scooping questions, you may wish to ask, I find the lack of a risk assessment to be a potential showstopper. Might I ask some detailed questions about this? Or you might say, Given what you have told me about the situation, I would like to drill down for further clarity regarding the client39。re supposed to say something like: I39。t very reliable, we will need to contact 800,000 people using that method. But at 5 cents each, it costs only $20,000 to sell 1,000 cards. We make $20 profit on each card. But even at the cheapest promotional vehicle, at $20 profit, we would only break even, because our profits on 1,000 cards would be $20,000. We shouldn39。t have a specific answer that you, the candidate, are expected to give. What the interviewer is looking for is a thought process that is at once analytical and creative. Here39。s 50 cents a minute. You: So if we sell the cards for $30, we have a $20 profit, minus our expenditures on marketing. Interviewer: What39。t bring up teamwork, do it yourself. These questions are similar to the leadership questions interviewers are looking for both an openness to ideas and a willingness to nudge team members toward a goal. 5. Why did you decide to switch careers/Why did you decide to go back to school/Why did you take time off during college? Be prepared to walk through your resume with your interviewer, especially at panies that like to promote from within. They want to know that you39。re going into an interview where you might expect a case question (a business question presented to you for your detailed analysis), it39。 Is there a work plan? re considering buying?One of the most mon questions Wall Street interviewers ask. (Other variations of this question are: how would you value a stock you were considering buying, taking public, etc.) Wall Streeters use this question to separate the finance jocks from the neophytes. Here39。s net ine. Then you add back depreciation and amortization. Then you subtract the pany39。s earnings. Defeating the 12Ball QuestionSome interview questions are notoriously difficult. This particular logic problem has made its appearance at various consulting, investment banking and tech firms (including McKinsey and Microsoft). Will you be prepared if your interviewer springs upon you the knotty 12 ball dilemma? Thanks to Vault Reports, you can answer in safety! Here39。s look at one solution. For simplicity39。S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: The next issues a marketer should be aware of are his or her pany39。t be given any real data (though you won39。s add another 10 percent to that for second houses and houses used for other purposes besides residential. So there are about 50 million houses. If houses are painted every 10 years on average (notice how we deftly make that number easy to work with), then there are 5 million houses painted every year. Assuming that one gallon of paint covers 100 square feet of wall, and that the average house has 2000 square feet of wall to cover, then each house needs 20 gallons of paint. So 100 million gallons of paint are sold per year (5 million houses x 20 gallons). (Note: If you want to be fancy, you can ask your interviewer whether you should include inner walls as well!) If 80 percent of all houses are white, then 80 million gallons of white housepaint are sold each year. (Don39。t e back by himself with the flashlight). Adam takes only a minute to get across, Larry takes two minutes, the Edge takes five minutes, and slowpoke Bono takes ten minutes. A pair can only go as fast as the slowest member. They have 17 minutes to get across. How should they do it?The key to attacking this question is to understand that Bono and the Edge are major liabilities and must be grouped together. In other words, if you sent them across separately, you39。s statistics arm could help, or even conducting a small sample of the second calculation in a few representative towns is possible. Other guesstimates: 1. How much orange juice is consumed each day in America? 2. How many golf balls would fit into a 747? 3. How many grocery stores are there in the .?BrainteasersHightech panies, investment banks and consulting firms are famous for their brainteasers. Anyone, after all, can e up with a canned answer to display their leadership and management skills but fewer people can quickly e up with three solid reasons why a manhole cover is round. Whether you39。t request any。D expertise? Does the pany have a distribution network in place? Is the pany sitting on extra capital it is looking to invest into a product launch? Make sure to identify the pany39。t know whether it is heavy or light. How can we gain this information easily? We can weigh them against the balls we know to be normal. So: Step 2: Put three of the unweighed balls on the Side A。ll examine what thought processes an interviewer is looking for, and then we39。s cash flow: 5. Company A is considering acquiring Company B. Company A39。s