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Career Resources
Here's a quick three from when I was interviewing bright-eyed and bushy-tailed college seniors at a boutique consultancy:
1) Many applicants to consulting firms are confused liberal arts majors pursuing a wide range of professional options. Even if that's you, don't give the impression of taking a scattershot approach -- make an interviewer feel like you were deliberate in finding their firm, that it stands out from others, and that it's a great fit for you. At the same time, you're going to look like a weirdo if you say "your firm is my first choice" in an intro phone screen. It's like dating -- you want to make the other person feel special (and not mention all your other biddies!), without coming on too strong.
2) Be likable, albeit to a point. Your early interviews are almost always going to be with junior staff and if I like you personally, you've got a leg up, even if a robot candidate has a slightly better resume. Seem like someone who would be cool to go out to happy hours, etc with. At the same time, be mindful of the interview setting -- I once had a candidate say "Oh shit, no way dude" to me in an interview (because he saw me, a 22-year old recent grad as his peer). We did not move forward.
3) Minor point, but be ready to speak articulately about why you were drawn to your college / major / activities / internships, and what you liked / disliked about the experience. In most cases, I don't really care what the answer is, I want to know your thought process and what environments you respond best to. These questions should be layups, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who say "Well ___ was a pretty good school, and I was local, so I thought it would be nice"
--
Typically, the more conversational an interview, the higher the likelihood it went well since it's indicative that you're connecting with your interviewer as opposed to just Q&A'ing with them.
@PE-biz-dev also touched on this in his #3, but applies for IB too. People focus too much time on prepping for technicals and relatively underinvest on having solid answers to fit questions. Being an accounting wizard isn't going to land you the offer on its own, it's more of a gating item to evaluating your fit answers, which is where you can really shine.
Probably one of the biggest mistakes is not doing enough legwork pre-interview. Get on LI and find some alumni, hit them up, explain that you're interviewing, ask them what appeals to them about the role/firm (and then parrot that in your interview). The act of doing so also signals your genuine interest in that firm/role.
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