Often called an expert network, AlphaSights provides information services to clients by connecting them with experts. Management and strategy consultants, investment managers, private equity firms, corporate and professional services firms with interests in various industries, including industrials, technology, telecommunications, consumer goods, healthcare, consumer services, utilities, financial services, basic materials, and oil and gas companies are among the company’s clients. If you are preparing for the AlphaSights interview, this content might help you. This is because we have presented the top 25 interview questions and answers for AlphaSights, which might help you somehow.
1. What Do You Know About AlphaSights?
Having offices in New York, Hamburg, Dubai, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo, AlphaSights is headquartered in London.
It was founded by Max Cartellieri and Andrew Heath in 2008 and incorporated in 2009 in London. They met at Stanford Business School in California, but each founded a different company before founding AlphaSights.
He co-founded Ciao AG, the world’s largest price comparison website, which was acquired by Microsoft (MSFT) after being backed by Munich-based Acton Capital Partners. In addition to co-founding GoIndustry, Andrew Heath founded GoIndustry DoveBid, a platform for trading surplus industrial goods throughout Europe.
In 2011, they opened their second office in New York City, followed by a third in Hong Kong, before expanding to Dubai in 2013, San Francisco in 2015, and Seoul, Hamburg, and Shanghai in 2016. The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 ranked the company third in 2013 as one of the fastest-growing companies headquartered in the UK, and it has appeared on the list ever since, placing 11th in 2014, 21st in 2015, 41 in 2016, and 81 in 2017. According to the Financial Times, AlphaSights was one of the fastest-growing and most disruptive companies based in Europe in April 2017.
2. Why Do You Prefer Working At AlphaSights?
The culture at AlphaSights is one of the things, which draws me to work here. AlphaSights feels like a big family for me. I am always excited to stay late on Fridays and have a drink with my coworkers, and this is what they offer to their employees, i.e., monthly team events to get to know each other off the desk. People working for the come from many different nationalities, origins, backgrounds, etc., which helps broaden my perspective and motivates me to work for them.
3. What Makes You A Good Candidate For This Role?
I am always able to interface directly with clients. I have a great ability to lead large projects and manage client relationships. This helps me gain critical skills such as project management and business communication, which surely will help me later in my career. My interpersonal, collaboration and presentation skills make me stand out.
4. What Is The Mission Of AlphaSights?
The company provides decision-makers from investment firms, corporations, and consultancies with on-demand access to experts with the insights they need. Their organization aims to empower individuals, businesses, and society by unlocking humanity’s knowledge.
5. With AlphaSights Ltd, You Will Work With Businesses Across Different Industries. How Can You Assess Training Needs In An Unfamiliar Organization Or Industry?
It is my first objective in this role to identify the business needs of a new client. In this process, I would learn about the business and my overall thoughts on training needs by engaging in conversations with current staff and leaders. I will then conduct a gap analysis to determine if reality corresponds to what the organization’s staff and leadership perceive as reality. My recommendations can then be based on the training needs identified.
6. Tell Us About A Recent Rejection You Received And What You Learned From It?
A promotion was in the works for me, and my supervisor told me I was a shoo-in. We celebrated with my spouse, and while we were out, a coworker texted me saying they had unexpectedly been promoted. When the supervisor told me I had practically landed the job, he favored me and wanted me to get it, but he did not know. It was already apparent that that company had little growth potential, so I began preparing to leave. If I got that promotion at the last minute, I could find another job elsewhere, but that last-minute hope caught me off guard. I knew it wouldn’t have been the best career move at the end of the day. Thus, I was saved from myself in this regard.
7. What Do You Think Can Be The Most Common Misconception People Have Of You?
It is not uncommon for me to be vivacious, happy-go-lucky, and bold at times. I make eye contact a lot, but friends have sometimes assumed I was a “player” in my personal life. I’m quite the opposite. Even though I am sometimes flirty and fun in the right manner, I am extremely timid. It might not take long for you to discover I am a wallflower if you invite me to a party. I might accept if you invite me out for a drink because it sounds fun, but I’ll probably back out at the last minute. I’d rather stay inside reading a good book with a cat.
8. The Most Difficult Part About Working For AlphaSights LTD And Our Clients Is That You Need To Be Adaptable To The Cultures Of Our Clients And Must Be Fluent. Are You Sure You Would Be Able To Handle This Aspect Of The Job With Ease?
My experience with one employer over the past ten years has been invaluable to me, and I am fortunate to have worked with them for so long. Even though all of my related work experience is with the same employer, I have worked under six different department heads during my time there. Each manager had a different management style and different expectations of me. In my time there, my organization has undergone three mergers, resulting in a bigger organization with new values and cultures. I always prioritized openness and asking questions to get to know new processes better, whether a manager change or an organizational change. I would apply this approach to every new client I dealt with.
9. What Interests You To Join The Business Consulting World Here At AlphaSights LTD?
My current role as IT Director with my current organization seems to have maxed out my capabilities at this point in my career. Having found so much satisfaction in helping others and educating them over the past few years, I have narrowed my job search to IT consulting. At AlphaSights Ltd, I hope to help other IT departments grow and become more efficient.
10. In What Ways Would Our Clients Benefit From Your Knowledge And Services
Having worked with some of the biggest players in the healthcare industry, I have extensive experience in risk management. Your healthcare clients would benefit most from my experience and solutions since I have worked with some major players in the sector. Not to leave out other industries, I think my healthcare experience will translate to your clients in other private sectors.
11. As A Consultant, You Will Be Appointed To Build Trust With The Clients. You Will Work With Them On Well-Being And Financial Stability. How Would You Do This?
In my opinion, it is important to demonstrate my value to my clients at the beginning of this role. I will do this by demonstrating my financial knowledge and previous successes. My clients will be more likely to open up and be honest with me if I portray myself as a subject matter expert, and that’s the only way we’ll get anywhere in our client-consultant relationship. The importance of communication cannot be overstated. I believe in giving regular updates to my clients’ key stakeholders on the progress of my work.
12. What Would Be Your Strategy To Help You Learn The Ins And Outs Of A New Client?
Because I have spent most of my career working in quality roles, I believe that I am well qualified for this position. Working in many different industries will be necessary, which will be the biggest transition. My first step will be researching clients, businesses, and industries. I want to make an excellent impression face-to-face with a new client, and that first impression begins with my knowledge. It would then be a matter of my openness and communication skills. I can lay out quality initiatives and educate clients on the issues.
13. How Would You Overcome A Potential Hurdle To Work With Our Clients’ High-Level Leaders On Their Team Development?
Based on my conversation with another employee here, I understand this role covers many industries, and I see this as the only challenge I’ll face. Since my background is in retail, I will be challenged to gain knowledge about healthcare, manufacturing, sales, and other industries so I can communicate effectively with potential clients. I would use my excellent research skills to learn more about my clients and their businesses if hired for this position.
14. If You Are Hired For This Role, What Do You Think Will Be The Biggest Hurdle From The Start?
I have lots of experience in the food industry, as you can see from my resume. I would have the greatest chance of learning the finance side of other industries like technology, telecommunications, and healthcare if I were hired for this position. My first step would be researching AlphaSights Ltd’s clients and speaking to industry professionals. The largest learning curve will be learning the ins and outs of other industries, but I see it as a great opportunity to become more proficient and effective at my job.
15. We Often Experience Initial Conflict When Working With Our Clients At AlphaSights Ltd. How Would You Score Your Ability To Handle Conflict?
During my call center days, I developed excellent conflict resolution skills; I would rate myself an 8 out of 10. When dealing with upset customers, you must maintain a calm tone, be educated, and not take things personally. AlphaSights Ltd’s clients would benefit from this approach if I were hired for this role.
16. Can You Elaborate On How You Use Your EQ At Work?
I can’t take anything personally. I objectify all situations. As a solution-oriented individual, I do not assign blame, but I can learn from objectifying every situation. Analyzing a situational failure or success is worthwhile. When someone communicates with me, I listen, mirror, and try to convey something non-defensively. I feel emotionally secure and grounded.
17. How Would You Tackle If A Client Did Not Like Your Proposed Advice?
I would examine exactly what they didn’t like and why and then strive to correct it. I would clarify, mirror, and utilize every communication technique to accomplish this. I would then start over, from scratch if necessary, and figure out what would make them happy. To deliver in a way that would satisfy them, I would take the time to understand them better and what drives their decision-making processes and put all my effort into doing so.
18. Mention The Situation When You Successfully Educated Another Individual Or Group In Your Area Of Expertise. What Made Your Educational Experience Effective?
My favorite part of my current job is orienting new employees. My director asked me to take on this duty about four years ago because of my years of experience and natural ability. If I train new hires, I tailor their training based on their knowledge and experience to be effective. Something working for one might not work for another, and I must always remain flexible. Additionally, I believe orientation and training should be a hands-on experience for new hires since classroom learning can only take them so far.
19. Mention The Situation When You Had To Work With A Difficult Person. How Did You Handle It?
A few years back, a close colleague experienced a sudden change in attitude and performance on the job. Normally she is very talkative and friendly but becomes very curt and abrasive in conversations. As soon as I noticed some problems with her work, I approached her openly and asked what was happening. As a result, she told me about some personal problems when I showed concern and approached her as a friend. It helped her open up and turn her life at work around when I took this approach rather than getting upset or even mad at her.
20. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement.
I supported customers and resolved problems getting their service up and running while studying and attending classes. In addition to helping unhappy or confused customers via phone, I wrote and revised the user documentation to ensure that all customers understood how our service worked. As part of my role, I also helped the engineering team understand why customers get confused.
The same taught me the importance of setting clear goals and working consistently toward those goals. I graduated with high grades and without debt. In addition, I learned the importance of clear and carefully-written customer documentation, enabling customers to set up their service without assistance from the company, which positively impacts customer satisfaction and sales as well as profitability. I saw an increase of over 11% in customer satisfaction during my last year there and an increase of over 8% in sales and profitability.
21. What Is Your Working Style?
It is important to me to be reliable at work. I have missed only five days in the past five years. I am dependable means collaborating with colleagues to meet deadlines and specifications. To accomplish objectives, I do everything I can to support my team. For example, my employer once hired a brilliant engineer. Although the engineer was highly intelligent and possessed exceptional qualities, he was unfamiliar with agile methods. For the project’s first five to six months, I spent two weekends explaining how our team uses Agile and Scrum to improve collaboration and productivity.
22. What Is Your Current Job?
My current job is as a customer service agent for XYZ Company. It has been two years since I worked there. I greet and seat customers, assess wait times, fulfill to-go orders, and answer the phones. My favorite part of the company is the lively and busy atmosphere. We often have one hour or more wait times on Friday and Saturday.
23. What Are Your Main Weaknesses?
A skill I could improve is delegation. My concern for everything getting done right and on time can cause me to get stuck in the mentality of “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” Unfortunately, that isn’t always possible, and I have realized that if I am too controlling, I can slow down the process.
I recently learned this when I was given the opportunity to manage the department’s summer interns. Since I had never managed direct reports before, this was a tremendous learning experience. After the summer, my manager noticed a noticeable difference in my management style. It taught me how to delegate. I always seek opportunities to manage projects for our company, so I signed up for a management skills training course.
24. How Do You Build Long-Term Relations With New Clients At AlphaSights Ltd? When It Comes About Knowing New People, How Do You Do It Effectively?
My success in my career has been attributed to the relationships I have built. I create an initial connection with a new colleague or customer whenever I can work with them. My interpersonal skills take over after that through active listening. To create even more respect and trust between us, I use my listening skills to identify the needs and motivations of the person I will work with. I would love to bring these skills to AlphaSights Ltd so we can work with new clients.
25. Do You Have Any Questions?
I want to ask a few, please.
- If Hired, How Early Can I Join?
- How Many Employees Are Working At AlphaSights?
- What Will Be My Job Responsibilities?
Conclusion
If you are looking to prepare for AlphaSights, you have landed at the right place. In this context, we have mentioned the top 25 interview questions and answers for AlphaSights. They surely will help you pass the interview because the ones we have mentioned are the frequently-asked ones. You can have a quick look over them.