How to build a Company Analysis for your interview preparation?

11th Feb, 2019

Have you ever been in an interview and wished you had read more about the Company? Have you ever been in a discussion with a senior executive of a company and realized all that you are providing is basic company data which is easily available on a simple Google search?

If you are struggling with delivering compelling insights on the company you are targeting or interviewing, then you need to conduct a detailed company analysis. This is important regardless of your degree and course of study. The process of company analysis is equally important for a B.Tech., BBA. B.Com. and MBA students. In fact, it continues to be very important even when you are a working professional.

A thorough company analysis contains the following areas:

Let me take an example of a very well-known company Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) to explain this further. The most basic element of a company analysis is a summary financial dashboard for e.g.

You will notice that we have added a few talking points and insights here:

HUL has 1.7 times the savings that they had in 2014, this drives the operating income (EBIT) and an overall net margin
In the last 5 years from FY 2012-13 to FY 2017-18, total revenues have increased by 6% CAGR but the operating margin has jumped up from 14.9% to 19.3% which has been achieved by supply chain optimization, improving product mix (this period corresponds to the entry of new players like Patanjali and disruption due to e-commerce)

These insights help the interviewer gauge your attention to detail and data analysis capability. More importantly, the interviewer can gauge your genuine interest in the company and its performance.

Any preliminary analysis of a company would be incomplete if it does not address key strategic and operational insights. As a job applicant or interview candidate having the knowledge of strategic and operational levers for a company help you differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd. The knowledge demonstrated on operational and strategic levers significantly improves your group discussion contribution and enhances your personal interview performance.

Please realize that putting together these insights do not need one to employ typical management frameworks like PESTLE, SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces, Ansoff Matrix. You can use simple frameworks which are commonly used by the industry and professionals around supply and demand-side trends. For e.g., please see the slide below

If your answer to either question is Yes - Check out MBAtrek's Company Analysis offering to leverage this opportunity.

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