What Frost and Sullivan actually looks for
Frost & Sullivan is a growth consulting and market research firm that works across a wide range of industries, technology, healthcare, energy, industrial, and beyond, helping clients identify growth opportunities through market research, competitive analysis, and strategic consulting. Compared to firms like Gartner and Forrester which focus specifically on technology and IT decision-making, Frost & Sullivan's research and consulting span a genuinely broader set of industries, so interviewers often care more about a candidate's ability to research and structure analysis quickly in an unfamiliar sector than deep specialization in one narrow domain. The firm's business model blends published research subscriptions with custom consulting engagements, so candidates for consulting-track roles should expect case-style interviews testing structured problem-solving similar to strategy consulting firms, while research analyst roles focus more on the ability to synthesize market data into clear, credible insights across whatever industry they're assigned to cover.
Common questions and how to answer them
How would you research and size a market you have no prior experience in? tests the general-purpose research and structuring skills Frost & Sullivan values given how broadly its coverage spans industries. Walk me through how you'd identify a growth opportunity for a client in a mature, slow-growing industry reflects the firm's core growth consulting positioning and rewards candidates who can think beyond simple market expansion into adjacencies or business model shifts. How do you stay credible writing about industries outside your core expertise? is a fair question given how broadly analysts here are expected to cover different sectors over time.
How to prepare
Practice quickly researching and structuring an analysis of an unfamiliar industry or market, since Frost & Sullivan's breadth across sectors means interviewers value general analytical range over narrow specialization. Prepare standard case-interview style structured thinking if you're going for a consulting-track role, since engagements often resemble strategy consulting work. For research roles, think through how you'd build credibility quickly when covering a new industry or technology area, since analysts here are expected to move across sectors more than at a narrowly focused competitor.