I am ready to practice cases, now what?

Hello,

Great to hear that you are ready to practice cases live! To answer your questions:

1. During these case meetings, are we expected to bring our own cases. Will it be a case of the other person running us through their case and then we return the favour and provide them with our case?

That's exactly right

2. If so, what is the best source of cases?

PrepLounge has a good case library, you can also look up case books (most top business schools issue their own, for instance), and you can find cases on company websites

3. Besides watching a mock video on a case and seeing the different type of cases there are, I haven't actually practiced one before. Is it worth going through some cases as ‘self study' before jumping into live cases. I imagine to lead the interview I will have to go through one case study either way. 

My opinion is that nothing replaces live case practice. It's ok if you don't feel 100% ready, just jump into it and do your best. You'll be surprised by how much of a learning curve you see in your first few cases! I usually recommend solo practice for drills on specific question types, but only once you've done a sufficient number of cases to better understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. 

1. Yes.

2. You can use preplounge or one of those MBA casebooks (it's easy to google them).

3. While nothing replaces live preparation, I suggest you practice a few on your own as well (actually, without that, you won't be able to give a case). I suggest that when you give out a case you try to solve it from a few different angles, or really try to be comprehensive on how to solve it. Each person takes a slightly different path (and it is never exactly how the case is laid out) so you need a bit of flexibility to steer the candidate through the process. Trying to solve it really well will help you out.

Hi there!

Great questions!

Let me take them one by one:

1. During these case meetings, are we expected to bring our own cases. Will it be a case of the other person running us through their case and then we return the favour and provide them with our case? 

Yes, you're expected to bring and prepare your own cases. That means having done the case before on your own several times and knowing not only how the case goes, but also how to navigate the candidate towards the answer. 

2. If so, what is the best source of cases? 

There is a case library you can access on PrepLounge. Sharing with you three cases as a starting point. All of them are based on recent and real MBB interviews:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/mbb-second-round-codewave-employee-turnover-challenge-304

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/mbb-first-round-soy-technologies-303

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/interviewer-led-mckinsey-style/intermediate/element-mobile-expands-into-refurbished-phones-mbb-2nd-round-302

3. Besides watching a mock video on a case and seeing the different type of cases there are, I haven't actually practiced one before. Is it worth going through some cases as ‘self study' before jumping into live cases. I imagine to lead the interview I will have to go through one case study either way. 

Yes, self-study several cases before starting peer practice, otherwise you're going to find it really confusing. But also don't delay this step too much. It's ok if you do 3-5 cases on your own and then just get going. 

As you start practicing, you might find the following guide helpful in terms of how to approach structuring:

• Free Guide: Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

1. During these case meetings, are we expected to bring our own cases. Will it be a case of the other person running us through their case and then we return the favour and provide them with our case? 

Yes! You give them a case and they give you one. The nice thing is that, after each meeting you will have 1 more case in your repository. Make sure to ask for the case and case others in it!

2. If so, what is the best source of cases? 

All of them and none of them.

What matters most is your caser. Most cases are somewhat unrealistic and no case perfectly matches what will happen in the interview.

Rather, you need to get wide exposure to all types of case (both standard and nonstandard ones) and all types of interviewers.

Now, that said, these are ones that I particularly like

1. Columbia
   1. Cases by Firm
   2. Cases ranked by difficulty of Math, Structure, AND Creativity
2. Stern
   1. Cases by interviewer vs interviewee-led
   2. Ranked by difficulty
3. Haas
   1. Cases by interviewer vs interviewee-led
   2. Ranked by difficulty
4. Darden
   1. Cases by Firm
   2. Cases ranked by difficulty across quantitative, qualitative, and overall

3. Besides watching a mock video on a case and seeing the different type of cases there are, I haven't actually practiced one before. Is it worth going through some cases as ‘self study' before jumping into live cases. I imagine to lead the interview I will have to go through one case study either way. 

Can be helpful to read a few…especially since you're going to have to give one! Read 3-5 on your own…and then jump in! It's the only way to learn!

Here's some reading to help you:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview

Hi,

in addition to the other comments/explanations, find below some practice cases. There is plenty more material here on PrepLounge that you can just search for and filter according to the specific topics/formats you are interested in.

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/schwierig/business-strategy-home-delivery-solution-for-retailer-chain-332?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/commercial-feasibility-of-natural-gas-pipeline-329?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/options-evaluation-profitability-of-brewing-company-startup-327?lang=en

Best

Hi there,

1) Will it be a case of the other person running us through their case and then we return the favour and provide them with our case? 

Yes, that’s usually how it works.

2) If so, what is the best source of cases? 

You can check the case library here, or alternatively use an MBA casebook from a top school (you can find many online for free).

3) Is it worth going through some cases as ‘self study' before jumping into live cases.

Yes, just ensure the source of the case is good to avoid learning bad practices.

Best,

Francesco