I feel I reached a plateau with my case performance - how can I improve?

Question

Hi,

I have spent the last 6 or 7 months working through cases, using material from Victor Cheng and Marc Cosentino. I have put in lots and lots of hours. However, I feel I still struggle big time when it comes to absorbing all the information, building customized frameworks, logically creating and refining hypotheses, communicating in a clear way etc. What am I doing wrong? Somehow solving a complex case still feels utterly intimidating to me.

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

I think a very similar question has been asked here, and the points raised are very good advice in my opinion: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/not-improving-at-case-interviews-447#a891

I believe a large part of the success in becoming a strong case solver comes down to the quality of the direct coaching that he/she is getting. A small network of 4 to 6 persons, including at least one real (ex-)consultant who has ample real interviewing experience for one of the big firms, will be worth much more than any material like LOMS or Case in Point, and it will also be much more effective than having dozens of practice sessions with random persons who are also inexperienced. Feel free to reach out if you would like to chat more in detail. :)

Cheers,

Sidi

Answer 2

Hi,

Based on the resources that you've mentioned, looks like you did not have any interviews with great partners.

1) The first way is to find the right partners. Your preparation is more about quality rather than quantity:

Don't count the cases you've done yourself
Don't count the cases you've done from the casebooks
Count the cases you've done with experienced candidates (50+ cases solved / passed the first round) who can give you a real case and a good feedback.

2) Another way is to have a good coach. If you take a good coach, you can make it in 20-35 cases. The coach will give you the right knowledge. Partners will help you integrate the skill. At the end of the day, it's just a skill that can be trained.

Why do you even need partners and coaches? When you are stressed during the case interview and out of energy having the 3rd case in a row, 90% of your questions and reactions should be fully automatic. Otherwise, it's extremely hard to solve the case, trying in find out what you've memorized from v.Cheng book.

Best!

Answer 3

Hi Anonymous,

what did you do besides VC and Case in Point? It is difficult to provide a feedback without more specific information.

In general, it is likely you are not receiving proper feedback on how to improve. As already mentioned, the best way to do so is to find great partners or experts, that can quickly tell you not only what you are doing wrong, but also how to improve.

If you want to share the feedback you got, or why you feel a complex case is intimidating, as part of a Q&A, that could also help to get more specific feedback.

Best,

Francesco