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Mckinsey solve test in 3 weeks - how to organise?

I plan to apply to McKinsey Madrid around November 26/27, based on advice from Business Analysts who suggested this as the latest optimal timing.

Currently, I don’t feel fully prepared for the process. I've recently completed the Bain SOVA test, and although the questions were not particularly complicated, I experienced stress that led to small errors (and I will probably get a rejection), and I'm concerned I may face a similar issue with the McKinsey Solve. Although I perform well in practice, the pressure of the exam environment has affected my performance and I want to mitigate this asap.

My goal is to strengthen my preparation for both the Solve and case interviews so that, if I pass the test, I’m not caught off guard by the following rounds. Coming from a target school but with a non-business background (Psychology), my main areas for improvement are mental math speed and business knowledge, though I know the basics and have strong business intuition. I left my job to dedicate myself to MBB preparation full-time.

What would be the most efficient way to prepare given these factors?

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Top answer
Florian
Coach
on Nov 05, 2024
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 500+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

Working towards the Solve:

  1. Get a game strategy guide and a game simulation. This is by far the best way to prepare for it.

  2. Learn the strategies, practice with the simulations, and iterate until you are comfortable with the required speed and achieve consistently strong results.

As regards the case (and fit):

  • The key reason why candidates fail their case interviews and don't improve with practice is because they never learn the right approach and techniques to begin with. They might go through 30-40 cases, just repeating the same mistakes over and over again. There is often no strong baseline.

  • So even if your timeline is compressed, make sure you understand and learn the basics for each part of the case (structuring, charts, math), which is

    • A replicable step-by-step for each part of the case interview

    • The right thinking techniques around the individual parts (e.g., what's a framework, what is evaluated, how can I ensure I think about it the correct way, what are some shortcuts to get to the answer quickly, etc.)

    • Simple communication templates to help you communicate your insights as well as ask for data in the right way to drive the case forward

  • There are several approaches you can take, such as hiring a skilled coach, reading the right materials, or enrolling in relevant courses. For example, my book, The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview, provides direct guidance tailored to modern case interviews. It covers all the essential points mentioned here, and more, while also offering a detailed preparation plan. You can find it on Amazon
  • Avoid generic advice and framework memorization approaches, especially for McKinsey. This will only hurt your performance and waste a ton of time (why -> check out the first post here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-goodrelevant-is-the-case-in-point-book-for-case-prep-1984)

  • Once you have that baseline it's time to practice and internalize the skills to create the right profile, polishing your strengths and lifting your weaknesses to a robust-enough level

  • Practice drills alone (structure, chart, math) and practice full cases with other excellent candidates that know the right habits and approach. It is crucial that you are practicing with really good peers, otherwise, it's a waste of time. Practicing drills on your own is a huge effectivity and efficiency booster since you can go over many more questions in a shorter amount of time compared to practicing with peers. Do both in parallel! You want to spend your time where it is most useful, e.g., if you struggle with math focus on math drills, etc.
  • Focus on quality over quantity. Doing 50+ cases does not mean much if you are not applying the right habits to score high and do a detailed debrief after every case to improve. You want to move from bad to good for your weaknesses and good to great for your strengths --> use the feedback from your previous experience and tailor your prep accordingly

  • Consider booking at least an initial coaching session to get a detailed and objective evaluation of your performance + learn the right habits for every case regardless of context and framework + get a tailored preparation plan out of the session that will set you up for an effective and efficient prep.

  • Don't forget the PEI. Prepare 2 stories for each PEI dimension (3-5 hours) and rehearse them a couple of times (5 hours)

Stop doing cases when you can solve every case and drill thrown at you with relative ease. If you follow the above - depending on the starting level - this should be happening between 50 and 100 hours of practice.

Have a look at the following two articles that I wrote:

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

Contact me for an article on managing your nerves during the interviews since this is a topic you mentioned as well.

All the best for your interviews and Solve!

Cheers,

Florian

on Nov 06, 2024
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Q: What would be the most efficient way to prepare given these factors?

For Solve, you can find a guide below covering all the current games (full disclosure, I am the author):

▶ McKinsey Solve Game Combo Guide

For the case interview, I would recommend the following:

  1. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your interview and allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar accordingly. Many candidates need 100+ hours starting from zero, so you might consider it as a benchmark.
  2. Start by reading good MBA Consulting Handbooks. You can find several for free online (INSEAD is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure to solve them. Whenever you see something is missing, upgrade your structure with the new insights. Try to read at least a new case per day – in this way, you will absorb the information better with constant learning.
  3. After the first 5-10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start practicing live. PrepLounge can be helpful for connecting with other candidates for that. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you only read cases.
  4. Keep track of your mistakes and see which ones you are repeating. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback from experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both the behavioral part (called PEI at McKinsey) and the case part during the mocks. The case part should also cover math and graph analysis.
  5. Before the interviews, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewers – a great way to show that you prepared in advance and to connect with the interviewers for a good final impression. Ideally, try to get information on who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.

Good luck!

Francesco

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