Oliver Wyman: First interview directly with Partner

Question

Hello,

I have been offered a meeting with Oliver Wyman Engineers however my very first meeting will be with a Senior Partner. Could anyone tell me what I should expect?

Thank you,

Answer 1

Hi there,

I had the same experience when I interviewed with OW – I interviewed with the country MD during the 1st round.

You should prepare in the standard way: fit, case and prepare your questions at the end. In my specific case, the interview was purely based on fit questions.

With partners, you may expect that they:

Spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
Check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
May not have a “proper” structured case to present.

So in order to prepare, I would concentrate on the following:

Review in detail your fit stories. As mentioned, in my MD interview I had exclusively behavioral questions
Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do almost exclusively in interviews with peers.
Prepare cases as usual. OW specifically tends to have more market sizing than other companies

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

Congratulations and good luck!

In general, you will have both a fit and a case portion. For fit, make sure you're ready with "Why Consulting", "Why OW", and "Resume Walkthrough" as well as be prepared to tells tories about experiences in your past.

In terms of case, well, there's plenty of info out there :)

Make sure to confirm with HR/the recruiters on the exact format of the case!

Answer 3

Hey there!

Usually, during the first round interviews you have behavioural one and case one. I suggest working through your cv once again and preparing for a quite generic interview situation.

If you have any other doubts and questions - feel free to write to me!
GB

Answer 4

Hello!

Congrats!

Having 1st interview with partner is tough quite unusual. Most likely you will have the classical case + FIT.

Usually you would face partners in 2nd round, and there FIT becomes particularly relevant. If you want to deep dive on the topic, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200
Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201
Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!