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Preparation for kearney R1 case interview in 12 days

Hello!

I’ve recently been informed that I passed Kearney’s initial test and will have my first-round interview in person in approximately 12 days (case interview and PEI). Given the tight timeline, I want to ensure my preparation is as structured and effective as possible.

Background

  • Education & Work Experience: Studied psychology and worked for two years in a startup (sales & ops) - not the typical consulting path.
  • Previous Applications: Applied to Bain & McKinsey but was rejected in the test phase mainly due to math difficulties.
  • Skills & Progress:
    • Math: Initially struggled but have improved significantly. Had to work a lot on mental maths for the kearney test as it was without calculator. Still feel uncomfortable under pressure.
    • Case Interviews: Have only practiced around six cases so far - still feel I am at beginner level. Have watched some videos from 'crafting cases' to avoid learning the wrong techniques. Also, do you know how Kearney's cases differ from those from MBB?
    • Economics Knowledge: Bought Clara Urroy’s package and feel more comfortable but I think I am still behind candidates with an economics background.

Resources available for me to practice cases 

  • A friend (ex-Bain)
  • A friend currently at McKinsey willing to help
  • Two former colleagues from my startup who have worked at Kearney
  • Preplounge community 

I understand that I should be practicing case interviews daily, but I don’t want to approach it without a clear strategy. I am currently not working so I have whole day to practice. Even though I have worked a lot, I still feel unprepared as my starting point was quite low. Given my current level and the limited time, how would you recommend structuring my preparation to maximise my potential and put myself in the best possible position for the interview?

Looking forward to your advice. Thanks in advance for your help!

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Top answer
Pedro
Coach
on Mar 16, 2025
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | 30% discount 1st session

You don't have a lot of time, you need specialized support / guidance  to be able to be prepared in such a short time in order to really accelerate your preparation and maximize your chances. Feel free to reach out, I still have some discount coupons to provide this month.

This doesn't mean you are not in a good position, you have very good people to practice with you, reach out to them and schedule some pratice sessions - but doing a coaching session with an expert can really be a great accelerator for you at this stage to make sure you use your time the best way.

Mattijs
Coach
23 hrs ago
Free 15m intro call | First session -50% | Bain Consultant | Hiring team | 250+ successful candidates

Hi,

12 days is very short, but the advantage is you do already have some interview experience.  I believe I have the right experience as I received a Kearney offer myself. Feel free to reach out via chat, so we can develop a workplan in order to prepare you for the first round to work on your main points of improvements. Note I offer a 50% discount for the first session. 

Mattijs

Mariana
Coach
8 hrs ago
You CAN make it! | xMckinsey | 1.5h session | +200 sessions |Free 20-Minute Call

Hello there,

I also struggled with math and math anxiety myself, so I know the pain.

If you have a decent amount of time per day to study, you can make it work.

Reach out to me if you would like a 15min alignment call where I can understand better your case and share some study plan ideas that can help you take the most of your time (free of charge).

Best,

Mari

Thabang
Coach
5 hrs ago
Ex-McKinsey Consultant | McKinsey Top Coach & Interviewer | Special Offer: Buy 1 Session Get 1 Free (Limited time!)

Hey there, 

It's great to see that you have a strong set of resources to help you practice cases. This will definitely be useful as they are likely to give you good feedback on how to improve on answering on the cases you would have practiced with them. 

But with the short amount of time left (12 days) - I do feel like you may need a more specialized and individualized approach that will help you know how to optimize development of your capabilities across the various case dimensions. We can't take too many chances here... :-)  

Regarding Kearney cases, they follow more of a candidate-led style but aren't too different from MBB's in terms of how you should be preparing for them. (That said, you should be focused on being able to drive the case and show strong case leadership). I have some real passed Kearney case interviews if you're keen on practicing on them specifically. 

Please let's have a chat and talk more about planning a way forward. I'd be happy to guide you on how you could optimize your remaining crucial and previous time! DM me and let's take it from there

All the best! 

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