What is the best way to prepare for a first case interview here at PrepLounge?

1. Read the fundamentals (cosentino, cheng, MBA consulting club books)

2. Practice 10-15 cases with peers

3. Have first check-in with expert to nip in the bud any vices in your form

4. Practice 10 more cases with peers

5. Start alternating 5-10 cases with peers with 1-2 with experts (according to time, ability and willingness to invest, capability with case-type interviews). I’veseen People be ready to go with as little as 20 cases in total and I’ve seen people who practiced 150 cases and I could tell that they would need a dose of luck to pass their interview (even though they would have made amazing consultants)

6. Finish off with just expert interviews according to need

7. Do not do anything besides relaxing and sleeping the 24-48 hours before interview

Take the above with a grain of salt, one size doesn’t fit all and the above is clearly a high-level, albeit prescriptive, structure that I would recommend to someone I do not know but that I would like to set up for success.

hope it helps,

andrea

Hi,

I am sure other coaches will answer in a very detailed way.
For myself I will only tell you the following tips :

- Combine different ways of practicing : on your own, with other candidates, with real consultants /coaches

- Practice each of the dimensions indvidually with focus exercice : maths, structuring, recommandation

- Always look for feedback, and once you receive work on it

- Don't wait too long before simulating real interview with consultatn / coaches : this will give you a sens of the real situation and expectation + relevant feedback on your perf

Best

Benjamin

Dear A,

I would recommend you three fundamental books to start with and actually get an idea of the process:

(a) McKinsey case book, which can help you better understand the whole interview mechanics and what happens behind the stage
(b) Case In Point by Cosentino to understand different types of cases and approaches to crack them
(c) LBS book, which is a great introduction into the entire application process

Hope it helps,

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. 

Best,
André

Hi Cassie, 

For preparation, I recommend 3 three things: 

1. Read Case Interview Secrets from Victor Cheng. I would almost go as far as to say: you have almost no chance in getting through the day without it. Think about his LOMS (Look over my shoulder) package.
2. Leverage the boot camp from PrepLounge to get up to speed on the basics both in terms of structure and content.
3. Do as many meetings with fellow interviewees as possible (through the PrepLounge meeting board) and think about investing in a coaching session (Francesco is amazing, e.g.). Ultimately, the “right” number of cases depends on a) your previous knowledge, b) your available time and c) your progress. Note, like preparing for a big competition in sports, there is a plateau for case performance after which the marginal value of doing one more case becomes negative.

Finally, to help you put my recommendation into perspective, I was preparing for several final round interviews. I had done a tone of reading, watched free YouTube videos (Firmsconsulting, MasterTheCase, etc.), talked to people, and booked coaching sessions. I arrived at the conclusion that without decent preparation it's exceptionally difficult to pass. It's very transparent on what the consultancies expect from you so everybody has a fair chance to convince the interviewers. While that is generally good, it means that most interviewees have practiced a lot and, as result raised the average. 

Doing what I did, helped me secure a Sen. Associate position at McKinsey. Keep in mind, this is n=1.

Good luck

Hi, 

I managed to get offers at all consultancies I applied (Bain, BCG, GoetzPartners, Strategy&, etc.) by using the following approach: 
 

1) Cross-read a case prep book (e.g. Case in Point) - around 5h 

2) Apply for a consultancy which is not your first choice and see where your improvement areas are 

3) Derive a case prep plan depending on your improvement areas as realized in a very early interview process 

4) Join Prep Lounge and do 5-10 cases and derive your improvement areas again

5) Prep with a Prep Lounge expert to tackle your remaining improvement areas and refine your forward prep plan together

6) Continue with Prep Lounge for 10-15 cases and listen to Vitor Chengs cases 

7) Apply for 3-4 consultancies and manage to organize the interview sequence, starting with least desired company and finishing with the most desired one 

I hope this provides some ideas for your interview preparations! Good luck! 

Hi,

I recommend the following approach:

1) Start with "Case in point" book - you can download this book for free everywhere. It's not the best guide on how you should approach the cases, however, it will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally. !!! Find experienced partners or coaches who can provide a good feedback!!!

3) Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen to LOMS (his website). I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

4) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

5) Below you can find a list of the most common case types and some high-level recommendations on structuring:

• Market sizing - structuring from the supply or demand side. Structuring using a formula or using an issue tree
• Profitability - basic profitability framework. Remember about different revenue streams and product mix
• Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). Always start with the big picture "market". Finish with something specific to the case (e.g. How to enter?"). Structure it as if you are defining the work streams for the real project.
• Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.) - Structuring as a process / value chain, with inflows, operations, and outflows
• Cost cutting - I provided the recommendations on structuring it here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/operations-cases-mck-1105#a2134
• Valuation - Purely financial structure with cash flows, growth rate, WACC / hurdle rate, etc.
• Synergies - revenue synergies (price, qty, mix) and cost synergies (value chain).
• Social / economics cases (e.g. How to improve the quality of life in the city? How to increase the revenues of the museum?) - huge variability. Practice 3-5 social cases before the interview

6) Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech

7) After solving 15-20 cases start preparation for the tests (Serch for PST / BCG online test here on preplounge)

8) ! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks!

PS

Here is a good list of articles regarding the different parts of the case:

1) Start with clarifying questions:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/clarifying-questions-1786#a3956

2) Communicating while structuring. Here is a long post by me on how to communicate the structure during the case study:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-communicate-its-structure-for-the-case-study-1313#a2806

3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about hypothesis here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-state-a-hypothesis-and-match-to-the-structure-1156#a2268

4) Communicating while making calculations: 

• Always tell the interviewer your approach
• Check with the interviewer that your approach is correct
• Come to the interviewer with some preliminary answers
• Check your assumptions with the interviewer

5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables

• Take a minute to look at the graph. Read the graph title. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc). Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary). Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
• Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think out loud on potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
• Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

6) Communicating while having questions on creativity

• Ask an interview for a minute to think
• Think of several buckets of ideas (e.g. organic growth / non-organic growth / differentiation). Remember to think as big as possible
• Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible
• Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas

7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-answer-first-should-the-conclusion-be-1231#a2493

8) Communicating your FIT stories

Use the top-down approach while communicating your stories. "The Pyramid Principle" is the must-read by ex McKinsey on this topic.

I recommend using the STAR framework:

• In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
• Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
• Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
• The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

Best!

Hi Anonymous,

there is a lot of material out there, so it is definitely a good idea to structure an action plan to be as efficient as possible in your preparation. The following is the way I found better to prepare and that I would recommend (I am assuming you already have the interviews scheduled, so don’t need referrals and CV and Cover preparation):

1. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have per week to dedicate to consulting prep and how many weeks in total you have before interviews, then allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day. It’s important you write it down to self commit or you will start to skip some prep time pretty soon, in particular if you don’t have pressure for an interview scheduled soon – and it is definitely better to start slowly and constantly than rushing towards the end close to the interview. Ideally you want to have a minimum of 100 hours to dedicate to the preparation before your interviews.
2. Read Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets for a general understanding of what a consulting interview is. Don’t focus too much on the structures proposed in the books though, as they are not good enough nowadays.
3. Start reading MBA Consulting Handbook – you can find several for free online (Insead is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insides. Try to read at least a new case per day – in this way you will absorb a lot better the information with constant learning. Structure your remaining daily preparation with 5-10 minutes per day for each of the following: market sizing, fit questions and mental math.
4. After you have read the first 10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you read cases only. Keep track of your mistakes and see if you repeat them. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback of experienced partners would be particular useful for this). Be sure to focus on both fit and case.
5. Once you feel you are not improving anymore, if you have a tight time constraint or if you want a realistic assessment of your level, consider using experts’ support to strengthen your performance
6. Before the interview, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer –great way to show you prepare in advance and to connect more with the interviewer for a good final impression.
7. Bonus (if needed): at least two weeks before the interview do a first PST/Potential test to evaluate your current level. Distribute the other tests in the remaining time according to the number you have available.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

There are typically 3 steps to cover for you to be prepared: (1) reading materials and frameworks, (2) listening to or reading interview experiences and (3) practicing actual cases.  Also, on top of how you can prepare yourself, it is crucial to have in mind what skills you need to master to get accepted into a major consulting firm and how each of the 3 steps will help you in that task. In my perspective there are four key skills:

a) Clarifying the problem at hand b) Structuring an approach to the problem (a.k.a. find / apply a framework to the problem) c) Based on the approach structured, conduct the analysis d) Draw, synthesize and communicate conclusions / insights / recommendation or next steps

Steps 1 & 2 will give you a good perspective on what is expected from a top-notch candidate in each of the four skills. Step 1 will help you with understanding what is a good and structured approach to the different problems. Step 2 will help you understand the best ways to clarify the problem at hand, how to go about your approach conducting the analyses and how to synthesize your findings, conclusions and recommendations. Finally, Step 3 will help you become fluent in all the four skills.

When should you move from one step to the next? There is no general rule, as those three steps will probably overlap (i.e. you'll probably refer back to the frameworks while practicing actual cases). Anyhow, my advice would be:

a) read the materials that you find relevant (I personally recommend Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng, that will cover steps 1 & 2); b) Start practicing after having read the materials - this should take ~80% of your prep time (e.g. if you have ten days to practice, you should dedicate ~8 days for practicing cases)

I hope it helps!

Best regards,

Paulo

Hi Divij,

A good preparation for a consulting interview will likely move through the following areas:

1. General understanding of the process: get a general idea on what a consulting interview is about
   • Resources: Case in Point, Victor Cheng free videos, PrepLounge Resources section
2. Learning structures and main fit questions
   • Resources: Victor Cheng Look Over My Shoulder, MBA Handbooks, PrepLounge Resources section, Expert sessions
3. Practicing with live partners to apply knowledge and improve communication
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews, friends preparing for consulting
4. Final review to eliminate the last mistakes
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews (experienced users), friends working in consulting, Experts sessions

During the preparation, you may want to follow the usual steps for case interviews, working on:

1. Fit questions (eg Why do you want to work for Deloitte?)
2. Cases (eg Our client is a commercial bank losing money, how would you increase profits?)
3. Your questions at the end for the interviewer.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi,

In terms of resources - Start with Case in point and Victor Chengs books and LOMS.

In terms of case types I would start with either market sizing or with profitability cases since they are much easier:

1) In market sizing cases I would try to understand the basic approach:

• How to structure market sizing case
• Key tools (Assumptions, Households, using personal experience, adjustments, age groups, Income split via 80/20, peak / off-peak calculations, replacement rate, using size of the area to calculate markets, calculating adjacent markets, sanity checks, etc).
• How to do math in the case interview

2) In Profitability cases, I would learn

• How to ask clarifying questions
• How to structure profitability cases
• How to work with data (Comparing with competitors, segmentation, historical data)
• How to answer the questions on creativity
• How to provide recommendations

3) Then I will switch to Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). In addition, I would learn how:

• Structure market context questions
• How to analyze graphs and tables

4) After that I would look at other case types: Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.), Cost Cutting, Valuation, Private equity due diligence, Synergies, etc.

Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech

Also several things that you should be doing on a regular basis:

1) Every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new experience and having solved the new types of cases

2) Build business judgment. Read about different industries and functions. I strongly recommend practice drawing structures for each industry - profitability, value chain, etc . Then I will switch to getting functional knowledge and key concepts in Marketing (Brand and trade marketing tools, etc), Supply chain (Ops metrics like cycle time and throughput time, distribution and delivery specifics, etc), Finance (Basic Accounting and Valuation). Good sources might be:

• Books - one good book about airlines with numbers and industry analysis can give you all needed industry knowledge 
• Company reports, equity reports, etc - usually have a good overview of company and industries.One of the best sources to prepare
• HBS cases - quite useful, but not sure if lot's of them available publically. Probably worth buying

Again, every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new knowledge

3) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (google fast math tips)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

4) Read Viktor Cheng Book and listen to LOMS. I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks!

Best!

Hi,

Agree with the approach of the other experts. Several things that you should be doing on a regular basis:

1) Every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new experience and having solved the new types of cases

2) Build business judgment. Read about different industries and functions. I strongly recommend practice drawing structures for each industry - profitability, value chain, etc . Then I will switch to getting functional knowledge and key concepts in Marketing (Brand and trade marketing tools, etc), Supply chain (Ops metrics like cycle time and throughput time, distribution and delivery specifics, etc), Finance (Basic Accounting and Valuation). Good sources might be:

• Books - one good book about airlines with numbers and industry analysis can give you all needed industry knowledge 
• Company reports, equity reports, etc - usually have a good overview of company and industries.One of the best sources to prepare
• HBS cases - quite useful, but not sure if lot's of them available publically. Probably worth buying

Again, every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new knowledge

3) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (google fast math tips)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

4) Read Viktor Cheng Book and listen to LOMS. I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks!

Best!

Hi,

I recommend the following approach:

1) Start with "Case in point" book - you can download this book for free everywhere. It's not the best guide on how you should approach the cases, however, it will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally. !!! Find experienced partners or coaches who can provide a good feedback!!!

3) Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen to LOMS (his website). I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

4) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

5) Below you can find a list of the most common case types and some high-level recommendations on structuring:

• Market sizing - structuring from the supply or demand side. Structuring using a formula or using an issue tree
• Profitability - basic profitability framework. Remember about different revenue streams and product mix
• Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). Always start with the big picture "market". Finish with something specific to the case (e.g. How to enter?"). Structure it as if you are defining the work streams for the real project.
• Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.) - Structuring as a process / value chain, with inflows, operations, and outflows
• Cost cutting - I provided the recommendations on structuring it here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/operations-cases-mck-1105#a2134
• Valuation - Purely financial structure with cash flows, growth rate, WACC / hurdle rate, etc.
• Synergies - revenue synergies (price, qty, mix) and cost synergies (value chain).
• Social / economics cases (e.g. How to improve the quality of life in the city? How to increase the revenues of the museum?) - huge variability. Practice 3-5 social cases before the interview

6) Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech

7) After solving 15-20 cases start preparation for the tests (Serch for PST / BCG online test here on preplounge)

8) ! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks!

PS

Here is a good list of articles regarding the different parts of the case:

1) Start with clarifying questions:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/clarifying-questions-1786#a3956

2) Communicating while structuring. Here is a long post by me on how to communicate the structure during the case study:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-communicate-its-structure-for-the-case-study-1313#a2806

3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about hypothesis here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-state-a-hypothesis-and-match-to-the-structure-1156#a2268

4) Communicating while making calculations: 

• Always tell the interviewer your approach
• Check with the interviewer that your approach is correct
• Come to the interviewer with some preliminary answers
• Check your assumptions with the interviewer

5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables

• Take a minute to look at the graph. Read the graph title. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc). Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary). Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
• Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think out loud on potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
• Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

6) Communicating while having questions on creativity

• Ask an interview for a minute to think
• Think of several buckets of ideas (e.g. organic growth / non-organic growth / differentiation). Remember to think as big as possible
• Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible
• Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas

7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-answer-first-should-the-conclusion-be-1231#a2493

8) Communicating your FIT stories

Use the top-down approach while communicating your stories. "The Pyramid Principle" is the must-read by ex McKinsey on this topic.

I recommend using the STAR framework:

• In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
• Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
• Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
• The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

Best!

Hi,

In terms of resources - Start with Case in point, Victor Chengs books and LOMS.

In terms of case types I would start with either market sizing or with profitability cases since they are much easier:

1) In market sizing cases I would try to understand the basic approach:

• How to structure market sizing case
• Key tools (Assumptions, Households, using personal experience, adjustments, age groups, Income split via 80/20, peak / off-peak calculations, replacement rate, using size of the area to calculate markets, calculating adjacent markets, sanity checks, etc).
• How to do math in the case interview

2) In Profitability cases, I would learn

• How to ask clarifying questions
• How to structure profitability cases
• How to work with data (Comparing with competitors, segmentation, historical data)
• How to answer the questions on creativity
• How to provide recommendations

3) Then I will switch to Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). In addition, I would learn how:

• Structure market context questions
• How to analyze graphs and tables

4) After that I would look at other case types: Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.), Cost Cutting, Valuation, Private equity due diligence, Synergies, etc.

Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech

Also, several things that you should be doing on a regular basis:

1) Every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new experience and having solved the new types of cases

2) Build business judgment. Read about different industries and functions. I strongly recommend practice drawing structures for each industry - profitability, value chain, etc . Then I will switch to getting functional knowledge and key concepts in Marketing (Brand and trade marketing tools, etc), Supply chain (Ops metrics like cycle time and throughput time, distribution and delivery specifics, etc), Finance (Basic Accounting and Valuation). Good sources might be:

• Books - one good book about airlines with numbers and industry analysis can give you all needed industry knowledge 
• Company reports, equity reports, etc - usually have a good overview of company and industries.One of the best sources to prepare
• HBS cases - quite useful, but not sure if lot's of them available publically. Probably worth buying

Again, every 10 cases revisit the previous cases and think how you would structure them differently now having the new knowledge

3) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (google fast math tips)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

4) Read Viktor Cheng Book and listen to LOMS. I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

Best!

Hi, 

I recommend the following approach:

 1) Start with "Case in point" book - you can download this book for free everywhere. It's not the best guide on how you should approach the cases, however, it will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally. !!! Find experienced partners or coaches who can provide a good feedback!!!

3) Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen to LOMS (his website). I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.

4) Practice fast math

• Learn how to multiply double digit numbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo)
• Learn the division table up to 1/11 (i.e. 5/6 = 83.3)
• Learn how to work with zeros (Hint: 4000000 = 4*10ˆ6)
• Use math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

5) Below you can find a list of the most common case types and some high-level recommendations on structuring:

• Market sizing - structuring from the supply or demand side. Structuring using a formula or using an issue tree
• Profitability - basic profitability framework. Remember about different revenue streams and product mix
• Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). Always start with the big picture "market". Finish with something specific to the case (e.g. How to enter?"). Structure it as if you are defining the work streams for the real project.
• Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.) - Structuring as a process / value chain, with inflows, operations, and outflows
• Cost cutting - I provided the recommendations on structuring it here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/operations-cases-mck-1105#a2134
• Valuation - Purely financial structure with cash flows, growth rate, WACC / hurdle rate, etc.
• Synergies - revenue synergies (price, qty, mix) and cost synergies (value chain).
• Social / economics cases (e.g. How to improve the quality of life in the city? How to increase the revenues of the museum?) - huge variability. Practice 3-5 social cases before the interview

6) Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech 

7) ! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks! 

PS

Here is a good list of articles regarding the different parts of the case:

 1) Start with clarifying questions:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/clarifying-questions-1786#a3956

2) Communicating while structuring. Here is a long post by me on how to communicate the structure during the case study: 

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-communicate-its-structure-for-the-case-study-1313#a2806

3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about the hypothesis here: 

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-state-a-hypothesis-and-match-to-the-structure-1156#a2268

4) Communicating while making calculations:

• Always tell the interviewer your approach
• Check with the interviewer that your approach is correct
• Come to the interviewer with some preliminary answers
• Check your assumptions with the interviewer

5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables

• Take a minute to look at the graph. Read the graph title. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc). Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary). Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
• Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think out loud on potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
• Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

6) Communicating while having questions on creativity

• Ask an interview for a minute to think
• Think of several buckets of ideas (e.g. organic growth / non-organic growth / differentiation). Remember to think as big as possible
• Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible
• Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas

7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-answer-first-should-the-conclusion-be-1231#a2493

8) Communicating your FIT stories

Use the top-down approach while communicating your stories. "The Pyramid Principle" is the must-read by ex McKinsey on this topic.

I recommend using the STAR framework:

• In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
• Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
• Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
• The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

Best!

Paulo just gave a really solid anwser obviously, and you can't go wrong reading Victor Cheng's books (or watching his 6 hours of free video on YouTube).

Beyond this though, a good rule of thumb - no matter the topic - is you should learn 30% of the time, and test your learning 70% of the time (or 20/80 as Paulo suggests - close enough). Doing a case is akin to testing yourself -> this is absolutely where you need to spend most of your time and energy. Review prior feedback, read books and articles and whatnot, but DO NOT overlook the actual practice.

Good luck!

Guennael -

Ex-BCG Dallas

Okay so I get that you are just starting to case, but what else have you covered? Have you familiarized yourself with what to do, what is expected and how to go about doing these? If yes, then it comes down to

1. Practice, practice and more practice. Start with beginners or people with similar skill level who have done their homework as well. Then progress to more experience folks, also do leverage the experts every now and then for sake of calibration.
2. Get actionable feedback from your practice sessions ( As both an interviewee and Interviewer)and implement corrective action, find some sort of way to track say typical mistake you make or bad habits etc. and ensure they fade away as you progress.
3. Work on mental math and estimation as often as you can ( use Prep lounge math tool)
4. Do cases you failed again (after a good amount of time has passed)
5. Always time yourself and ensure you simulate true casing environment every time you practice.

If No, then familiarize yourself with the process by doing the following below, and then moving to the items above:

1. Read books- Case in point (Marc Cosentino), Case interview secret (Victor Cheng) etc.
2. Use Prep lounge videos, case boot camp and other resources etc
3. Ask question (like you did on prep lounge) to others who have gone through the process

Hopefully this helps!

Hey anonymous,

Would you be able to clarify what do you mean: how to prepare to do your first mock interview with other candidate/expert at preplounge? Or how to use/leverage preplounge to do your first real life interview?

Assuming it’s the second, I would strongly advise you on: I) strongly leverage practice sessions with other candidates of (at least) your level; ii) go through the support materials on topics that you may feel bigger development needs; iii) if you can’t have access to friend in consulting (or formers), leverage the wide network of experts here to guarantee that you’re not missing being on some key points

Best

Bruno

Hi Anonymous!

This is a topic which I frequently discuss with my mentees. Indeed, it might make sense to adopt an approach which follows several "stages". The following strategy has proved to give outstanding results in terms of MBB offers:

1. Concentrate on proper preparation with excellent case partners/experts (several weeks)

2. Make sure your written applications (CV, cover letters, referrals) are on point!

2. Once you feel really comfortable on fit, cases and your application, apply to several Tier2 firms

3. Continue practicing cases!

4. Schedule interview days with the Tier 2 firms that get back to you

5. Once T2 interviews are scheduled, apply to MBB

6. Continue practicing cases!

7. Go through T2 interviews and get used to the setting (if you focused your preparation on MBB, you will realize that interview formats and cases might be a bit different at T2 firms, but don't get irritated by that fact). Try to get at least one offer (this is a great psychological help!)

8. Schedule interview days with the MBB firms that invited you

9. Continue practicing cases!

10. Nail interviews with MBB firms and celebrate your offer(s)!

Cheers, Sidi

Hi Anonymous,

there is a lot of material out there, so it is definitely a good idea to structure an action plan to be as efficient as possibile in your preparation. The following is the way I found better to prepare and that I would recommend (I am assuming you already have the interviews scheduled, so don’t need referrals and CV and Cover preparation):

1. Read Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets for a general understanding of what a consulting interview is. Don’t focus too much on the structures proposed in the books though, as they are not good enough nowadays.
2. Start reading MBA Consulting Handbook – you can find several for free online (Insead is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insides. Try to read at least a new case per day – in this way you will absorb a lot better the information with constant learning. Structure your remaining daily preparation with 5-10 minutes per day of market sizing, fit questions and mental math.
3. After you have read the first 10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you read cases only. Keep track of your mistakes and see if you repeat them. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback of experienced partners would be particular useful for this). Be sure to focus on both fit and case.
4. Once you feel you are not improving anymore, if you have a tight time constraint or if you want a realistic assessment of your level, consider using experts’ support to strengthen your performance
5. Before the interview, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer – great way to show you prepare in advance and to connect more with the interviewer for a good final impression.
6. Bonus (if needed): at least two weeks before the interview do a first PST/Potential test to evaluate your current level. Distribute the other tests in the remaining time according to the number of them you have available.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

If you only need to learn about case cracking for a single 1.5h interview, I would recommend that you watch some case cracking videos on Youtube and that you learn about the different frameworks of a typical case interview. Alternatively, you can also have a few sessions with experts who can help you gain valuable time by covering the most important & relevant things for you.

Happy to answer any other question you might have.

All the best,

Mehdi

Hi,

Can someone please share the links to Victor Cheng's videos.

All the ones I find are really short and ask me to login to some website for the complete access.

Hi Falak,

In this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBwUxnTpTBo&list=PLL1jLM18SWP1uF1ReVpWY9MSpFXWdmEfW), you'll find 4h30 worth of Victor Cheng's videos.

However, I cannot stress enough how good his book is. You can find it at different prices on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=case+interview+secrets+by+victor+cheng&sprefix=Case+interview%2Caps%2C140)

Best regards and good studies!

Paulo

Hi,

First of all ask yourself: Can I dedicate 100% of my time (i.e. 10+ hours per day) for preparation?

If the answer is "No", please reschedule the interview. You can't imagine how many people failed just because they didn't take enough prep. There is absolutely no penalty for rescheduling.

Best,

Hi Anonymous,

a good preparation for a consulting interview will likely move through the following areas:

1. General understanding of the process: get a general idea on what a consulting interview is about
   • Resources: Case in Point, Victor Cheng free videos, PrepLounge Resources section
2. Learning structures and main fit questions
   • Resources: Victor Cheng Look Over My Shoulder, MBA Handbooks, PrepLounge Resources section, Expert sessions
3. Practicing with live partners to apply knowledge and improve communication
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews, friends preparing for consulting
4. Final review to eliminate the last mistakes
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews (experienced users), friends working in consulting, Experts sessions

You should be aware that just reading Case in Point and doing Victor Cheng LOMS won’t be sufficient as preparation. Such material is ok to get an understanding of the process, but not to get to the advanced level to get an offer without further live preparation.

During the preparation, you should focus on the usual steps for case interviews, working on:

1. Fit questions (eg Why do you want to work for Deloitte?)
2. Cases (eg Our client is a commercial bank losing money, how would you increase profits?)
3. Your questions at the end for the interviewer.

I would actually not recommend doing nothing in the 24-48h before the interview. Although you should not ideally cover new stuff as you won’t have time to integrate it in your approach, that’s a great time to review all your previous mistakes (because yes, ideally you should keep track of them) and re-read the most challenging cases (you should keep track of them as well).

Finally, please keep in mind that a good preparation to target an MBB offer starting from zero will require a minimum 150h on your own (less if you use experts coaching – you should be able to save 5-15h per session according to the coach), thus you should structure a calendar accordingly.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi Joep,

a good preparation for a consulting interview will likely move through the following areas:

1. General understanding of the process: get a general idea on what a consulting interview is about
   • Resources: Case in Point, Victor Cheng free videos, PrepLounge Resources section
2. Learning structures and main fit questions
   • Resources: Victor Cheng Look Over My Shoulder, MBA Handbooks, PrepLounge Resources section, Expert sessions
3. Practicing with live partners to apply knowledge and improve communication
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews, friends preparing for consulting.
4. Final review to eliminate the last mistakes
   • Resources: PrepLounge P2P interviews (experienced users), friends working in consulting, Experts sessions

You should be aware that just reading Case in Point and doing Victor Cheng LOMS won’t be sufficient as preparation. This material is ok to get an understanding of the process, but not to get to the advanced level to get an offer. You should definitely complement it with live preparation.

During the whole preparation, you should focus on the usual steps for case interviews, working on:

1. Fit questions (eg Why do you want to work for McKinsey?)
2. Cases (eg Our client is a commercial bank losing money, how would you increase profits?)
3. Your questions at the end for the interviewer.

All these steps are important for your final assessment; in particular, as also mentioned by Vlad, don't undervalue the fit part, which has the same weight as the case, although shorter in terms of time allocation in the interview.

Best,

Francesco

Talk to current consultants to be sure it's what you want to do. I know a bunch of ex-McK consultants who moved to banking and have never been happier. Try (very hard) to not be blinded by the prestige on MBB. 

If you're 100% sure, check out Victor cheng's material (videos, etc), Case in Point, and the Vault Case Interview Guide.  Also stay up-to-date on the economy and industry trends. 

And have fun with case prep. The more you do them, the more fun they become, which will make you interview process easier. 

Hi Anonymous,

please find my answers below:

1) I would recommend the following:

1. Identify the companies interesting for you. Many people are interested mainly in MBB, you can start defining the exact list of companies interesting for you for the internship
2. Define a calendar for your preparation. Check if there is any deadline for the internship applications. Then identify how many hours you have before that and allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day, working on the points below. Many people need 100+ hours to be ready before the interview so you can keep that as a benchmark
3. Read Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets for a general understanding of what a consulting interview is. Don’t focus on the structures proposed in the books though, as they are not good enough nowadays.
4. Start 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 there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insides. PrepLounge also has a Case Library that you can use. Try to read at least a new case per day – in this way you will absorb better the information with constant learning.
5. After the first 5-10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. PrepLounge can be helpful to connect 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 read cases only. Keep track of your mistakes and see if you repeat them. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback of experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both the behavioural part and the case part. The case part should also cover market sizing, mental math and graph analysis.
6. Before your application, be sure to review your CV and Cover, so that they are in the required format for a consulting application
7. At least three weeks before the application deadline, start networking to find referrals for your target companies. You can find some tips on how to do that here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176
8. Once you feel you are not improving anymore, if you have a tight time constraint or if you want a realistic assessment of your level, consider using support from experts to strengthen your performance
9. Before the interview, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer –great way to show you prepared in advance and to connect with the interviewer for a good final impression.

2) If you want to save time, it is a good idea to book a coaching session early on. However, I would recommend to do or read at least 5 cases before booking a session.

3)  If you mean P2P training with peers, you can start immediately. If you mean a coach, I would recommend that you have gone through at least 5 cases before booking a class.

Best,

Francesco

Dear A,

I would recommend you the following algorithm:

1. Identify the companies interesting for you. Many people are interested
mainly in MBB, you can start defining the exact list of companies interesting
for you for the internship
2. Check the requirements and application details.
3. Start your preparation with reading Case In Point by Cosentino for a
general understanding of what a consulting interview is.
4. Start learning and practicing the cases. Some you can find in Case
Library and practice it with your partner or experience coach.
5. Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen
to LOMS

Once you feel you are not improving anymore, I would recommend you to
take an expert coach for structured feedback and polishing your own
performance.

Hope this helps,

Best,

André

Concerning step 1, i.e. reading materials and frameworks, I'am also working a lot with preplounge's boot camp. You have a good overview there. However, I'll also order Victor Cheng's book as the combination of both is certainly more effective! 

Hi there,

just one more thing and more on the broader strokes:

It immensely helps (for interviews, but overall life and career even more) to read some of the seminal books and articles that have shaped how we approach business and economics. The frameworks that consultants use are often a destillation of this.

Good examples are:

- The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

- From 0 to 1 by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters

- Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter

- The McKinsey Mind by Paul Friga

- High Output Management by Andrew Grove

- Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim

- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

- Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

- Winning by Jack Welch

If you really want to read stuff on the cutting edge (great for small talk), you might want to look at things like

- Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

- The second Machine Age - by Brynjolfsson & McAfee

- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

Have fun,

Elias

Hi,

I would recommand looking into Victor Cheng´s material. he has 4 classic frameworks (profit / loss, business situation, M&A, and demand & supply problem framework) with which you can or should be able to solve most of the cases.

Hello,

I recommend the following approach:

1) Start with "Case in point" book or Victor Cheng "Interview secrets" (one of them is enough). They will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally

3) Prepare the fit interview part. Crafting you stories and answers to fit questions is crucial

Working with a coach since the early stage of your preparation could help you in order to prepare an effective workplan and to understand what are the most important points to focus on.
Feel free to write me if you want to discuss further about how to start your preparation.

Hope it helps,
Luca

Hi,

Honestly, it sounds like you're suffering from the common issue of information overload. Let me help:

1.Pick 1. The "Best" one is abitrary and person-specific. Pick 1 and don't let yourself wander too much at first. I like Wharton's layout (they cover every base in a logical/sequential way that's very friendly on the eye): 

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0417/7869/files/Wharton_2010.pdf?3614524620781026324

2. Yes. Scheudle 1 session ASAP w/ someone here. They'll get you on the right track. Even if you never schedule a 2nd session, this is incredibly valuable in directing your efforts. If you pick me, I can assure you I'll keep you focused/target on what matters, but ultimately pick whoever you think will suit your style of learning!

3. When you feel you have a light grasp/understanding, but are nervous to begin :)

Hey J,

I agree with my colleagues. 

The only point I want to emphasize on is get help early.

An experienced coach, who also used to work in recruiting and select other candidates can save you a lot of time and guide you through the tailored preparation process according to your needs, while your chances to get several offers significantly increase.

Good luck in getting your offers!

Best,

André

Hello!

On top of all the great strategies laid out in the post, I would challenge you with one key question that can change the whole approach: how much time do you have?

With "unlimited" (i.e., no interview set already and/or plenty of time to prepare), you should follow the detailed strategies commented. 

However, if you are under time pressure and you follow that strategy, you would most likely fail, since it´s too time consuming. If this was the case, I would recommend you to prep a tailored plan with a coach, which optimizes timings very much (on the other hand, is expensive, so you need to see the trade-off)

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi, I recommend starting with Cosentino's book to fix the theory, then suddenly go into mock cases with other strong candidates. After the first cases support with a coach or with a senior consultant (if you have friends in consulting) will boost your preparation. To reach a good level 40-50 mock cases are needed.

Best,
Antonello

Hi there,

You mean it will be a 1.5h written case with presentation or a traditional case interview organized in 1.5h?

Best,

Francesco

Honestly, the best thing you can do for a crash course is hire a coach! Even an hour or 2 can catapult your understanding of these things.

*Cue shameless plug*: Coming from an IT background I've helped a lot of candidates with exactly this. Happy to talk more, but you really need to dive into the major topics within Infrastructure Tech.

A lot of company websites have great info. For example, I'm helping a candidate with CMA Strategy Consulting, and I just love their breakdown of some of the key tech infrastructure topics they have here:

https://cmacap.com/areas-of-focus/