Do MBA's have different case difficulty in the interviews vs experienced hires ?

Hi Anonymous,

That depends mainly on the seniority, i.e. how experienced the hires are.

I coached 2 partners of a tier-2 boutique consulting firm in Europe for transferring to McKinsey partner-level position. This process consisted of 16 interviews spread over several months, and the typical case interview as you know it is not even part of the recruiting process. So fully individualized interview scheme for that top-level hires.

If you rather think about a few years of industry experience - cases in first rounds tend to be the same, but expectations are obviously significantly higher. Not only in analyitcal aspects, but much more from a top-down and communications point of view.

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button!

Robert

No. Cases are the same. Key differences will come in expectatios and questions during the PEI

I would say the case difficulty is not necessarily going be different but the content will. If you are recruiting for a specific industry or a specialist position there will be a mix of more general business cases and cases tailored to the role you are applying for.

-A

Hi there,

The case difficulty for experienced hires is the same. However:

1. You are tested on different areas. You will likely receive questions on your specific sector and industry knowledge. Moreover, as an experienced hire, you may get questions on how to manage real projects and teams, as your responsibilities will involve that (initial data requested, number of people, allocation of people on workstreams, length of the different parts of the project, etc).
2. Expectations are higher. The interviewer will expect answers reflecting your years of experience, in particular for fit, communication and general attitude.

I helped several experienced hires to land offers in MBB, in case you are interested to know more please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Dear A,

In general I would say that the case difficulty increases from round to round. 

At the first round you're mostly have you personal fit and individual behavior questions, taking most of the time, but cases is rather shorter. 

In the third round the cases are longer, and personal fit part is very short one. 

So the case difficulty increases from round to round. But I cann't confirm that the cases differ between generalist and specialist track. They should be more or less the same. 

Hope it helps,

For any further questions, feel free to reach out. 

Best,

André

Hello!

Not at all, cases are the same. What changes is the bar that you need to meet or raise, according to tenure. 

Best,

Clara

Hi there,

The cases are not harder (interviewers have the same set of cases they provide). However, you will have higher expectations put on your in terms of 1) Business/commercial knowedge 2) Driving the case 3) Framework/structure 4) Communication