How should I maintain and improve my case interview skills after around 50 mock cases?

Hi,

At 50 cases, more volume will not move you much. What matters now is which two or three things still separate you from a clear hire. Two live cases a week is enough to hold your level from here.

I agree with Margot and Vincent that the remaining gap will not close through more repetitions with peers. Business judgment, communication and presence improve mostly through work done around the case rather than inside it.

For the next two to three months:

--> Business judgment. Follow industry news and earnings calls and force yourself to take a position on each one, with one non-obvious angle per company. That is what interviewers hear as judgment, and full cases train it slowly.

--> Communication. Answer first, signpost before you speak, and train yourself to close a brainstorm in 20 to 30 seconds. Recording yourself is the fastest way to see where you start circling.

--> Fit. Write the stories now and have someone drill you on the follow-ups until you stop reaching for answers. It is quicker to prepare than cases and it can be decisive.

Review old cases only where the same mistake came back twice. The rest is maintenance.

If you want a second read on the two conflicting coach verdicts you got, send me a message and I can tell you which one is closer to the interview bar.

Best,

Franco

Hi there,

I would cut the mock volume rather than raise it. At 50 mocks, with one coach saying he would pass you and another saying you are close to the bar, the gap is not one more repetition of the same exercise. Business judgement, communication and presence are the three things mocks improve least, because a practice partner grades your structure and your math and rarely has anything precise to say about how you came across.

What I would run over the next 2 to 3 months:

• Drop to two mocks a week and protect them. Volume now maintains a level, it does not build one.
• Record yourself and listen back to only the 60 seconds after each exhibit. Presence lives in those 60 seconds, and recording is the only way to hear what an interviewer hears.
• Spend 5 minutes a day on a company news item or an earnings release and answer one question with no framework: if I ran this business, what would worry me most. That is the business judgement drill, and cases do not train it.
• Build your fit stories now rather than in interview week. They decay slowest and they are usually the first thing tested.

The part of your plan I would change is the timing. You have no interview date yet, so the real risk over 2 to 3 months is peaking in October and arriving flat in December. Mocks tell you where you stand. Drills are what move you, and only one of the two needs to run every week.

Hi there,

It's honestly really hard to say what you should do as we haven't assessed your strengths and weaknesses!

That said, I can still advise the following:

• Get a full assessment on your casing level
• Don't underestimate FIT - test getting asked a range of questions and having to respond outlout
• Don't underestimate market sizing
• Please don't kill yourself casing...50 is plenty
• Review old cases

At this stage, I would do around two live mocks per week. Each one should be selected to test a specific weakness rather than simply adding another case to your total. Add 2-3 short targeted drills during the week, review one or two old cases and practise fit at least once per week.

Communication

It's easy to make something complicated, hard to make something simple. How to fix this?

Take a few seconds - gather your thoughts. Perhaps right them down. Take a quick breather to better formulate and then articulate your thoughts

Use signposting - Always preface what you will be saying. For example, when brainstorming you can say "I'm thinking about this in three main ways: A, B, and C. Within A we can look at..."

Business judgement

Daily Business News/Thinking: Financial Times

Larger Thinking/Trends: The Economist

Crash course: BCG Insights, McKinsey Featured Insights

For the past decade I have read The Economist and the Financial Times daily. This built-up knowledge was instrumental in ensuring I had the right thinking+base knowledge for casing.

Also to improve your business judgement:

• Reading through (and fully understanding cases)
• Working on a mindset shift

Finally, use the same strong coach periodically for calibration. Random feedback from lots of different people can become noise; you want someone who knows your development areas and can track whether they are actually improving.

At your stage, the biggest gains often come from changing how you think and communicate rather than completing another 50 cases. This article explains how to shift your mindset to ace the case.

I also recommend the Consulting Offer Blueprint podcast. It's a sustainable way to improve your business judgement, industry knowledge and understanding of how consulting problems appear in real businesses.

Hey there,

seems like you are stalling at c. 80% of case performance. Mere mock interviews with peers is unlikely to elevate you to the next level. 

I recommend the following: 

1) Do a push in business judgment: Use Claude / ChatGPT to dive into the 10+ key industries (Energy, Industrial Goods (Automotive, Engineered Products, Chemicals, etc.), FI (Insurance & Banking) + start subscribing to Financial Times to get the latest business news
2) stop doing tons of interviews but work with a senior coach (PL+, not former Consultant level) to fine-tune your areas of developments and get a stable "hire" performance
3) start to also invest significant time into the personal fit, this counts up to 50% of your overall performance and is often neglected! 

Good luck and let me know if you need support! 
Vincent 

Hey there :)

At around 50 cases, I’d actually shift away from doing lots of full cases and focus more on targeted improvement. I’d probably do around 2 to 3 live cases per week, with at least one being with someone who can give you detailed feedback. Between cases, spend 15 to 20 minutes on mental maths, structuring and exhibit interpretation, and review your previous cases specifically for the three areas you mentioned: business judgement, communication and presence. I’d also start putting more time into fit, especially your personal stories, since that can become a differentiator once your case skills are already solid. As interviews get closer, I’d do a few full mock interviews under realistic conditions rather than increasing the overall volume.

best, Alessa :)

At 50 cases, more volume is not the answer anymore. Here's the thing, business judgment and presence don't improve from doing more cases, they improve from doing fewer cases more deliberately.

I'd cap you at two mocks a week from here. Use the extra time to drill specific weak spots, like synthesis or handling ambiguity, in isolated 15 minute reps instead of full cases. Record yourself and watch it back, presence issues are easier to fix when you see them.

Split your week roughly, two mocks, two drill sessions, one fit prep session. Fit prep matters more than people at your level think, don't let it slide just because casing feels more urgent.