Which areas should I focus on? I am going to have to speed run case prep because my job search (looking for a coach to help me prep for a Sep 28th interview)
Is it purely casing or are there behaviorals as well?
Ex BCG Principal & Global Interviewer (10+ Years) | 100+ MBB Offers | 90% Success Rate
Hi Mikaila,
Expect both. A first round almost always includes a fit component alongside the case, and at OC&C the fit part tends to be shorter than at MBB but it does get asked.
With two weeks, I would not try to cover everything. Book the coaching session early rather than at the end, so the rest of your time goes on the two or three things that are genuinely weak. Candidates are poor judges of their own gaps: what feels like a math problem is often structuring, prioritization or communication under pressure. For transparency, I am a coach, so take that bias into account.
For fit, write your stories down this week and practice them out loud. It takes little time and it is the piece people leave to the last day.
One more thing: OC&C cases lean more toward consumer, retail and market sizing than the MBB average, so weight your practice that way.
Happy to look at your two weeks and tell you what to cut, just send me a message.
To be honest, less than two weeks is quite short and you'd be well-served to get a coach (they are essentially a time lever).
In terms of preparing, you need to of course get ready for fit/behavioral (10-20% of your time) and casing (80-90%).
Do not assume it will be purely casing. Be ready with why consulting, why OC&C and your resume walkthrough, in addition to your case preparation.
You should expect a portion of the interview to be fit/behavioral. That said, please don't go in with deadset expectations - you truly never know, and having hard expectations just leaves you unprepared to react!
The priority now is to identify your weaknesses quickly and address them rather than trying to cover every resource you can find.
Given the timeline, I recommend getting professional coaching as soon as possible. A coach can diagnose the gaps, prioritize what actually matters and simulate the interview under realistic pressure.
Mikaila, for OC&C I’d focus heavily on case fundamentals, especially structuring, commercial thinking, mental maths and interpreting exhibits quickly. Given your short timeline, I’d prioritize live cases over trying to learn every possible framework. There is usually also a fit or behavioral component, so prepare a few strong stories around leadership, teamwork, challenges and motivation for OC&C. With your September 28 interview, I’d definitely recommend getting a few realistic mocks in before then.
Okay, tight timeline, so let's be efficient about this. OC&C leans heavy on commercial and pricing cases, retail, consumer, private equity due diligence type problems. Focus your reps there, not generic market sizing.
R1 is not purely casing. There's always a fit component, even if it's short. They're checking if you can hold a real conversation and think out loud, not recite a framework. Don't skip that prep just because time is tight.
Given your window, I'd do fewer cases but review each one hard, rather than rushing through many. Quality of reflection beats volume here.
