Take home case study for a boutique consulting firm

Question

Hi all,

I am at a take-home case for a TMT-focused consulting firm (Analysys Mason) with a strong PE orientation. I don’t come from a consulting background and would appreciate guidance on what to expect.

For the take-home:
1. Should I focus more on classic consulting frameworks or CDD-style analysis?
2.How deep should Excel/modeling go vs. structured commercial thinking?
3. What’s a reasonable slide count / level of detail?
4. Any TMT- or PE-specific nuances to watch for?

For the live interviews:
Are they typically traditional consulting cases or more investment-style discussions?
How much emphasis is placed on quant skills, structuring, and valuation/value-creation thinking?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer 1

Hi there,

At McKinsey, even when interviews are grouped into “Round 1” and “Final Round,” each individual interview is assessed separately.

So if you have two interviews in the first round, you don’t automatically move from the first to the second just because they’re scheduled together. Both interviewers submit independent evaluations, and the decision to advance is made after reviewing all feedback from that round.

In practice, though, since they’re scheduled back-to-back, you’ll complete both interviews before any decision is made. They won’t cancel the second one mid-day unless something very unusual happens.

Think of each interview as a standalone assessment, even if they’re grouped administratively.

Happy to help you prep – feel free to reach out

Best
Evelina