Hey there!
Tom here. A few years ago, I was in your shoes: I was spending my days on PrepLounge, full of anxiety about my upcoming McKinsey interviews. I did 125 mock interviews because I am what my first manager at McKinsey called an "insecure overachiever," a trait that most young MBB consultants share.
Today, I am back on PrepLounge for a few months, while I work as startup advisor before starting my next job (Tech PE). I am here mostly for one reason: consulting prep seems daunting because there is so much information and so many resources (Case in Point, Victor Cheng, PrepLounge, etc.) that it can easily stress you out. I am lucky because I am now older and have more perspective, so I can teach you what really matters.
I loved my time at McKinsey, and I think it really taught me how to think about businesses, their long-term strategies, and their short-term decision-making. I will try to teach you a way of thinking that will help you solve any problem, but I will pair that with a rigorous set of things to know for each specific case type.
I might be listed as a new PrepLounge coach, but I am definitely not new to coaching. Over the past 2 years, while getting my MBA from Berkeley Haas, I helped 30+ folks as a coach (paid by Berkeley to help their students) and mentored 10+ undergrad students to get into MBB or their dream consulting/finance job!
Outside of PrepLounge, I love yoga, meditation, surf, and classical music :)
Looking forward to working with you all!
I built my approach on a few guiding principles stemming from the key takeways I developed over my 2.5 years at McKinsey. What I learned in the client room shaped how I teach my students!
1. Set-up: Framing the Problem is Half the Solution
Even with stellar teams like the ones at McKinsey, if you define the wrong problem, you get the wrong answer—no matter how good your Excel model is.
--> I focus heavily on the first minute of the case. I write down my top 5 clarifying questions before hearing yours, and I will teach you how to get them right.
2. Structure: Focus is King What CEOs pay MBB for is the answer to the question: "What really matters for this problem?"
--> I try to teach focus and sharpness over vagueness and rambling (yes, a MECE structure is still a problem if it's vague).
3. Quant: You are paid for the "So What," not the "How Much"
Anyone can crunch numbers and tell you "how much"; the best McKinsey strategists put those numbers into the context of the overall business strategy.
--> I will teach you to handle math questions the way a McKinsey consultant would in front of a C-level executive, not how you would answer your high school math professor.
4. Recommendation: Actionable always pays off
A lot of firms build 100-page decks; some cost $10k and some cost $10M. The latter have actionable, impact-generating recommendations that can be executed on Monday.
--> I will teach you how to excel through concrete, realistic recommendations versus useless, BS noise.
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