How to prepare for variable case formats during partner round?

MBB
Neue Antwort am 29. März 2023
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Anonym A fragte am 22. März 2023

Partners sometimes change things up and don’t follow a usual case format. Can you give some examples of this and how to prepare?

One example I can think of is giving a one-sentence broas prompt and going from there. Or not letting you formulate you recommendation on paper before giving it.

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Paul
Experte
antwortete am 22. März 2023
PL-level BCG experience (6 years)|Interviewer at BCG| 6/6 personal + 95%+ candidates offer success rate

Hi there,

I second most of the advice you already have below from other coaches. Some additional perspective based on my experience. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

1) Less structure overall in case part → towards more of a discussion in which they hope to see a “respectful” peer who can keep up w/ their “mental CPU" pace, while having crisp communication and uber-structured and logical reasoning 

2) More in depth FIT discussion: “website-type" answers on why firm x etc… and lack of serious maturity and self-introspection can really become a red flag here  

3) “Curveballs” to test your “grace under fire”: I was asked tell me three reasons why we should not hire you :). Prepare to keep your composure and react logically and with confidence to whatever happens

4) Get to know a generally very smart and interesting top-1%-level professional. That at least was my experience - you do not get this opportunity very often in life, so remember to enjoy the process here   

HOW TO PREPARE

1) Learn how to problem-solve in a very ambiguous context when you cannot revert to standard framework and you are by definition beyond your comfort zone

2) Double down on above-average verbal communication: prepare to be even more crisp, brief, refined + pay attention to the body communication 

3) Focus on perfecting “nuances” beyond the fundamentals: to not leave “open flanks” (e.g. body language nuances, appearance, register of voice, ….). You do not need to be perfect but you do not have to expose weakness

4) Show maturity and deep self-reflection (e.g. on FIT): you need to be perceived as a mature senior professional regardless of your age and background, who has a very clear ideas on why he is taking this career choice

5) Learn to tolerate “curveballs” with grace: not losing composure and logical thinking despite very odd questions, reactions, is the name of the game here

6) Be thruthful to yourself: trying to sell a version of you that is very far from what you are will not fly. Those people are trained “people-decoder”: try to show your best true self (obviously controlling for red flags) 

7) Have fun: seriously - we are the average of the 5 people we spend most time with. Getting the chance to speak w/ a Consulting Partner even if brifely, can, in my opinion, give you material to learn and move your “average” :)

Hope this helps.

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Moritz
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 29. März 2023
ex-McKinsey EM & Interviewer | 7/8 offer rate for 4+ sessions | 90min sessions with FREE exercises & videos

Hi there,

It's really anyone's guess what Partners will throw at you if they go off-script (which they do <20% of the time). In my case, I was given the famous ‘imagine you find a dinosaur on the side of the street’ case by a McKinsey Partner all killed it.

It's a fluid spectrum going from ‘everything by the book’ to no case or fit at all. Sometimes they just can't be bothered and just start a random conversation. This is neither a good nor bad sign, it's just what it is.

Whatever happens, you need to have the ability to roll with it confidently and have a conversation eye to eye. They're looking for people that can hold a conversation and don't crumble. This is something you can best practice with a coach and is indeed quite different from your ‘typical’ interview.

Let me know if you need any help with this.

Best of luck!
Moritz

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Ian
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 22. März 2023
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Let's change your sentence:

Oftentimes partners change things up

Sometimes project leads/principals change things up.

Please be ready for anything. Seriously!

They might interject and question you. They might not give you a case. They might ask 3 brainstorming questions ina  row. They might ask you for pros/cons. They might ask “what would you do”. They might not ask any fit questions.

Please, stop trying to predict things and just train yourself in responding to any question in any style. Know your stuff. Know how to listen. Know how to be objective-driven and structured.

Here's one example by the way:

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Cristian
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 22. März 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

Basically, this is what your preparation should be geared at right from the beginning - staying away from frameworks and instead developing structuring skills based on first principles. 

I've written a free guide on PrepLounge on how to approach this sort of structuring, by combining bottom-up and top-down methods. You can read all about it HERE

Best,
Cristian

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Emily
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 23. März 2023
Ex McKinsey EM & interviewer (5 yrs) USA & UK| Coached / interviewed 300 +|Free 15 min intro| Stanford MBA|Non-trad

So consulting companies are more and more using ‘non standard cases’ in the interviews as they are sick of people presenting pre-prepared frameworks. Chances are that you'll come across a non standard case (e.g., we need to roll out the covid vaccine, how do we do it? We need to save money in the justice system, how do we do it?)

There are two things that I'd recommend:

  1. Frameworks can be really helpful to give you some buckets of things to think about - they can be thought prompters. It's worth knowing a few buckets of things that you might want to consider. 
  2. Put yourself in the mindset of the protagonist in the case. I answered a question similar to this here https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/case-question-what-are-the-drivers-for-the-accomodation-market-13974. - take a look at this, I find it a really helpful way of dealing with challenging questions!

Good luck! 

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ALEXANDRE
Experte
antwortete am 22. März 2023
FREE INTRO I exMcKinsey EM I exKearney consultant I High Success Rate I Official Coach for HEC (160 coachees in 2022/23)

Hi,

From my point of view, Partners can be unpredictable. The 2 main type of “out of the standard” interviews were :

- asking for a pure tricky market sizing question (e.g. how many tennis balls are in the aire while we talk) 

- asking pure questions for debate (e.g. what do you think of car gas emission restriction in city center ?)

I had these 2 questions @McKinsey.

How to prepare :

- One market sizing a day keeps the failure away (in other words do at least one market sizing exercise in the weeks before interviews) → 2nd benefit is that it helps you to work on your analytical skills

- Read business newspaper (Financial times, The economist, etc.) in the weeks before interviews

- To a debate question, never answer yes or no.

- Know the market value and turnover of the most iconic companies in your country (one of my friend got rejected because she didn't knew the value of Total in France…)

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

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Hagen
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 22. März 2023
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

  • First of all, I think it is less about the initial prompt and more about the dynamics of the case study that might be different. Some partners might prefer a conversation instead of the rigid structure of a regular case study, resulting in more open discussions and less quantitative focus and writing.
  • Moreover, there is no specific way to prepare for partner case interviews since you will still work on a case study. However, I would highly advise you to properly adapt to the dynamics of the interview since they might be slightly different.

If you would like to work on some authentic partner case studies, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

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Paul

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