Hi there,

Q: If someone asked you to give them a bulletproof plan that would 100% ensure they are ready up to THEIR best potential, for the case and fit interviews, what plan would you suggest?

In terms of preparation, I would recommend the following:

1. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your interview and allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day, working on the points below. Many candidates need 100+ hours to be ready before the interview starting from zero so you can keep that as a benchmark.
2. Start reading cases from good sources – you can find several good Casebooks for free online (INSEAD is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure to solve them. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insights. Try to read a new case per day – in this way you will absorb better the information with constant learning.
3. After the first 5-10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. PrepLounge can be helpful to connect with other candidates for that. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you read cases only.
4. Keep track of your mistakes and see which ones you are repeating. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback from experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both the behavioral part and the case part during the mocks. The case part should also cover market sizing, math and graph analysis.
5. Before the interviews, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer  – a great way to show you prepared in advance and to connect with the interviewer for a good final impression. Ideally, try to get information on who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.

BONUS: Increase the number of target companies. Don't rely only on the McKinsey and BCG interviews. If possible, increase the number of interviews by applying to other firms. Even if that's not your final goal, after 1-2 years at a Tier 2 firm, you can apply again to MBB, and in the long term, the extra time won't matter. This could be the best backup plan to eventually land an MBB offer if, for whatever reason, you don't succeed on your first attempt.

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If you want to spend a few hours only instead of 100+ and cover everything mentioned above, I developed a program precisely for that. 

You can check the program at the following link to learn more:

▶ GYM Program

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Hi!

I think there are good points raised already. But I want to head-on address the elephant in the room that emerges from your question: 

Frankly - I believe there is no way you can get proper comprehensive coaching for a few hundred bucks. This invariably would need to be extremely patchy (or “80/20”, to use a more charming description). But it will not robustly build the backbone needed for ensureing what you describe (→ high probability of receiving both offers). 

Can you still be successful? Absolutely! But the uncomfortable truth is: your chances will still be relatively small compared to someone who invested into a proper 8-10 weeks program. You can do the math yourself: proper guidance towards “offer readiness” will require many hours of explanations, guidance, re-calibration, and feedback. Do you believe someone who spent several years at MBB (and this is the minimum standard you need to ensure you get guided by someone who actually had interviewing responsibility in MBB) could provide this for a few hundred bucks? I think this is next to impossible unfortunately - especially since the good coaches usually have quite some demand to cover.

I know this is probably not a popular message - but I think it's important for you (and other readers) to have realistic expectations of what coaching can do under very tight budget constaints.

Wish you maximum success!

Cheers, Sidi

_______________________

Dr. Sidi Koné 

(🚀 Ex BCG & McKinsey Sr. Project Manager, now helping high potential individuals join the world's top Strategy Consulting firms (McKinsey | BCG | Bain))

Hi there,

Excellent haul - well done!

Honestly, there is no bulletproof plan. It's like asking someone for a bulletproof “get fit” plan. Different people need different diets and workout plans. A 300 lb young person with high motivation will have a completely different journey to a 70lb 40 year old with back pain and a torn ACL.

That said, #1 learn from the mistakes of others:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

Some other main tips:

• Take one reading resource (case coach, casebooks, case in point, etc.)….they're only valuable at the beginner stage
• Do live cases - reading cases doesn't count
• Always evaluate resources - so many are wrong and so many are used wrong
• Rocketblocks is awesome for charts/exhibits but terrible for frameworking
• Crafting cases is great for frameworking
• My course (custom case coach) covers the end to end journey and is fully hollistic - worth considering for “no stone unturned”
• Case with lots of different people and a high variety of cases

Here's some more reading to help - good luck!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview
 

Hi there,

Sorry to there's no bullet proof plan for preparing for any single company. What I would highlight, is that you're actually preparing for two firms that are very different in terms of their style for both cases and personal fit. This is something you have to absolutely consider in your preparation and try to keep things separate in your head, which can be difficult when preparing simultaneously.

Regarding cases, people typically know that BCG interviews (like virtually every other firm), are candidate led whereas McKinsey interviews are interviewer-led. However, most people don't understand what this really means, how fundamentally different the case dynamic becomes, and how different you have to prepare in terms of developing the right habits.

One of the fundamental differences is the case opening, which I will give you an example below in terms of McKinsey vs. BCG:

• WHAT MCKINSEY DOESN'T WANT (but BCG wants…): McKinsey doesn't want you to solve the case! Correspondingly, their case openings are not about an actionable framework that leads you down an analytical path of exploration and discovery to solve the case. This is something that BCG and other firms expect, which is a huge difference.
• WHAT MCKINSEY DOES WANT (but doesn't work for BCG…): McKinsey wants you to answer questions about a case, which is different from solving a case. Firm interviewers will ALWAYS ask you a question after the prompt, which is generally a version of “What do you think are the important things to consider in situation XYZ?". In this case, you're NOT being asked to solve the case but to hypothesize as to what the answer to the question could be. You are asked to come up with ideas that are well formulated thoughts as to what may drive a certain situation and those thoughts have to fall within MECE categories. However, you have to internalize first the principle of answering the question and not wanting to solve the case. However, if you follow this approach with BCG, you haven't given them the plan they're looking for. Also, they typically don't ask you a leading question like the example above.

I have videos on this particular topic with plenty of exercises and specialized sessions. Feel free to get in touch if interested.

Best of luck!
Moritz
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(editiert)

The major issue with preparation is that it is difficult for a inexperienced candidate to know what good looks like.

So it's like trying to learn soccer by reading a book and playing with other kids who never saw a soccer game. They just have no clue of what does good looks like.

Don't want to be on sell mode, but a sureproof plan needs to include support from someone who actually can give you in order to understand what does good look like. 

After you understand that quality standard, what is good and what is not, you can't tell the difference from good vs. bad material (books, cases, peer feedback, etc.).

Hey there, congrats for making it among the top 1% already :)! Here some thoughts for how to structure your weeks:

1. Foundational Knowledge (Weeks 1-2):

• Day 1-3: Use CaseCoach to establish basic case-solving skills.
• Day 4-7: Read "Case in Point" by Marc Cosentino for additional frameworks and tips.

2. Case Practice (Weeks 3-6):

• Day 1-2: Solve 5-10 cases with partners NOT just by yourself.
• Day 3: Review and identify areas for improvement.
• Day 4-7: Repeat the process focusing on different case types (market sizing, profitability, etc.).

3. Structured Learning (Weeks 7-9):

• Explore industry-specific cases to enhance your breadth.
• Start practicing with a timer to simulate interview conditions. Do not do it too early, at the beginning rather aim for quality instead of speed. 
• Get a coach as a sanity check here latest! You do need to check if you are going the right direction. 

4. Mock Interviews and Feedback (Weeks 10-12):

• Arrange mock interviews with mentors/coaches for final polishing
• Focus on fit interview questions. Craft concise, compelling responses.

5. Network and Refine (Throughout):

• Connect with professionals: Use LinkedIn to connect with employees from BCG and McKinsey. Seek informational interviews to understand the culture and work.
• Reflect and Refine: Regularly reflect on your performance and tweak your approach accordingly.

Hope this helped, Warm regards, Freddy

Hi!

From my point of view, the game changer is using coaching strategically. 

Practically, that means getting a coach early on to set up together a prep strategy that is specifically developed for you. 

Then plan from there to have the minimum number of check ups to ensure that you are on the right track. 

You could also be using the resources the coach provides to minimise your spending on other resources. 

Ultimately, the approach that leaves no stone unturned is the one that is designed solely with you in mind. 

Good luck!
Cristian

———————————————

Practicing for interviews? Check out my latest case based on a first-round MBB interview >>> CodeWave  

Hi,

To progress quickly, I suggest you take this approach (in the following order):

1. Getting coaching when you are a complete beginner to learn the basics;

2. After you've learned the basics, practice cases with peers to polish your case solving process and acquire understanding of a wide range of industries and problem types;

3. Before the interview, ask a few acting consultants to give you cases in a mock-interview format to assess your readiness.

P.S. If you are interested in coaching, drop me a DM. 50% discount applies for the first session.

Good luck!
Nick

What I did (it worked):

1. Study 60 cases on Casecoach. They are the most thorough by far, and tougher than the ones you’ll get in real interviews. Identify problem types and create “macro-structures” for each type that include ALL the structure information from the cases you studied for that problem type. The structures you end up using in interviews will be much shorter versions of these macro-structures, but all the information will be there in your head for brainstorming questions. Focus on truly understanding each problem type, finding patterns, and assimilating information from the solutions.

2. Once you’re done with that, do 40-50 live cases. This will perfect your communication, fast note-taking, driving the case, and doing quant and exhibits in front of other people. If you find a particular weakness, do drills on Casecoach in that area regularly. Ask for feedback after every case and try seriously to incorporate it.

3. Prepare the fit part thoroughly. This should only take 20 hours or so (vs 100s of hours for cases, which is more about developing a skillset). Find the questions usually asked, and prepare the right answers to them.

Follow those three steps and you will very likely get an offer from one of the two firms.

Hi there,

Happy to have a 15 min virtual coffee chat to guide your through the preparation process. Just send me a message.

Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs