Hi there. When it comes to math, or problem solving in general, I always recommend the backward deduction. Basically you start from the issue at hand and think backward one step at a time. This method has been proven effective by lots of my students.

For example, if you receive a question like “Whether we should enter the US market", you can follow below steps:

Step 1: In order to decide whether we should enter the US market, we need to look into whether this strategy can help the client achieve it's goal (assuming client's goal is to increase profit next year). Therefore we need to see whether entering the US market can increase client's profit for next year. 

Step 2: In order to figure out whether we can increase profit by entering the US market, we need to do a projection on revenue and cost for this move

Step 3: In order to calculate cost, we need xxxx. In order to calculate revenue, we need xxx. 

Step 4: You can either ask the interviewer for the numbers you need or search for them from previous information

This method also works very well for math problem. For example, if you get a question like “Can you calculate the break even volume for the new machine?”

Step 1: In order to understand how much volume we need to sell to break even our initial investment on this machine, we need to know how much the machine cost in the first place and how much is the gross profit for each unit

Step 2: In order to calculate initial investment, we need xxx. In order to calculate gross profit, we need the price and profit margin and xxx. 

Step 3: Ask for the numbers or search for the numbers

Step 4: Sanity check

If you passed the first round, your fundamental business sense and problem solving shouldn't be a problem. Just follow above steps and see whether you find these questions easier :)

Hello!

First of all, congratulations on getting a final round interview!

There's lots of helpful advice on this site about what you can do to boost your problem solving and math skills in general, but I think an important challenge you face is wanting to improve them in such a short amount of time. Your question isn't just about how to get better - it's about how to get better very quickly. 

To that extent, I would start by reading the threads here (+ you can find many more threads on the internet with advice on how to get better at math and problem solving). Try to get a very thorough understanding of the approach experts recommend.

Then, reflect on your case experience so far. Do you see where your areas of improvement are? Do you understand why you were given that feedback in the interview? Once you understand what it is you need to work on more specifically, you can focus on that area for practice.

Next, try to do some practice on just those areas of difficulty. If you are getting through to a final round, I would assume your overall case skills are fairly solid - so work on specific things you want to improve, don't just run case after case. 

To really get better quickly, I highly recommend working with a coach, as expert feedback is invaluable in building skills in such a short amount of time. Even if you don't opt to get coaching, getting feedback is crucial at your stage. If you're just solving cases by yourself, it can be difficult to tell whether you got the right answer, or, more importantly, whether you got there in an efficient and structured way. Work with your friends or peers to get feedback, or find cases on the internet that already have written solutions that you can compare your work against.

Finally, remember to take some time to rest before the final interview! Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in doing cases. There will always be things you can improve, but the fact that you got through to the final round would imply that your performance is very good overall. Make sure to rest and do something relaxing to clear your head before the final day to make sure you are in top interviewing shape!

Hope this helps, and best of luck with the interview!

Hey,

There are a few implications of what you have mentioned - 

1. They will definitely test you on the math skills in the next round - as the feedback would have been communicated internally

2. This is definitely a make or break situation - it would be very difficult to clear a candidate if there is a question mark on math skills.

Having said that, there are a few things you can do from here on - 

1. Targeted preparation - there are only a few types of cases which can cover math problems - cases with sizing component, charts or break even type cases. Make sure you cull out these cases and go full throttle on gaining confidence in these types of cases.

2. Coaching - Make sure you connect with a coach on the platform to share their tips and tricks on tackling these types of numbers heavy cases. They would be more than happy to share even practice questions with you to save you some time.

I hope this helps.

Problem solving skills seems to be different from math skills. 

For math skills, you can do drills here on Preplounge / Rocketblocks.

For problem solving skills, a lot of it is pattern recognition. The quickest and fastest way is to run speed run through tons of cases by yourself. Propose hypotheses and develop them through the case and then see how close you were to the case solution. The more you run through, the more you'll start to recognize patterns. 

(editiert)

I'm assuming they meant your quantitative problem solving not your overall problem solving - or else you would not have progressed! Unfortunately this one can only be improved through practice. I would pull together all the McKinsey type quantitative sections of as many cases as possible and just go through them one after another. It's very much the type of case coaching session I do with candidates who get that exact feedback.

Good luck!

Hey there,

Congrats on making it to the last round. 

If all your issues are revolving around math I would recommend spending 80% of your time on math, and 10% each on charts and structuring.

How can you get better in a short amount of time?

1. Get a McKinsey coach to show you how to approach the McKinsey math questions with the right system
2. Practice case math drills like there is no tomorrow to work both on your a. problem approach and b. calculation skills

You need to have the right approach in place, then internalize it and bombard your brain with a great number of exercises to become more comfortable, accurate, and faster.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

This is really hard to advise on because there are so many different types of problem solving!

For math problem-solving I'd recommend mathdrill, preplounge or rocketblocks.

For charts/exhibits, preplounge or rocketblocks.

For case problem-solving, coaching.

For structuring/frameworking, preplounge or coaching.

Ultimately, the #1 rule is to remember the objective. As in, be really clear what you're trying to solve for. Then, structure the way in which you'll solve the problem. Then, solve!