Number of cases with a partner one needs to complete to get an MBB offer?

Hi there,

Many candidates need 30+ cases to reach the level needed for an offer. The exact range depends on the quality of the cases done.

I agree with Mehdi that quality (and feedback) is more important than quantity. You may do 100 “bad” cases, and not progress much. Or you may do 2-3 cases that really teach you how to crack that case category and its variations and progress much more.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

Couple of points to your question(s):

• Quantity is not quality - have an experienced interviewer and coach to give you clear and actionable feedback to improve quickly over time (practicing with peers in between is essential, but typically the steak doesn't know if it was a good butcher)
• A certain number of practice cases is needed - most candidates start feeling comfortable with this interview format after 20-30 cases.
• Definitely you can learn new things with each case. But focus your prep on solving cases repeatedly well, i.e. focus on the process on how to solve cases more than the content. The content is the silver lining on top for you, but that's something you need to learn anyway inside or outside of cases since it's not your background.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi there,

Think of the quality of practice and not only quantity. In general, you can see all the type of cases you can encounter in an interview after around 15-20 cases, but sometimes candidates feel that they have to practice twice or three times each of those case types.

My advice to you is do not stress on the number of cases you practice, focus on their quality. 

Do not hesitate to reach out to me should you need any help.

All the best,

Mehdi

Hi,

In general it required 50-100 cases with partners to reach a good level assuming you have a mix of both professional partners (ex MBBs and those who at least finished the first round and) and non professional with 50+ cases

My candidates do 10 cases with me (since my cases are much harder and longer) +10-20 cases with other candidates to build the muscle. 

Best

Dear A!

I'd recommend practicing 100+ cases if you do it on your own, or 7-15 cases if you get help from someone, who is familiar with the process, like with one of the coaches on the platform.

When I was applying for top consulting companies, I used to crack more than 150 cases on my own and together with peers,  but now you can have an advantage because one coaching session saves you 12 hours of learning on your own.

If you need any career advice or have further questions, just reach me out.

Best, 

André

In terms of quantity I usually recommend simulating more than 40 cases, but what really matters is the quality of your preparation (work with selected cases, get detailed feedback by consultants/former cons./coaches)

Best,
Antonello

Hello,

It depends mainly on your background and on how fast you are to learn. I can tell you that, on average, candidates need around 50-60 cases before the interview.
It's really important not to solve the cases just to increase this number but to analyze every time your performance, to get a feedback and then to sum up the key takeaways from every case.
For example, I usually suggest to create your own frameworks and to enrich them every time that you solve a case that required something more than what was in your structure.

Hope it helps,
Luca

Step # 1: Stop. Realize it's not a numbers game. Realize it's quality over quantity and that studying smart is better than studying hard.

Step #2: Hire a coach! Even if just for 1 session. They will tell you your weaknesses (if any) and what you need to work on to get your game to 100%

Some advice:

1. Identify your weaknesses through a) Self-reflection and b) A case coach session
2. Work through those weaknesses

Some common ways to identify weaknesses:

• Create a industry-case type matrix to track your cases and see where you may have gaps (I can send you one if you like)
• Ask people to evaluate you on the key evaluation criteria (communication, structured thinking, hypothesis-driven, etc)