Verabrede dich zum Casen über das Meeting-Board, nimm an Diskussionen in unserem Consulting Q&A teil und finde gleichgesinnte Interview-Partner:innen, um dich auszutauschen und gemeinsam zu üben!
Zurück zur Übersicht

Passed first round at Bain. Have 4 months to prep for the 2nd round. Need Tips!

Hi,

I have passed the first round at Bain and now have my second interview in January. Thus, I have around 4 months to prepare for the 2nd round. The feedback I got was:

1. Need to improve my prioritization skills (while looking at key elements of the structure to analyze first)

2. Diving into the data (graphs), not taking enough time to analyze it and missing some things.

Can you give me some tips on how to improve on this, given that I have ample of time?

Also, I am afraid of suffering from burnout or overpreparing. Can you suggest me some ways to tackle that?

Thank you!

3
3,2k
18
Schreibe die erste Antwort!
Bisher hat niemand auf diese Frage reagiert.
Beste Antwort
Vlad
Coach
am 18. Aug. 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Several tips re prioritization:

  1. At the first level of your analysis try to maintain the levels in your structure correctly. Imagine you have a team and each bucket of your analysis is a dedicated person. The question to ask yourself is: "Is this bucket of analysis worth to be a workstream for a dedicated person on a real project?". (E.g. if you are acquiring a company you should analyze the company and the product will be just a sub-bullet in the company analysis. On the contrary - if you are launching a new product, you should have a dedicated person looking at the product first)
  2. Try to prioritize quantitative over qualitative. E.g. Instead of asking about regulation when analyzing the market, start with size and growth rates. The reason is - the chances of finding the insight in qualitative questions are much higher, which is crucial when the time for the case is limited
  3. Be very specific in your questions. E.g. when asking about the competition don't ask "Who are the competitors" or "How many players we have?". Be specific and ask what are the market shares of the competitors and their growth rates.

With the charts / tables you can use the following approach: 

  1. Take a minute to look at the graph
  2. Read the graph title
  3. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc)
  4. Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary)
  5. Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures,
  6. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
  7. Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think of potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
  8. Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

Sources to learn from (prioritized):

  1. Study "Say it with Charts" book by Barbara Minto
  2. Learn basic statistics (Any GMAT or MBA prep guides)
  3. Check all available MBB presentations and publications. Practice to derive conclusions and check yourself with the actual ones from the article / presentation
  4. GMAT IR part (Official guide and Manhattan prep)
  5. "Consulting Bible" and "Vault guide for consulting" - check the chapters on cases with graphs in these books

Good luck!

Clara
Coach
bearbeitet am 31. Okt. 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Congrats for moving to final round!

As it has been outlined, its very similar, but :

  • Cases you can expect are more "free riding" - less organized than the ones your found in the 1st round or most prep pages
  • Stronger emphasis in the FIT part, as outlined before by other coaches.

If you are interested in deepening your knowledge and preparation on the FIT part, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation: 

- Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200

- Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

- Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!

Gelöschter Nutzer
am 25. Juli 2020

Dear A,

I would recommend you to keep practicing, and doing it not mechanically but with self-analysis. Constantly asking yourself where you can improve more. 

Also I would recommend you to work on your mind concentration. Our silly mistakes are because of lack of concentration. 

For avoiding burnout I would recommend you to learn your personal limits. For this roadmap of preparation will help you ad defined indicators by which you can measure your success. 

If you need help with any of this things, feel free to ask. 

Best,

André

0
Ähnliche Fragen
Consulting
What do they look in a candidate?
am 24. Aug. 2024
Global
5
2,1k
Beste Antwort von
Hagen
Coach
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 9+ years consulting, interviewing and coaching experience
65
5 Antworten
2,1k Aufrufe
+2
Consulting
URGENT : MBB Background Check
am 10. Juli 2024
Global
4
1,4k
Beste Antwort von
Ariadna
Coach
BCG | Project Leader and Experienced Interviewer | MBA at London Business School
33
4 Antworten
1,4k Aufrufe
+1
Consulting
Bain Application - Consultant or Senior Manager
am 7. Juli 2024
Global
4
900+
Beste Antwort von
Mostafa
Coach
Experienced Consultant | Case and fit coach | MBA at LBS
16
4 Antworten
900+ Aufrufe
+1