Hi BusterRyan,

I replied to your questions below.

1) It really depends on your goals but in general people stay in consulting 2-3 years before moving to something else. If that’s the case for you, the MBB brand would be extremely valuable for exit opportunities. In general in a boutique

• You will normally have more specialization/focus than larger strategy consulting firms
• You may have opportunities to reach partnerships in the company and potentially also a fast career-track, according to the growth the company is having
• Exit opportunities are normally significantly more limited compared to MBB due to brand recognition

2) If you are coming from a top MBA, you probably only need to present properly your previous experience in the right way in your CV to show you have analytical skills

3) Brainteasers are extremely rare in consulting (while market sizing are quite common); in terms of preparation I would recommend the following steps

1. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before interviews, then allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day, working on the following points.
2. Read Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets for a general understanding of what a consulting interview is. Don’t focus on the structures proposed in the books though, as they are not good enough nowadays.
3. Start reading good MBA Consulting Handbooks – you can find several for free online (Insead is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insides. Try to read at least a new case per day – in this way you will absorb a lot better the information with constant learning. Structure your remaining daily preparation with at least 5-10 minutes per day for each of the following: market sizing, fit questions and mental math.
4. After you have read the first 10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. 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. Keep track of your mistakes and see if you repeat them. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback of experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both fit and case.
5. Once you feel you are not improving anymore, if you have a tight time constraint or if you want a realistic assessment of your level, consider using support from experts to strengthen your performance
6. Before the interview, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer – great way to show you prepare in advance and to connect more with the interviewer for a good final impression.

Best,

Francesco