Hi there,
Q: How can I use the next 2-3 months to best prepare for the hiring rounds and maximise my chances of success?
It seems you are already doing a summer program and an internship, so I am not sure how much time you might have for additional work/school/extracurriculars. Probably the most important thing at this stage would be to secure a referral when you are close to the application deadline.
As general tips, I would recommend the following assuming you are starting from zero. You have probably already planned for some of them, but it might be worthwhile to review:
- Identify the companies interesting to you. Create a DB with all the companies you want to target so that you can look for a referral later for them (see point #7).
- Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your expected interview and allocate the time slots for preparation in your calendar, working on the points below. Many candidates need 100+ hours to be ready before a consulting interview starting from zero so you can keep that as a benchmark.
- Start reading good MBA Consulting Casebooks – you can find several 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.
- After the first 5-10 cases in books/casebooks 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.
- Keep track of your mistakes and see which ones you are repeating. This is extremely important, as otherwise you may do a ton of cases without fixing the real issues. If you find common mistakes, try to identify the reason for them (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.
- Before your application, be sure to review your CV and Cover, so that they are in the required format for a strategy role.
- At least 3 weeks before the application deadline, start networking to find referrals. You can find some tips here.
- 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 find out who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.
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If you have to do tests as well, you can find some material to prepare below. Full disclosure – I am the author ;)
▶ BCG Online Case Software Simulation
▶ McKinsey Solve Game Video Simulation
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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.
I can also share with you real questions for your target office (I have a db with 1.500+ questions asked in 60+ offices you won't find anywhere else - you can check on my profile if I cover your particular office).
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 Francesco, Thank you for this detailed answer! I will be applying for graduate opportunities in the Uk so from what I have read, there are no referrals for early career hires?
Hi there, even in case you cannot have an official referral, I would still network as you might get an “unofficial” one (consultant talking about you with HR). Good luck!
Thanks Francesco, do you have links to the best casebooks like the INSEAD one you mentioned?
Hi there, you should be able to find them just by googling, if not please feel free to PM me and I can help from there