Roland Berger London Final Round

Question

Dear community,

I have been invited for a final round for the entry-level position at Roland Berger. Does anyone have any experience going through that process and could share insight? It will be 2 interviews with a principal and a partner, with each interview having a fit and case component.

How can I be less framework-ey and more creative, while staying structured and MECE? My main R1 feedback point was to drop structures that appear like frameworks and be more creative (e.g. 1) financials, 2) additional risks/opps). A year ago I got the almost opposite feedback from other firms and am therefore trying to find the right balance. I am thinking of simply using standard structures as a loose guide for my initial mental train of thought, but when actually writing down things and communicating it to the interviewer, only use case-specific vocabulary. If the interviewer asks about structure and MECEness, I can therefore work my way back to the MECE buckets I had in mind. Would that be good, or is there another better practice?
What types of cases should I be expecting? My first round cases were quite atypical, and I would assume that for the final interviews they might be more unstructured and go through an open case.
Does anyone know whether RB London is strong in any specific industry? I understand RB in general is very strong in cutting-edge tech, which includes automotive, aerospace, manufacturing etc. but I am aware London may be slightly different in that regard considering the local dominant industries.
Any persona considerations given the seniority of the interviewers? I am used to interviewing with director-level interviewers and below and usually go for a quite relaxed persona, and occasionally maybe even slip a light joke in during the case if I feel like it - that usually seems quite well received - but partners may be expecting interviewees to put on a more formal front. The positive part of my feedback mentioned that I was very "personable" and I therefore feel like I should still be myself as much as possible in these interviews.

Many thanks!

Answer 1

Hi there,

in addition to all the comments and explanations, find below a few practice cases that are representative of the Roland Berger style:

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/schwierig/business-strategy-home-delivery-solution-for-retailer-chain-332?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/commercial-feasibility-of-natural-gas-pipeline-329?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/options-evaluation-profitability-of-brewing-company-startup-327?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/fortgeschritten/opportunity-assessment-alternative-revenue-streams-for-a-salt-mine-333?lang=en

Best

Answer 2

Hi,

One of the most important feedbacks I give to the candidate - don't ask multiple unrelated questions at once. The interviewer will not remember all of your questions and you will have a wrong impression that you have asked all of them=)

re your 3,4 questions - you can expect any kinds of cases, so you should be prepared for anything. regarding the jokes - be careful here. Not all partners will accept them. You should behave professionally!

As for the 1st question - it comes with practice.

First of all - not all issue trees can and should be MECE. Very often it's not the case.

Secondly - there is a number of ways how you can approach in a MECE way:

If your structure works mathematically (e.g. Total time spent on cleaning operation = # of people x Frequency x Hours per cleaning per person)
If your structure comes from a formula (e.g. output rate = total number of people being served / time to serve one person)
If you are using the common industry drivers (e.g. revenues = # of customers x av. check) (e.g Passengers on the plane = capacity x Load Factor) or theindustry revenue streams (Fuel revenues / non-fuel revenues for the gas station) or the functional drivers (e.g. for the problems in sales : Sales strategy / sales people and allocation / motivation / sales process)
If your issue tree is a real framework used by the consultants (e.g. the famous Bain Cap framework for PE due dills: Market / Competitors / Company / Feasibility of exit) (e.g. People / Process / Technology) (e.g. The famous McKinsey framework - People don't want to do smth / they can't do smth / smth prevents them from doing that)
If your structure is a well-known academically MECE framework (e.g. Product / Distribution / Price / Marketing (Also known as 4P))

There is no magic pill how you can learn to build the MECE issue trees. !!!! It comes with a lot of Practice and reflection and building proper industry and functional knowledge. !!!!

Best

Answer 3

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!