Hi there,

A couple of great points already mentioned by the other coaches. I'll add a few more based on my own experience having studied a non-quantitative degree before joining consulting

1. Work on your basics/fundamentals
   • If you are able to do mental math quickly and accurately, this takes away alot of the stress and mental space and you can use that on thinking about the logic of the calculations
   • Furthermore, the better you are in mental math/calculations, I find that it helps too with the quantitative reasoning as well 
2. Ask yourself several questions to help spur insights
   • No silver bullet answer, but ask yourself questions like “what else do I already know that will change the implication of this answer” or “what new insight will i get if i combine this data with another piece of data i know”
3. Practice and get quality feedback
   • There are some good resources out there as mentioned, but ultimately it is immensely more helpful to have someone walk through the logic with you as well as to help you correct your own logic

All the best! 

Hello!

Precisely for the high amount of questions (1) asked by my coachees and students and (2) present in this Q&A, I created the “Economic and Financial concepts for MBB interviews”, recently published in PrepLounge’s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/prep-guide/economic_and_financial_concepts_for_mbb_interviews).

After +5 years of candidate coaching and university teaching, and after having seen hundreds of cases, I realized that the economic-related knowledge needed to master case interviews is not much, and not complex. However, you need to know where to focus! Hence, I created the guide that I wish I could have had, summarizing the most important economic and financial concepts needed to solve consulting cases, combining key concepts theorical reviews and a hands-on methodology with examples and ad-hoc practice cases.

It focuses on 4 core topics, divided in chapters (each of them ranked in scale of importance, to help you maximize your time in short preparations):

• Economic concepts: Profitability equation, Break even, Valuation methods (economic, market and asset), Payback period, NPV and IRR, + 3 practice cases to put it all together in a practical way. 
• Financial concepts: Balance sheet, Income statement/P&L and Performance ratios (based on sales and based on investment), +1 practice case
• Market structure & pricing: Market types, Perfect competition markets (demand and supply), Willingness to pay, Pricing approaches, Market segmentation and Price elasticity of demand, +1 practice case
• Marketing and Customer Acquisition: Sales funnel, Key marketing metrics (CAC and CLV) and Churn, +1 practice case

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the guide, and I hope it helps you rock your interviews! 

Hi there, 

That's a common challenge that candidates have. 

In general, it comes down to their technique. If you have a calculation question, you should:

1. Validate the data the interviewer gave you and the core question you need to answer. If you got an exhibit, read it with the interviewer (not interpret) and ask any clarifying questions you might have.

2. Take time to come up with an end to end and step by step approach. Don't touch the numbers just yet. Then discuss this with the interviewer. It's totally fine if they have a different approach. Make sure you integrate it with yours. 

3. Take time again to do the computations on your own. Sanity check them. Then take the interviewer through the same steps as in the logic, but this time with numbers included. 

4. When you reach the correct answer and they confirm it, then aim to interpret the result within the context of the client. Make sure to also comment on some of the assumptions that you might've taken and some of the next steps. 

It takes practice. But you're going to get better at it. 

I run targeted sessions with candidates on this, looking at several examples / different types of calculation questions and then seeking to correct their technique for it. Feel free to reach out if you want to know more.

Best,
Cristian