Alle Fragen zum Tag test - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hi Anonymous,

the type of tests depend on the company you are interviewing with. The most common used I am aware of are:

• McKinsey: PST, or more recently SHL
• BCG: Potential test, or sometimes SHL + a logic test based on traffic lights color (two or more traffic lights are connected by codes; each code change a color of the traffic light; one of the code is broken and you have to understand which is the broken one)
• Bain: Not common in Europe, sometimes present in other countries. In Russia and Australia: written test; in America: GMAT style test
• Oliver Wyman and OC&C: GMAT style math test, sometimes in person, sometimes online

PrepLounge also provided a pretty complete list here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/bootcamp.php/interview-first-aid/master-the-problem-solving-test/which-companies-are-currently-using-written-tests

Each one has its own criteria, and in general the best kind of preparation is to prepare in advance on the same type of test – for all of them you should be able to find free and paid version online. Preparing just on GMAT for - say - McKinsey PST is not recommended, you would not cover all the aspects of the test.

Some general tips on analytical tests that can be useful are:

• Commit to a time for each question, and go on if you surpass that time. If you do not set discipline, you will end eating too much time for some questions (these tests sometimes are actually structured to have some questions it is better to skip and review at the end). If time and test allows, you can then go back to the questions at the end.
• Practice a lot of math before – it is normally a key component of all the tests
• Use elimination process when in doubts in multiple choice question
• For PST, Potential test and Written test: Practice graph interpretation
• For PST, Potential test and Written test: Practice quick reading and quick understading of key information only

Finally, it is important you understand in advance if you get penalized for wrong answers (eg Potential Test) or not (eg PST), that may change your strategy.

You can also find a pretty comprehensive list of tips here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/bootcamp.php/interview-first-aid/master-the-problem-solving-test/guide-to-improving-speed-in-written-tests-such-as-the-pst

Hope this helps; if you have any specific questions on one of the mentioned tests feel free to ask.

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

I understand you totally, you need to feel that at least you made all that was in your hands to get ready.

However, truly, this one is very hard to prep for the following.

• It is a timed, gamified, online assessment
• Consists of 2 tasks (1 hour for each)
• They are similar to this smart-phone games that are brain teaser, testing logic, your ability to defend an objective, etc.
• Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Dear A,

You will be given 1 hour to make your test. To get more information, ust keep in mind following tips for the Digital Assessment.

1. Focus on the process
2. Follow time tracking. It is easy to get lost in the details and the sheer complexity of information overload the test presents.
3. Look into the key skills that are being assessed by Imbellus and if you find any weaknesses - then work on them in advance.
4. Get ready to make 80/20 decisions based on incomplete information. Likely you won’t reach the best answer within 60 minutes, however, you should reach a good answer, demonstrating a clever problem-solving strategy along the way.
5. Take notes of your observations on the mechanics of each scenario so that you can analyze it.
6. Get comfortable to calculate with pen and paper math.
7. Enjoy

Hope it helps,

André

Hi Anonymous,

the written case at Bain is different from the McK PST and BCG Potential Test.

As part of the test, you will receive a pack of slides and will usually have between 55 and 90 minutes, according to the office, to analyze them and create a 5-slide presentation. After that, you will usually have between 15 and 30 minutes, according to the office, to present the slides to the interviewers and answer their questions.

In case you are referring to the test used by Bain in South East Asia mentioned by Anonymous B, this is not called written case and involves multiple-choice questions and three questions to record via video on personality and business judgment. In general, the McK PST is a good way to prepare for it.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Also had to do this for the London office earlier this week. There was no math just personality based questions. I'll let you know how it went once I hear back.

Hi A,

My suggestion is to use McKinsey PST Practice test to prepare for DHL consulting.

It should be similar to McKinsey PST with text interpretation, graph analysis, calculations and synthesis.

All the best,
Egor

Hi,

You'll never know the exact number since there is a range of factors that influence the cut-off:

• Country (office)
• Role (Associate, consultant)
• Economic cycle / hiring needs

Best,

Hi Anonymous,

I didn’t interview directly with OC&C, however this is what I learned from previous candidates on their recruiting process:

• the standard process involves at least two rounds, with two cases in each of them and fit questions at the beginning
• the cases are pretty similar to the standard ones in consulting, and usually involve market sizing
• the online analytical test is similar to the SHL one, so practicing on that would be a good preparation

As for the type of cases in the interview process, you can find a list with examples at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/parthenonocc-interview-301#a608

As usual, specific countries may have a slightly different process, therefore it would be a good idea to verify with the recruiter the actual steps involved, in particular for what concerns the test.

Hope this helps,

Francesco