When preparing for a case interview, especially under time constraints, working with an experienced coach can significantly enhance your chances of success.
💡 Pro Tip: PrepLounge offers access to over 800 (former) management consultants from top firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, who are ready to help you perfect your interview technique.
What Are the Key Advantages of Practicing With a Coach?
Personalized Feedback
One of the primary benefits of working with a case coach is receiving tailored feedback. Unlike general preparation methods, a coach can pinpoint your specific weaknesses and provide actionable advice to improve. This personalized approach ensures that your preparation is efficient and targeted, addressing your unique needs and challenges.
Realistic Simulation
Practicing with a coach allows you to experience a realistic interview setting. Coaches who have conducted numerous case interviews can replicate the pressure and dynamics of a real interview, helping you become more comfortable and confident. This experience is invaluable, as it prepares you to handle the stress and spontaneity of actual interviews.
Insider Knowledge
Experienced coaches often come from prestigious consulting backgrounds themselves. Their insider knowledge about what top firms are looking for can give you a significant edge. They can share insights about the interview process, common pitfalls, and the specific attributes that firms value, ensuring that you are well-prepared to meet these expectations.
Structured Approach
A coach can help you develop a structured approach to solving case problems. This structured thinking is crucial in case interviews, where clear, logical, and well-organized answers are highly valued. Coaches can teach you frameworks and methodologies that streamline your problem-solving process, making your responses more coherent and compelling.
Time Efficiency
For candidates with limited preparation time, coaching is a highly efficient way to get ready. Coaches can quickly identify areas that need improvement, helping you focus your efforts where they are most needed. This targeted preparation can save you time and help you progress faster than you would on your own.
Confidence Boost
Confidence plays a crucial role in interview performance. Regular practice with a coach can boost your confidence by familiarizing you with the interview format and helping you refine your answers. Knowing that you have prepared thoroughly with expert guidance can significantly reduce anxiety and improve your overall performance.
How PrepLounge Optimally Supports You With a Wide Range of Coaching Options
🚀 Flexibility and Convenience
PrepLounge offers a variety of coaching options to fit your needs and preferences. You can choose from individual sessions, CV reviews, or comprehensive coaching packages that include multiple sessions or focus on specific topics. Additionally, there are programs available that combine a premium membership with coaching credits, providing a cost-effective way to access top-notch coaching services.
📅 Workshops and Online Events
PrepLounge also regularly hosts workshops and online events led by experienced coaches. These sessions cover a range of topics and provide opportunities for interactive learning and direct feedback. Participating in these events can further enhance your preparation and keep you updated on the latest trends and techniques in case interviews.
How to Find the Perfect Coach to Suit Your Needs
To find the perfect coach for your case interview preparation, you can proceed in three steps within the coach overview:
Filtering: Begin by filtering the coaches based on your most important criteria, such as price per coaching session, or employer.
Selection: Choose up to 10 coaches whose profiles, ratings, Q&A contributions, and PrepLounge awards you wish to explore further.
Contacting: Reach out to 2-3 coaches to address any potential questions or concerns about their coaching approach. Feel free to ask if they offer a free intro call.
What Makes a Good Coach?
Good coaches are characterized by the following features:
Customization: they tailor the coaching to your specific needs.
Good rapport: They make you feel comfortable and work well with them.
Transparency: They offer you full transparency about the coaching process on PrepLounge.
Final Thoughts on Working With a Coach
Practicing with a coach is a strategic investment in your case interview preparation. The personalized feedback, realistic simulation, insider knowledge, and confidence boost that coaches provide can make a significant difference in your performance. With the expert guidance available on PrepLounge, you can ensure that you are thoroughly prepared and ready to excel in your case interviews.
By leveraging the expertise of experienced case coaches and taking advantage of the diverse coaching options and events available on PrepLounge, you can maximize your preparation efficiency, build your confidence, and increase your chances of securing a position at a top consulting firm.
9 days is annoying but still normal for ME offices. Send one clean follow-up to your recruiter: "Checking in on next steps from my Feb 6 interview. Let me know if you need anything else." If nothing in 3-4 days, ping the general MEO recruiting inbox. Don't jump to the head of HR-looks desperate and pisses people off. Use your AP referral only if you hit 3+ weeks of total silence. Even then, keep it light: "Any sense of timeline?" Don't ask them to push HR. ME offices are notorious for slow feedback and recruiter ghosting. Could be they're still running other interviews, could be internal coordination mess. Silence after R1 doesn't mean no-it usually just means their process is ongoing. Wait another week. One more recruiter ping is fine, but flooding inboxes makes you look worse, not better. Patience is a strength you can demonstrate.
Exp hire BCG online test - weird actual test vs practice
42 min
< 100
2
Best answer by
Alessa
hey there :) Yes i know, the BCG online test for experienced hires is adaptive in many regions, so if you perform well early on, the questions can get significantly harder. That often makes the real test feel tougher than SHL practice versions. The decile is typically based on normative performance compared to a benchmark group, not just raw percentage, so difficulty adjustment can definitely explain your experience. For experienced hires, the test is important but not always the only filter. In most offices it is a strong screening tool, yet CV, background, and business need can still matter. It is rarely a purely mechanical cutoff, especially at EH level. If you finished most questions and felt challenged, that can actually be a positive sign in an adaptive setup. Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss your profile in more detail. best,Alessa :)
Unconventional question and leadership survey post Solve
1 hr
< 100
3
Best answer by
Alessandro
They are piloting these personalized scenarios and leadership surveys as an extra layer beyond standard Solve. Not every office or candidate gets them yet-depends on region and role level. The fact they customized the scenario to your background (mentioning someone with similar education/experience) shows they're layering in situational judgment and culture fit assessment directly into the game process instead of waiting for interviews.Treat it seriously. Answer structured and clear, like you would in a PEI-show how you would adapt without losing rigor, land a concrete outcome. The leadership survey is likely measuring team mindset and collaboration style.
Hi there,
Actually I will say that I would live the same life that I am living with more comfort and less stress in the daily routine. For instance, I would keep the same job that I am doing (Consulting) but I will buy a more comfortable house and car in order to focus more on my actual job and perform better.
In this way you can show that you have carefully chosen your career and you are very motivated to apply for consulting or working there.
Hey! What you could do is try to move the interview! Sometimes this works when talking to HR! :) Then you will have time after your exam to prepare! If there isn't an option to move the interview to a later point in time - then I would try to prepare 1h/day if that's possible - don't just cancel :) Let me know if you want support / talk! Happy to help :) BR Alessa
You would return as Associate post-MBA. The path looks like this: Leave as JA or Associate after 2-3 years MBA at M7 or equivalent Return as Associate (post-MBA entry level) If you were a Business Analyst (BA) in other regions, same thing—you return as Associate after MBA. EM comes after you perform well as an Associate for 2-3 years. Why not EM?EM is the first true leadership role managing teams and client relationships. McKinsey doesn't hand that out just for getting an MBA-you need to prove yourself as an Associate first, then JEM before having a shot at being promoted to EM. nowadays it takes ~9months to 1 year of JEM (Junior engagement manager) experience before having a shot at becoming EM. (this is especially true in Asia where going through rannks is even harder than europe and usa, for several reasons) If I were you, and your goal is to become EM, I would not go to MBA.
Hi Hasan, First of all, congratulations on the invitation from Artefact! I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question: First of all, while I do not know Artefact specifically, general preparation for case studies is very similar across different specializations. The core principles of problem identification, hypothesis formulation, data analysis, and recommendation generation remain the same. Moreover, for a Data Strategy Consultant role, you should anticipate a greater focus on data interpretation and utilization. This may include being presented with larger data sets and being expected to derive meaningful insights. You could potentially face more scenarios where you need to recommend data-driven strategies. Lastly, I would highly advise you to start with PrepLounge's Case Interview Basics. It gives an excellent start on the foundations. You could then also search for data science-related case studies in PrepLounge's Case Library. That should give you a sense of the specific challenges and solutions in this area. If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. Best, Hagen
McKinsey SWE case interviews are problem solving interviews focused on system design, algorithms, and structured thinking, with a light business wrapper. What you can expect Backend system design or data flow problems API design and service decomposition Basic algorithmic thinking (not LeetCode hard) Trade offs around scalability, latency, reliability Occasionally a simple estimation or prioritization question Examples: Design a service to ingest and process large volumes of events Architect a recommendation or matching system at high level Debug or improve a poorly performing system Decide how to scale an internal tool globally How deep they go High level architecture first, then drill into one or two components You are not expected to code full solutions Clear assumptions and trade offs matter more than syntax How to prep in 3 days Review system design basics (APIs, databases, queues, caching) Practice explaining architectures clearly and simply Do a few mock problems out loud, focusing on structure Good prep resources Grokking the System Design Interview McKinsey Digital or QuantumBlack tech blogs General SWE system design interview videos (not pure LeetCode)
Questions about market size are frequently asked in case interviews in consulting because they require a blend of logic, mathematics, and common sense. They can be asked as standalone questions or as part of a larger case. Applicants who are familiar with market sizing questions can really perform here.
Market entry cases are one of the key issues in the consulting industry and present consultants and firms with unique challenges and opportunities. These cases require deep analysis and strategic planning to successfully enter new markets.
Brainteasers are a type of problem that focuses on a single issue rather than complex business cases. They require out-of-the-box thinking, logic or math skills and can take the form of riddles, word problems or visual puzzles. These tasks are designed to test your problem-solving skills, analytical thinking and ability to remain calm under pressure.Typical problems cover everyday life's topics and might even include unrealistic assumptions. All necessary information is usually included in the question so that further assumptions are not necessary. This article explains in more detail why brainteasers are useful in case interview preparation and how to solve them.