Consulting Q&A - Ask questions around your career in our consulting forum

Hi,

Answering your main question - it's never easy:)

But you should go for ATK offer and then try again in one year. Why not?

Best

Hi Patrick,

I have some colleagues working at advanced analytics at BCG. While it is a separate entity compared to Gamma, they may know the process a bit better. Just PM me for details.

Best,

Deniz

Hi Abhinav,

I have previously worked at ATK's Istanbul office, and while I was at BCG's Dubai office, I had the chance to network with my ATK colleagues in Dubai. Happy to give you a quick background about the office and practices, you can PM me.

Best,

Deniz

Francesco said it all! The core of your structure should be the logic/criterion to answer the question ("Should we enter this market?"). Before having lined out the logic according to which the client's question can be answered with a clear YES or NO, analyzing the market/industry does not make any sense, since it is just a wishy-washy question game without a clear and quantifiable purpose. Starting with a "industry analysis" before having set and quantified the decision criterion to enter/not enter is the most unreasonable thing you can do.

So in essence:

Step 1: Map out the criterion according to which you will anser the question (this criterion is likely a mathematical expression/equation which needs to be true)

Step 2: Disaggregate the elements of your criterion into its numerical drivers

Step 3: Identify qualitative factors that influence each numerical driver ("Customer preferences", "Industry attractiveness" etc. are examples of such qualitative factors)

Step 4: Run the analysis to quantify each element of the criterion (see Step 1)

Step 5: Test if the criterion holds true and answer the client's question accordingly with YES or NO

I hope this helps!

Sidi

Hi,

8-10 weeks with 4-5 hours per day should be enough. It also depends on how efficient you are in the process. 2 ways to make the process efficient:

1. Find experienced case partners
2. Work with an experienced coach

I recommend the following approach:

1) Start with "Case in point" book - you can download this book for free everywhere. It's not the best guide on how you should approach the cases, however, it will give you the basic understanding.

2) Start practicing cases with partners here or find them locally. !!! Find experienced partners or coaches who can provide a good feedback!!!

3) Purchase and read Viktor Cheng Book (Amazon Kindle store) and listen to LOMS (his website).

4) Start with the following cases and apply some high-level recommendations on structuring:

1. Market sizing - structuring from the supply or demand side. Structuring using a formula or using an issue tree
2. Profitability - basic profitability framework. Remember about different revenue streams and product mix
3. Market context cases (Market Entry, New product, Acquisition, etc). Always start with the big picture "market". Finish with something specific to the case (e.g. How to enter?"). Structure it as if you are defining the work streams for the real project.
4. Operational math problem (e.g. Should we increase the speed of an elevator or just buy a second one? How should we reduce the queues? Etc.) - Structuring as a process / value chain, with inflows, operations, and outflow

Here is a good list of articles regarding the different parts of the case:

1) Start with clarifying questions:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/clarifying-questions-1786#a3956

2) Communicating while structuring. Here is a long post by me on how to communicate the structure during the case study:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-communicate-its-structure-for-the-case-study-1313#a2806

3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about hypothesis here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-state-a-hypothesis-and-match-to-the-structure-1156#a2268

4) Communicating while making calculations:

• Always tell the interviewer your approach
• Check with the interviewer that your approach is correct
• Come to the interviewer with some preliminary answers
• Check your assumptions with the interviewer

5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables

• Take a minute to look at the graph. Read the graph title. Look at the graph type and define the type (pie chart, line chart, etc). Look at the legend (ask for clarifying questions if necessary). Identify whats going on on the graph. Look for: Trends, % structures. Look for unusual things - correlations, outliers,
• Make 3-4 conclusions from the graph. Think out loud on potential hypothesis on what could be the root cause / what are the consequences
• Prioritize the most important for your current analysis and move forward with the case

6) Communicating while having questions on creativity

• Ask an interview for a minute to think
• Think of several buckets of ideas (e.g. organic growth / non-organic growth / differentiation). Remember to think as big as possible
• Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible
• Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas

7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-answer-first-should-the-conclusion-be-1231#a2493

8) Communicating your FIT stories

Use the top-down approach while communicating your stories. "The Pyramid Principle" is the must-read by ex McKinsey on this topic.

I recommend using the STAR framework:

• In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
• Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
• Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
• The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

Best!

I agree with Vlad here! I would strongly sugggest you concetrate on the more value-adding areas of case preparation. You can always use a phrase such as

"I would suggest to now outline my approach towards adressing and solving our client's issue and then align it with you. For that, I would need a moment to concentrate if that's ok with you?"

Cheers, Sidi

Hi,

1) Similar preparation with a focus on implementation experience in fit stories

2) I think you don't realize that implementation employees are consultants as well. You can have both Generalist and Implementation consultants

3) Being part of implementation projects is not bad. Lot's of implementation projects are staffed both with implementation specialists and the generalists. I know some generalists who love these projects. However, it will be hard to switch internally from implementation practice to a generalist track

Best

Hi!

I am not sure what the purpose of this list is. If you want to come up with a specific approach or "framework" for all these types (or even more), then I believe you have a big problem, since this would show that you have not yet understood how to think about business issues. I know that this is how,. e.g., Cosentino is approaching cases in his book "Case in Point", but frankly, this book is a prime example of how a strategy consultant would and should NEVER work!

Essentially, instead of trying to map frameworks to case types, you have to understand the internal principles that underlies strategic issues (there are very few of them!), and then apply them to the situation at hand.

For example, it doesn't make any sense to have different "frameworks" for M&A cases, Market Entry Cases, Product Launch Cases, Capacity Expansion cases, etc.. All these situations share the same core issue and the LOGIC according to which they need to be solved is 100% identical! Without understanding this, a candidate will never ever be able to rigorously approach cases and always remain a "framework monkey" who has to rely on luck and gets confused as soon as some unforeseen notions appear in the case which don't fit the framework.

This is the big tragedy with the available case literature (which I have seen) - it teaches a fundamentally flawed way of thinking (or lack thereof).

Cheers, Sidi

P.S.: Unfortunately there are many other examples of how the pertinent books/courses teach things that are straightout nonsense. A very prominent one is the widespread habit to start analyses with qualitative questions - often around "understanding the market". That, again, is a prime example of how to NOT work as a strategy consultant. It is the definition of boiling the ocean! Rigorous analyis has to start with NUMERICALLY narrowing down the area of scrutiny by menas of a LOGIC TREE, before asking any qualitative questions. The list goes on and on...

Hi Nazli!

There aren't many resources out there yet for this, but I have an extensive background in IT (working as an IT consultant, and now working on many of the IT/Tech-based projects in Australia).

Please let me know if you'd like to practice some of the cases I have!

Also, I recommend asking McKinsey Digital if they'd be willing to assign you a case buddy for a practice case.

Hi Anonymous,

Quite a confusing question! If you mean who is the author of the case you're given during and interivew, it's normally the interviewer themselves (based on a real project they did).

Eugene,

Click on the "Questions or Feedback" bar on the bottom left. Alternatively, you can click on the "Contact Us" at the bottom right of the page.

Select Coaching Program and let them know you're interested. They'll vet you (resume, etc.) and then send you a link to register if they've approved you as a coach.

Best of luck!

Hi Anonymous,

These companies care just as much (if not more) about potential than experience! You would come in as an associate, but I know people who have joined with just degrees and no prior work experience - MBB will train you.

I recommend highlighting your academic credentials, your finance internships and the startups (your role in them and your learnings from watching them as a startup), and your podcast as this shows a unique side to you!

Keep up the networking as it's a great way to show who you are, not just the what you've done that shows on the resume. While networking, make sure you can really articulate why you want to move into consulting - show why it interests you so much!

Best of luck :)

Hi Mia,

you should be able to find PE cases in the major casebooks online as they are quite popular (eg Kellogg) – just filter the casebook by keywords; VC cases are definitely less frequent, both in casebooks and in interviews, although most of the time the structure you can use is similar.

In case you need specific support with them please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

I've been asking myself the same question and after some iterations and readings I came up with this structure:

Introduction sentence
1) What I currently do
2) What is my background
3) Why I am here today
Conclusion

The benefits of starting with your current role is that you don't bore the interviewer with the chronological path through the education system, plus you leverage the benefits of making a positive first impression.

I think they know about yourself from the CV, so this is only partially to get to know your achievements and much more how you talk about a subject you know well, under stress and in front of a stranger.

Hope this helps,
Jonas

Hi Neeraj,
McKinsey has two public-sector cases on their website (https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing). You could start with them.

Have a look at casebooks from business schools (Wharton, Kellogg, etc.). They often have some public sector cases. You may begin with reading one or two cases first so that you get an understanding of how to approach these cases.

Good luck with your prep!
Regards,
Daniel

Hi there,

I'll address only the second part of your quesiton - for the first part there would be too much pure speculation involved from my side.

When it comes to the PEI, firstly you need a clear understanding of the 3 dimensions and the respective scoring criteria of McKinsey (so what the interviewers are looking for in your PEI examples). Based on this information you need to go back to your CV (assuming that you put everything relevant into your CV) and go through each section to see where you demonstrated abiliities relevant for the PEI. Generally speaking, your PEI examples can come from professional experience, internsips, extra-curricular activities, university settings or potentially also from private areas.

However, the specific context/example from which you take your PEI example is much less of a concern and hardly influences your PEI evaluation. It’s much, much more about your personal contribution to that specific situation (bonus: does that ring a bell with the “Anticipated consequence” of the PARADE framework?). So how did you (positively) influence this situation? What was your real-life value in that situation? Needless to say, all other factors being equal, I would also take the more impressive context/example, but that's not at the core of the evaluation!

You can find the full original blog post (and many others related to the PEI) here: https://pei.consulting-case-interviews.com/blog/right-mckinsey-pei-examples/

Hope that helps!

Robert

HI,

The main objective is to have a good conversation and highlight your intellectual capacity and curiosity. Thus:

It is ok to ask:

• Questions that cause positive emotions and highlight consulting pros (e.g. Mck people)
• Questions on the topics you are excited about (e.g. data science)
• Non-business questions (e.g. team retreats)

It's not ok to ask:

• Questions that can cause negative emotions (e.g. work hours)
• Information you should learn before the interview (e.g. typical career path)
• Questions that may show that you are unfamiliar with consulting work (Like are you specialized in strategy or operations?)

Be prepared and good luck!