How to prepare?
How to prepare?
Hi Alessandro,
in terms of an action plan for your preparation, I would recommend the following:
Best,
Francesco
1. Read this message board, there are dozens of answers to your question
2. Do many, many cases. Most of us have needed over 100 hours of dedicated prep time to succeed
3. Prepare the fit portion as well, it is becoming more important now that many candidates do the case well
4. Polish your resume and do a bit of networking
5. Apply and hope you get an interview
6. Be awesome and get an offer
Can you specifiy for what? A case interview? The written application? Or your start after signing an offer?
Hi A,
Although it is a bit unclear how much time you've got to prepare I'll give you some common tips that might help you.
Best, André
Hi,
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). I recommend to reread the book and listen to LOMS every 15 cases. Every time, having more experience, you’ll be finding something new.
4) Practice fast math
5) Below you can find a list of the most common case types and some high-level recommendations on structuring:
6) Also, I would try to focus on the most common industries in the following priority(sorted by probability of getting a case): 1-retail and CPG; 2-airlines; 3-Telecom; 4-banking; 5-natural resources; 6-tech
7) ! Important: don't forget about the FIT interview part. Crafting you stories and backups stories will require a couple of weeks!
PS
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:
3) Using hypothesis. I made a post about hypothesis here:
4) Communicating while making calculations:
5) Communicating during the analysis of graphs / tables
6) Communicating while having questions on creativity
7) Communicating your conclusion. You can find a good example I've posted here:
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:
Best!