Hi, all, I would like to know for MBB case interviews, is the case interview always limited to 30 minutes? Also, how would you plan the time allocation?
Usually I spend 5 minutes recapping case and clarify a few questions. 2.5 - 3 minutes to structure, then spend 5 minutes to share my structure. After sharing the structure, usually more than 10 minutes have passed.
Does this time allocation makes sense, or should I make any adjustment? Thank you for your advice!
“Is the case interview always limited to 30 minutes?”
The interview time can be 30, 45 or 60 minutes, which means in some situations you can have a 40 min case. Sometimes a 20-25 minute case.
“Usually I spend 5 minutes recapping case and clarify a few questions."
I can't see howcome you are able to spend so much time recapping and clarifying questions. Either you are really slow, or you are over-exploring or even fishing for the right answer. You are clearly not doing this right.
The objective is to make sure you understand the context, the scope and have a clear objective.
"2.5 - 3 minutes to structure, then spend 5 minutes to share my structure. After sharing the structure, usually more than 10 minutes have passed."
While on the long side, I can understand someone taking 3 minutes to structure. I can't see howcome it takes longer to explain your structure than to come up with it. You are probably over-explaining and not being succint in your explanation.
Honestly, you should not take more than 5-7 minutes from the beginning of the case until you presented your structure.
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Having said this, when practicing, particularly alone, it is more important to do it right than to do it fast. If you have a good approach you can make it faster later on. But you can't really improve a fast approach that is wrong.
Hello,
the interview is usually 60 min out of which approx. half is the fit interview and half for a case, so for your case, it can be something between 20-40 min.
I wouldn't be so much focused on the time but I would recommend to:
1. Spend a minute to reflect on the case before starting to ask
2. only then... Ask all the necessary questions you may need (the interviewer has a lot of information that doesn't share unless you ask!) → e.g. drop of profitability: what is the cause of that?
Despite that you should drive the case, the interviewer would let you know if you are spending too much time on a specific task and will encourage you to move on.
The last thing, even if you don't finish the case, make sure to summarize the case:
With the most senior Managing Director, I didn't finish my case and what I recommended wasn't what my employer did as I was missing half of the analysis (it was a real case) ... but I landed the offer because I demonstrated all the capabilities they look for!
Wishing you all the best,
Lucie
Hi there,
This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:
In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming MBB interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.
I hope this helps,
Hagen
Hi there,
Case interviews can be shorter or longer than 30 mins, it depends on the company and office. In most cases though 30 min is a good estimate.
A total of 13 min for clarifying questions + structuring + presenting seems on the long side. In most cases the following should work well as a benchmark:
This is a general indication, as the exact time may vary according to the question.
Hope this helps,
Francesco
Hi there,
It could be 45 minutes or it could be 5 minutes!
You need to be prepared for anything. I propose you, the more you try to “plan the time allocation” or really even expect any sequence during the interview, the more you're setting yourself up to fail!
Just go with the flow, aim to solve/answer quickly, and be ready for anything! Train your flexibility/adaptability here.
Hello!
Usually the interview is 1h, and the case part is 35-40 mins.
Cheers,
Clara
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