How to know if I am interview ready?

Hmm, you seem to have a wrong understanding of what the purpose of a case interview is. There is no “perfect” way to solve a case. Never! 

A case is just a tool for the interviewer to understand your thinking, and to assess whether you are using a rigorous, logical, and repeatable (!!) process of getting to the core of an issue, and then addressing the question/problem of the client. 

To me it sounds like you still see a case interview as sort of an oral exam in which you only care about whether you came to the “correct” answer. But this is the LEAST important thing for an MBB interviewer. Many cases have multiple possible answers. And this is by design! But you rarely find this in the rather unrealistic “blueprint solutions” in case collections or business school case books. 

It is all about how you develop an approach, whether it is grounded in logic or just in memorized stuff (like frameworks!), and whether you are able to follow through on your logic, all while taking along the interviewer in your communication as if he/she was a client. 

If you have learned how to do this, you won't have any problems in successfully receiving multiple MBB offers. But if you have done what most people do (learning frameworks or certain approaches for all sorts of “case types”, and then just hoping that you don't get an “unconventional” case question), then you will never feel stable. Because you simply are not stable. 

So, regarding your question: it comes down to the quality of your coaches and whether their verdict “you are ready” is grounded on what I described above, or whetehr it is grounded on the usual framework stuff.

But please don't worry too much: “perfect” is not what you can (and should!) aim for in this context.

Cheers, Sidi

___________________

Dr. Sidi S. Koné

Former Senior Engagement Manager & Interviewer at McKinsey | Former Senior Consultant at BCG | Co-Founder of The MBB Offer Machine™

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• It is natural to feel a bit nervous or unsure about your case skills. However, it is important to remember that perfection is not always necessary during a case interview. Instead, what matters most is your ability to think critically and approach the problem in a structured and logical way.
• That being said, it is still important to prepare as much as possible and to practice with as many different cases as possible to gain confidence and improve your skills. If you have already had coaching sessions and have practiced extensively, you are likely ready to interview.
• To know if you are truly ready, try to assess your own progress and ask yourself the following questions:
  • Do you feel confident in your ability to approach cases in a structured and logical way?
  • Do you feel comfortable working through cases with little guidance from the interviewer?
  • Have you practiced with a variety of cases to gain a broad understanding of different types of problems?
  • Have you received feedback from your coaches or practice partners and made improvements based on that feedback?
• If you can answer these questions positively, you are likely ready for your consulting interview. Remember to focus on your own progress and not on achieving perfection. Trust in your preparation and focus on demonstrating your critical thinking skills and ability to work through problems in a structured way during the interview.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there, 

No, you don't need to be perfect. 

But the fact that you don't feel ready is not good news either. It shows that even though from a technical perspective your skills might be alright, your mentality is not aligned for the interview. That can be quite problematic and cost you the offer. 

My suggestion would be reflect a bit on why you don't feel ready, what do you think it's missing and then to connect with your existing coaches and ask them to help you with your mindset. I'm also happy to do it - it's something that I particularly focus on when working with my candidates. Mindset often times matters more than actual skills. 

I was speaking yesterday with a friend who is the hiring Partner for McKinsey at a European office and he was saying that one of the things he cares most about when interviewing is attitude. He's willing to let go of the candidate making mistakes or missing out on some insights, but if their attitude is not right, then he'd rather turn them down. ‘Attitude' he detailed as meaning focused, humble and reactive to feedback. Basically, he wants to understand how ‘coachable’ that candidate is once they are hired, because this matters significantly more than how good they are at the moment. 

Lastly, again, your performance does not need to be perfect. I made mistakes even in my final interview and I still passed. But the reason why I passed is because I built a good rapport with the interviewer. That's what I also teach my coachees. 

Best of luck! And don't get dispirited - it's all a journey. 

Best,

Cristian

Hello,

Here are my thoughts:

1) Are there any specific reasons why you feel that you are not ready? You mentioned one example of you being a bit lost in unstructured cases. The best way to overcome that fear is a) Accepting that it is okay to be a bit lost in unstructured cases. In fact this is what the firms want to test you on! b) Practising more unstructured cases to improve your confidence

2) If there are other areas that you've identified or if your coaches have given you feedback about, then practice those areas relentlessly until you feel happy about it. 

3) The truth is, you may be already ready for the interviews. But the mindset that you have right now is not ideal to enter an interview with. Thus, these are exercises that I am recommending just so that YOU can feel confident in your abilities - as that confident will radiate in the interview too :)

If you need any additional help on unstructured cases, that is my area of speciality - feel free to reach out via chat.

All the best!

Rushabh

You sound like someone who is an excellent candidate.

In general, people who think they're ready and great…aren't.

You seem to be someone who always strives for the best, is self-critical, and a perfectionist. These are great traits for succeeding in the professional world and in consulting.

You notice your mistakes and aim to improve them :)

It is ok not to be perfect (this applies to not just casing but also life!).

If 2 separate coaches say you're ready, then you probably are!

Hi there,

1) I feel like my casing is still not perfect and sometimes I stumble (e.g., needing guidance from the interviewer during a more unusual candidate-led case). Is this to be expected? Does one not need to be perfect during the case? 

It is normal (human?) that you don’t perform always 100%. To pass the interview you need to be above a certain bar but not necessarily “perfect” (ie you could do a mistake during the case and still get an offer).

2) How can I implicitly know if I am interview ready? 

I am not sure if you are already doing this, but if you are tracking your case performance you should be able to see if you are repeating the same mistake (eg always off with the math). 

If that’s the case, I would practice more until that’s fixed. If the areas you stumble on are not recurring and minor, given your coaches said you are ready I would expect that to be the case.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hey there,

You don't have to be perfect!

I just discussed this very issue with a great candidate today. His trajectory went from trying to be perfect, which really hurt his performance, to finally feeling comfortable and having an eye-to-eye conversation where he owns any mishaps confidently. That's maturity and exactly what an interviewer wants to see!

Believe me, even actual MBB consultants are far from perfect, which is why they have such a tremendously steep learning curve that simply never stops. However, they're good at owning the process with all its imperfections.

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Hello & Happy New Year! 

I think that is a very fair question and I'll try to keep it short. 

It is normal to feel like you could always prepare more as you will unlikely be able to prepare for ALL the scenarios/variations that might arise in Cases. To know if you are ready I would focus on making sure you have: 

- No matter the Case, you are able to come up with an Hypothesis and Framework to approach solving it 

- You are comfortable following your hypothesis, justifying why you are choosing to go down that path and articulating the rationale behind your thoughts consistently (with strong business sense)

- You are able to quickly react to change in directions provided by the interviewer to “course correct” your hypothesis 

Hopes this help - happy to explain more if helpful. 
Good luck, cheers!

Great question - it sounds like you are doing all the right things to prepare. 

Some tips from my years of consulting interviewing experience:

• Do mock interviews with different types of people and personalities
• Practice cases in industries you are less comfortable in
• Jot down similarities in different industries/cases so your brain connects the dots more easily 
• Develop a pre-case routine that helps calm your nerves. For example, a few bullets or one-pager with common phrases you want to use, personal mantras, or keywords that trigger your memory
• Try to make the case interview “professional casual”, which means more conversational than a back and forth. I like to add elements of my personality and phrases that I commonly say in the interview

Let me know if you have any questions or need more tips! Happy to help! 

Hello!

It's a great question, and something that everyone who has ever prepared for these interviews has wondered. 

In your case, if you have the privilege to have worked with two coaches, start with asking them. When you are experienced, it's very easy to tell when someone is ready. 

If you don't have a coach and wonder, it's not about being perfect always. You will know you are ready when you consistently solve cases, don't get stuck, and feel that you aren't facing new things anymore. When it starts being repetitive, and you leverage constantly things from one case to another, you are ready

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

If two coaches said you were ready then I think you are ready to go. You will need guidance in the case and it should be a conversation, rather than a one way grilling!