Internship Roland Berger Interview

Hi there,

in addition to all the comments and explanations, find below a few practice cases that are representative of the Roland Berger style:

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/schwierig/business-strategy-home-delivery-solution-for-retailer-chain-332?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/commercial-feasibility-of-natural-gas-pipeline-329?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/anfaenger/options-evaluation-profitability-of-brewing-company-startup-327?lang=en

https://www.preplounge.com/de/case-sammlung/candidate-led-ueblicher-stil/fortgeschritten/opportunity-assessment-alternative-revenue-streams-for-a-salt-mine-333?lang=en

Best

Hi Anonymous,

it would be useful if you could provide the exact country, cases types/difficulty may vary in different geographies.

In terms of Germany I helped a good number of candidates and cases were related to:

• Investment decisions, M&A and PE
• Market entry
• Market sizing

I am not sure what you mean by depth of math calculations, but in terms of how to approach math in the case, this is what I would recommend:

1. Repeat the question – candidates sometimes do mistakes answering the wrong question in the math part
2. Present how you would like to proceed from a theoretical point of view (you may ask for time before presenting if you initially don't know how to approach the problem)
3. Ask for time and perform the first computations
4. Present the interviewer interim steps to keep him/her aligned – don’t just say the final number
5. Continue with the computations until you find the final answer
6. Propose next steps on the basis of the results you found

In terms of general math tips, I would recommend the following:

1. Use correctly 10^ powers in your math computation. For example 3.2B/723M can be transformed in 3200*10^6/732*10^6, which makes it easier to deal with math
2. Ask if it is fine to approximate. When you have to deal with math in market sizing, and sometimes even in business cases, you are allowed to approximate math to simplify the computation. In the previous example, for instance, you could transform the computation in 320*10^7/73*10^7, making the overall computation faster.
3. Keep good notes. One of the reasons people do mistakes with big numbers is that they don't keep their notes in order, thus forget/misreport numbers
4. Divide complex math in smaller logical steps. This is something you can use for big numbers after the application of the 10^ power mentioned above. If you have to compute (96*39)*10^6, you can divide the first element in 96*40 - 96*1 = 100*40 - 4*40 - 96*1 = 4000 – 160 – 100 + 4 = 3744*10^6
5. Use shortcuts for fractions. You can learn by heart fractions and thus speed up/simplify the computation - the most useful to know are 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9.

Best,

Francesco

Hi,

Several things are important during the calculation phase of the interview:

• Making no mistakes

• Calculating in the most efficient way

• Calculating fast

The following skills will speed up your calculations and reduce the probability of making a mistake:

1) Learn how to solve equations and systems of equations. Some cases require solving an equation. You can use GMAT books to practice.

2) Learn how to multiply double-digit numbers really fast. It takes just a couple of hours to learn how to apply this method on paper and a couple of days to start doing these calculations mentally, but it's worth it. Please follow the link for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo

3) Learn how to work with zeros. 

Simply always use the powers of 10. Then you'll be able to multiply / divide the numbers and sum up / subtract the powers separately:

For example: 300 x 9000 = 3 x 10ˆ2 x 9 x 10ˆ3 = 3 x 9 x 10ˆ(2+3) = 27 x 10ˆ5 or 2.7 Mln

If you get used to writing all the numbers that way, you will never lose zeros.

4) Learn the division table. This method will help you calculate any percentage problems like market shares or margins. For example, if your market is $620M and your revenues are $5.1M you can use 5/6 or 83.3%,  as a proxy to calculate the market share. By adjusting to zeroes and slightly decreasing the number, you'll get 8.2% 

Best!

Dear A,

In general, the recruiting process for internships is a way shorter. If the full-time offer normally consists of 3 rounds, then internship could be limited for the first round. And cases are normally are a little bit easier than those given for the full-time offer. 

So doing an internship is actually a great start to put your foot already in the door and afterwards convert your internship into full-time offer. 

If you need any guidance, drop me a line. 

Best,

André

Interviews there are super though.