Cookie and Privacy Settings

This website uses cookies to enable essential functions like the user login and sessions. We also use cookies and third-party tools to improve your surfing experience on preplounge.com. You can choose to activate only essential cookies or all cookies. You can always change your preference in the cookie and privacy settings. This link can also be found in the footer of the site. If you need more information, please visit our privacy policy.

Data processing in the USA: By clicking on "I accept", you also consent, in accordance with article 49 paragraph 1 sentence 1 lit. GDPR, to your data being processed in the USA (by Google LLC, Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Inc., Stripe, Paypal).

Manage settings individually I accept
  1. Dashboard 1
  2. Consulting Q&A 2
  3. Interview Rescheduling 3
expert
Expert with best answer

Daniel

100% Recommendation Rate

206 Meetings

1,069 Q&A Upvotes

USD 369 / Coaching

Book a coaching
View profile of Daniel
8

Interview Rescheduling

Case Interview

One of the consulting firms I've applied (MBB) to has always asked to schedule an interview the next day. Is this a normal practice, given that consultants schedule are highly unpredictable? Also, I have already rescheduled twice since the interview just came very unexpectedly and I need more preparation. Would this rescheduling impact my chance of getting hired, and will the interviewer really care that I rescheduled since there are still other candidates to interview? Thanks a lot!

One of the consulting firms I've applied (MBB) to has always asked to schedule an interview the next day. Is this a normal practice, given that consultants schedule are highly unpredictable? Also, I have already rescheduled twice since the interview just came very unexpectedly and I need more preparation. Would this rescheduling impact my chance of getting hired, and will the interviewer really care that I rescheduled since there are still other candidates to interview? Thanks a lot!

 New answer on Feb 29, 2020
648 Views
8 answers
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best Answer
Book a coaching with Daniel

100% Recommendation Rate

206 Meetings

1,069 Q&A Upvotes

USD 369 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Daniel

Just reschedule, easy – it's not going to affect anything, nobody cares.

Just reschedule, easy – it's not going to affect anything, nobody cares.

3 Book a coaching with Daniel
Book a coaching with Francesco

100% Recommendation Rate

3,283 Meetings

12,080 Q&A Upvotes

USD 449 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

it is not common for MBB to schedule short notice. There won’t be an impact on the hiring process if you ask to reschedule and you are totally justified to ask so since they proposed the meeting for the following day; still I would recommend to talk to HR directly if possible to reschedule the interview in order to show commitment, given you already reschedule twice.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

it is not common for MBB to schedule short notice. There won’t be an impact on the hiring process if you ask to reschedule and you are totally justified to ask so since they proposed the meeting for the following day; still I would recommend to talk to HR directly if possible to reschedule the interview in order to show commitment, given you already reschedule twice.

Best,

Francesco

2 Book a coaching with Francesco
Book a coaching with Luca

100% Recommendation Rate

45 Meetings

2,575 Q&A Upvotes

USD 189 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Luca

Don't be afraid, it can happen and it's not related with your chances of getting hired in anyway.

Good luck!
Luca

Don't be afraid, it can happen and it's not related with your chances of getting hired in anyway.

Good luck!
Luca

1 Book a coaching with Luca
Book a coaching with Nathaniel

3 Meetings

445 Q&A Upvotes

USD 189 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Nathaniel

Hello there,

It is indeed not a common practice, but I have heard directly of such occurences recently. Perhaps due to urgent need to fill suddenly empty slot.

Rest assured that rescheduling will never affect you negatively, as what important is your performance in the interview.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan

Hello there,

It is indeed not a common practice, but I have heard directly of such occurences recently. Perhaps due to urgent need to fill suddenly empty slot.

Rest assured that rescheduling will never affect you negatively, as what important is your performance in the interview.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan

1 Book a coaching with Nathaniel
Book a coaching with Clara

100% Recommendation Rate

50 Meetings

12,506 Q&A Upvotes

USD 229 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Clara

Hello, congrats for that interview!

It´s not very common indeed to have interviews scheduled from one day to another.

Furthermore, I totally agree with rescheduling being the best option. You only have one shot at MBB, and you need it to be as accurate as possible.

It will not affect what-so-ever your chances of getting hired, since this is HR and has nothing to do with the consultants who will interview you. Is completly not related.

I rescheduled my interviews with Mckinsey myself back in the day, and it was the best decision I could possible make.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hello, congrats for that interview!

It´s not very common indeed to have interviews scheduled from one day to another.

Furthermore, I totally agree with rescheduling being the best option. You only have one shot at MBB, and you need it to be as accurate as possible.

It will not affect what-so-ever your chances of getting hired, since this is HR and has nothing to do with the consultants who will interview you. Is completly not related.

I rescheduled my interviews with Mckinsey myself back in the day, and it was the best decision I could possible make.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

1 Book a coaching with Clara
Book a coaching with Sidi

99% Recommendation Rate

423 Meetings

4,089 Q&A Upvotes

USD 449 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Sidi

Hi!

No this is not very common, but it might happen if recruitiers try to fill slots of candidates who forfeited/rescheduled on short notice.

However - please don't let this put pressure on you in any way! YOU decide when you interview, not the firm! So politely inform them that it will unfortunately not work for you on such short notice, and that you would be very happy to schedule the interviewat any date after XYZ.

This has zero impact on your chances of getting the offer!

Cheers, Sidi

Hi!

No this is not very common, but it might happen if recruitiers try to fill slots of candidates who forfeited/rescheduled on short notice.

However - please don't let this put pressure on you in any way! YOU decide when you interview, not the firm! So politely inform them that it will unfortunately not work for you on such short notice, and that you would be very happy to schedule the interviewat any date after XYZ.

This has zero impact on your chances of getting the offer!

Cheers, Sidi

1 Book a coaching with Sidi
Book a coaching with Antonello

99% Recommendation Rate

142 Meetings

4,830 Q&A Upvotes

USD 219 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Antonello

It's totally fine rescheduling. I would do it.

Best,
Antonello

It's totally fine rescheduling. I would do it.

Best,
Antonello

0 Book a coaching with Antonello
Book a coaching with Vlad

98% Recommendation Rate

405 Meetings

11,353 Q&A Upvotes

USD 239 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Vlad

Hi,

Scheduling 1 day in advance is not common. Moreover, usually, it's quite safe to reschedule. However, rescheduling more than 2-3 times is probably too much.

Best

Hi,

Scheduling 1 day in advance is not common. Moreover, usually, it's quite safe to reschedule. However, rescheduling more than 2-3 times is probably too much.

Best

0 Book a coaching with Vlad

Related BootCamp article(s)

Getting Up to Speed

In order to repeatedly demonstrate prerequisite skills under the pressure of a real case interview, you need to learn the basics and practice cases.

1 Q&A

Related case(s)

MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education

Solved 15.4k times
MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvantaged areas. The client is considering starting operations for its services in the Chicago area. They hired us to understand if that makes sense. Due to the nonprofit regulation, SmartBridge should operate on its own in the market, without any partnership. How would you help our client?
4.6 5 530
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Market analysis, Market entry, New product

Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvant ... Open whole case

Espresso, Whatelse?

Solved 9.0k times
Espresso, Whatelse? Espresso Whatelse is an Italian company that produces coffee and espresso machines since 1908. It is the Italian market leader and has a strong presence overall in Europe. In 2019, Espresso Whatelse has increased its revenues but it has seen declining profit margin. Your client wants to understand the root causes of this 2019 trend and how to increase its profit margin again.  
4.6 5 459
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Market analysis, Operations strategy, Pricing, Profitability analysis

Espresso Whatelse is an Italian company that produces coffee and espresso machines since 1908. It is the Italian market leader and has a strong presence overall in Europe. In 2019, Espresso Whatelse has increased its revenues but it has seen declining profit margin. Your client wants to understand ... Open whole case

Hot Wheels

Solved 4.9k times
Hot Wheels Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability.
4.6 5 284
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Competitive response, Growth strategy, Market analysis, Operations strategy, Profitability analysis

Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability. Open whole case

McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology

Solved 3.0k times
McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology [PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstream, and downstream divisions, they have recently been experiencing competitivity issues in the upstream gas division, which brings in $1B in profits annually. Our client’s upstream division has offices in Australia and Indonesia. Their work is highly dependent on their IT systems, as they have to constantly monitor wells and pipes (pressure, hydrocarbon count, fluid makeup, etc.) The upstream division has two large legacy IT systems that are primarily used for downstream operations but have been modified for upstream purposes. These systems are managed by a central team in the US which is responsible for all IT issues across the business. They triage issues/enhancements and then manage development teams in India and Finland who complete the work.
4.5 5 60
| Rating: (4.5 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Operations strategy, Organizational behavior

[PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstr ... Open whole case

Cutting Carbs - Divestiture in the Electrical Power Market

Solved 1.1k times
Cutting Carbs - Divestiture in the Electrical Power Market Our client is Energy England, one of northern England’s largest electric utility companies. They were created over the past decade through an aggressive series of mergers of existing utility companies each specializing in a single energy generation source. Recently, the CEO has embarked on an initiative to return to the core of the business. She is looking to increase free cash flow and cash reserves in order to prepare the business for evolving future trends.   The following can be verbally provided to interviewee if asked: Energy England is made up of assets across the energy-generation space. These include coal, gas, nuclear, and wind We are looking to divest from just one of our previous acquisitions (i.e one target is sufficient) There are no specific goals/metrics – the client trusts our judgement
4.2 5 20
| Rating: (4.2 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Mergers & Acquisition, Operations strategy, Valuation

Our client is Energy England, one of northern England’s largest electric utility companies. They were created over the past decade through an aggressive series of mergers of existing utility companies each specializing in a single energy generation source. Recently, the CEO has embarked on an initi ... Open whole case

Similar questions

Case Interview Presentation: Zoom/Online platform
bcg Real life german office news here
Written case
Roland Berger second round interview: Written case
Should I bring a list of questions to an interview?
How to prepare a written case interview?
How to keep replies to FIT questions succint and engaging (and typically how short)?
© PrepLounge: Written Case – A New Case Interview Trend?
Case Interview PwC (Financial Services - Transaction Services)
Does Victor Cheng have M&A and Supply/Demand cases in LOMS? Also, I am just starting to prepare for case interviews. What is the starting point?
Ask new question