Is Porter’s book good for case interview prep

Question

Hi,

i am trying to prepare for cases and I would like to know whether Porter’s book is good for management consulting interview. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi,

Just my two cents on this.

Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy is a good textbook (still very valuable today) for MBAs or for your general interest / knowledge.

I think you can gain much more in terms of the ratio effectiveness / time by using other sources, specifically thought to prepare you for the interviews

I will cite the obvious, from my point of view

General Intro

1) Mark Cosentino - Case in Point

2) Victor Cheng - Case Interview Secrets

3) US MBA Casebooks, in particular - Wharton CaseBook - they have mock cases solved and a general introduction "101" part to really give you the basics about a consulting interview - very helpful in my opinion

4) Victor Cheng - Look over my shoulders (recording) - these are very advanced, in my opinion and only useful as a "polishing/finishing" tool once you are proficient

5) PrepLounge resources online - very to-the-point and helpful

Hope this helps,

feel free to shoot me a message, should you want to go deeper in the topic.

Regards

Paolo

Answer 2

Hi,

Agree with Paul. 5 forces is a good book for general knowledge, however, the purpose of the book is not the interview prep. It's more on the academics side.

Best

Answer 3

Congrats on getting these interviews in the first place! We are looking for the same qualities in the written case as... (read entire answer)

Congrats on getting these interviews in the first place! We are looking for the same qualities in the written case as in the verbal one. You should have 1 hour to prepare so the... (read entire answer)

Answer 4

The actual case is different from office to office and they do not focus on any one specific industry only. The cases... (read entire answer)

The actual case is different from office to office and they do not focus on any one specific industry only. The cases also get recycled with new ones coming in frequently and he... (read entire answer)