Recently gave MBB final round interview. At the end, the interviewer asked for verbal recommendations and I listed question > recommendation > reasons > summary. I got bit surprized by verbal recommendation, and forgot to highlight next steps and risks. Is it bad enough to knock me out? Rest of the case and fit, and Q&A went very well according to me. The other case interview was also really good.
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MBB final round: missed next steps and risks in the recommendation
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Jesus Christ.... For the love of god, please get rid of this schoolboy/schoolgirl mindset! This is a worrying thing that I observe with many candidates these days. An MBB interview is not an oral exam in which you need to regurgitate a pre-conceived suite of elements! You are NOT assessed on whether you have mentioned all possible elements that could comprise an approach / an analysis/ a recommendation! You are assessed based on your capacity to come up with a sound and rigorous logic which you can follow through in order to answer a clear question. No single element that might have been "missing" will ever kick you out! It will be the totality of the discussion that you shape and drive forward which determines whether you showcase the conceptual, analytical, and communicative strength that is needed to throw the typical day-to-day consulting tasks your way and to put you in front of very demanding clients.
So don't worry too much! It is never ONE thing that determines your fate (unless you do something really crazy and improper of course).
Cheers, Sidi
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Hi,
Totally agree with Sidi. It's all about your overall performance, not just following a set of rules.
It's like when I just say "The profits of our clients have declined last year. We need to find out why" and the candidate says: "Do I understand correctly that the profits of our client have declined?". The most ridiculous thing is blindly following a set of rule without thinking why you should or should not do smth.
Best
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Thank you Sidi! REALLY appreciate your "blunt" advice. I needed to hear something like this. I spoke to a few people and it got in my head. Right after the interview I was feeling great, and thought the interviewer would be feeling positive as well. It wasn't until I spoke to a few people and realized that I missed something, and thought that MBB is too selective to ignore this as a "misstep". Thanks again.
(edited)