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McKinsey vs BCG/Bain Case Prompts - Length

MBB
New answer on Apr 17, 2021
3 Answers
1.3 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Apr 16, 2021

I'm wondering if the case prompt for McKinsey is much longer compared to BCG/Bain's. I've been studying using Victor Cheng's McKinsey Case Materials, and the case prompts were very long. The case prompts, however, for BCG/Bain from PL/other sources were short, and this actually allows interviewees to make a lot hypotheses. I'm wondering if this is correct, or I just happened to stumble upon some lengthy and short cases for McKinsey and BCG/Bain, respectively.

Thanks!

(edited)

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 17, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

That is correct. McKinsey absolutely places more emphasis on diving deeper (and broader) into 2nd and 3rd level insights.

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Anonymous A on Apr 20, 2021

Hi Ian, thanks for the reply! Does it mean that I have to use different frameworks/structures to tackle the problem? Since BCG/Bain prompts the interviewee to ask lots of questions to get what's actually the main issue during our explanation, while McKinsey tends to require the interviewee to "guess" or basically "list" everything based on our assumptions for a complete framework.

Gaurav
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 16, 2021
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

You are right, that's how it usually goes for McKinsey

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Allen
Expert
replied on Apr 16, 2021
Ex-McK Experienced Hire and EM - I show you how to perform at your best

Yes, that's been my experience.

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