Hi there,

Q: I am new to consulting and I need help to find some useful resources that might be effective in approaching case interviews.

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

1. Identify the companies interesting to you. You can create a DB with all the companies you want to target so that you can look for a referral later for them (see point #7). 
2. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your expected interview and allocate the time slots for preparation in your calendar, working on the points below. Many candidates need 100+ hours to be ready before a consulting interview starting from zero so you can keep that as a benchmark.
3. Start reading good MBA Consulting Casebooks – you can find several for free online (INSEAD is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure to solve them. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insights. Try to read a new case per day – in this way you will absorb better the information with constant learning.
4. After the first 5-10 cases in books/casebooks and basic theory, start to practice live. PrepLounge can be helpful to connect with other candidates for that. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you read cases only.
5. Keep track of your mistakes and see which ones you are repeating. This is extremely important, as otherwise you may do a ton of cases without fixing the real issues. If you find common mistakes, try to identify the reason for them (feedback from experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both the behavioral part and the case part during the mocks. The case part should also cover market sizing, math and graph analysis.
6. Before your application, be sure to review your CV and Cover, so that they are in the required format for a strategy role.
7. At least 3 weeks before the application deadline, start networking to find referrals. You can find some tips here.
8. Before the interviews, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer  – a great way to show you prepared in advance and to connect with the interviewer for a good final impression. Ideally, try to find out who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you want to spend a few hours only instead of 100+ and cover everything mentioned above, I developed a program precisely for that. 

I can also share with you real questions for your target office (I have a DB with 1.500+ questions asked in 60+ offices you won't find anywhere else - you can check on my profile if I cover your particular office).

You can check the program at the following link to learn more:

▶ GYM Program

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Hi!

Reading books is passive learning which is the least efficient method to learn anything. To progress quickly, I suggest you take an active learning approach (in the following order):

1. Getting coaching when you are a complete beginner to learn the basics;

2. After you've learned the basics, practice cases with peers to polish your case solving process and acquire understanding of a wide range of industries and problem types;

3. Before the interview, ask a few acting consultants to give you cases in a mock-interview format to assess your readiness.

Good luck with your preparation,
Nick

Hi,

Congrats on starting your journey and welcome to the community. 

There are numerous resources out there, unfortunately not all of them are really good or effective, especially for more complicated/complex components of the case interview:

• Frameworking & structuring: I have yet to see any really solid material out there
• Quantitative thinking: Plenty of good resources to practice mental math as well as math problems (e.g. Preplounge mental math tool, Rocketblocks)
• Business judgment/critical thinking: Plenty of well-written and critically thought through articles and essays out there for you to apply your critical thinking and comprehension skills (e.g. any top business publications like Economist, Bloomberg, HBR)
• Brainstorming: ultimately a subset of structuring, you can use casebooks for this or actually just come up with your own questions
• Market sizing: Plenty of sample questions floating on the internet, or come up with your own questions
• Communication: Read The Pyramid Principle - this is really the foundation of effective business communication and also logic

In addition, here are 3 key pitfalls I normally see based on my experience as an interviewer but also coach:

1. Not giving yourself enough time
   • Some skills and abilities need to be built up overtime and cannot be attained overnight
2. Underestimating the fit portion
   • As an interviewer, I've seen too many people underestimate this portion - don't forget it also plays a part in your overall scoring
   • It takes time to craft compelling and strong stories - trust me I've been through the process!
3. Not getting quality feedback
   • This is the most critical portion
   • Without quality feedback, you will never know where you are going wrong, why you are wrong and what good looks like
   • The source of the feedback matters less - i.e. whether you get it from a friend or a coach doesn't matter as long as its quality feedback

All the best in your journey! The consulting interview is difficult, but passing it and spending time in consulting is hugely rewarding.

Hi there!

Quite a journey ahead of you! 

Sharing with you a few resources you might find useful to go through:

• Expert Guide: The Must-Know Consulting Terms for Interviews
• Expert Guide: Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming
• Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy
• Expert Guide: What Do Management Consultants Do? 
• Expert Guide: How Are Diversity Initiatives Affecting Recruitment? 
• Expert Guide: How To Get Referrals Via LinkedIn? 
• Expert Guide: How To Handle Networking Calls and Get Referrals

Also, here are a few cases with full interviewer guidelines, so you understand what the expectations are. They are based on recent MBB interviews, so they should give you a good understanding of the current types of cases:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/interviewer-led-mckinsey-style/intermediate/mbb-second-round-codewave-employee-turnover-challenge-304

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/mbb-first-round-soy-technologies-303

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/interviewer-led-mckinsey-style/intermediate/element-mobile-expands-into-refurbished-phones-mbb-2nd-round-302

Feel free to always leverage the Q&A if you have follow-up questions.

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

#1 Advice: Be careful with the barrage of information. Learn how to filter out the noise and bad resources and focus on what's good…that's the hardest part!

Here's some reading to help:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case
 

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview
 

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

Hello there,

Congratulations on choosing a career in consulting! 

Case interviews can be challenging but with the right preparation, you can excel. Here are some resources and tips to help you prepare:

Resources:

• Books: Consider reading "Case in Point" by Marc Cosentino, "The Case Interview Workbook" by Victor Cheng, and "Cracking the Case" by Ibrahim Diallo.
• Websites: Check out PrepLounge.com resources, Youtube Videos, and consulting companies case prep resources.
• Practice: Use case libraries on websites like CaseInterview.com and PrepLounge.com. You can also practice on Interviewing.io and Vault Consulting Library.

Preparation Steps:

Learn Business Basics: Understand fundamental business concepts like profit, marketing, and strategy.

Familiarize with Case Interview Format: Get to know the standard case interview structure, where you analyze a problem and present your solution.

Practice Solving Cases: Utilize the available case studies for practice.

Seek Feedback: Get feedback from friends, colleagues, or professional case interview coaches to improve your performance.

Additional Tips:

• Be structured: Use frameworks to organize your thoughts and present your solution logically.
• Be comfortable with numbers: Practice basic math calculations, percentages, and ratios.
• Stay confident: Remember that you were selected for the interview because the company believes in your potential.

Best of luck with your case interview preparation!

Hi there,

The most efficient way to prepare for consulting interviews is working with a coach (if you can afford it). Your coach will be able to:

• Assess your current level and identify strengths and area to improve
• Prepare a tailored plan for you
• Curate relevant cases and materials for your preparation

Happy to talk if you need help.

Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

A coach is the fastest and most effective way to navigate through the myriad of resources (many overblown). Don't train like everyone else is, tailor it to your intrinsic strengths and weaknesses (e.g., maybe it's waste of time investing in mental math and you rather need chart drills). Find out through a real mock-interview. Warm regards, Frederic