Oliver Wyman - London - Senior Consultant (PE)

Hi there,

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 1 - Is it possible to do self-case prep and pass the interviews? If yes, can anyone please guide me on how to go about it?

Is it possible? Sure. I mainly did self prep when I got into consulting, given p2p platforms like PrepLounge didn’t even exist at the time (feeling a bit old writing this ;))

Is it the best path? Not really. The main reasons are:

1. You won’t get any external feedback on areas you are not even aware you are doing wrong
2. You won’t be able to improve your communication if you don’t do any case with others

I would recommend at least a few cases with peers before you go for the interview, as they could be invaluable for the previous points, assuming the peer can provide good feedback.

In terms of how to prepare, I would recommend the following (you have probably already covered some of these points):

1. Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your interview and allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day, working on the points below. Many candidates need 100+ hours to be ready before the interview starting from zero so you can keep that as a benchmark.
2. Read Case In Point or Case Interview Secrets for a general understanding of what a consulting interview is. Don’t focus on the structures proposed in the books, as they are not good enough nowadays.
3. Start reading good MBA Consulting Handbooks – 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/handbooks 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. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (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 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, get information on who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.

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2 - Should I expect PE cases only in the interview? Has anyone gone through the interview in the London office recently and share their experience?

When you apply for a particular practice, you normally get cases related to that practice but also of different types, so I would prepare holistically.

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3 - Are 21 days enough for the case prep?

This is impossible to say as it depends on the following:

• Your current level
• How many hours per day you will work on the prep
• How you would work on the prep

I would recommend you develop a plan of action as described above, create an estimate of time for case prep (I would target at least 20-25 before going for the interview) and see if it matches the available time you have in the next days. 

If you see you don’t have enough time, it is totally fine to ask to postpone.

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If you want to spend a few hours only instead of 100+ and cover everything mentioned above, I developed a program precisely for that. This includes real questions asked at OW in the past for your target office.

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

▶ https://www.preplounge.com/en/case-coach/profile/2433#coaching-package

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

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

This is not ideal to be hones. With regards to your questions:

1 - Yes, but I would highly recommend to have at least a hand full of practice cases, ideally with an expert who can guide you to not waste time. As a starting point, you should familiarize yourself with a number of cases from good MBA case books (message me and I'll happily share them). Instead of doing “interviews" with yourself, focus on practicing skills more targeted: 

• MECE structuring - opening framework + brainstorming questions with top down communication.
• Market sizing - turn this into a game by working out market sizes of literally anything when falling asleep. For example, someone I coached recently was asked in a real interview to estimate the market i.e. number of escalator steps installed each year in Germany. Have your approach ready!
• Quantitative - this breaks down in to setting up equations (and knowing what to solve for) and executing. The latter can and should be practiced with the mental math tool on PL (https://www.preplounge.com/en/mental-math)

Other things that can't be practiced easily alone, and include (but aren't limited to):

• Approaching graphs - lots of people struggle with exhibits and want to do targeted practice. However, it generally takes a full case and context to really practice and master this.
• Conceptual skills - this is about tying everything together throughout the case, deducting meaningful insights and steer the case accordingly.
• Communication and drive - what you project in terms of attitude, ownership, confidence, etc. is very important to the case setting and this is something you can't simulate with yourself and not even peers, because stakes are so low. For this in particular, expert coaches can really help.

2 - Not necessarily. Consultancies often pick cases that have nothing to do with the position or the person's background. This is to eliminate the possibility of too much knowledge “blocking” the process, which is all about testing your skills and creativity. That being said, they may chose to give you a PE case. However, they are often quite basic (should this PE firm invest in company x - yes or no)

3 - Not if you're working 12 hours a day and have little capacity left for the remaining 12 hours of the day. I always recommend people to try and ask for more preparation time when it's needed, because it's usually given. This position isn't running away, so there's no rush! However, if 21 days is all you have and you're working full time, you should dedicate all spare time to your preparation without sacrificing your health and sanity, of course.

If you're interested in knowing more about any of the above, or would like to learn about how coaching could help you, please feel free to reach out!

Best of luck!

Hi there,

If you are time poor your best bet is a case coach. If you're in PE then the cost-benefit calculus is almost sure to play out in your favor :)

 1 - Is it possible to do self-case prep and pass the interviews? If yes, can anyone please guide me on how to go about it?

100% it is! People do it all the time. That said the odds are lower.

How you go about it on your own is to take 3-4 weeks off and spend 20-30 hours per week studying. You need to build up your math, chart/exhibit reading, industry knowledge, frameworking, case leadership, market sizing, and fit/behavioral.

Break down each one and do work each day/week to progress in the above areas.

2 - Should I expect PE cases only in the interview? Has anyone gone through the interview in the London office recently and share their experience?

No. You should expect any case. The moment you try to predict what will happen is the moment you stop being flexible/adaptable. Is PE more likely? Yes. But it is unlikely to be the only case prep.

3 - Are 21 days enough for the case prep?

Yes, but not if you're in PE spending only a few (tired) hours a week without support. Your options are: 1) Delay the interview 2) Find more time (i.e. take vacation time) 3) Get coaching support

Dear candidate,

Congrats and simply try your best. You can pass, for sure. However with live practise you will do so much better. Really get a few cases in beforehand. If you are unsure how to prioritize:

a) Understand what is expected of you in cases - so how does a typical case go e.g., when you should ask clarifying questions, how you should summarize the prompt, etc.

b) Understand how interviewers score you- what are the dimensions

c) Practise the basics of communication skills: structured, top-down, conclusions first then the rest

d) Diagnose your strenghts, do a practise case, find out what you should improve

e) Something you can practise well on your own is building frameworks, do the first part of a case, read the prompt, do your clarifying questions and create frameworks

f) Really get as many live cases in as you can and ask the interviewers to focus on the points you want to improve - it is worth booking some at odd hours, due to the different time zones on preplounge, if you go to the meeting board, you are likely to find someone who is offering a time that works for you.

Best regards and best of luck

Hi there, 

1. It really depends on your level, since this is senior role and you are already working in the industry , I will assume you have enough background and know the basics so you can do self- prep

2. Since the role is a senior role and PE based, most likely interview would be that. But anything is a fair game for interviewer 

3.21 days is enough if you allocate enough time on a daily basis 

Good luck 

Great question. As there are various valuable answers already from the other coaches I would like to contribute with a short comment. Yes, it is possible, as long as you are focused and dedicated. A paid coach (with a flexible schedule to accommodate your busy current job) could help you to get ready for the interview quickly. 

Good luck!!! You got this!

 1 - Is it possible to do self-case prep and pass the interviews? If yes, can anyone please guide me on how to go about it?

Yes. you have some good suggestions from Francesco. Let me reinforce that you should at least do some live cases with a peer, otherwise your preparation is not adequate.

2 - Should I expect PE cases only in the interview? Has anyone gone through the interview in the London office recently and share their experience?

Definitely not. You should be prepared for other cases as well.

3 - Are 21 days enough for the case prep?
Given that you say you don't have time for live cases during your preparation period because you are overwhelmed with work, I would guess that overall those 21 days are more or less equivalent to 3-4 full time days, which is definitely not even close.