I'm currently preparing for McKinsey Operations position interview, and wondering is there any things i should prepare specifically to tackle Operations case. what sort of formula and calculation that i will prepare beforehand? i have no related experience with operations, so will need to learn from scratch.
Most of the cases available are for profitability and market strategy, very few cases talking about operations in details.
Hello!
Congrats on the interview, in any case it´s good news, it´s not so easy to get an interview at this point!
In Ops, more than half of the cases that you will get are the traditional ones, and once you are ready for those you have the good basis for the opps ones. Hence, overall, you have 2 main workstreams ahead:
1. FIT INTERVIEW
The "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)
It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.
You can see plenty of reviews from candidates who purchased it already.
Furthermore, you can find 2 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:
Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200
Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201
Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211
Feel free to PM me for disccount codes, since we still have some left from the launch! :)
2. BUSINESS CASE
You don´t have any more time to the classics of Viktor Cheng, "Case in point" book, etc. You need to get hands on asap:
1. Practice cases with partners asap, as many as you can do.Find experienced partners who can provide a good feedback
2. Practice your math skills, both in your cases and with ad hoc exercisess, such as:
1. Multiplying double digit numbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo
2. Leveraging math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice
Furthermore, you should practice as much as you can, and ensure that you cover:
1. Profitability cases- basic profitability framework.
2. Idea generation cases: for any specif issue
3. Growth cases: market penetration, new product launch, product mix change, etc.
4. Pricing cases
5. M&A cases
6. Valuation cases
7. Value chain cases
Given you are under this much time contraint, consider working with a coach to foster speed and ensure you have a tailored plan to be very targeted. PM me interested!
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hey there,
In general, operations cases often focus on concepts such as
Capacity issues
Classic profitability issues
Optimization problems
Stock issues
Value chain issues
Regarding the latter, you should be able to map out a process in an operations case, especially when you are not familiar with a certain task or system of interactions. When laying out what constitutes a certain issue, you will be able to understand it by breaking it down into its constituent parts.
This helps you to think deeper about the issue. It can also help you to get 'unstuck' if you don’t understand the situation. In sum, problem or process mapping forces you to deconstruct the interactions and increases your odds to find the segment or area in which the issue is buried in.
For instance, you might want to investigate chronological sequences. Process mapping can be used to make a chain of interactions visible and see all parts involved that produce a certain outcome. You can use it when you look into temporal events or when you want to find out which part of the process is most crucial, etc.
Cheers,
Florian
Hi,
In terms of the cases:
Case topics:
Key terms to know: Little's Law, Output rate, Capacity, Utilization, Cycle time, Throughput time, Buffer, process optimization fundamentals and approaches to bottlenecks, Labor Efficiency, Core processes and supporting processes, Idle time, etc
Feel free to reach out. In my profile, you can find a list of sessions dedicated to ops
Best!
(edited)
Hi there,
I helped a few candidates recently to land offers from McKinsey Operations. Some of the topics they had to cover were:
However, don’t expect only operations cases – the candidates I helped also had traditional types such as profitability.
If you need help please PM me, I know several real questions asked for that practice specifically.
Best,
Francesco
This is great information, will look on the topic to prepare. :)
Hey, operations is my area of speclalism. Please feel free to reach out for tailor made cases & general approach to tackle operations cases.
Check out this case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/educateearth-digital-operations-transformation-220
Hi there,
1) Search on Operations here:: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases?language=en&topic[]=8&sort=real-case-desc&page=1&perPage=20
2) Google and casebooks are your friend. For example (https://managementconsulted.com/case-interview/case-interview-examples-master-list/)...go to Accenture, Amex, AT Kearney, Deloitte, and LEK sections which specifically call out operations.
3) Send me a message and I can provide you with a few good ones and/or case you in them!
Hello there,
Ops cases are just one cluster of the interview preparation. It means that most of the skills required are the same and I suggest to start with general preparation. After building the basis you can work on specific ops cases in order to get familiar with some basic concept (utilization rate, occupancy, value chain etc.).
Be careful because it's not a given that you will face just ops cases during your interviews.
Best,
Luca
When I conducted interviews for entry-level McKinsey Operations candidates, I would often tailor a more traditional case (e.g., profitability) to uncover operational issues as opposed to expect a candidate to know lots of technical concepts. A few examples of things I would encourage you to consider would be:
+ Expanding on asset utilisation and availability
+ Breaking down the operational process/value chain
+ Bringing insights around how the maintenance, sourcing and supply chain could be driving the problem
Thanks Ken, i just had information from my colleague who just had interview that he was being asked OEE and all the operationals specific questions that throw him off balance. even though the position that he applied is for junior (BA) level.
I guess it comes down more to your background. If he had a manufacturing (or even engineering) background then understanding concepts like OEE, production downtime, asset utilisation, etc.) would be expected.
