Consulting Q&A - Ask questions around your career in our consulting forum

Hey,

My question back to you is this: Why do you want to be in Consulting & specifically MBB?

If this is your dream, you can get there through other routes. Join BIG4/Accenture, prove yourself and move to MBB. Or join a tech firm/Amazon/FG/Google/Start-up, clock some relevant experience and then move to MBB. And there are other options too..

Also, any consultant who is not Tech/IT Savvy will become irrelevant in a few years, if they already are not. Management consultants who dont understand AI, ML, Agile (scrum, kanban), DevOps,Design Thinking will be useless. So you are in a great position to be very close to this part of the Technology landscape as we live in a tech driven world. Consulting projects are becoming more and more tech driven.

So, I think you need some help to improve your positioning/branding and justifying your transferrable skill set. Nothing wrong in your IT PM role, but some works needs to be done to articulate your story, skills better.

Happy to chat more, so feel free to shoot me a personal message.

Hey,

When you are doing something you really want to do and are having fun..question of work life balance doesnt arise. You make it work seemlessly.

Problem is that most people are in jobs that they really dont want to do but are in it for the money, titles or for vairous other reasons.

Work-life balance is something that you must take control of. If you let the company dictate the rules, they will consume you. But it takes some time for you to be in that position of control. It wont happen from the day 1 when you join the company. If you are in such a company- thats great! But very few companies (including consulting firms) are getting WLB right. They are trying but success is in pockets. Also be aware that as long as you work for any big corporate (with profits & growth at the heart of the business) in a mid-manager or upwards role, your time & effort will be stretched. The corporate sector just doesnt work on 9am-5pm basis. COVID is a big wake up call. No one is safe in their jobs anymore.

Have a look at thread for more details on this subject- https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/does-work-life-balance-improve-with-time-8445

So my advice to you is this- get into consulting if thats what you really want to do. If its the right fit with you career aspirations, values and risk apetitie. Go for it. Otherwise dont. Dont let WLB be the only deciding factor.

Good luck.

Hey there,

1. Take 30 seconds to 1 minute to gather your thoughts

2. Present the recommendation(s) first (top-down): What do you recommend?

3. Present supporting arguments that you take from the different elements of the case (structure, math, exhibit): Why do you recommend it?

4. Prioritize: Based on your recommendations, what would you do first and why? This is your chance to shine with some sort of prioritization logic, plotted on a chart (e..g, a 2x2 matrix with 2 criteria, naturally favoring one alternative over the other)

5. Briefly discuss risks and next steps.

All of this should be done within 3-4 minutes.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

It seems you already know the basics of the game.

If you want to really deep dive into the preparation, you can find at the following link a sum up of tens of candidates and the best strategies to crack the Imbellus scenarios in the guide I wrote:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/mckinsey-imbellus-game-secrets-48

Besides the descriptions of the scenarios and specific tips for each of them, you will also get the following ad-hoc material:

1. Excel tutorial to Manage the Ecosystem Management game
2. Food chain templates to optimize the Food Chain
3. Rules of the Game for the Chain
4. Examples of Chains working and not working

Using them you will save several minutes during the game.

If you have any additional questions after going through the guide, please feel free to write to me and I will reply within 12 hours with any additional tips or suggestions you may need.

Best,

Francesco

It definitely does not affect your desirability. Full stop.

Progressive firms are all trying to build diverse teams that reflect the clients they serve. One dimension is people at different life stages than the stereotypical recent MBA grad who hasn't settled down yet and without much life experience.

As someone who joined McKinsey when I had three kids, I felt that I was able to relate to clients differently than I would have at an earlier stage in life.

One extra point: aside from the travel and the challenges that created, for me it was also very difficult to network within McKinsey. Meaning, when I finished my work on Friday afternoon, I noticed most people from the office meeting up, having drinks in the cafeteria, getting to know each other and the senior partners, etc. However, I was rarely able to do this, since I was always rushing to get home. I'm not gonna lie - that was tough to manage and I often thought that the company was built for younger people since that networking is important. I probably could have managed it better, but just telling you what was in my head.

Hope that helps,

Allen

Hi there,

It really depends if you clarified with the interviewer that you misheard:

• If you did clarify so, it may not be a problem (depends on the interviewer though)
• If you didn’t clarify so, it is a problem, as the interviewer will assume you did the math wrong twice

Before doing the math, it is always good if you repeat all the information – in particular if you have a lot of numbers – to be sure there are no issues with miscommunication.

Best,
Francesco

Hi there,

Overall this looks quite strong! You've structured well and thought through this.

I highly recommend you read through this article. It lays out beautifully the 8 types of questions to be ready for. I advise you to "roleplay" some of these questions. They will all pretty much be regarding any of your points, arguments, etc.:

https://www.typetalk.com/blog/the-8-essential-questioning-techniques-you-need-to-know/

If you'd like a professional roleplay in this area, feel free to reach out! Very important to get practice in responding to questions on the spot (not via a Q&A where you have time to think!)

You need to practice!

Regarding Improving Fast Math Skills

• Online "Drills": https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/fast-math-multiplication-quiz
• Math sheets (print these and do them on paper): https://www.math-drills.com/
• Leverage the free preplounge resource:https://www.preplounge.com/en/mental-math.php
• Rocketblocks is great for math in the context of a case:https://www.rocketblocks.me/

Regarding Improving Axienty

1) Practice, practice, practice - just like playing an instrument, practice until it becomes second nature...then when you perform in front of an audience, muscle memory takes over from stage fright!

2) Practice with people who make you nervous - Don't keep casing yourself or casing with other PrepLoungers! You need to feel as nervous when practicing as you will in the real thing. To do so, you can do any (or all) of the following:

• Ask for a buddy/case partner from target firms to which you're applying
• Ask anyone you have a relationship with at your target firms to give you a practice case
• Ask your school's career office to give you a case
• Ask a coach to give you a case (and ask them to be tough/strict/non-friendly)
• Still ask PrepLoungers to case you, but ask them to jump straight into it without conversation beforehand (i.e. simulate the real thing)
• Change your enviroment - instead of casing at home, go to a library or office room. Changing the scenery may trigger you to be less relaxed

3) Practice with the unknown - ask people to give you "weird" cases. Ask people to throw everything they have at you (curveballs, confusing statements, etc.)...you'll get comfortable with tripping up (and recovering)

4) Practice fast math - You said you get nervous here...well, practice it until it's the easiest thing you've ever done! How? Use the following:

• Online "Drills": https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/fast-math-multiplication-quiz
• Math sheets (print these and do them on paper): https://www.math-drills.com/
• https://www.rocketblocks.me/

Mental Math Q&A: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/is-quick-mental-math-a-skill-that-can-be-learned-5210

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mental-math-help-7962

Interview Anxiety: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-on-interview-anxiety-7095

Hi there,

It is definitely possible to get a referral in your situation – I coached a candidate who had very low GPA and managed to be invited at BCG Germany exactly because of a partner referral.

I would say that if your profile is “regular”, a referral is even more important as you may not pass the screening otherwise.

You need a strategy to get the referral though – you can find more at the link below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

Sorry to hear that. I believe you can apply again also at BCG, but possibly for more senior positions – so may be in 2+ years. You may verify with them how long is the ban in your specific case. I helped candidates who were 40+ to join MBB so that’s definitely possible also later on.

In the meantime, you have additional options if you want to work in consulting:

• Apply at McK and Bain
• Apply at a 2nd Tier

The best thing would be to have a good referral strategy, you can find more on that here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Even if your final goal is BCG, it will be easier to do a transition there if you land a consulting offer in the meantime.

Best,

Francesco