Consulting Case Interview — Study Guide

Written with digital and analytics consultancy roles in mind

The post below has resources, insights and suggestions I had gathered over a year-long case-interview processes I have been through in various different consulting firms including the MBB, especially Mckinsey. I am writing this post keeping in mind that most of you are applying to Mckinsey.

Let me break down the resources and key suggestions based on the steps of the recruitment process.

1st Step: Resume Screening

Resume Screening in Mckinsey and various other top-consulting firms are done by a semi-automated system called Applicant Tracking System (ATS). To surpass this specific step you need to make sure of the following:

• Apply to only those roles where your profile fits the role specification. Don’t randomly apply for all open roles or across different practices/ regions without a defined purpose.
• Target a specific role, location and practice.
• To get your application noticed faster, leverage your current real-life network, or network with newer people that already working in the roles you are applying for via LinkedIn, other social media platforms.
• Ensure to equip yourself and include the highly sought for skills in your resume.
• Follow a winning resume format: https://levelup.gitconnected.com/how-to-get-your-resume-into-faang-61bc1d2fdbfc

2nd Step (A): Imbellus — Game Assessment

Imbellus is a substitute for Problem Solving Tests, Mckinsey used to hold a couple of years ago. The way this game works is there are a few tasks requested of you in a limited span of time. You are given a total of 1-hr time limit to complete all of the game. Each of the tasks however are individually timed. Below are some resources you can go through prior to your Imbellus assessment:

• Official Guide: https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/mckinsey-digital-assessment
• Other Guides: https://mconsultingprep.com/mckinsey-imbellus-game/ & https://casecoach.com/b/how-to-ace-mckinseys-digital-assessment/
• Watch YT videos on the game.

2nd Step (B): QuantHub — Technical Assessment

QuantHub is a substitute for Technical Assessments, Mckinsey used to hold a couple of years ago. Please note that you will have to complete this assessment if you apply for a technical role. Below are some resources you can go through prior to your Imbellus assessment:

• Official Test Website: https://quanthub.com/
• Other Guides: https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/mckinsey-quanthub-test/
• Watch YT videos on the assessment.

Know that you don’t need prior experience for the assessment but its always good to practice before you attempt. Also keep in mind, It will not necessarily be the very same tasks you had watched in tutorials / have attempted before but if you do have similar tasks, you’re lucky!

3rd Step: First Round Interviews/ Technical or Expertise Interviews

Technical/ Expertise Interviews are usually conducted for roles that require technical expertise in the subject matter, for example: product engineer, designer, data scientist, data analyst, etc. Applicants applying for technical roles should keep in mind that these roles’ despite being on the technical edge would not necessarily exempt you from case interviews. So, prepare for both technical and case interviews!

For those applying to pure consulting roles you will be having multiple rounds of case interviews alone. The first interview rounds will consist of either 2–3 case interviews that will be conducted by consultants, team leaders and senior associates.

Below are some of the tips and resources you can utilize for the first few rounds:

For beginner applicants,

• Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng is highly recommended! If you want to start from scratch and get hold of the most elementary type of case interview, estimation and market sizing, check out Case in Point by Marc Cosentino.
• Make note of recurring formulas such as: breakeven point, return on investment, etc. Practice them on their own and get familiar with them. You’ll need them to be at the TIP OF YOUR PEN.
• Make the Mckinsey Official Interviewing Guide your case-interview go-to prep guide! Practice the cases available like they are your Alphabets to the Case Interview Dictionary. Watch, Observe and Learn from the Videos where interviewees and interviewers talk about how they approach/ed a problem or crafted or assessed one!

For intermediate to advanced applicants, practice non-traditional and realistic case studies and PEI (personal experience) parts of the interview. Below are resources for them:

• Don’t lose touch on the Mckinsey Official Interviewing Guide case studies. Keep checking on the website if there’s a new case made available.
• For non-traditional and realistic case studies, watch and practice along with CraftingCases YT videos, Case Interview Fundamentals Course curriculum videos, and sign up for their email subscription for useful and applicable tips and suggestions.
• Watch, Observe and Practice some of the most recent case studies with Mock Case Prep Videos on Managementconsulted YT Channel
• PEI Interview by CaseCoach YT Channel
• For more PEI interview content, skim through the CaseCoach YT Channel.
• For quick mental math tips watch MConsultingPrep videos.

4th Step: Last Rounds of Interviews

The last rounds of case interviews will consist of 2–3 case interviews, conducted by associate partners, partners and senior partners. In this round you’ll mostly be challenged with non-traditional cases. For instance, you worked for a robotics lab and your specialty is data engineering. The partner will create a case study on the fly, based on your story/ stories you share. An example of such a study will be: How would you create an automation start-up from scratch? What are the key drivers you would look into? Conduct a market analysis of what strategy/ strategies will you apply?
Take your time to structure & craft your answer and make sure you answer all the questions/ combinations of questions you are being asked. Also, Follow up with CraftingCases Courses and Case Studies and subscribe to their weekly emails in order to practice cracking such on-the-fly crafted cases efficiently and keeping your thoughts structured.

Tips and Suggestions

Below are some quick tips and suggestions to navigate through the interviews:

• Don’t overlook the power of fast calculation and thinking math out loud.
• Hypothesize Hypothesize Hypothesize. Think out loud. Think structured.
• Don’t avoid/ dodge questions or answer haste-fully. Try and clarify questions before proceeding to answer them just to ensure you understood them right.
• Making answering in a structured manner a habit by practicing in your every-day conversations with peers.
• Practicing cases with case-buddies is recommended but not necessary. Just make sure you check your answers/ problem solving structure and time yourself every time you practice.
• Don’t stick to the traditional frameworks. Learn and use these frameworks as a beginner but as you proceed into next levels. Try and formulate a customized framework UNIQUE to the case study. The earlier you learn this, the better because consultants in real-life use customized frameworks and not the traditional textbook ones.
• Be true with your PEI stories. DO NOT make one up on the fly! Interviewers will dig deeper and deeper until they reach the ocean-bed of your story. So, brainstorm scenarios (where you mitigated conflict, lead a team, etc.) early on. Have your colleagues/ friends give you feedback on stories you are unsure of.
• PEIs are EQUALLY if not more important to Case Interviews. So, prepare your PEI stories well and strong!
• When asked to wait before the interview, don’t stress out or lose your calm. Remember the person interviewing you is probably taking an hour or a half out from their busy day to interview you.
• When asked to hasten the interview/ wrap up your case in 30 seconds. Ask for a minute to structure your top-down recommendation, then answer.
• Don’t stress a lot over the hastened interview ending. It often happens that partners have multiple interviews lined up back to back along with other important client calls. Treat them and their time with respect. Thank them for their time. BE NICE to them!
• Don’t forget to send over your questions and a thank you email to each of the interviewers an hour or two post the interview. If you send in the thank you emails later than that, the interviewers might not be able to recognize who the email has been sent by.
• When in case-interviews, treat the interview like a conversation with the client you’re solving for.
• When cut off while answering a question during the interview. Don’t stress out and keep going with the flow. Interviews are constrained by time and partners have very little of that!
• The more senior the interviewer, the more structured you are expected to be. Don’t cut out your structured talk in any part of the interview even when the interviewer asks you to “casually answer/ no need to structure your thoughts”. It’s a trap. Be wary of it.
• If you are given time between interviews, don’t waste it. Practice your structures and cases. Draft more stories. You may need more than 5–6 PEI stories. So, don’t stop prepping thinking you have time because no amount of preparation is enough. While at the same time don’t forget to plug off a little to re-energize.
• Last but not the least, don’t let one bad case-interview put you down. If you have a consultant in you, someone will see it and take a chance on you. YOU GOT THIS!

On that note, I would like to wish you : ALL THE VERY BEST on the interview process. Yes, it can be a tiring process, might also seem intimidating at times but I promise you, you can do it!

1. Images sourced from freepik.