Case Interview Practice Sessions

Question

I'd like to kickstart a few 1 to 1 case interviews between GMATclub members who are serious about getting into the world of management consulting. I assure all of you that the #1 best method to succeed in the case interview is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Since we may not know that many people in the real world with a big enough interest in consulting to practice with us, why not use GMATclub as yet another way of achieving our goals?

I, for one, will be ready for Skype 1 to 1 case interview prep starting in early August. For those interested, please post when you would like to have a few practice sessions and we'll take it from there. So far venky1979 (who PMed me prior to posting this thread) is on board.

Please note that I'm calling out to ALL aspiring consultants, not just those holding MBAs or at B-school. Personally, I'm aiming for an entry level position as I would still like a couple more years experience before applying for my MBA.

Cheers and best of luck to all!

jasonc · Answer

I'd love to help 
A lil background:
I'm an 09 applicant who is interested in management consulting (strategy and/or marketing focus).
My experience with case interviews is limited
I can call anywhere in the US any time not between 9-6 PST - or do video conferences as well.

GMATobliterator · Answer

Jason, thanks for coming onboard and for the background info. Also not much experience here but aiming for the big 4. I look forward to sparring with you very soon on some tough cases

jasonc · Answer

I'm on the west coast, so PST, you?

jallenmorris · Answer

Jason - I hear Microsoft and Yahoo make some good conferencing software programs....maybe you could use those. (Just kidding, I know you work for Google ;-)

)

GMATobliterator · Answer

Middle East here, GMT+2.

Are you game for sometime early August?

jasonc · Answer

early August sounds good to me, just let me know when~ Jallen - feel free to join us

btw, did I mention I grew up in Tulsa?

jallenmorris · Answer

Jason,

No I didn't realize you grew up in Tulsa. I have a lot of friends that live there. One is a current County Commissioner elected in 2006. I really like Tulsa. How did you find your way to Cali?

Paradosso · Answer

Guys,

I am working in a top-3 consultancy before having my MBA. I am available if you want to practice some case interviews since I have taken a ton myself and I speak often with managers about what they do to evaluate candidates.

The best two books to prepare:

- Case in Point by Cosentino
- Crack the Case

You can skip anything else as far as I know.

GMATobliterator · Answer

Paradosso, Thank you very much for offering to help us out, especially seeing that you've already landed the job at one of the firms we currently dream of joining

Case in point is pretty good, I have not read "Crack the Case" yet, but I do recommend "How to Get Into the Top Consulting Firms" by Tim Darling (a McKinsey associate) Anyone else on board for case prep?

Paradosso · Answer

GMATobliterator,

I have taken maybe 20 real case interviews (all the top MCs and more), what I can tell you from my experience is that the crucial point is being able to lay out your structure to address the case (and you don't have much time for doing it). The most valuable books are those who provide you with memorable and sensible frameworks you can rely on when push come to shove. Than you have to be able to work numbers fast, but that I'll take for granted.

It's not rocket surgery, 90% of what the interviewer wants is: "don't give me bullshit" --he already knows you have the brainpower for it from your resume*. The rest (attitude, body language, restate the questions and whatnot) is correct but it's just window dressing in the end.

Don't try to hit a home run unless you get thrown a very good ball: go for a single. It's amazing how many very smart people end with a strike out.

I'd say:

1. Read cases
2. Crack the case
3. Practice cases with your roommate, who does not know anything about business
4. Case in Point
5. Read more cases
6. Practice more cases
7. Cut any bullshit that's left

And you are fine.

donk33 · Answer

Early August seems good for me too.
As for me, I'm studying in the Bay Area (PST) - I got interview calls ffor internship from pretty much everyone but could not convert as I hadn't 
PRACTICED!

paul2galembert · Answer

hi guys,
I am very interested in practicing as soon as possible.
I dont have much experience beside having read a book on it.
I am usually available starting at 6h30 pm via skype or msn or whatever.

prince123 · Answer

Anybody interested in Mckinsey PPT prep. What are the resources available for it.

Info- if you do very good in PST and average in interview- u can still make it.

nirvana · Answer

Prince I am interested in practicing PST and cases this weekend. I have an interview coming up next week so really looking to practice now. Write back if you are interested. We can use Skype or Phone and I am flexible wrt time.

pradder86 · Answer

hi very keen to practice case interviews over next 10 days have interviews with McKinsey and Bain. please e-mail on s0568590@sms.ed.ac.uk Very flexible with times

SCHBS · Answer

Hi all,

I am an HBS 2012 international candidate. My professional goal is to become a consultant in one of the top global consulting firms. My GMAT score is OK, but not more than that and very unbalanced: 710 (51Q,34V).

I understand that top consulting firms consider high GMAT scores an important criteria. I have relatively work-free couple of months, and I feel I can retake it and improve my score to ~740.

Do you think I should do it? I will definitely improve my score (second time, no pressure...)... Question is whether it is really necessary considering I am already in a top program?

Thanks and good luck!

5wksingle · Answer

Hey all, I've been coming to this forum for awhile but never posted - here goes. I am going into the process for the mid atlantic offices of McKinsey and need to practice cases for industry hires and I found a guys profile on LinkedIn, Nick Oak, who does coaching for McKinsey interviews and wanted to get feedback from anyone that might know about his value/impact and if anyone has worked with him. I saw his recommendations and thought they were pretty good but would like to hear from people on this forum. Any thoughts?

xolin · Answer

I preferred Google Hangouts to Skyping.

PrepLounge is freemium, but has a video-integrated interactive case interview practice room. You can search from thousands of candidates, too, and it has cases with charts and feedback tools (and recordings of your case session).

Victor Cheng is starting a smaller, less involved version, but you need to setup Skype calls yourselves.

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