- Every aspiring consultant and MBA grad who is searching for a job should expect to complete a case interview, which is a standardized test that challenges your ability to think on your feet and solve business problems.
- Approaching the case interview in the same way as the SATs, will put you far ahead of the competition.
- But this method of recruiting goes beyond just consulting firms. Major tech companies like Google and Amazon are incorporating the case interview method into their hiring processes.
- Business Insider spoke to three consulting career experts who suggested ways to prepare for the case interview round so that you can avoid making common mistakes and land a job at top firms like McKinsey or Bain & Company.
- Click here for more BI Prime stories.
How well you do at a case interview can make or break your chances of landing a consulting job at a top firm. And just like the SATs — if you prepare well and study the test, you can almost guarantee success.
Almost every consulting interview, especially at top-tier firms like McKinsey, Bain & Company, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), follows a standardized process that is broken down into two components: A personal experience interview and a case study exercise.
This method of testing is expanding beyond consulting firms. Major tech companies like Amazon and Google are also adopting the case interview method to their hiring strategies.
"It's a great way to see how people think," said Abigail Kies, assistant dean of the careers development office at Yale's School of Management. "You're giving candidates an opportunity to demonstrate what they're bringing to the table, and that takes away much more of the possibly biased information and gives someone an opportunity to perform."
The case interview portion, in particular, takes about 25 to 30 minutes, and involves math. There are no trick questions in this round — just straightforward prompts that evaluate the critical thinking skills you learned from business school.
Top consulting firms like McKinsey and Deloitte provide case samples online that break down the types of questions and answers recruiters are looking for. These employers emphasize that a case exam is standardized and that you can do well if you practice.
You can find interview samples online, and there are several books that serve as valuable resources. Nevertheless, there's still a lot of pressure that comes with a case interview. You only get one shot to win over a firm.
Business Insider spoke with three consulting career experts on how to best prepare and avoid making mistakes that can jeopardize your chances. And much like a strategy for the SATs, they all recommended simple but effective tips for you to ace your interview.
Here are five best practices to keep in mind while studying for your case exams.
Know your plan
Experts recommend you have a target firm in mind, much like when you were prepping to hit the SAT score threshold at your top colleges.
All colleges have an SAT score ranging from 400 to 1600 and your chances of getting into a top school really depends on where you fall on this spectrum. Knowing your exact score range gives a clear direction on how close you are to the end goal. Similarly, knowing the exact kind of company and job title you want helps hone in your strategy.
Giovanni Braghieri is the cofounder of My Consulting Coach, a global career development platform for aspiring management consultants. When asked for the best strategies, he urged candidates to "always have a plan."
"Even though this may sound silly, a lot of people fail because they start practicing without having a sense of direction or a goal," he said. "Even when you're starting from zero, you should still have a goal."
For example, if you're applying for a financial advisory consulting role, you're probably expected to be great with numbers. On the contrary, a strategy consulting position will emphasize long-term thinking skills.
If you know what you're working toward (whether it's a dream company or job title you aspire to), you can do your homework accordingly.
Practice out loud
Reading through an SAT prep guide doesn't mean you've studied, and knowing the most important Harvard cases from business school doesn't make you an expert case interviewee for a consulting role.
In fact, Mian said one of the common mistakes his clients make is that they fall into the trap by assuming that reading about cases is the same as preparing for them.
In fact, case interviews are verbal tests just as much as they are skill evaluations. You're judged based on how you think out loud.
"For the first 15 of the 20 minutes where you're going through the round face-to-face, you're supposed to be talking the entire time," he said. "My first tip to you — if you were starting the prep process — would be to practice out loud."
Case interviews have a standard beginning, middle, and end. Your interviewer reads out a prompt, you take notes and draw graphs during that process, and you walk them through solving that particular problem.
During this time, your potential employers are not only measuring your ability to structure an approach quickly, but they're also judging your presentation and poise.
You can identify your weak areas easily if you practice out loud, Mian said. It's better to know your speaking tics sooner than later.
Know the frameworks, but still be creative with your answers
The essay portion of the SAT is hard because the writing prompt is unpredictable. Though you might have perfected your writing structure and grammar, good writing takes a lot more than the technical skills.
Similarly, you won't know the case interview question until the interview. Experts suggest studying up core concepts, but still pay attention to what's being asked and be original with your responses.
Kies told Business Insider that recruiting partners often stress that students to know the business frameworks for case interviews.
"They're being evaluated across the board," she said. "It's not just what they're answering, but also how they're answering and how they're demonstrating everything that they're bringing to the table."
Think of frameworks as math equations. Much like how the Pythagorean theorem is crucial to solving right-angled triangle problems, case frameworks help draw a map for building company strategies. When you're at a case interview, you should listen carefully to what's being asked and apply the appropriate framework to the answer, Kies said. You can take a look at Yale's frameworks here.
On the contrary, Braghieri doesn't want his clients to depend too much on the frameworks. He explained that it's better to tap into your creativity than just giving textbook answers.
"Consultants don't use frameworks in their real jobs," he said. "You can't really apply a framework to every business problem you need to solve. What's most important is having a consulting mindset to be original."
Run drills and mock interviews with a friend
SAT prep guides suggest repetition because it works. There's a pay off in perfecting a skill by doing it over and over again, and all three experts said that the only way for you to get better at case interviews is by practicing.
"Throughout the semester, students do tons of mock interviews," Kies said. "They do them with each other, they do them with second years, they do them with alumni. At the career office, we also provide behavioral mock interviews."
Yale is not the only career center that encourages a drill method. Mian said a drill-based practice can quickly accelerate your skills in weak areas. You can give quicker responses with practice, and you can also become more fluid if you study with repetition.
Whether you're practicing with a friend or a career coach, you can time and video-record yourself. Though watching yourself on tape is awkward, recordings help identify your weaknesses.
One of the hardest parts of a case interview is communicating through the case and showing someone how you're thinking, Kies said. The more you practice, the better you will get at conveying your thoughts.
Keep up with major industry news
Read the news.
The SAT is always changing, and it's important to stay current on test trends — a 2010 prep guide will not be nearly as helpful as a 2020 one. In comparison, when you're preparing for a case, staying up to date on the latest trends in the industries you're hoping to cover is key to acing the interview.
While it's good to have a general knowledge of the company's background and recent news, you're better off reading breaking news on major industries when preparing for a case interview.
"For example, if you're interviewing at McKinsey for a generalist role, you could get a hamburger case or an oil and gas case," Mian told Business Insider. "Know how those industries operate and know their business models. [That's] more important than studying up on a firm's history."
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