Actual MBB case studies
Does anybody know where to find actual case studies performed by MBB or other firms? Not case interview prep questions, but the whole case, from beginning to end?
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PM me.
Okay - nevermind - no one PM me, I just got like 35 messages. I just went through lateral interviews with BCG and Bain. Won't comment on a public board about the outcome, but suffice to say I did well enough that my advice isn't worthless. Don't know that I think it's totally fair or honestly, all that helpful, to give out cases from actual interviews on this board (@ many firms, interviewers are allowed to make up their own cases on the spot), but I will give all of you out there a few pieces of advice:
1) Come in with canned answers to the following questions - why consulting, why X firm, (2) examples of teamwork, (2) examples of leadership, (2) examples of persuasion, (3) strengths and weaknesses. Be able to adapt these canned answers into questions about your experiences. This seems obvious but the interviewer's first impression of you is developed during the fit portion of the interview. If you appear to be able to give coherent, fluid, well structured answers to the fit interview, they will be MUCH nicer to you during the case. Trust me. Do not have an unstructured conversation during ANY portion of a consulting interview, even if it's the resume/fit portion of the interview. I cannot stress that enough.
2) Buy David Ohrvall's book and look over his MVM approach. It was, for me, at least, the easiest way to organize my thoughts without resorting to any specific framework and really helped me to have structured, coherent discussions. His cases are AWESOME and I found them to be way better than the ones in Case in Point. I think his book is available in Adobe Digital Editions on Scribd. He's an Ex-Bain guy. If you can afford it and are a serious contender for an offer looking to put yourself over the edge (ie - target undergrad student who knows his/her numbers/stats will net him a few interviews) consider buying 1 - 2 sessions with him - his ROI stats are impressive.
3) The BCG and Bain cases are way less complex than the ones on their website (ESPECIALLY BCG).
4) If your math is rusty, the Secrets of Mental Math is a fast, easy read and will be helpful. Practice doing math and estimation out loud it's not always intuitive.
5) If you are in an interview and the interviewer seems to be having a conversation about a case he's done rather than launching a full blown case discussion - do NOT be fooled. This is still a case interview, even if it seems SUPER conversational. Use structure (see item 1).
Good luck to all.
Another way to go is reading Case In Point and then studying Victor Chen's website: http://www.caseinterview.com/
I had down cold FOUR frameworks: Profit/Loss, 3Cs and a P (customers, product, company, competition), Merger (really just using 3Cs and a P twice) and capacity increase. I only needed to use Profit/Loss and 3Cs and a P for all 8 case studies... but then I am a J.D. and it is possible that MBAs get trickier cases.
You need to be able to sketch out those frameworks in detail in your sleep. I consistently was commended for my creativity... why? Because I had set issues memorized for every category that I would instantaneously write into the framework.
I echo most of what is written above. I think you really only need 4 stories, however: 1) a time you successfully lead a team 2) another time you did something great 3) A time you resolved a conflict with a teammate/superior (this is your persuasion story) and 4) a time you failed.
Answers for strength/weakness, why consulting, why MBB (whichever one you are interviewing with) are necessary as well.
Anyway, prepare those stories with the sorts of qualities MBB is looking for. Go check out their websites and recruiting material for ideas. Then practice telling them over and over again. You want a short set up of the problem, a description of how you handled it that highlights your thought process, and then a short conclusion.
Your math skills need to be sharp. That said, the occasional minor error won't kill you. Just keep your cool, make the correction and move on like it was no big deal.
The above worked out well for me. There are many ways to go about preparing. PM me with specific questions. I worked like hell to get my offer.
As for getting actual case studies... no applicant is allowed to keep their notes and, in any case, that is not being a good sport, now is it? On the other hand, have you tried going to your business school and asking for prep materials? They may have examples that MBB has given them... they'll be way old... but still...
I would recommend some caution for memorizing frameworks as it can lead to a stiff adherence to them.
I had more of a list in my head of things that are relevant for a given case and was commended for the fact that I wasn't rigid (and got an MBB offer). For example: If it's a profitability question and the first thing you say is "profit equals total revenue minus marginal cost minus fixed cost" and then write down your little P = TR - MC - FC that's rigid.
If you say "First I'd like to get a look at the revenue of the company and then break out the marginal and fixed costs." What's better about this is that right away it sets out your vision for how you will tackle the case instead of robotically reciting some elementary formula that everyone already knows. It also engages the interviewer in a way that's more conversation instead of just some sounding board.
Oh absolutely... you need to be flexible and you need to be able to adapt the framework to the case.
That said, I found that rote memorization of a detailed framework gave me a pre generated checklist that I could run through as I solved the case. You ask the interviewer for a little time and take 90 seconds to write out the frame work... then you begin your presentation and add or subtract stuff as necessary.
If you know your stuff well enough, you can use the framework as an outline to work off of while you make a conversational presentation. You will never miss a possible avenue of approach like this... but it does take practice and you really need to understand the concepts in order to know what to stress.
Worked well for me... but, like I said, there are many ways to go about it.
Hey, I appreciate everyone's responses. They included a lot of my next questions, so thank you.
Sorry for the ambiguity in my original post -- I wasn't looking for the questions they asked you ON the interview by any means; that's a bit... unscrupulous.
What I'm looking for are actual cases done by the consultants -- not case interviews, but actual jobs. I'm looking for reports on how the consultants carried out the work on a job from start to finish. Do they publish that stuff anywhere (obviously they won't list the specific client)?
I ask because when I had a case interview, the common question was, "Okay, and how would you figure such-and-such out?" There have to be stories or reports or something about what, say, BCG did for some client from start to finish. I want to get a better idea of how the analysis operations are carried out (i.e., do they do telephone polls to get data, things like that).
Go to your business school and ask for example cases to read through.
You can also pick up any number of books... I recommend case in point.
There is no silver bullet super secret approach to what you are asking.
What you need is a tool set of answers that you know very well such that you can apply them on the fly. Reading lots of cases can get you there. Case In Point is a good place to start...
They were looking for you to come up with creative and logical solutions on the fly...
Alright thanks, vyger -- I grabbed CiP and it seems to be a good place to start.
A couple from BCG: + http://www.portoflosangeles.org/CTP/CTP_Analysis.pdf + http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/mayorsoffice/special%20report…
Ah thanks -- that's exactly what I was looking for.
sweet, thanks!
awesome materials, thanks so much!
Frankly, I found David Ohrvall's book really not that good.
Best resources without a doubt are:
1) case interview Secrets by Victor Cheng 2) Case Interview Success, 2nd Edition by Tom Rochtus 3) Case In Point, 7th Edition by Marc Cosentino
These in total have roughly 50 business cases. Vyger76 post below's very accurate as well
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