Time Investment for MBB Interviews: Bare Minimum?

Making the switch to consulting from IB. I have an interview at MBB rapidly approaching.

Never done a consulting interview, read a case or really done any prep. I'm pretty green if you can't tell.

Is it realistic to ace an interview after, say, 3 days (~30 hours) of prep?

Know kids have been prepping for years. But I wanted to hear perspectives from those in consulting and especially those who came from an IB summer stint. Don't know how many skills are transferable from banking recruitment.

8 Comments
 

if you're not ready, don't interview early. accept and renege if you have not, not worth it

 

It varies by the individual. There's no hard and fast rule that if you invest x hours, you'll pass since you could be repeating the same mistakes for every case you've done up until the interview. 

On Average, those that prepare for MBB will provide a range between 20-50 cases, but I've met people that have done far less (like 5) and some that have done far more (~100). My advice is to focus on the case components; a free subscription to RocketBlocks (7 days are free) can help a lot with that. Aside from that, aim for quality over quantity in mock interviews with peers also aiming for consulting. I'd say you should aim for 5-10 solid cases, with each one reflect on what you did well, what you missed, and how yo can improve in the structuring, the analysis, and the delivery. To break down a given day, you can do: 3 hours of Rocket Blocks/Reading, 3 Cases (~45 mins for case, ~30 min review).

 

30 hours in three days is not the same as 30 hours in 20 days. Your brain needs time to fully absorb information.

I was already in consulting when I got an offer from MBB, and it took me 2 months of weekend work to get ready as it was years since my last consulting interview.

If you’re serious about it postpone it and get someone from or ex-MBB to help you. In like 2-3 weeks you can get into decent shape, but you will really need someone to coach you because if they give you anything different from what you see in casebooks (think of absurd industries like specialty mining or museums) you will have a hard time.

 
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