Practicing cases by yourself

There are many interactive cases you can practice with on all the consulting firms' websites (BCG, Bain, OW...) that are a little bit better than what you are doing, since you are "redressed" at every step.

Anyways, I have the same problem and I am doing the same more or less: I do sketch how I would proceed and try to analyze all the possible answers the interviewer would give me, and the following question/action. This partially solves the problem of seeing the answers.

Btw have a look here: http://firmsconsulting.com/firmsconsulting-tv/ I found this approach very useful and somehow complementary to Victor Cheng's one.

Good luck!

Thanks man! I'd give you a banana but I don't have any. Good luck to you as well!

CIP alone worked wonders for me. Just be disciplined and create frameworks that make complete sense to you. I made my own frameworks thru looking at the CIP frameworks and marrying it with my own strengths and experience during case interviews.

And do all the interactive cases provided above, as well as on the websites of all the top consulting firms.

I second bbjhva's post. I read CIP and watched VC's videos and wound up applying VC's frameworks (and bits and pieces of knowledge from CIP) to the cases in CIP. I actually didn't do any live practice cases (a mistake) but instead wrote out an initial framework and drafted the first few questions I'd ask on paper, then imagining different ways the interviewer could respond, and where that would lead me next in my questioning. I thought of it as one of those "choose your own ending" books, and I drew out a map/web of where my different questions would lead. The goal would be that one of my "paths" resembled the "right" one in CIP, and the rest of them were also valid hypotheses that just happened not to be the one used in that case.

Good luck with your prep!

Thank you kind sirs! At the moment, I have a little under two weeks until my super day and I have two scheduled live case practices with my career services this week. But I'm going to schedule some more for next week.

Wish me luck!

I was planning on reading BCG on Strategy (it's actually pretty interesting, albeit a bit dense) cover to cover then work on Case in Point by Cosentino. And keep reading Businessweek and the Economist to keep up on current events. Estimated timeline of about 4-5 months (longer because I'm studying for the LSAT and trying to learn Portuguese at the same time). Anything else I can do?

Do the cases have to be done verbally to be of any help or is it helpful to write out the answers in essay form?

Reading BCG Strategy cover to cover is always good but don't mistake that to be case prep. In fact, reading alone is not case prep. Case prep is rolling up your sleeves and sitting on a desk and just busting out practice cases. Over and over again. It's an arduous process and not always the most exciting, but as CIP says - the day you realize you're yourself excited to destroy a case coz you can't imagine any case possibly foxing you - that's when you know McKinsey better watch its back!!

All the best.

I still don't really understand how one can fully practice a case by one's self with a book. I mean, I can see how: you read the problem and try to apply a framework while looking for data points to ask for.

Then what? You look at the book to see what data is provided? In CIP, the practice cases are structured in a way where if you take a glance at the portion beyond the initial question, you pretty much get the answer to the entire case.

I guess I'd run a whole bunch of scenarios in my head (or write them out). Or practice with someone on skype.

Having graduated from school I don't have the career center resources I used to have (school's too physically far away). Wondering why the hell I graduated.

And btw bbjhva, in my book, BCG>McK.

Holymonkey - no idea man, I work for neither BCG nor McKinsey :) Both are unbelievable, needless to say.

Rana - How do you practice alone? It is as I said about being a little disciplined. I was practicing even when I was at a full time job and got home at 8-10pm, so firstly I HAD to practice alone due to my circumstances (so you need some motivation I guess). The basic way to do it alone is by first reading through some of the cases while always thinking before you read ahead what YOU would do. CIP has 35 cases which is more than enough for you to read few, half-practice a few, and then full on practice the rest. Also, always interesting to go back and re-do some cases - unless you have a photographic memory, chances are you'd have forgotten 80% of the case anyway...so just gotta keep going. The CIP book alone is definitely enough - I haven't even tried LOMS (heard it's great though).

I can attest to the usefulness of LOMS. I was a part of the program, and two of the cases included in the final recording are between VC and I. LOMS is probably more useful to me than most other people just because I got to hear exactly where I made the mistakes, but I did still find all of the other cases in the program very enlightening!

Good luck with the preparation process.

Good luck bro, CIP is great. Use it as someone above mentioned, to create that consulting frame of mind when attacking the questions they ask you. Just keep your cool regardless of what they ask you and how they ask it. I remember getting a question that I simply got stuck on and kept spitting out the wrong answers because I was freaking out in my head knowing that they were wrong... needless to say, that recruiting effort didn't end well for me, haha. In the end, it's really about practice, the more you do, the better you get at them, sounds like the ones you have lined up with your CC should go well.

Thanks guys! The mock case interviews at my career services ended up being completely useless. The lady said we didnt have enough time to flesh out an entire 45-minute case, so she gave me a couple of stupid brainteasers: how many balloons can fit in a 747? How many people are bald in the U.S.? And then she gave me some behavioral questions.

To aspiringconsultant: Is LOMS really that useful? I'm seriously considering buying the service.

I found it to be extremely useful for polishing up the way you present your approach, synthesizing, and making recommendations. There are five cases in total with about 3 versions per case (sometimes more) that show a bad, good, and perfect example. For some of the cases, none of the candidates got it perfectly so Victor solved the cases himself and recorded it. I found those best practice cases from Victor to be the most useful for polishing up the rough edges of your presentation skills. In addition, I found the "bad" examples of the cases helpful as well because you tend to catch yourself going down the wrong path if you know what a "bad" case sounds like.

Best of luck!

Key things to do during interviews:

• Understand the problem at hand, even if it means asking a dozen questions
• What worked great for me was walking the interviewer thru right at the start how you will be approaching the case. Eg: "First, I will analyze the market. Secondly, I'll look at the competitors. Thirdly....and lastly, I'll present recommendations" This shows you're in complete control of the situation and are treating the interview like a problem you've cracked hundreds of times before. Which, if you've practiced hard enough, you probably have!
• Use a framework in your head, and use it to structure ur answer
• Work in numbers where you can - consulting firms need strong math skills
• MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS

All the best.

Thanks guys. I have a quick question:

I got my schedule for my final round interview and I know who will be interviewing me. I also have a handful of alumni I've been networking with who work in the same group.

Would it be inappropriate to reach out to these alumni again and basically ask them what each individual interviewer might be looking for and how to best impress them? And by that, I mean asking them what types of cases each interviewer tends to give.

Or would that be considered 'cheating?'

If you can't practice with anyone, practicing structuring and synthesizing out-loud. If you are super hard-core, record yourself and listen for areas of improvement.

LOMS is a good way to augment this approach. As stated above VC does a 'best practice' version of each of his case studies and you can 'model' his structuring and synthesis to improve your own.

IMO - LOMS is good but not sufficient. If you have a enough time there are 2 things I believe you need to do well. 1 - perspective (gained from knowing what's out there, CIP, LOMS, University Case Guides, Consulting Bible, etc.) and 2 - Practicing entire cases start to finish (in your mind is good, out loud is better, recording with a partner is best). Be your own worst critic and keep improving.

Rana - If you know the alumni well (e.g. beyond a strictly work relationship) then by all means yes - see if you can triangulate your interviewers style (assuming you're talking to more than 1 person). But know that it may not help or you may get conflicting data points that leave you where you started. You can always hedge by practicing more and expecting harder cases as your progress through the final rounds (where you will be heavily evaluated for consistency in performance and any soft spots from previous interviews are likely to get pressed on).

Good luck!

Thanks VSC, that was extremely helpful!

I've only been in touch with my alumni contacts through email, so we don't have any other relationship beyond that. I'm planning on just saying "blah blah... oh, and according to my schedule, I will be interviewed by XX, YY, and ZZ."

So I'm not going to explicitly ask for "insider knowledge" on my interviewers.

Please wish me luck! Getting an offer from this company will no doubt be one of my greatest accomplishments so far in life and I would be EXTREMELY ECSTATIC.

Even thinking about getting an offer makes me so excited and happy. I should stop doing that, though. haha.