How Should I Prepare for Interviews at Top-tier Consulting Firms?

How Should I
Case Interview
Prepare for
Preparation
Interviews at
Top-tier
Consulting
Firms?

Interested in breaking into a top-tier firm?
So, you’ve decided to pursue a management
consulting career. You’ve successfully created
and submitted an impressive resume, and your
favorite suit is pressed and ready to go. Now all
you need to do is ace that interview.
But how?

Consulting interviews are tough, and many
aspiring consultants feel intimidated by the
thought of interviewing at world-renowned
consultancies, but if you prepare accordingly
you’re sure to come out on top.
In this presentation, you will learn:

•
•

What to do before the case interview
What to do on the day of the case
interview

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2

Before the case interview
Research the
company

Do your homework and find out everything you need to learn about your
prospective firm. Familiarize yourself with all relevant information before you go
to the interview. Know who their clients are and research them, find out what
problems they handle as well as their preferred methodologies, and visit their
website and follow their social accounts in order to connect with people who are
associated with them. This information will give you some helpful insights which
you can use during the interview.

Screenshot of BCG’s website


3

Before the case interview
Prepare
questions

Yes, it’s important to know how to answer questions during the interview.
However, at some point you’ll be asked if you have any concerns, which is your
chance to ask insightful questions. Knowing how and what to ask will show your
genuine interest in the job. You can ask about the interviewer’s experience with
the firm or what it’s like to work as a consultant.

Evaluate tour
competencies

Assess your skills and reflect on how suitable you are for the job. Identify your
weaknesses and focus on improving them in the weeks before the interview. You
need to prove that you have the capability to perform the responsibilities of a
consultant. Self-awareness is key to success; if you feel that you lack a few critical
skills, work on honing them.

Learn the
consulting
frameworks

Memorize consulting frameworks. If you master the frameworks, you’re likely to
arrive at a pragmatic solution to any given problem. It’s easy to get overwhelmed
by the large amount of data presented; you may be confused about where and how
to start. Understanding business frameworks can definitely guide you in generating
sound recommendations. Make sure to take the time to master and apply different
frameworks to various cases.

Follow current
events in the
industry

You won’t demonstrate to recruiters that you have what it takes to be a consultant
if you don’t stay on top of current events. Equip yourself with industry knowledge
by reading news and magazine articles about the finance and politics sectors, both
domestic and international. Also, and most importantly, keep yourself updated
about the company that you’re interviewing with.


4

Before the interview
Read
recruitment
materials

Top-tier consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, Booz ,and Bain provide information
for candidates on their websites about what they are looking for in an applicant.
You can also take advantage of the review materials that they offer.

Bain’s career homepage


5

Network,
network, network

Build strong relationships with industry professionals. Networking is a powerful
tool that can help you effectively prepare for the interview. The experts among
your contacts can definitely guide you on how to break into this industry.
Courteously ask for their advice. If lucky enough, you might even have the chance
to make friends with someone who’s worked there or is currently an employee in
your target firm. Referral strategy has been proven to be a great way to land a
job, so make an effort to grow your network of professionals. Join organizations
and participate in LinkedIn and other networking sites.

Improve your
mental math

Consultants are expected to know how to make calculations and estimations;
therefore you’ll be presented with a great deal of numerical data in your case
interview. Thus, it’s imperative that you hone your mental math skills. Simulate
the actual interview as you practice so you can gauge your speed.

Know how to
read charts,
graphs, and
tables

To be a good consultant, you must be excellent at interpreting charts, graphs, and
tables. Regardless of how the data is presented, you should be able to come up
with accurate recommendations. This is crucial to acing your interview with toptier consulting firms. Devote ample time to reading graphical charts or data
spreadsheets so you can improve your data analysis.

Look for case
interview review
sessions

If you’re still in school, you can look for consulting clubs and career service
centers that offer case practice sessions. Take advantage of these events—they will
help you further prepare for the interview and may even provide some good
review materials.


6

Practice with
someone

The best way to prepare for a consulting interview at a top-tier firm is to conduct
a mock interview. Yes, it’s important that you study on your own first, but to test
whether all your hard work is paying off, you need to conduct a mock interview
with a qualified person. This is important to remember: Conduct mock interviews
with people who have knowledge about the consulting industry. This will help you
improve your ability to convey structured ideas as well as your ability to handle
pressure. Take it seriously and simulate the interview conditions. Afterwards, ask
for some valuable feedback that will help improve your performance.

Start as early as
you can

The key to being prepared for the interview is to start early. The earlier you
prepare, the more cases you’ll be able to study. Take your time learning how to
approach and solve different types of cases. Remember, procrastination is often
the cause of one’s failure.

Prepare, don’t
over prepare

Indeed, you have to thoroughly prepare for your consulting interview. However, be
careful not to over prepare. This requires some judgment on your part. Practicing
is great but not to the extent that you’ll sound rehearsed. You don’t want to
demonstrate to your interviewer how good you are at memorizing a rehearsed
speech. Top firms want to know how you think, so be careful not to make the
script too obvious.


7

On the day of the interview
Dress accordingly

To give your confidence an extra boost, you should wear standard professional
business attire to your consulting interview. Be neutral and try to keep your
fashion as simple as possible. Avoid wearing flashy ties or accessories. Based on
CareerBuilder.com’s annual survey, 51% of hiring managers said that dressing
inappropriately is the most common and damaging mistake a candidate can make
during the interview. So in order to make a good first impression, you need to
convey a polished and professional look.

Keep your poise

The interview process in top-tier consulting firms is very intense. You need to
remain poised. Don’t let them upset you with abrupt or unfriendly behavior—keep
a positive and professional attitude and smile! Remember, you’re not there to
make friends; you’re there to impress them and get the job. Besides, they might
be testing your ability to deal with nasty clients and co-workers.


8

Make eye
contact

Be confident and maintain eye contact. According to an infographic titled, “What
You Wish You’d Known Before Your Job Interview,” 67% of managers said that
failure to make eye contact is a common nonverbal mistake applicants make
during interviews. (The statistics were taken from a survey of 2,000 managers.)

Think and listen

Many aspiring consultants fail to do this during the interview. Keep your focus so
you won’t miss important hints or questions that are dropped during the
discussion. One common issue among interviewees is writing too much. Don’t get
too fixated on the details. Write down only a few words, not everything. Some
words and phrases are there to confuse you. Remember, good consultants can
easily spot the key facts. Listen and think carefully about the implications of the
details presented.

Keep an open
mind

Don’t sound defensive. If your interviewer seems to challenge your
recommendation, acknowledge that what he or she said may be a relevant
viewpoint that you haven’t considered. Good consultants know that there are
many potential solutions to a single problem, so try to keep an open mind during
your interview, and trust your instincts when presenting a persuasive proposal.

Ask questions

After you’ve been provided with information about the case, be sure to ask
intelligent questions. It’s best to start an engaging dialogue. Consultants are
expected to be engaging in team problem solving situations. Be inquisitive as
curiosity is a persistent trait of successful consultants, and add some intelligent
thoughts in order to generate hypothesis driven questions.


9

Take time to
structure the
problem

Structure the problem using your own methodology. You can (and should!) use a
consulting framework as a starting point, but no framework will fit your case
problem to a tee. You may ask the interviewer for a minute to formulate your
thoughts before you answer. As you think it through, try your best to systematically
break the question down into digestible pieces. Make sure your structure is logical
and each piece doesn’t overlap the other. Although what you learned in class or
from a book may guide you, try to incorporate your own method of showcasing
your problem solving prowess, and try your best to sound original.

Take a stand

Toward the end of the discussion, be prepared to take a final stand. Yes, you might
have been provided with limited data and time to tackle the underlying issues, but
never hesitate to make a call. Consulting firms want to know how you’ll draw a
sound recommendation based on the information you were given.


10

Free Guide: Learn How to Break Into Consulting

Do you want to break into consulting? Download our free PDF guide, which
will show you the necessary steps and best practices on how to prepare.

1

2

3

Consulting Interview Process: Get an overview of the
application and interview process when applying to
management consulting firms. Receive tips on how to write
your cover letter and resume and get prepared for the
written tests and interviews once you get there.
Interview Preparation: Learn what you need to practice to
receive an offer from one of the top-tier consulting firms.
See our step-by-step framework to case study solving, learn
how to develop your own frameworks and get mental math
tips.
Case Study Example: Know what to expect from a case
study interview round. Read a real-life case study interview,
which includes a variety of topics. See the practical
application of the step-by-step framework to case study
solving.

How Should I Prepare for Interviews at Top-tier Consulting Firms?

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How Should I Prepare for Interviews at Top-tier Consulting Firms?