Preparing for Case Interviews
There are many ways to go about preparing for case interviews, the foundational interviewing practice for most major consulting firms. Some basic information about the structure of a case interview can be found here or here.
Case Practice Sessions
Case interviews are a major part of the recruiting process for any consulting firm. There are many different sources one can use to learn more about case interviewing, but, it is only by practicing in person that one’s skills will improve. In this spirit, our club regularly holds practice sessions for people to meet up and “get their hands dirty”. If you are interested, please check out our Case Practice Sessions tab. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Case Books
Please contact us to gain access to our internal page with our extensive collection (50+) of case books.
Experience Interviews
Aside from case interviews, consulting firms also use experience interviews to assess their candidates. Similar to traditional job interviews, experience interviews offer the interviewer an opportunity to understand the candidate’s background, interest and career goals. Some interviewers may ask the candidate to describe a specific situation in the professional or academic experiences.
Succeeding in experience interviews is equally important in securing a job offer. We encourage our members to check out the interview resources page from our partner UChicagoGRAD. If you need additional practice, please schedule an appointment with a GRADTalk advisor.
Direction to other resources
Book: Case-In-Point
A book written by Marc Cosentino, a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School, is often considered the ‘The Bible of case interviews’. It’s a great introduction to those who think they may be interested in consulting and want to learn more about the recruiting process. Link
Webpage: CaseCoach.com
CaseCoach is the world’s number-one case interview preparation platform. CaseCoach provides one, comprehensive online toolkit. Every year, more than sixty thousand candidates use CaseCoach to double their chance of receiving an offer. Over a hundred leading universities have chosen CaseCoach as their interview preparation partner.
Resources available on CaseCoach:
- Personalized preparation plan tailored to your objectives, schedule, and background
- Comprehensive courses covering case interview, fit interview, case math and McKinsey’s personal experience interview
- 20+ sample interviews featuring real candidates who went on to join top firms
- 100+ exclusive practice cases – with top-mark solutions – developed by former management consultants
- Unlimited case interview practice with peers in the Practice Room
- AI-powered Practice drills to perfect key case skills such as calculations, structures, case math, market sizing, and chart interpretation
- Free resume course with step-by-step tutorials and templates
- One-on-one coaching sessions with former MBB interviewers
Whatever stage you’re at with your application, CaseCoach will give you the plan, the insights, and the resources you need to secure an offer. Learn more about their offerings at: https://casecoach.com/
Document: Notes from GCC 2022 New Hire Panel
In December 2022 panel discussion on how to land an offer from management consulting firms was held by the GCC. The panelists were all current UChicago students were joining top-tier consulting firms like MBB as management consultants next year. Panelists gave their thoughts on what worked, or did not work, for them in their ultimately succesfull hunt to land a top job. Link
Webpage: CaseInterview.com
A website run by a former McKinsey consultant Victor Cheng, caseinterview.com is a great starting point to learn about the different aspects of the consulting interview and industry. If you choose, you can sign up for a mailing list in which Victor sends out regular emails (~1 per week) with insights into various aspects of applying to the “Big 3”, or how consultants approach problems. Link
Webpage: ManagementConsulted.com
As the world’s largest resource for consulting news and prep, with over 2.5M annual readers, this is a great resource for anyone interested in consulting. From resume editing services to case interview preparation, they provide all of the important services to prepare for interviews and receive offers from consulting firms. Link