Management Consulting Community

Hey guys, multiple consulting prep platforms offer 1-on-1 practice sessions, which are super helpful, but I think they often overlook a really important and challenging type of interview: group case discussions. Group case discussions are challenging because they not only assess your case-cracking skills but also your ability to communicate and work in a team, which sometimes requires practice. My name is Anya, and I am looking for buddies to practice group case discussions with! If you are interested in practising with me, please send me an email or comment under this post and let's do it!

email: [email protected]

Looking forward to meeting you!

Continuing the story of the last post, today I want to add 2 more ideas about the mistakes not to make when you start your consulting career. Anw thanks for the ideas contributed in my last post. 

"I used to be really competitive, always wanting to win and be the best. But in the business world, just working hard isn't enough. It's all about connections and working together. When I joined Bain, I mainly focused on my team and manager. But as time went on, I learned that cooperating with others and sharing what I knew made a big difference. It's not just about competing, it's about being a great team player to succeed in top-performing groups."

This is what my senior told me. Yes we should not only compete but also have to learn to cooperate with others. 

For the last idea, he emphasizes that this mistake is 90% seen in beginners. We always try to work as hard as we can, maybe to show our manager our dedication. It’s good, but work hard should go with work smart. 

"It was late at night, and my supervisor wanted to check my financial model. It was a mess, full of fixed numbers and unclear data. We were working on an important project, but my answer wasn't clear, and I couldn't trace my steps.

I used to think working endlessly was the solution, but I learned it wasn't. What I really needed was a flexible approach. I started creating better systems that allowed me to track my work and anticipate questions. By doing this, I could answer before anyone asked and show I'd already thought about potential issues. This approach helped me get promoted and has been invaluable ever since."

The youngest Partner at McKinsey I know was 31 years old at the time of promotion. That's really a fast track and an exception case. Normally, it takes at least 2 years being Analyst, 2 years Associate, 3-4 years EM, 3-4 yr Associate Partner, so totally it takes 10-15 years for top performers to reach Partner level.

What does a Partner at McK, Bain or BCG do btw?

  The answer is they do 3 main things that CEO of most companies do: Sales, Team & Stakeholder Management.

To even reach Partner level, you need to bring in and retain 2-3 big client- companies willing to pay MBB team million USD for each project. These are usually big MNC, bank, conglomerate or state-owned companies. Partner' sales work include building the network, speaking at conference, publishing research & industry report, and doing free diagnostic projects for potential clients. 

At this stage, Partners probably spend no more than 20% of their time on the actual project's work. They spend more time managing key stakeholders, the senior people from client sides like CEO or Board Directors. One funny story is my EM one time telling me Andy (of course not his real name)- the Partner will just join our weekly call and say general stuff like "when do you get it done", "good progress so far" and "is there anything I can help". A lot of times, they don't know the details, and actually they don't have to if they assemble a strong project team. And that starts with the Manager, who will then assemble a team of Associates and Analysts.

How's it different from the work of MNC or corporate's CEO, we can talk about it another day. But similar to IB, MBB has multiple partners who actually own shares of the firm, so it's more a flat hierarchy.

Hello guys,

I have some questions regarding to structuring part. Few days ago, I have a mock case.

Case prompt: The Governor of Austin is a new pro bono client, and they have approached you for guidance on tackling the issue of substance abuse in the city. Specifically, how can the city implement effective strategies to reduce the prevalence of substance abuse and support individuals struggling with addiction?

In just 1,5 minutes, sadly, I CAN NOT bring a good enough structure.

How to break down a problem that you have no knowledge about? And if I know nothing about the industry mentioned in the case prompt, what should I do in the case interview?

Another question is that whether or not uncommon cases are a norm in a case interview which lasts for 4 sessions? Does the interviewer have bad impression on the candidates who spend more than 1,5 minutes for structuring ?

Hello everyone, I heard that having an MBA would guarantee you a ticket to Management Consulting, and you would start the career with a Consultant/Associate position while other non-MBA would have to spend 2+ years being a Business Analyst (a.k.a entry level). Can anyone tell me that this is true or not? Which MBA specialization does I need to follow to increase my chances in consulting firms? (esp MBBs)

It comes down to 3 things:

- Structure ideas / points to convey: this is probably the most important factor, MBB slides have lots of words but they need to be structured and convey clear messages / storyline. This needs a lot of data crunching, analysis, chart dev in the back before you put it in the slides.

- Writing: creative people don't like MBB slides because it has a lot of words. The slides serve as a deliverable documents for clients so consultants become really efficient writing their ideas using concise sentences / phrase. It took me a couple of months at McK to learn this, but if you cannot put ideas into words (lots of words), you're in trouble!

- Design: MBB slides look very professional & sophisticated because of the template & structured / boxed formats, and charts. You need to learn how to convey ideas using these. The good thing is they have a lot of templates and a dedicated team (VGI at McK) to beautify slides for you; you can even draw it on paper and send it to them.

Handling conflicts of interest is a critical aspect of a consultant's professional responsibility when concurrently working with multiple clients. Consultants navigate this complex terrain through a combination of ethical guidelines and a commitment to prioritizing each client's interests. 

Firstly, consultants must adhere to a strict code of ethics that prohibits engaging in activities that could compromise the integrity of their work or jeopardize the interests of any client. This involves clearly defining boundaries and avoiding situations where conflicting loyalties may arise.

Maintaining confidentiality is another key element. Consultants must rigorously safeguard sensitive information obtained from one client to prevent any inadvertent spill-over into the work for another client. This involves establishing robust information management protocols within the consulting team.

In some instances, consultants may need to decline engagements if the potential for conflicts of interest is deemed too high. 

Additionally, consulting firms often implement internal policies and procedures to guide consultants in navigating potential conflicts. This may involve a centralized review process or an ethics committee that assesses and advises on conflict resolution strategies.

HOWEVER, it is still some MYTH, as consultants rarely mention this in their workplace. some consultants still ask others for client cases for more information, applying it in their case (maybe out of the workplace, in a cafeteria, I guess), this might cause conflicts of interest, but some consultants perceive it as an added value for their experience in the consulting world.

Does anyone know how long does a consulting project usually last? And do consultants work on multiple projects during the same time frame or not?

Anybody updated with the new training / onboarding process at MBB, lots of things change during the post-Covid times I heard?

I have received an invitation from McKinsey for the test (solve game) and I have only 4 days to prepare before the actual test. Is it possible for me to start practicing for the test? And if so, how much time should I put in each day to get ready? If any of you have taken the McKinsey Test before, how much time did you spend practicing each day?