Our team has been exposed to multiple students either as coaches, or as peers back when we were doing our graduate studies. These dozens of students allowed us to gather the most frequent (and critical) mistakes they made in attempt to get ready for they case study interviews. Of course, this article also reflects the mistakes we made, when we were practicing for our interviews at top consultant companies. Although failure is not a problem as long as you can learn from it, we collected a couple of points you should be aware of. You know, just to save your time and energy.
You can also check out our other articles if you are interested in the top 7 skills you must have to ace case study interviews, or curious how to develop them quickly.
1. Two weeks preparation should be fine, right?
No. In our view, not devoting sufficient time to developing your skills to ace case studies is the No. 1 mistake. We are often asked the question about how much time students should spend on case studies. Or how much cases they should do before having the first interview. It depends. We have seen people, who watched two YouTube videos before securing an offer, and students, who spent 5 months to get ready. We all have different academic and professional background, and a diverse set of skills that require different approaches. However, we still believe that practicing at least 2 months significantly improves your chances of securing a position at your target company.
2. Practicing with peers only
Most students are cracking cases with their peers only. It actually makes sense, as most case study interview coaches charge over 150 EUR for a single, 60-minute session, which is obviously out of students' budget. However, you need to be aware of the drawbacks of practicing with other students. Based on our experience, students tend to create a false sense of security. They do not apply enough scrutiny, which makes the mock interviews way too easy. As a result, candidates will be shocked when they first face a real, MBB-level case interview. Another problem is spreading erroneous information. Practicing with somebody, who has not secured an offer and worked as a consultant might lead to seeing bad routines and building bad habits. As an example, one of our student kept stating his hypotheses without seeing any data. Why? Because he practiced with his peers and saw others were doing it too, so he thought this was the right way to solve a case. In reality, this was nothing, but wild guessing.
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3. Doing case studies without actually learning from them
One of the most critical mistake is doing case studies just for the sake of doing them. Many students set targets, such as solving 30 cases before the first interview, or having 10 professional case interview practices before the first MBB round. However, realizing these targets does not necessarily mean improvement. If I can recall it correctly, we practiced 2 cases a week when we were still students. After completing each case study, we spent at least 15 minutes on discussing feedback in details to understand what went well and what requires further refinement. It was crucial to understand the pattern of our mistakes and spend enough energy on developing our weak points. It worked for us, so it most likely works for you as well. Paying special attention to these can significantly boost your case study solving skills, and save both time and energy. Remember, quality before quantity.
4. Not keeping up with business / industry trends
Nobody will expect you, a graduate, to be an expert in a particular industry. However, every firm will demand business acumen and a high-level understanding of businesses and their latest disruptors. Not knowing the latest fin-tech solutions might cost you a Bain offer, or not knowing the effects of COVID-19 on distribution channels might cost you a Simon - Kucher position. Remember: you must identify WHERE your target office operates and recognize the hottest topics applicable to those industries. If you have not read it yet, you might find this article about 4 easy ways to develop your case study interview skills useful.
5. Not checking profile of your target office
This point highly correlates with the previous mistake. Ideally, you should have an understanding on the latest trends in the sectors your target company is active in, AND how its service portfolio fits the picture. This should guide you in anticipating the type of case studies you will solve, as well as support you in acing them. Having a solid understanding of a service portfolio enables you to investigate cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. Something that every interviewer will appreciate.
To make it a tad more tangible: our team coached a student, who applied for a human capital consultant position. Having no prior experience in it, we helped her in understanding the latest trends in the "human side of the business", such as digital transformation and hybrid ways of working. Furthermore, we investigated together the offerings of its target company, and how these serve the needs of its clients. Needless to say, she successfully passed every round and secured an offer from the London-based, top consulting firm.