Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
ARE YOU TIRED OF BUYING "COACHING SESSIONS" THAT LEAVE YOU FEELING UNFULFILLED AND UNPREPARED? DISCOVER WHY BUYING INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS CAN NEVER LEAD TO A ROBUST INTERVIEW PREPARATION.
Category: Interview Preparation Strategy for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
Every year, we talk to thousands of individuals who are seeking expert support in their interview preparation. During these conversations, we repeatedly come across misconceptions about how skill-building truly works. One of the most persistent topics is the notion of "coaching sessions," which has been popularized by mainstream case preparation platforms. But, have you ever stopped to ask, "Is buying individual coaching sessions really effective in driving my preparation forward?"
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
ONE CENTRAL POINT THAT CANDIDATES UNFORTUNATELY NEARLY NEVER UNDERSTAND: CASE INTERVIEW BOOKS JUST PROVIDE YOU WITH A BASIC TOOLBOX IN TERMS OF WHICH AREAS TO LOOK INTO FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE VERY POOR REGARDING HOW TO ACTUALLY APPROACH A CASE AND HOW TO DRAFT A ROADMAP FOR SOLVING THE CASE.
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
Case interviews are a crucial part of the consulting recruitment process, and interview candidates at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain often turn to resources such as Victor Cheng's "Case Interview Secrets" or Marc P. Cosentino's "Case in Point" for guidance...
Written by Dr. Jörn Kobus
BRINGING MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND RICH EXPERTISE TO THE TABLE IS NOT ENOUGH TO BREAK INTO MBB. SENIOR PROFILES MUST SATISFY AN ADDITIONAL CORE REQUIREMENT.
Category: Interview Preparation Strategy for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
We are coaching many senior candidates who are about to join the world’s top strategy consultancies. And while we are serving all kinds of senior candidates, let’s focus today on executive profiles who are trying to break into the very senior roles...
Written by Dr. Jörn Kobus
THERE ARE CERTAIN “PATTERNS OF WEAKNESS” WHICH HAVE EMERGED FROM OUR EXPERIENCE OF INTERVIEWING HUNDREDS OF CANDIDATES FOR MCKINSEY AND BCG OVER THE YEARS. HERE IS WHAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS DURING MBB INTERVIEWS.
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
Throughout the last decade, especially as interviewers of McKinsey and BCG, we have seen hundreds and hundreds of MBB candidates who were NOT successful in their interviews with the world’s top consultancies. And the truth is, that there are thousands of possible reasons for failure...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné on Jun. 21st 2022
HOW TO ANALYZE CHARTS, TABLES, AND GRAPHS DURING CASE INTERVIEWS WITH MCKINSEY, BCG, OR BAIN & COMPANY
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
When interviewing with McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), or Bain & Company, many candidates struggle BIG TIME with analyzing tables and charts/graphs. They have trouble with prioritizing when there is a lot of information, and they have a hard time to come up with non-obvious insights...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
WHAT IS THE TYPICAL CAREER PATH ACROSS SENIORITY LEVELS AT MCKINSEY, BCG, OR BAIN?
Category: About McKinsey, BCG, Bain (MBB)
We sometimes witness some confusion among applicants regarding the different roles and career levels across the three MBBs. There are certain roles which have the same title/name, but differ slightly in seniority (e.g., an "Associate" at BCG is not the same role as an "Associate" at McKinsey!)...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
HOW TO SHOW OUTSTANDING BRAINSTORMING AND IDEA GENERATION CAPABILITIES DURING MBB CASE INTERVIEWS
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
Mastering brainstorming is an extremely rare skill with candidates who interview at MBB. But if done right, showing strong brainstorming skills is an enormously powerful way to set yourself apart from practically all other applicants who interview with McKinsey et. al...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
OVERVIEW ON THE CURRENT ENTRY LEVEL SALARY PACKAGES AT MCKINSEY, BCG, AND BAIN (MBB)
Based on our mentees’ large number of offers over the last couple of months, we have compiled an overview on the current entry level salary packages at the major global consulting firms...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS AND DIMENSIONS ON WHICH BAIN, BCG, AND HAVE STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES? AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THESE DIFFERENCES?
Category: Foundations for MBB Interview Success
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
GIVEN THE MANY INACCURACIES THAT HAVE BEEN SPREAD BY “CASE PREPARATION BOOKS” OVER THE LAST DECADE, WE FEEL THE NEED TO EXPLAIN A COUPLE OF CRUCIAL POINTS REGARDING CASE STRUCTURING
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
Almost all candidates who interview with McKinsey, Bain, or BCG are struggling with the initial structuring of diagnostic situations, e.g., so-called "profitability cases". For example, they are insecure about whether in their initial structure they should already include Economy & Market trends (like suggested by many resources like, e.g., Case In Point). Or only stick to the internal perspective and focus on competitive comparison later on...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENS TO MANY MBB CANDIDATES WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS "WELL PREPARED" AFTER HAVING PRACTICED BASED ON THE COMMONLY AVAILABLE PREPARATION RESOURCES
Category: Case Interview Mastery for McKinsey, BCG, Bain
This is a question we received a while ago from someone (not a mentee of us) after he got rejected by BCG, and how I answered it to explain what hapened...
Written by Dr. Sidi S. Koné
WHAT A JOB AS A STRATEGY CONSULTANT AT MCKINSEY, BCG, OR BAIN ENTAILS, WHICH SKILLS ARE NEEDED, AND HOW THE INTERVIEW PROCESS WORKS
Category: Foundations for MBB Interview Success
Working for a reputable Strategy Consulting firm is not only lucrative from a financial point of view – it also offers attractive opportunities and great future career prospects. Hence, it hardly comes as a surprise that jobs in this sector are in such high demand...