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Students Should Utilize BCG’s Interactive Case Library to Practice Case Interviews!

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The Boston Consulting Group website has an amazing Interactive Case Library that students can use to practice case interviews.  This tool allows you to select a sample case (I tested an Airline Case) and then a fictional interviewer starts the mock interview with you.  You first receive background information about the client and then will work through multiple screens where you are asked a question (Ex. What factors should we explore for their impact on our client’s profitability?) and are provided with anywhere from two to five options to select as your response.  At some points, you are asked to complete calculations or analyze graphs and it does a really nice job of mimicking a real case interview.

When you finish the case, you will see a short recap and a summary of your results across 4 areas (Rigor, Structuring, Business Judgment and Synthesis).  In addition, you will see how  you compare to the Average and the 90th Percentile.  Enjoy!

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Mastering the Case Interview: Tips from an Ex-BCG Consultant

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Mastering the Case Interview: Tips from an Ex-BCG Consultant was originally published on Firsthand .

What does Serena Williams’ serve have to do with the toughest job interview style out there? A lot. In today’s post on mastering the case interview, we’re going to unpack what the case interview really is, the core skills it tests and why the best way to prepare is shockingly similar to how Serena practices every day.

The case interview success story

If you rewind fifty years from today, the case interview would barely register on the radar of job interviews. But a lot has changed. Fifty years ago, The Boston Consulting Group was four years old, Bain & Company didn’t even exist and McKinsey & Co. was a barely recognizable fragment of the global behemoth it is today. Combined, those three firms rake in around $17 billion in annual revenue and they owe much of their continued success to world class talent. After all, these firms don’t own any tangible assets or products. 

So how have these firms secured world class talent decade after decade? The case interview. In fact, the format has been so successful for these dominant consulting firms that the giants of other industries have taken note. Both Amazon and Google have adopted the case interview format in various incarnations for many of their business roles and other tech firms, like Facebook, aren’t far behind either.

The preparation game has changed

As case interviews have grown in popularity, the stakes on the preparation side have been upped as well. It used to be that candidates could simply read a few basic case interview books, memorize some popular business frameworks like Porter’s 5 forces and combine that with some natural talent and have a decent chance in the case interview. 

Today, that passive preparation won’t fly. What’s passive preparation? It’s a process characterized by a “lean back” experience like reading a book or watching a video tutorial—it can help set context but it isn’t a standalone strategy. Serena Williams didn’t learn her Wimbledon dominating serve by reading a book and, likewise, the best case interview candidates aren’t honing their skills by simply reading either. In fact, the best candidates are actively preparing by devoting significant time to building the skills which will be tested directly in the interviews.

Which skills? Glad you asked—let’s jump into those next.

The core case interview skills

You could get a case about a medical device firm looking to enter the Chinese market for the first time or a children’s entertainment company that needs a new pricing strategy for digital content. The subject of case interviews will vary widely. However, the skills tested are consistent across cases. Here are the four foundational case skills and why they matter.

Problem structuring: It’s tough to overstate how critical this skill is. Consultants have turned problem structuring into an art (see the MECE principle ) and they’ll expect candidates to demonstrate strong skills here. Why? Well, it matters at every single level of the job, from a Partner breaking up an entire case into large work streams to junior Associates structuring their approach to sizing markets, etc.

Mental math: People always want to ask, why does mental math matter in the world of Excel and iPhone calculators. Quite simply, strong mental math abilities are sought after because it lets consultants quickly prove or disprove hypotheses with quick “back of the envelope” calculations. When you’re evaluating thousands of different potential strategies, quickly ruling out ones via simple mental math enables consultants to work effectively.

Charts and data analysis: If there is a “lingua franca” of consulting, this is it. Consultants cull through reams of data in their jobs and when they’ve got the answer, charts are the vehicle to nicely sum up their findings and highlight the key trends. Aspiring consultants will quickly find that the art of representing an insight via the right chart is a subject approaching near religious debate at any firm.

Communication: Consultants don’t just need the analytical chops to get the right answer, they also need the ability to communicate it clearly and create alignment with clients. If you consider consulting from the highest level, the job essentially has two parts: 1) Finding the right answer and 2) Selling the right answer to the client. It is the second part where effective communication becomes a “deal breaker” skill.

Building skills like a boss

The list of skills above might be daunting, but if you take a page out of Serena’s book and practice the core skills daily, you’ll see a marked improvement. Williams’ dedicated practice regimen has gained fame in tennis circles. Despite being the dominant female player in the league today, she’s on the court four hours a day practicing serves, backhands, volleys, et al.

The best candidates take the same approach for case interviews. While figuring out what skills to practice isn’t tough (just see the list above), but putting in the work is. For a deep dive on preparing for case interviews, check out the Mastering the Case Interview webinar . In it, we cover the anatomy of a case in detail, walk through the examples of how each core skill in tested in a sample case interview environment and recommend a skill building loop that will have you prepping for case interviews with the best of them.

Kenton Kivestu is the Founder and CEO of  RocketBlocks , an online platform that helps students prepare for case interviews. Prior to RocketBlocks, he worked as a strategy consultant in BCG’s San Francisco Office, launched online ad platforms at Google and led the Zynga mobile poker franchise. He has successfully navigated hundreds of case interviews himself and believes that the case interview is an important recruiting tool that helps simulate the on the job experience. He started RocketBlocks to help candidates hone their analytical skills so they can put their best foot forward on interview day. Kenton graduated as an Echols Scholar with distinction from the University of Virginia and holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 

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Mastering the Case Interview: Tips from an Ex-BCG Consultant

Published: Oct 17, 2017

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What does Serena Williams' serve have to do with the toughest job interview style out there? A lot. In today's post on mastering the case interview, we're going to unpack what the case interview really is, the core skills it tests and why the best way to prepare is shockingly similar to how Serena practices every day.

The case interview success story

If you rewind fifty years from today, the case interview would barely register on the radar of job interviews. But a lot has changed. Fifty years ago, The Boston Consulting Group was four years old, Bain & Company didn't even exist and McKinsey & Co. was a barely recognizable fragment of the global behemoth it is today. Combined, those three firms rake in around $17 billion in annual revenue and they owe much of their continued success to world class talent. After all, these firms don't own any tangible assets or products. 

So how have these firms secured world class talent decade after decade? The case interview. In fact, the format has been so successful for these dominant consulting firms that the giants of other industries have taken note. Both Amazon and Google have adopted the case interview format in various incarnations for many of their business roles and other tech firms, like Facebook, aren't far behind either.

The preparation game has changed

As case interviews have grown in popularity, the stakes on the preparation side have been upped as well. It used to be that candidates could simply read a few basic case interview books, memorize some popular business frameworks like Porter's 5 forces and combine that with some natural talent and have a decent chance in the case interview. 

Today, that passive preparation won't fly. What's passive preparation? It's a process characterized by a "lean back" experience like reading a book or watching a video tutorial—it can help set context but it isn't a standalone strategy. Serena Williams didn't learn her Wimbledon dominating serve by reading a book and, likewise, the best case interview candidates aren't honing their skills by simply reading either. In fact, the best candidates are actively preparing by devoting significant time to building the skills which will be tested directly in the interviews.

Which skills? Glad you asked—let's jump into those next.

The core case interview skills

You could get a case about a medical device firm looking to enter the Chinese market for the first time or a children's entertainment company that needs a new pricing strategy for digital content. The subject of case interviews will vary widely. However, the skills tested are consistent across cases. Here are the four foundational case skills and why they matter.

Problem structuring: It's tough to overstate how critical this skill is. Consultants have turned problem structuring into an art (see the MECE principle ) and they'll expect candidates to demonstrate strong skills here. Why? Well, it matters at every single level of the job, from a Partner breaking up an entire case into large work streams to junior Associates structuring their approach to sizing markets, etc.

Mental math: People always want to ask, why does mental math matter in the world of Excel and iPhone calculators. Quite simply, strong mental math abilities are sought after because it lets consultants quickly prove or disprove hypotheses with quick "back of the envelope" calculations. When you're evaluating thousands of different potential strategies, quickly ruling out ones via simple mental math enables consultants to work effectively.

Charts and data analysis: If there is a "lingua franca" of consulting, this is it. Consultants cull through reams of data in their jobs and when they've got the answer, charts are the vehicle to nicely sum up their findings and highlight the key trends. Aspiring consultants will quickly find that the art of representing an insight via the right chart is a subject approaching near religious debate at any firm.

Communication: Consultants don't just need the analytical chops to get the right answer, they also need the ability to communicate it clearly and create alignment with clients. If you consider consulting from the highest level, the job essentially has two parts: 1) Finding the right answer and 2) Selling the right answer to the client. It is the second part where effective communication becomes a "deal breaker" skill.

Building skills like a boss

The list of skills above might be daunting, but if you take a page out of Serena's book and practice the core skills daily, you'll see a marked improvement. Williams' dedicated practice regimen has gained fame in tennis circles. Despite being the dominant female player in the league today, she's on the court four hours a day practicing serves, backhands, volleys, et al.

The best candidates take the same approach for case interviews. While figuring out what skills to practice isn't tough (just see the list above), but putting in the work is. For a deep dive on preparing for case interviews, check out the Mastering the Case Interview webinar . In it, we cover the anatomy of a case in detail, walk through the examples of how each core skill in tested in a sample case interview environment and recommend a skill building loop that will have you prepping for case interviews with the best of them.

Kenton Kivestu is the Founder and CEO of  RocketBlocks , an online platform that helps students prepare for case interviews. Prior to RocketBlocks, he worked as a strategy consultant in BCG's San Francisco Office, launched online ad platforms at Google and led the Zynga mobile poker franchise. He has successfully navigated hundreds of case interviews himself and believes that the case interview is an important recruiting tool that helps simulate the on the job experience. He started RocketBlocks to help candidates hone their analytical skills so they can put their best foot forward on interview day. Kenton graduated as an Echols Scholar with distinction from the University of Virginia and holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 

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November 06, 2013  By  Ulrich Villis ,  Rainer Strack ,  Muhammad Yunus , and  Saskia Bruysten

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The Power of Social Business

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IMAGES

  1. BCG Case Interview Guide: Criteria, Technique & Tips

    bcg interactive case interview practice drug pricing

  2. BCG Matrix

    bcg interactive case interview practice drug pricing

  3. BCG Online Case

    bcg interactive case interview practice drug pricing

  4. BCG Potential Test Guide: Question Types & Practice

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  5. BCG Case Interview

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  6. McKinsey And BCG Case Interview Examples

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COMMENTS

  1. BCG Interactive Case Interview Practice #2: Drug Pricing

    BCG Interactive Case Interview Practice #2: Drug Pricing Hacking the Case Interview 32.7K subscribers 97K views 3 years ago Case Interview Practice Cases ...more ...more Case...

  2. Case Interview Prep

    An important step in the interview process for client-facing roles, case interviews are designed to simulate real-world problems faced by client teams, so you'll be able to experience the type of work we do, show off your ability to problem-solve, and demonstrate any technical or specialized skills related to the role for which you're applying.

  3. BCG Interactive Case: What is It?

    The BCG Interactive Case is the most well-known step in the hiring process for all potential BCG consultants. If you have an interview set up with BCG, or if you're hoping to interview for a position there, you'll want to devote a significant amount of time preparing for the Interactive Case process. The Interactive Case is famously ...

  4. Students Should Utilize BCG's Interactive Case Library to Practice Case

    Published on November 4, 2019 The Boston Consulting Group website has an amazing Interactive Case Library that students can use to practice case interviews. This tool allows you to select a sample case (I tested an Airline Case) and then a fictional interviewer starts the mock interview with you.

  5. PDF BCG ONLINE CASE OVERVIEW AND SAMPLE QUESTIONS

    The remaining slides are intended to familiarize you with the format of the online case. • There are 4 questions which should take you no more than 8 minutes to complete. • In an actual online case, you would have more than 20 questions and 45 minutes. • In an actual online case, as in this example, the screen will be divided into 2 parts.

  6. Navigating IRA's Impact on Drug Pricing and Innovation

    The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 constitutes a major legislative effort to address drug pricing and Medicare expenditure. By now, most industry executives and investors have familiarized themselves with the law's provisions regarding direct negotiation, the Part D redesign, and the inflation price cap.

  7. The Challenge of Pricing Combination Therapies

    According to our estimates, suboptimal pricing may pare as much as 20 percent off the projected sales of a new drug over its life cycle. The Increasing Prevalence of Combination Therapies Of course, combination therapies are not new. Oncology's chemotherapy regimens have often involved multiple drugs.

  8. Mastering the Case Interview: Tips from an Ex-BCG Consultant

    As case interviews have grown in popularity, the stakes on the preparation side have been upped as well. It used to be that candidates could simply read a few basic case interview books, memorize some popular business frameworks like Porter's 5 forces and combine that with some natural talent and have a decent chance in the case interview.

  9. PDF Interview Preparation

    The BCG case interview—from the problem itself to the way we arrive at a conclusion through thoughtful discussion—is one of the most realistic simulations of what we do every day. Practicing cases is important, and we hope that this guide will be of use as you prepare.

  10. How to Prepare for a Case Interview: A BCGer's Advice

    Pursuant to Transparency in Coverage final rules (85 FR 72158) set forth in the United States by The Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services; access required Machine Readable Files, or access the Federal No Surprises Bill Act Disclosure. David Ogbechie, an Associate based in London, reflects on his BCG career journey ...

  11. BCG Case Interview Preparation

    BCG Case Interview Preparation tools including articles, guides, tutorials, and tips from new hires

  12. Pricing Strategy in Practice

    There are 4 modules in this course. In this project-centered course, Darden's Ron Wilcox and BCG's Thomas Kohler will walk you through a real-world case, from problem statement to detailed analyses. You'll use all three lenses (cost, customer value, and competition) to recommend an optimal price—and then adjust to market disruptions.

  13. PDF Case Book 2013

    Note: a typical case interview should be about 30 minutes long: dedicate 5 minutes to the opening, ... 8 Apoplexy Drug BCG (2) Market Entry 4 5 9 Superstore McKinsey (2) Expansion 4 3 10 Towels McKinsey (1) Profitability 3 4 11 Surgical Robot L.E.K. (2) Investment 3 2 ... • Oil prices have increased, leading to a drop in demand

  14. PDF CASEBOOK E

    This pdf document is a casebook prepared by the ESADE MBA Consulting Club in 2011. It contains 20 real cases from various consulting firms, such as McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and L.E.K. Each case has a detailed description, a suggested framework, and a sample solution. The casebook is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to practice case interviews and learn from the best.

  15. Mastering the Case Interview: Tips from an Ex-BCG Consultant

    The core case interview skills . You could get a case about a medical device firm looking to enter the Chinese market for the first time or a children's entertainment company that needs a new pricing strategy for digital content. The subject of case interviews will vary widely. However, the skills tested are consistent across cases.

  16. MBB 101

    MBB 101. MBB Consultant. 4.7 Instructor Rating. 144 Reviews. 1,385 Students. 1 Course. We're a team of McKinsey, Bain and BCG consultants sharing our knowledge and experiences to boost your chances of landing an offer from all three firms, or any other consulting firm. Our students have a 25% acceptance rate vs the 1% industry average!

  17. Pricing and Revenue Management

    By transforming pricing, companies can drive significant value to the bottom line. BCG's pricing and revenue management consulting teams helps build the capabilities, processes, and mindset that unlock the power of pricing—in good times and bad. The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format ...

  18. PDF UCL Careers preparing for your consulting case interview

    practice case interview example for a consultant and associate consultant role. These videos include interviewer feedback. The website also includes two written case interview samples with example solutions. • Oliver Wyman - Oliver Wyman's website offers case interview tips, and two interactive practice cases.

  19. My BCG preparation schedule. Case Interview preparation guide

    During the subsequent week, my emphasis shifted to Market Entry, Market Growth, and Pricing cases. In the last week, my goal was to review all case types, with particular emphasis on unconventional cases. I would recommend the following case books: Case Compendium: This book has proven to be incredibly valuable in initiating my case preparation ...

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  21. Case Interview Bain Company

    Consultants BCG Interactive Case Interview Practice: Drug Pricing BCG \u0026 Bain Live Case Interview Example What Bain looks for when hiring for ConsultantsCase Interview Bain CompanyA case interview is a way for us to discuss cases based on our client work. What is a Case Interview? The problems you will encounter are not designed to be ...

  22. Browse the Interactive Case Study Library

    The Power of Social Business. The Power of Social Business: Lessons from Corporate Engagements with Grameen, a report published by The Boston Consulting Group and Yunus Social Businesses, is based on an analysis of ten social businesses that operate in Bangladesh today and the lessons they offer to social and commercial businesses alike. Each ...

  23. The Case Interview 20 Days To Ace The Case Your Day By Day Prep Course

    from Ex-McKinsey consultant (case study etc.) BCG Interactive Case Interview Practice: Drug Pricing CASE STRUCTURING: INTRO \u0026 TIPS BY FORMER MCKINSEY INTERVIEWER A Week in My Life as a Consultant Is life as a McKinsey, BCG or Bain consultant glamorous? Virtual Case Interview Market Sizing Framework Walkthrough-Bain Style Bain consultant CASES