MBB 101 - Nail McKinsey, Bain and BCG case interviews

Explore the two core interview types used in consulting recruitment: personal fit interviews that assess character and culture, and case interviews that test analytical and soft skills.

Learn the flow of a case interview: understand and restate the question, ask clarifying questions, build a hypothesis and structure, present your plan, analyze data, and deliver a structured recommendation.

Use the bolt method to guide clarifying questions at the start of a case interview, focusing on business model, objective, location, and target to solve the right problem.

Learn to generate and test a hypothesis to focus analysis and solve cases efficiently, avoiding boiling the ocean and guiding problem solving with objective-driven questions.

Master the mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive framework to structure problems, avoid overlaps, and cover all options in interviews and client work, avoiding boiling the ocean.

Master structuring for case interviews by building an issue tree with multiple layers, using a hypothesis or driver tree, and applying messy, structured thinking to brainstorm and solve cases.

Master six messy methods to structure cases using mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive principles, including formulas, process maps, journey maps, opposite words, spectrum, and business concepts to build clear issue trees.

Learn to present your case structure using the pyramid principle, stating the conclusion first and outlining key buckets to clearly communicate insights and test your hypothesis.

Apply the prioritize, analyze, synthesize, repeat method to decide if Trinko should bid for a six-year, 30-train contract. Assess profitability, capabilities, and risks across sites in Switzerland, Italy, and Slovakia.

Present your final recommendation clearly using the pyramid principle, starting with the answer, followed by succinct reasons and next steps to address the client’s objective.

Stay calm and keep trying in an interview by using five steps: relax, restate the objective, review your structure, identify the issue, and ask for help to show coachable ability.

Learn how to drive profitability growth for a global disposable pen manufacturer by analyzing revenues and costs, and by exploring markets, channels, and product options in the European division.

Diagnose profit decline by testing whether revenue falls or costs rise, and analyze drivers across quantity, price, customers, products, capacities, and costs, including competitive pricing.

Examine organic and inorganic market entry choices for a new product launch, using a pharmaceutical case on a female balding remedy to assess market size, pricing, and profitability.

Explore pricing strategies in case interviews, from cost-based and value-based pricing to willingness-to-pay, competitors, and profitability optimization in a biotech scenario.

Explore why mergers and acquisitions occur, including economies of scale, vertical and horizontal integration, and assess profitability, synergies, risks, and valuation in an acquisition case.

Define the objective, form a hypothesis, and structure the case; explore automation benefits, costs, and implementation, then compare incentive schemes and competition.

Walk through a market sizing approach with five steps: clarify, set up the structure, add assumptions, calculate, and sense-check, emphasizing units or value, timeframe, geography, channels, and product.

Learn the demand side market-sizing method, using the units sold times price formula, and break it into customers, purchases per customer, and price with a coffee shop example.

Calculate maximum capacity and utilization, then multiply by price to size markets on the supply side, illustrated with a coffee shop example and interview ready clarifying questions.

Model Heathrow's yearly passengers by estimating daily and hourly runway use, with two runways, 24/7 operations, and 360 days, using 200-seat planes at 75% occupancy, about 72 million.

Present a step-by-step method to estimate the UK market size for Louis Vuitton handbags by combining population, ownership, replacement rate, and price to £375 million.

Learn to estimate weekly revenue for a London to Barcelona flight by building a revenue model around ticket revenue, food and drink, and bag revenue, incorporating capacity and seasonality.

Master mental maths for consulting interviews by mastering times tables, fraction to decimal conversions, 11 times tricks, and the McKinsey special using two and ten to boost comfort with numbers.

Master maths communication by articulating a worried equation, narrating your number crunching out loud, and practicing dialogue-driven reasoning to show comfort with numbers in case interviews.

Master key maths formulas for consulting, including profits, profit margin, break even point, contribution margin, return on investment, market share, and utilization rate, and practice clear mathematical communication in context.

Master key graph types used in case interviews, including bar charts, stacked and 100% bars, cluster, area, line, Marimekko, waterfall, scatterplot, bubble charts, and the BCG matrix.

Master a six-step strategy to interpret charts and graphs in interviews, using the title, axes, and legends to extract insights that answer the client’s question.

Master top-down communication in case interviews by starting with the most significant graph insight, offering plausible hypotheses, and building a coherent story from the data focused on the client's implications.

Value an acquisition by weighing standalone value, synergies, and a premium for control, using discounted cash flow and multiples. Assess strategic fit and risks of cultural integration and regulation.

Analyze growth and cost synergies in mergers and acquisitions, evaluate strategic fit and risks such as culture and integration, and apply confident, framework-informed interview approaches.

Explore how interviewers assess cultural fit and five traits—leadership, entrepreneurial drive, problem solving, personal impact, and teamwork—in MBB interviews, plus motivation, competency, hypothetical, and broad/character questions.

Learn to answer competency questions using the STAR framework (situation, task, action, result) to craft succinct, quantified stories that showcase leadership, entrepreneurial drive, problem solving, impact, and teamwork.

Craft a genuine motivation answer for why you want to enter consulting, highlighting push and pull factors, and align it with a firm's values and events.

Master a structured approach to hypothetical questions, focusing on clear intro, stepwise answers, and concrete examples, then tackle weaknesses and selling yourself with authentic self-awareness.

Master your interview presentation by developing confidence, presence, energy, and communication, using the pyramid principle to structure clear case interviews and personal experience insights.

Discover how to connect with your interviewer through confident body language, a conversational tone, and dialogue that invites input, anecdotes, and positive questions.

Learn to leave a lasting impression by asking positive questions that spark excitement and happiness in interviewers, avoid negative prompts, and cue memorable, positive memories during case interviews.

Discover how personal-fit answers showcase a doctor's pivot to consulting for breadth, impact, and ongoing problem solving, contrasting with banking; emphasizes leadership, teamwork, and lasting impact.

Price a new apple-harvest chemical in a Maine pilot to maximize profit by aligning customer value, costs, and competition, using per-acre pricing and expansion strategy.

a family-owned german cancer-treatment clinic can boost daily patient sessions by running both machines in parallel with two doctors for setup, increasing revenue by about $8,000 per day.

Assess the profitability and production decision for a US market entry of a female balding drug within a five-year patent, considering market size, price, costs, and competition.

Assess automating the packaging process at a grocery distribution center to save time and cut costs, analyze upfront and ongoing costs, and recommend a pilot.