For those of you interested in consulting, summer is a great time to prep for the case interview process. Case interviews are unique to consulting and consulting adjacent industries. In the interview, you are presented with a typical business problem that the firm may encounter and asked to solve it in a fairly structured way. Learning this structure often takes some self studying as well as practice with partners. This year, some consulting firms have decided to conduct an early recruiting process with deadlines in mid-July for opportunities beginning Summer 2022 so now is the time to start practicing for the interviews that will follow. Here are my top five resources to help you nail the consulting case interview.
Resource #1: Penn Career Services Case Book
This case book was developed by a Wharton MBA and goes over all the basics of the consulting industry, what to expect in a case interview and how to tackle each section. It also includes a number of sample cases for you to use when practicing.
Resource #2: Management Consulted
We are so excited to announce our new partnership with Management Consulted. I have recommended their resources to many students over the years, and now Penn students have access to video tutorials, a large online case bank, and my personal favorite – over 10,000 math drills. This is a great resource to practice specific parts of the case that you may be struggling with. Another useful feature is you can sort their case bank by topic, industry and company. We have a limited number of subscriptions available so sign up now to lock in your access!
Resource #3: Find Case Partners
Unlike other types of interviews where you may be able to practice on your own, you really need a partner in order to effectively practice for cases. Sign up to find other Penn undergraduate and graduate students to practice with this summer. We send out updated lists every week!
Resource #4: Vault Guide to Case Interviews
There seems be a Vault Guide for every topic and industry! This one is particularly helpful as it includes 50 sample case interviews, as well as brainteasers and market sizing questions. For those consulting adjacent industries that may incorporate some brainteasers instead of a formal case interview, this a helpful resource.
Resource #5: Case in Point
For those of you who may like a more comprehensive guide that walks you through the process from beginning to end, Case in Point is the best option. This guide has helped many students over the years and can serve as an excellent foundation for how to approach business problems.
Bonus Resource: Big Interview
We’ve spent a lot of time focusing on case interviews, but don’t forget about the behavioral interview! The number one piece of feedback we get from employers is that students don’t prepare enough for the behavioral while they are concentrating on the case. Big Interview is a resource you can use to record yourself answering questions. This is helpful especially since interviews in 2021 will still be virtual. They even have questions grouped by industry so make sure you try the consulting ones!
Penn Career Services is open this summer and available to help answer questions about your individual recruiting strategy, conduct mock interviews or review materials. Schedule an appointment to chat with your advisor!
