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Then don’t
Big agree. Most people I know who got in did a dozen.
Anecdotally, I did a dozen first time and didn’t get in. Did another corporate job for a few months, did one practice case and then got in the next year.
those prep hours made me a better communicator
Wasn’t a complete waste
This is definitely a good by-product. I started doing them to switch from turnaround to strategy, have gotten much better at communicating and problem stating
FYI - Cases interviews are becoming a normal part of the process for any corp strategy role
Fair. TBH that’s why I didn’t waste time doing prep and went to a consulting firm that didn’t make interviews so difficult
There’s no way the two are comparable. A senior partner in a law firm would probably have to study to take the bar again due to a wide array of specialized content knowledge that they don’t use daily.
A case study is a way of breaking down a problem and thinking through a standard set of levers that are applicable across different industries and functions. Unless a firm was giving out highly detailed / technical cases, very little prep should be needed.
I think I went into my case interviews having barely heard of the concept. Cases are mostly supposed to test problem solving and the ability to learn and contribute quickly in an area you may not be already expert in. If you struggle with them without lots of prep, you might also struggle with consulting as a job.
The thing is these don’t come naturally. These consulting firms are asking you to spend dozens of hours developing a new, non-transferable skill before even working there. This disincentives some star candidates with real experience/skills from applying
Completely agree - I spent more time preparing for case interviews / consulting prep than I did for all of my business school classes combined.
I took the bar for two different states. I promoted you that requires more hours than preparing for a case interview.
Honestly though, if universities were really doing their jobs in general ( I realize some have casing clubs) these interviews shouldn’t be difficult. IMO, it is the lack of teaching structured critical thinking that apply to consulting at schools outside of the Top 25 schools is where we fall short…so folks appear to lag behind even though they have MBAs from other schools.
I realize this may be considered a hot take.
If need to study that much, maybe consultings not the right career for you.