Case coaching
Our case coaching is focused on building Problem Solving skills and includes:
Coaching sessions led by a former McKinsey partner and Engagement manager
Structuring any problem through logic without memorizing frameworks, no matter how “unconventional” case you get
Driving the case in a purposeful and efficient way, involving the interviewer as if it were a real consulting project
Working with data effectively to confirm or refute your hypothesis
Formulating conclusions and recommendations and communicating them in a top-down way
“I thought I was prepared for the case interview after solving 50+ cases, but the interviewer kept throwing unconventional questions which got me completely lost”
We have heard that way too many times, either from the candidates that asked for PEI coaching only, saying that they have sufficiently practiced for case interviews, or from the candidates that already got rejected by their first choice consultancy.
It really does not matter how many cases a candidate practiced solving, what matters is how they solve cases.
Top-tier strategy consultancies, and McKinsey in particular, want candidates to demonstrate their Problem Solving skills when working through cases. At its core Problem Solving means that candidates should be able to approach questions by structuring them through logic only and not by memorizing and applying frameworks. Hence, candidates will be getting more and more “unconventional” cases that make it impossible to use frameworks, to really test their Problem Solving skills.
Our approach
We are meticulous about building candidates’ ability to structure any problem through logic. Often it comes with a big mindset shift as candidates transition from thinking “by analogy”, where they apply a framework or a set of buckets previously seen elsewhere, to breaking down problems into custom, multi-leveled, MECE issue trees. Once candidates master that skill they will not be thrown off by any case questions, no matter how “unconventional” they are.
Once the foundational skill of breaking down problems through logic is in place, we proceed to the other aspects of Problem Solving, including driving the case in an efficient way, working with data, synthesizing and formulating recommendations. They are typically fast to acquire once the ability to structure problems is solidified.
Case coaches
Anders
Former McKinsey Partner | Former leader of McKinsey’s recruiting in South East Asia
Through his more than 15 years of tenure at McKinsey, Anders coached, interviewed and assessed more than a thousand candidates that applied to McKinsey offices around the world. As a former partner responsible for McKinsey’s regional recruiting, Anders understands the recruitment process at McKinsey better than most. He guides candidates through their interview preparation process with unique insights from his previous experience, combined with his passion for talent development and coaching.
Anna
Former McKinsey Engagement manager | Experienced interview trainer and executive coach
After getting her MBA, Anna got 5 offers from the top consultancies without memorizing any frameworks. Through her tenure at McKinsey and afterwards, she worked with hundreds of management consulting candidates, particularly focusing on development of their strategic thinking. Her strength is training candidates in structuring problems without previous industry knowledge through logic and rigor of thinking like McKinsey consultants do.
Sneak peek into case coaching sessions
Every candidate is different, with unique needs, strengths and amount of time available. Hence we plan every step of coaching together with the candidate based on what is most value adding. You can stop or add another session at any point of time depending on how you feel, or you can request to work on a specific issue. Below we provide a generalized example of a coaching journey with a candidate.