r/MBBConsulting

I’ve spent the last two weeks doing what I do with most big decisions: building a comparison matrix and narrowing things down before committing. I have a first-round McKinsey interview in about five weeks and I wanted to be deliberate about where I put my practice time rather than just grabbing whatever got mentioned most on forums.

My shortlist right now is: a structured online course for framework foundations, a peer matching platform for live partner practice, one AI simulation tool for high-volume reps, and a set of written case guides for reference. The logic is that each one covers a different gap. The AI tool handles repetition without scheduling overhead, the live partner platform handles pressure and real-time feedback, the course handles gaps in my structural thinking, and the guides are reference material when I’m stuck.

What I’m less sure about is whether this is over-engineered. I’m a few years into a finance role so I’m not starting from zero, but I’ve never done a formal case interview before. My instinct is that the AI simulation piece is doing the heaviest lifting in this setup, since it’s the only one I can realistically use every day without coordinating with another person.

Has anyone actually run a structured prep plan like this, or did you find that one or two tools covered most of the ground? Specifically curious whether the combo of AI simulation plus live partner practice is redundant or genuinely complementary.

I have a first-round interview for experienced hires next week July 10th that includes a live case interview and a chatbot case. I'm currently a senior consultant, but my experience is almost entirely in the public sector, so I haven't had much exposure to traditional business casing. I also came from a healthcare background before consulting. I've only done a couple of practice case before, and honestly, the math is what I'm most nervous about. Mental math has never been my strong suit, and I'm worried it'll trip me up during the interview.

For anyone who was in a similar position, what helped you get up to speed quickly? Any tips for handling the math portion, structuring cases, or preparing in the week leading up to the interview would be greatly appreciated. I have been studying everyday all day since getting the invite on thursday, but I didn't expect to actually get an interview offer when I applied.

Hi seniors

Since you know the intern recruitments are going on, I had a doubt about when the consulting firms like BCN come to NSUT for Backend Consulting or Associate Intern roles roughly? Also, what more firms such usually come to the campus, and how the intern recruitment process goes about? As in, what is the shortlisting criteria, what is asked in the OA, what is asked in the interviews, etc

Title - just tried their free Redrock simulator and thought it was pretty helpful. Has anyone purchased their tools for Sea Wolf and SFL and can speak to the quality?

Hii, I'm preping for consulting for that I wanted to do cases with partners. I'm India based, Dm if anyone is interested to do cases over a meet.
Thanks

I have an interview for the Associate role (experienced hire) at BCG. I have 3 years of experience as a SWE + Masters in Business Analytics. I have 24 days to prepare. Any guidance, resources or advice would be helpful. Will I be able to prepare in 24 days ?

I want to show you something practical in this post. Not more theory. An actual walk-through of how the first few minutes of a profitability case should go, and more importantly, why each move happens in the order it does.

This is post 2 in The Case Playbook, a series built for non-traditional candidates breaking into MBB, Tier 2, and Big 4 consulting firms. If you haven't read post 1 on the five mental moves yet, start there. This post picks up directly from it.

But before I get into the case itself, I need to give you the mental frame that makes everything else click. Because without it, you'll read this walk-through and try to memorize it, and that's exactly the trap I want to pull you out of.

The reframe that changes everything

Most candidates walk into a consulting case interview thinking: "I am a student being tested on whether I know the right things to say."

That frame is what creates the robotic, scripted clarifying questions that interviewers at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain can spot within the first exchange.

Here's the frame I coach instead. You are the owner of a business. You don't know every technical detail of every department you run, but this business is yours. One of your senior employees walks into your office and says: "We have a problem. Profits are down."

What do you do? You don't sit there staring at the wall. You don't pull out an issue tree you memorized in business school. You get curious. Naturally, instinctively curious. You start asking questions because you genuinely need to understand what's going on before you can do anything useful about it. The five moves I'm about to walk you through aren't a script. They're just what naturally happens when a curious owner starts thinking out loud.

Hold that frame as you read the rest of this.

The case: NordPlay Studios

Here's the prompt as the interviewer delivers it:

"Our client is a mobile game developer called NordPlay Studios. They employ over three thousand developers and designers and are headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. They develop and publish mobile games for end users globally. End users download the games and play them on their devices. NordPlay Studios has seen profits decline over the past two years. They would like to understand why that is the case and how you can help them."

That's it. About eighty words. No numbers, no specifics, no clear problem. Just a blob of English.

And here's the first thing an owner thinker recognizes: this isn't solvable yet. That's not a failure. That's the point. No serious consultant, no matter how experienced, can take that prompt and go straight to building an issue tree. The prompt is a starting point, not a brief. Your job in the next three to four minutes is to turn it into something you can actually work with.

Move 1: Absorb before you react

When the prompt is being read, the owner's instinct is to write everything down. Not to organize, not to categorize, just to capture. You listen and you write in bullet points at the pace the interviewer is speaking.

The memorizer starts building their structure in their head while the interviewer is still talking. The owner stays open because they know they don't have enough yet to decide what matters.

There's something else happening in Move 1 that most candidates miss. You're managing the initial shock of a new industry, a new situation, a new set of unknowns. Writing anchors you. It gives your nervous system something to do other than panic. And it signals to the interviewer, who is watching you from the moment the prompt starts, that you are present and tracking.

In this case, the owner hears "mobile game developer," "profits declining," "two years," and immediately starts getting a rough shape of what this is likely to be. Probably a find-the-root-cause, fix-it, get-back-to-a-number type of problem. That's not a conclusion, it's a working hypothesis. The specifics come later.

Move 2: Play it back, then mark what you don't understand

After the prompt, the owner confirms what they heard. Not word for word, that's annoying. They reiterate the key details to verify accuracy and show they were listening.

"Thank you. Let me make sure I have this right. Our client is NordPlay Studios, a mobile game developer and publisher with over three thousand developers and designers, headquartered in Stockholm. They make games for end users globally who download and play on their devices. Profits have declined over the past two years and they want to understand why and how we can help. Is that correct?"

While confirming, the pen is moving. You're circling phrases you're genuinely curious about. In this prompt, in my view there are four natural circles: "game developer and publisher" (what does that mean operationally?), "end users" and "devices" (what's the actual value chain here?), "globally" (which markets and through which channels?), and "profits" (which profits exactly?).

Those circles become your clarifying questions. You're not inventing questions to seem thorough. You're asking about the things you actually don't know, because as the owner, you need to know them before you can do anything useful.

The memorizer asks three generic questions because that's what they were taught. The owner looks at their four circles and asks about those specific things, in this specific case, because those are the real ambiguities.

Move 3: Ask surgically, then find the math

Now you go circle by circle. Direct, curious, unhurried. Not firing questions in rapid succession like a checklist. One at a time, with genuine interest in the answer.

"When you say game developer and publisher, what does that mean exactly? Do they design, code, and distribute their games themselves end to end?"

The interviewer confirms: yes, they design, code, and publish globally.

"You mentioned end users downloading games on devices. Is this a B2C business, and do they distribute through the App Store and Google Play?"

Yes, B2C, through App Store and Google Play.

"When you say devices, are we talking primarily mobile, or also PC and console? And to help me get oriented, is this similar to something like Candy Crush, casual mobile gaming?"

Primarily mobile, some PC. Yes, casual mobile gaming is the right reference point.

Now comes the move that separates good clarifying questions from great ones. You need to find the math. The prompt is in English. Your issue tree has to be grounded in math. So the last circle, profits, is where you convert.

"You mentioned profits are declining. Which profits specifically are we looking at, and what were the figures two years ago compared to now?"

Net profits. $2.4 billion two years ago, now $2 billion.

That's a $400 million decline. Now you have something real to work with.

Move 4: Lock down the objective and the constraints

The owner doesn't start working until they know what success looks like and what the rules of the game are. These are two separate questions that most candidates collapse into one, or skip entirely.

"From an objective standpoint, would you like me to recover net profits back to the level from two years ago, so back to $2.4 billion?"

Yes.

"Are there any constraints I should be aware of, timeline or otherwise?"

One year. Nothing else for now.

This move takes about fifteen seconds. It's not glamorous. But without it you're solving in the dark. A one-year constraint versus a five-year constraint changes everything about what solutions are even viable. If the constraint were "revenues must not decrease," that eliminates entire categories of cost-cutting approaches immediately. You need the walls of the room before you start moving around inside it.

From what I've seen coaching candidates, this is the most commonly skipped move. They ask about objectives, get a vague answer, and move on. They never ask about constraints. Or they ask about both but in such a rushed way that they don't actually absorb what they're told. Either way, they end up building an issue tree around a problem they haven't fully defined.

Move 5: Build the problem statement, not a summary

Now you take a moment. You look at your notes. And you build one crisp sentence that defines the problem you're about to solve.

"I'd like to take a moment to put together a problem statement. I believe the core question is: why did NordPlay Studios' net profits fall from $2.4 billion to $2 billion over the past two years, and how do we identify and fix the root causes to recover back to $2.4 billion within one year. Does that capture it?"

The interviewer agrees.

Compare that to the original prompt. Eighty words of vague English versus one precise, quantified, time-bound question. That's the transformation the owner thinker creates in three to four minutes. A $400 million decline, a specific recovery target, a one-year window. That's a case you can actually structure and solve.

Here's why this matters more than it looks. In real consulting work, one of the most valuable things a team does for a client is help them define their own problem correctly. Clients come in with a vague sense that something is wrong. The consultant's job is to turn that vague discomfort into a precise, answerable question. When you nail the problem statement in a case interview, you're demonstrating exactly that ability at a micro level.

What the interviewer is actually watching

The five moves above aren't just about getting to the right problem statement. They're signals. Every move of the Case Opening is the interviewer reading your working style.

Are you composing yourself under pressure? Are you genuinely curious or just performing curiosity? Are you listening to the answers you get and adjusting, or are you just firing the next question on your list? Are you organized without being robotic?

The memorizer performs all of this. The owner actually does it, because they genuinely need to understand the situation before they can help.

That's the difference. And interviewers who have seen hundreds of cases feel it within the first few minutes.

One thing I'd encourage you to try: take this walk-through and replicate it out loud, with a friend reading the NordPlay prompt to you. Not reading along, speaking it live. Because the real skill here is doing all five moves verbally, in real time, with no script in front of you. That's where the practice has to live.

If you're currently prepping for a case interview and want to share where you're getting stuck in this phase specifically, drop it in the comments. Happy to give you a more specific steer based on what you're running into. And if you found this through another community, the full Case Playbook series is in r/ConsultingOffer.

The next post in The Case Playbook applies the same five moves to a public sector case, a government ministry facing a completely different kind of problem in a completely different industry. It's designed to show you that the owner thinker approach works on any prompt you'll ever receive, not just private company profitability cases. That's where most candidates discover whether they've actually internalized the moves or just memorized them for one case type.

Anyone willing to share the fee for any practice website simulator for mckinsey solve game ?

I’m a recent MBA graduate from a school that big 4 firms recruit directly from. Unfortunately for me I only had the epiphany that I wanted to go into healthcare consulting a few months ago at the end of my program. In talking to connections they got in through campus recruiting and now with not being a student it will be “harder”. Did I actually miss my window to get in?

Hi all,

I’ve been at MBB for about a year and was recently asked to leave the firm following my latest performance evaluation.

The confusing part is that my reviews were generally good. I spoke with several of my managers, and they told me they don’t really understand the decision either. Their impression is that the firm needs to reduce headcount, and unfortunately I was one of the people affected.

Since I work in Germany, I can’t simply be terminated, so I’ve been offered the option to leave within the next six months in exchange for a severance package. To be honest, the offer doesn’t seem particularly attractive.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience—particularly what kind of severance package you received, whether you negotiated it, and how you approached the overall situation.

Thanks in advance!

hi everyone, so I recently interviewed for BCG EH on Friday I thought it went decently well. Both of my interviewers seemed to like me and I solved both math portions with nearly no mistakes.

but for some reason, I’m still freaking out praying I get the role because this is my last opportunity for a job anytime soon.

does anyone have an idea on if I should get an offer Monday or later in the week as well as any advice for keeping my calm in the interim?

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some insight from people who have gone through MBB recruiting in the Middle East (Dubai, Riyadh, Doha).

I’m applying for full-time Associate/Business Analyst-level roles this cycle. Last year, I applied for internship positions at MBB and managed to get interviews, but unfortunately didn’t make it through. From my feedback, my biggest weakness was quantitative case performance, which I’ve been working hard to improve.

One thing I do feel confident about is my communication and interpersonal skills. I was able to build good rapport with interviewers, and I generally feel comfortable communicating under pressure. However, I consistently heard from consultants is that *there isn’t really a “coffee chat” culture* for entry-level recruiting in the Middle East like there is in the US. They suggested submitting a strong application rather than trying to network extensively.

That said, I still have a few questions:

**How much do referrals actually matter for entry-level recruiting in the Middle East? and if so, how do they work?**

Are there particular offices (Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, etc.) that are hiring more aggressively at the moment?

As someone from a non-target university and a humanities major, what can I do over the next few months to strengthen my application beyond improving my case interview skills?

If someone reaches final rounds one year but gets rejected, does that negatively affect future applications, or is each recruiting cycle evaluated independently?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who’s recruited for MBB in the Middle East or is currently working there.

Thanks in advance!

Looking for a beginner-friendly case partner to practice with daily for the next month. I’m just starting out and would love to stay consistent together.

McK associate R1 in 2 weeks. Looking for intermediate/advanced casing partners to prep with. I’ve done 30+ cases so far.

Happy to rotate interviewer/interviewee. DM or comment below if interested.

Hello all!

I am Middle office worker in Europe, working as trade support analyst for 2 clients in US investment banking.

I am thinking about MBA and need to prepare solid storyline for „Why MBA?” And „Why Me?”

Is there anyone who had the same situation and got into M7 or any other MBA programs?
From my side, I can say that i want to relocate to US, have network there, and want to challenge myself more, as in current place the best scenario - officer in 7 years, which for me is too ling for such level. More than that I want to be involved in front office workload, not just supporting and doing technical/operational tasks, but to be on the other side of the table as well.

I have talked to several people who got to MBA, those have been managers, or had CFA, in my case i am associate, because i have been working in other fields of finance before and switched to investment banking a little more than year ago. In previous positions i have been specialist.

Can anybody advise what can be good storyline for me? What MBA can give me?

I just want to hear how the whole situation looks from aside to be able to objectively evaluate the situation.

Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone,

I'm a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering planning to recruit for MBB (McKinsey, BCG, and Bain) and could really use some guidance on where to start with case interview prep.

Coming from a STEM research background, I have no formal business training, so consulting interviews are completely new to me. I've been researching resources, but there are so many recommendations—Case in Point, Victor Cheng, CaseCoach, RocketBlocks, Crafting Cases, Management Consulted, PrepLounge, AI tools, etc.—that I'm feeling overwhelmed.

If you were starting from scratch today, how would you approach preparation?

Some questions I have:

• What's the best first step? Learn case fundamentals first or jump straight into practicing live cases?
• Which resources are genuinely worth the time for beginners?
• Are paid platforms like CaseCoach or RocketBlocks worth it, or can you prepare just as well using free resources?
• How many live cases did it take before you felt interview-ready?
• For those who successfully transitioned from a PhD into MBB, what do you wish you had known when you started?

I'm aiming to recruit for 2027 and want to build a solid, structured preparation plan instead of randomly jumping between resources.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

CV summary: graduated from ANU in 2022. GPA 6.2
Studied humanities. Worked in a policy role in the public sector ever since graduation.

I applied for entry-level roles, i.e. junior associate at McKinsey; Junior Generalist Associate at BCG; Associate Consultant at Bain, for three times.

Failed at the CV screening every time after online test. No referral.

May I please ask what I should do to increase my chance of getting an interview?

Many thanks 🙏

Hi, I'm trying to prepare for BCG R1 2027 summer intern (not sure if I will land), and I'm finding a case partner to practice with me. I was practicing by reading case books and go thru cases by myself (done 10+). But never practiced with other people in an interview-like setting. Hope to find someone with similar status and willing to do pressure testing once we sort everything out. Time zone: EST/CST

DM me if you are interested :)