Consulting Interview Prep Guide

(Developed for Undergraduates)

Updated March 26th, 2021

Kyle Schott
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Table of Contents

I. Introduction and Overview - Pg. 2

II. Timeline - Pg. 3

III. Networking - Pg. 4

IV. Understanding What a Case is - Pg. 5

V. Building Skills - Pg. 6

VI. Practicing Cases - Pg. 7

VII. Preparing for Fit Interviews - Pg. 8

VIII. Crafting Resume/Cover Letters and Submitting Applications - Pg. 9

IX. Conclusion - Pg. 10

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Introduction and Overview

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to spend a ton of time preparing for my consulting
interviews during the months leading up to recruiting. However, I realize most future applicants
will not have a whole summer of sitting inside to endlessly prepare for interviews. That said, I
built this guide so future applicants do not have to spend hours searching the internet for the best
resources and instead can spend their time actually preparing.

To give a broad overview, this guide starts with a preparation timeline based on my process (I
will not claim this is a perfect timeline or that others are incorrect, but this timeline worked for
me). After that timeline, I will include a section discussing each of the steps in the timeline. In
each of these segments, I will cover the goal of the step being discussed, specific tips and tricks,
and the resources I found best for that step.

I hope this guide helps you land a position at your target firm, but, even if it does not, the skills
learned in preparing for consulting interviews are valuable in any business context.

NOTE: MANY RESOURCES IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE IN READ-ONLY GOOGLE

FILES. DOWNLOAD THE FILE TO YOUR GOOGLE DRIVE TO EDIT.
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Timeline

Networking - Begin five months before interviews and continue up to interviewing

Understand what a case is - Do this between five and four months before your first interview
Building skills - Do this between four and three and a half months before your first interview
Practice Cases - Start as soon as you understand what a case is and continue until first interview
Fit interview prep - Begin two months before your first interview
Craft Resume/Cover Letters and Submit Applications - Craft your resume and cover letters
over the month leading up to submitting applications (due dates vary by firm)
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Networking
Goal:
The goal of networking is two-fold; get your name noticed by firms before formal recruiting
starts and gain an understanding of each firm’s unique culture.

Tips and Tricks:

● Focus on cultural fit
○ A BCG manager once told me, “the top firms do mostly the same work, the
differences in culture are what set us apart”. Not only will understanding culture
help you find the right firm for you, but it will help you shine in the fit interview.
● Drive the discussion
○ In nearly all cases, you will be the one who reaches out first, so it is expected that
you will control the dialogue and have questions ready.
● Start the conversation with an overview of your background
○ This makes conversation/connections happen and sets the stage for the consultant
to answer your questions.
● Reach out on LinkedIn
○ You can use the search filters to find people at a firm from your school and then
send them a connection request with a note asking to talk. In terms of reply rate,
you will get the best results from reaching out to Associates/Analysts.
● Attend the informational/coffee chat/networking events that firms put on
○ You can usually RVSP for these on the firm’s website or on your school’s career
page. They are a great way to learn about firms and show your interest.
Resources:
1. Networking Tracking Spreadsheet
a. Use this spreadsheet to track your networking. If you add the date of the planned
conversation in the “conversation date column” it will color yellow if it is in the
future, red if it is today, and green if it has passed. Also, if you type the names of
firms you are networking with into the firm column on the table on the right, it
will keep count of the number of calls you have had with that firm.
2. Consulting Informational Interview Questions
a. This is a sheet of questions I used in most of my informational interviews. I did
not just read them in order, I started with one or two and then drove the
conversation from there -- conversation is better than canned Q&A.
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Understanding What a Case is

Goal:
The goal of this step is exactly what it sounds like. By the end of this step you should understand
the flow of a case, the goal of a case interview, and have a basic understanding of what is
involved in completing a case interview.

Tips and Tricks:

● Read Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng
○ This book is not perfect (the shoutouts of his products get frustrating and the idea
that you can solve any case with two cookie-cutter frameworks is flawed, in my
opinion), but it does give a very solid overview of the flow of a case. His format
for opening and closing cases is very good as well.
● Watch case interviews from YouTube
○ A quick Google search can get you some solid results but I will include some
examples in the resources section.
Resources:
1. Case Interview Secrets
a. The only thing for interview prep I recommend buying.
2. Case Interview Videos
a. This article has nine videos that are some of the best I have seen.
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Building Skills
Goal:
This is a step a lot of people skip or just do not do because they start preparing too late. The goal
here is to develop strong skills in each aspect of the case, so you do not develop bad habits while
practicing cases. Case interviews are a great example of “practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect
practice makes perfect”.

Tips and Tricks:

● Take your time
○ If you spend lots of time on this step, your casing skills will be much better from
the jump and you will improve much faster. It truly pays dividends.
● Do the free Crafting Cases course
○ PLEASE DO THIS! This is the one thing that took my casing to the next level. If
you want to have MBB interviewers say, “that was the best case interview I have
ever seen”, then do this. (The link is in the resources)

Resources:
1. Crafting Cases Course
a. It’s fast (can be done in 2 or 3 days), comprehensive, and has the biggest ROI of
any resource I used during my preparation.
2. Crafting Cases Cheat Sheet
a. I almost left this out because doing the course on your own is super important;
however, after you complete it, reference this sheet to remember and practice the
steps and skills you learned in the course’s modules.
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Practicing Cases
Goal:
This is where you practice and improve your casing skills. The more cases you do well, the
better prepared you will be for the interview (to a reasonable extent - there are diminishing
returns at a point).

Tips and Tricks:

● Pick a casing buddy
○ Find someone also interested in consulting and do cases with them. I did a case
every Monday-Friday morning with my case buddy for four months and not only
did we become strong case interviewers, but we also became good friends. You
hold each other accountable and help each other learn.
● Case with current consultants
○ After you have solid casing skills (a few weeks before your interviews), reach out
to some of the consultants you networked with and ask if they can give you a
practice case. Most are willing to and the feedback you get from them is fantastic.

Resources:
1. More cases than you will ever need
a. This is a Google folder with several case books from different business schools
(my personal favorites are Darden 2018-19 and Wharton 2017).
2. kyleschottconsulting@gmail.com
a. This is my email, feel free to reach out if you want to do a practice case; I will do
my best to find the time.
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Preparing for Fit Interview

Goal:
The fit component of the interview is often overlooked because the case interview is the “scary
part”; however, the fit portion is just as important to getting an offer. In this step, you will
prepare to answer common questions and understand what firms are looking for in your answers.

Tips and Tricks:

● Video yourself practicing
○ For common questions like “why consulting?” or “why X firm?”, video yourself
practicing, watch it, make adjustments, and then do it again.
● Brainstorm stories
○ In interviews, you are unlikely to get a canned question like, “What is your
biggest strength?” (this does not mean you will not). You are more likely to get
questions like, “Tell me about a time when...”. To prepare for these questions,
research what traits firms are looking for in candidates and then think of 2-3
stories from your experience that show this trait. If you do this, you will be able to
seize the opportunity to tell your best stories when you are asked a question that
requires one.

Resources:
1. Common Fit Questions List
a. This is a list of common fit questions from my experience and The Consulting
Interview Bible (a link to a PDF of the book is on the document).
2. YouTube Playlist from Management Consulted
a. This playlist has tons of great information, especially on how to answer “why
consulting” and “why X firm?”.
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Craft Resume/Cover Letters and Submit Applications

Goal:
The goal here is to actually get the first-round interview. Most firms (especially large ones and
MBB) cut the vast majority of their applicant pool before first-round interviews happen. To land
an interview you will need a solid resume and (if required) a strong cover letter.

Tips and Tricks:

● Use your university’s writing resources
○ This is not an option everywhere, but, if your school has a career/writing/business
communication center, use it. Most will offer resume and cover letter review
services. You do not have to use any of the suggested edits, but getting a new set
of eyes on a document you have spent hours looking at, like a resume, is helpful.
● Use a resume catered to consulting
○ You do not need a resume specific to each firm, but your resume should be
specific to consulting. Make sure it highlights skills desired in consulting
(problem-solving, teamwork, quantitative analysis, etc.).
● Use different cover letters catered to each firm
○ You should have a unique cover letter for each firm. It does not need to be entirely
new, but areas where you address what you like about a firm should be unique.
● Look to firm websites when crafting your resume and cover letter
○ Similar to the two points above this, you should look at firm websites when
deciding what to include in your resume and cover letter. For example, Bain’s
website says they look for problem-solving skills, the ability to lead, results
delivery, and passion, so make sure to highlight experiences that show these traits
in your cover letter.

Resources:
1. Management Consulted’s resume and cover letter guides
a. These two websites are an awesome place to start; I used the cover letter structure
they suggest to write my own. If you need more content, searching Google for
“consulting resume/cover letter” will get you lots of great information.
2. Sample Cover Letter
a. This is a sample cover letter I used during my recruiting. I have redacted all the
names from it, so it is anonymous. Please do not copy and paste from this.
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Conclusion
I hope this guide helps you to land a job at whatever consulting firm you are targeting, or at least
makes the process more painless. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me
at kyleschottconsulting@gmail.com. I will do my best to make myself available to answer
questions, review resumes/cover letters, and/or give you practice case interviews. Thank you!