Question:
Thank you for the emails you have been sending me, I find them very useful and full of insights. I an MBA graduate and I have just been invited to an interview with a boutique firm.
I am a bit surprised that they have scheduled me for two consecutive interviews in the same day: one at 8:30 in the morning with an associate, and a second one at 9:30 with an associate partner.
I wanted to ask you what to expect — are both interviews going to be case interviews?
And what’s the point of having several cases to crack?
My Reply:
I’m not familiar with the specific firm you mentioned, but in general, the reason for multiple interviews and multiple cases is to test the consistency of your case interview skills.
My McKinsey final rounds — one in the Los Angeles office, one in the New York office — were each five or six interviews – back-to-back-to-back… that’s about five hours of case interviews in a row, without any break. (And I did it twice, and actually got two offers from McKinsey.)
The reason the consistency is important from an interviewer’s standpoint is that frankly anyone can get lucky, have a good day, and do well on one case. It’s much harder to get lucky on two, or even six cases in a row. (Or in my case — with McKinsey, I had a total of 15 case interviews with 15 different people.)
This is one of the reasons I emphasize the importance of not just knowing what to do, but to actually practice what you know you are supposed to do. If you can find a friend to practice with, that’s an excellent option.
If you have difficulty finding a partner to do some live practice with, you can use my Look Over My Shoulder® program to do simulated practice or do both.
For additional case interview preparation materials, review my free video series on Case Interview Secrets.