Incidentally, the precise answer is 500,000, but any answer between 400,000 – 600,000 would have been acceptable by most interviewers. If you haven’t figured out the correct answer by the time you read this sentence, your current mental math skills may be too slow or not accurate enough to pass a case interview.
What you may not know how to do, or have enough real world experience doing, is doing such computations in your head, using large numbers.įor example, what is the approximate answer to 500 million divided by 150 multiplied by 15%? Clearly, you already know how to do that. That’s 90% of the math we use in the case interview.
In consulting, we also often use percentages. It’s called addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. If you are even considering a career in consulting, I can guarantee you that you already know enough math concepts to pass the case interview. This is because firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG can not take the risk that you will make a mental math error in front of a client that’s paying them $1 million a month for your and your colleagues’ time. In a case interview, 95% of the time a single mental math error results in an automatic rejection. Obviously people with perfect GRE scores can do math taught to 11-year-old children, but doing it UNDER PRESSURE with another person in the room, staring at you, waiting impatiently for the answer, is an entirely different experience. I have received numerous emails from PhDs from MIT in Physics and Engineering who failed a case interview because they made a computational error. Doing math computations in your head, while an interviewer is staring at you, with the prospect of a $100,000 or $225,000 job offer at stake and your entire career future at stake, is NOT a natural act. How to Succeed as a New Management Consultant.Getting the Consulting Job Offer Menu Toggle.How to Thrive in a Corporate Environment.Management Consulting Internship Interviews.
Download Case Interview Frameworks (Free Resources).Find a Case Interview Partner (Free Resource).Case Interview Secrets Videos (Free Resource).Case Interview vs Regular Job Interview.11 Tips for Writing the Perfect Consulting Cover Letter.4 Tips for Writing the Perfect Consulting Resume.Video: Top 5 Mistakes Made on Consulting Resumes.Reviews of Look Over My Shoulder Program.