816: Be a professional, don't be a business person (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

Building of our technique to develop hypotheses, this podcast explains a clever way to generate creative hypotheses. In essence, the podcast will be useful to candidates who have already seen how we brainstorm and generate hypotheses, since this podcast expands on that thinking. The core of this idea is that if more than one structure can be brainstormed for a case, each of those structures can be used to develop a new type of hypothesis. This is a very, very simple technique as well.

29 Aug 20137min

In this podcast present a clever technique to treat graphs as "maps" when reading them. Corporate Finance candidates will like this. The key to this technique rests on the simple idea of ignoring the data plots and first trying to understand what the type of graph is saying. Once this is clear, the data is then examined within the graph to understand its meaning. The podcast explains this with an example and is a very effective tool we use for teaching clients.

23 Aug 20136min

We always ask our clients, especially those from weaker schools, to network with the most senior partners of consulting firms. This is a podcast about a PhD client, from a weaker school and no existing consulting relationships, who painfully followed this advice over several months to network with a member of McKinsey's worldwide leadership and obtain interviews for his office of choice. It is not easy, but can be done. It works.

17 Aug 201310min

Lots of candidates leave it to the interviewer to determine the energy levels, tone and mood of the call. That is a bad idea. In our experience, the best candidates always bring a light mood to interviews. Seriousness, can hurt you as it is confused for anxiousness. Delegating the mood to the interview is bad idea since it means the energy of the case will be largely out of your control. Moreover, unless you practice controlling the energy, it is unlikely you will have this skill to deploy in the case interview itself.

10 Aug 20135min

Due to culture, tradition and even good intentions, candidates make sexist remarks. Sometimes, a very innocent remark may come across as sexist. This podcast examines some the incidences we have encountered which have hurt candidates in cases. It is wise to think about your own inadvertent sexist behavior.

4 Aug 20132min

This extremely detailed podcast offers advice and information on the rise of Sub-Saharan offices – Nigeria and South Africa, the rise of African candidates, types of work done in these offices, the interview process and challenges faced by candidates, key partners, key clients, significant projects, hiring strategies, recruiting firms used, expatriate strategies and more. It is one of several detailed office podcasts we have released for the English-speaking offices.

29 Juli 201339min

This podcast looks at how to make estimations when calculating smaller values or working with enclosed spaces like restaurants, the importance of sensitivity analyses and a new limitation of demand-driven cases. This is a very important technique which can significantly improve accuracy and efficiency in case math.

23 Juli 20134min

Last week, an associate we placed at BCG emailed with a dilemma. A senior partner and managing director of the firm was visiting her office and she wanted to meet him. Her colleagues told her to forget about it as she was too junior to warrant his attention. Her peers who gave her this advice may have a few years at BCG but they clearly do not understand the culture of the firm at all. Senior partners always make time for consultants and are always looking to meet young and enthusiastic new employees. Giving the strict vetting process, when you join you are merely a young leader, never a young person. This podcast explains my views on this as a former partner.

17 Juli 20133min