Consulting Interview Bible helps you land an interview. But let’s be honest – breaking into consulting is hard. It’s harder to get an offer at a consulting firm – even after you’ve passed the resume screen – than it is to get into MIT. You need every edge that you can get.
Do you stumble when asked why a consulting firm should hire you – out of the thousands of candidates they have to choose from?
Do you sweat when trying to convince a senior partner how Disney should expand its operations in Brazil?
Does your mind spin when asked to estimate a complete unknown, like the number of rhesus monkeys in India?
Even if you think you’re ready for the game changing chance of a lifetime – the consulting interview – the answers you have in mind can definitely be better.
After working at Bain, McKinsey and Deloitte, our team crafted the ultimate preparation guide for consulting interviews, including 3 key sections: Fit Interviews, Case Interviews, and 16 actual cases with scoring keys.
What’s Inside?
- 300+ outline and instruction pages covering every conceivable topic central to consulting interviews – from general preparation tips to why interviewers ask specific fit questions, from tips on analyzing charts to bottom-up approaches for sizing questions.
- Over 50 fit questions that you’re guaranteed to hear in consulting interviews. Understanding them will enable you to destroy every consulting interview question you’ll ever face.
- 50+ pages of practical advice on cracking the case interview.
- 4 versatile frameworks that are easy to use to solve every case, every time in a very practical, non-formulaic way.
- 16 cases that you can do on your own or use to practice with a partner, each based on realistic company problems, structured in the style of a 1:1 live interview, and including scoring keys modeled off those used at MBB firms. They’re comprehensive, complex, and will be as challenging than any you’ll face from the likes of Bain, BCG or Monitor/Deloitte.
The Consulting Interview Bible not only provides specific tips on how to answer each question, but it tells you what the interviewer is looking for and offers example answers that you can emulate to craft your own response.
In only 6 years of publication, we’ve sold 50,000+ copies in 3 editions. Find out for yourself why clients around the world write us daily to thank us for offering this comprehensive guide to consulting interviews.
The Consulting Interview Bible
The Consulting Interview Bible: 300+ pages of insider secrets to consulting cases, PSTs, and fit interviews; includes 4 easy-to-use frameworks, scoring guides, 50+ fit interview questions/answers, and 16 cases to do alone or with a partner. Private: Consulting Book Bundle
Save With Our Book Bundle! Includes all 6 MC books:
- The Consulting Roadmap
- The Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible
- The Consultant’s Networking Bible
- The Consulting Interview Bible
- The MC Consulting Case Bank
- 3 Month Mastery
Because you’ve read all the way here, we know you’re curious about the exact insights that The Consulting Interview Bible offers. Here they are:
On the consulting interview process…
- Why practicing fit interviews before case interviews makes sense
- 16 consulting interview tips to make yourself stand out before, during, and after
- One phrase that everyone encourages you to use but you should never say in an actual interview
- The 5-minute investment on one skill that will make you better than 90% of interviewees
- The difference between fit interviews for undergrad vs. MBA vs. experienced hires
- Why you shouldn’t believe McKinsey when they tell you the purpose of the group interview
On fit and experiential interview questions…
- 4 secrets to answer any fit question that the best interviewers instinctively know
- Why your business background pre-MBA can hurt you, and how to prevent this from happening
- The 2/4 point structure for resume questions – and how to use this framework for any fit question
- What never to say when discussing why you turned down return offers
- 5 personal qualities that consultants universally respect and that you must convey
- The worst mistake you can make when answering questions about your future
- How to build rapport through your responses to personality questions
- 1 topic you must avoid when asked about any question, and particularly about failures
- The one component candidates always miss when discussing their leadership
- The toughest question you’ll encounter – and a response that will leave the interviewer eager to work with you
- 3 traits to demonstrate a sincere interest in the firm and the industry
- 2 topics you shouldn’t discuss when asked why you’re interested in management consulting
- One critical way to explain a move overseas (or, for international applicants, a move to the U.S.)
- The 3 checkmarks you must earn in explaining your career change to consulting
- How to sound like a consultant when asked about specific companies and industries
- What you should never say when asked questions about your recruiting status
- A bullet-proof gameplan for preparing for any fit question
And more, just about cases:
On the PST…
- How firms use the 80/20 principle to weed out weak candidates
- The real purpose behind the PST and how it’s used
- 4 factors that determine how your PST is evaluated
- 8 tips for effective PST prep
On sizing questions and mini case studies…
- Why sizing questions can be trickier than case studies
- 4 reasons why they’re asked – and the tips that will help you master them
- Example questions that you can ask to sound smart without annoying the interviewer
- Multiple approaches to each question so you see the best solution possible
- The 1 test you must know and use with each answer
- How to be 80/20…without missing something
On case studies…
- 5 case study principles that the best interviewers know by heart
- 4 practical frameworks that must be memorized…and will be used repeatedly
- What the best interviewers do that automatically makes you sound like a consultant
- Insider secrets of the scoring system revealed
- Detailed breakdown of the anatomy of a case
- Debunking myths about interviewer-led vs. interviewee-led cases
- Bad habits to avoid when practicing alone
- Example differences between good answers and truly distinctive responses
- The 3 components of a summary response – aka, the elevator test
- Facts and figures that will kill your chances if you don’t know them
- When getting the right answer can work against you
- Example questions you can ask to sound smart for each case
- Prompts your interviewer will use during 1:1 cases
- Suggestions on creative responses – so you can be both structured and out-of-the-box
- Quantitative questions that cover market size, marginal profit, fixed and variable costs, and other key concepts that you must know
The Consulting Interview Bible doesn’t just teach you how to land consulting jobs – although it will do that better than any guide on the market.
It also teaches you how to communicate better for the interview and beyond – because every professional interaction, whether you know it or not, is like an interview.
FAQs
Absolutely – this guide is not just for undergrads and MBAs. Why? The process to break into consulting is largely the same – at the partner level as it is at the Associate level. You face cases and extensive grilling sessions on your fit and experience.
The tips for each section and many of the consulting interview questions will be similar, but we have pointed out where you need to focus on different issues or displaying different knowledge. There’s even a dedicated section on questions for experienced hires/career changers.
As an experienced professional, your transition is harder, your explanations more nuanced, your experience more robust (read: lengthy) and therefore you need more help.
We work with experienced hires just like you every day on 1:1 coaching, so we’ve crafted the book to address the needs current professionals as well as current students.
Good news! The book is in e-reader format on our website – just add it to your cart, create an account during the checkout process, and your book will be available immediately after purchase.
You can get started practicing for consulting interviews – right away!
You bet. Sure, 60%+ of you are going to find that this book makes your life a breeze, and for a fraction of the cost, you’ll get the best interview prep around.
However, for the rest of you — breaking in from drastically different fields, applying cross-culturally, or in need of a second opinion to make sure your answers are perfect — we work around the clock with our hand-selected team of ex-MBB consultants on premium coaching services, honing your skills and advising you personally along the way.
If you wish, try the book first, but if you find that you’re too nervous to work on everything yourself, upgrade to Consulting Job Hunt ($495), Consulting Jet Pack ($995) or Black Belt Deluxe ($2195) within 30 days and you’ll get a refund of your $35 book purchase.
If you want to learn to think like a consultant, this book is for you.
Consultants evaluate everything – how someone speaks, how they break down problems, how operations could be better. Read this book cover-to-cover, and do ALL of the homework – and you’ll start thinking like a consultant too!
Your interview will be slightly different from the strategy consulting model – but beyond the technical knowledge you must know, interviewers will ask questions about your resume, your background, your preparation for the job, etc. – all of which are covered in detail in these materials.
Our customers have confirmed that digital is the way to go. You can start practicing for interviews in less than 5 minutes! The speed and flexibility of the online version is awesome – you have it with you wherever you go, so you can practice cases any time of day or night.
We do, however, offer this resource in print – a beautiful, complete copy available on Amazon. Just search for “Consulting Interview Bible” and you’ll have the copy in your mailbox as soon as tomorrow.
Yes, absolutely! The application processes for consulting are nearly identical globally. When the requirements differ slightly between the U.S. and overseas for other firms, this book was written to address these topics — even covering cross-border issues throughout.
Approximately 40% of our customers are applying to overseas offices, so we share our international perspective. Of course, feel free to check in with a local recruiter on things like interview language and capabilities testing for each region so you have up-to-the-minute intelligence – but we have successfully advised clients in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the U.K., Europe, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, India, SE Asia, China, Australia/New Zealand, etc.
That’s right – we cover the globe, and in the process consistently get rave reviews on both this book and the premium coaching services we offer.
Unlike finance, management consulting interviews rarely ask technical questions. The closest you’ll come are questions about current business topics and the occasional brainteaser (both of which are included).
The technical skills needed for consulting are tested in sizing questions and case studies – which The Consulting Interview Bible discusses in-depth.
We’re glad you asked.
First – we all used Case in Point to prepare for our interviews. It’s a good foundation to take you from knowing nothing to knowing something, but practically it’s impossible to use to solve cases. There are too many frameworks, and the cases in the book are all too open-ended – not like real MBB, Deloitte/Big 4, or most boutique firm cases. Marc Cosentino was also never a consultant, so he’s sharing from a career advisor’s perspective – not the perspective of an expert in the industry. When we get clients in our coaching programs who have heavily focused on reading Case in Point, they always try to do too much, and never the most important things.
We like Victor Cheng’s material in general – he is an industry insider, and his highly structured methodology helps you overcorrect from the generic blob of thinking that most people use when they start the process. However, his stuff has 2 weaknesses – he doesn’t work directly with coaching clients (he is still a consultant himself), and he is so excessively McKinsey-style structured that people who try to follow his methodology come across as robotic, even in McKinsey interviews. Plus, his book has no actual cases. It’s easy to spot a Victor Cheng disciple in case interviews – and you don’t want to do that.
Our Consulting Interview Bible offers the best of many worlds – if we didn’t honestly believe it was better, we wouldn’t have wasted the time creating it. We offer 4 clear structures, an appropriate robust focus on the oft-neglected fit interview, and sane and simple ways to crack cases that have helped thousands of clients all over the world – all derived from working directly with you, the applicant, and from our own insider experience at MBB firms.
So – if you have to buy only one, we’d recommend ours. If you can, buy all 3 – just pay attention to the lens each one offers. We also recommend a few additional case prep books our clients have found useful – check out our Recommended Reading section for more detail.
Yes!
If you’d like to read it on our website in e-reader format, buy it here. If you’d prefer our latest version in print or on Kindle, just search for “Consulting Interview Bible” on Amazon to purchase.
Within 7 days of purchase, if you find the quality of our materials to be unsatisfactory and are able to provide specific complaints, you can request a refund.