Streams / Consulting
Consulting
Graduate consultants move to a new client every few months, often in a new industry, and work directly with the people making the decisions.
Getting in took me about four weeks of case practice. Before any interview, a CV screen and an online test remove most applicants. The free course covers each stage in turn.
| Stages in a typical process | 5 |
|---|---|
| Case practice Ishaq needed | About four weeks |
| Case types you will meet | Profitability, market entry, market sizing, M&A |
| Interview styles | Candidate led (McKinsey) or interviewer led (Bain, BCG) |
| Firms in the library | 56, eight with verified pay |
| Mentor for this stream | Ishaq Shah, OC&C |
Exhibit 1 How a consulting process runs, using the OC&C process I went through. Select a stage to try it.
Try it. One bullet point, before and after
Responsible for the society's social media and helped organise events.
Grew the society's Instagram from 300 to 1,400 followers in one term, which sold out both paid events, £1,100 in ticket sales.
An example bullet, not a real CV. The recruiter is scoring the numbers.
What separated people in my cohort at OC&C
- How you present under pressure
- Real project experience you can speak to in detail
- Markets and current events knowledge, not memorised talking points
Degree subject and the extracurriculars everyone lists did not separate anyone. Week 1 of the course is this stage.
Why consulting, and why this firm?
Question 1 of 3, motivation
Try it. The Willo format
30 seconds to think, then 90 seconds on camera. No retakes at OC&C.
Three example questions, one of each type OC&C asks, motivation, competency and commercial. Answer in situation, action, result. Week 3 of the course is this stage.
A retailer's revenue rose from £240m to £300m in a year. Its costs were £200m and rose by 10%. By how much did profit change?
Profit before, 240 less 200, is £40m. Costs after, 200 times 1.1, are £220m. Profit after, 300 less 220, is £80m. The change is up £40m, so profit doubled. B.
Try it. One minute, no calculator
Press start, then pick an answer before the clock runs out. The working appears when you answer or when time is up.
The real test is adaptive, so it gets harder as you go. Week 2 of the course is this stage, with a firm's own practice test.
Try it. Size the UK nappy market out loud, from nothing
- UK population67,000,000
- Aged 0 to 3, about 5%3,000,000 children
- Nappies a day, about 4 each12,000,000 a day
- Price per nappy, about 20p£2,400,000 a day
- Days in a year, 365about £876 million a year
- Sanity checkLines up with published UK nappy market figures, which is what separates an estimate from a guess.
What the interviewer is scoring
Not the number. Whether you pick the right split (age here, because age drives the behaviour), say each step before you do it, and check the answer against something real.
From the market sizing page. Week 4 of the course is this stage, with profitability, market entry and M&A as well. The full market sizing method
The example case in the Drive. Padel clubs, M&A
A budget gym operator is considering buying a 15 site premium padel club chain. Padel demand is growing and the chain's players overlap with the gym's own members. Court supply is growing faster, and the asking price implies about 17x EBITDA against a leisure norm of 8 to 10x.
What do you recommend, and at what price?
Most new supply is budget outdoor courts, so the saturation fear is overstated for a premium indoor chain. Cross-selling to the gym's members justifies some of the premium, not all of it. Renegotiate toward 10 to 12x, with the rest as an earn-out tied to cross-sell performance.
In the Drive folder, free to look through
- The recorded mock session, a graduate targeting OC&C
- The questions, with good and excellent answer tiers
- The completed mark scheme, scored on the seven skills
No sign up. Week 5 of the course is this stage, and the mark scheme is the week 4 and 5 checkpoint.
Some firms set the online test before the video. The examples are the ones on the case pages and in the Drive. The full application process, stage by stage
Exhibit 2 The free five week course, one email a day
Each day is one link, one task and the time it takes. Day 6 is for catching up. On day 7 you score yourself against a checklist. The CaseCoach trial opens on a set day so no free access is wasted.
Week 1, Application
Target firms, your CV and your reason for consulting. You also start Crafting Cases, which is free for good, one module a day.
- Day 1Watch a Bain case first, so you know what you are training for. Then Crafting Cases, Getting Started, The 6 Building Blocks. Then pick five target firms and note each deadlineBain case page, Crafting Cases, Firm library75 min
- Day 2Write three reasons for choosing consulting, in your own words. Then Crafting Cases, Estimations. The 5-step approach, then the drill Mattress market in BrazilHome page, Crafting Cases60 min
- Day 3Rewrite five CV bullet points as action, task and measurable result. Then Crafting Cases, Brainstormings. The 3-step approach, then The 5 ways to be MECEYour CV, Crafting Cases60 min
- Day 4Write a 60 word reason for one target firm. Then Crafting Cases, Frameworks. The 4-step approachFirm library, Crafting Cases50 min
- Day 5Pick one news story and write what it means for one industry, three sentences. Then Crafting Cases, Analyses. The 4-step approachAny business news site, Crafting Cases45 min
- Day 6Catch up on anything you skippedAs needed
- Day 7Checkpoint. Score yourself against this week's checklist20 min
Short on time in Crafting Cases? Focus on The 6 Building Blocks, Frameworks with How to Adapt Your Frameworks, Brainstormings with The 5 ways to be MECE, and Hypothesis Testing. They teach you to build your own structure for any case, which is what interviewers test. Estimations, Analyses and Chart Interpretation come after.
Week 2, Online tests
Numerical, verbal and logical reasoning against a timer.
- Day 1Learn the three test types and do one untimed numerical setA firm's own practice test40 min
- Day 2One timed numerical set. Start your error logSame practice test30 min
- Day 3Verbal reasoning, using true, false and cannot saySame practice test30 min
- Day 4Logical reasoning and a situational judgement setSame practice test30 min
- Day 5A mixed set under real timing, then review your error logSame practice test40 min
- Day 6Catch up on anything you skippedAs needed
- Day 7Checkpoint. Score yourself against this week's checklist20 min
Week 3, Video interview
Motivation, examples and delivery on camera.
- Day 1Learn the question types, with the OC&C video stage as the exampleApplication process20 min
- Day 2Build five stories. Leadership, teamwork, a problem solved, a setback, an impactYour own notes40 min
- Day 3Structure one answer in 90 seconds, situation, action, resultYour story bank20 min
- Day 4Record one answer on your phone, watch it back, score the deliveryYour phone30 min
- Day 5Record it again with better light and soundYour phone20 min
- Day 6Catch up on anything you skippedAs needed
- Day 7Checkpoint. Score yourself against this week's checklist20 min
Week 4, First round case
Hypothesis testing, charts, case maths and your first full case. The CaseCoach free trial opens on day 5.
- Day 1Crafting Cases, Hypothesis Testing. The 3-step approach, then the drill Should Inditex start Zara Home?Crafting Cases45 min
- Day 2Crafting Cases, Chart Interpretation. The 4-step approach, then the drill Drugstore chain inventory lossesCrafting Cases45 min
- Day 3Build a profitability structure for a new example, then the Crafting Cases drill Beer Direct SalesProfitability page, Crafting Cases45 min
- Day 4Case maths. Percentages and margins, then the Crafting Cases drill Drink flavoring manufacturerCrafting Cases45 min
- Day 5Open your CaseCoach trial today, because it lasts 10 days and covers week 5. Watch the model case FlashFash, then do the Roko Hotel case and score it with the CaseCoach case scorecardCaseCoach, Bain case page60 min
- Day 6Catch up on anything you skippedAs needed
- Day 7Checkpoint. Score yourself against this week's checklist20 min
Week 5, Final rounds
A recommendation that holds under pushback. The CaseCoach trial runs all week.
- Day 1What changes at partner level. Do the CaseCoach case Fruit Nation, which tests judgement and insightCaseCoach45 min
- Day 2A 30 second recommendation, using the M&A caseM&A page30 min
- Day 3Do the CaseCoach case Canadian Wildlife Federation, which has a video. Then a friend challenges your recommendation. Hold or change it, with reasonsCaseCoach45 min
- Day 4A full mock with a friend, scored. Book one free in the CaseCoach Practice Room, up to five in the trialCaseCoach, The example case60 min
- Day 5Review your error logs and plan your next four weeks of applicationsYour logs30 min
- Day 6Catch up on anything you skippedAs needed
- Day 7Final checkpoint, then the free employability quiz if you have not taken it20 min
Swipe sideways for the rest of the week.
Resources are used inside their free windows. Crafting Cases, Case Interview Fundamentals, is free for good with no card details. It starts in week 1 and students can take it at their own pace. CaseCoach gives a 10 day free trial and may ask for card details, which the week 4 day 5 email says. The trial covers the model case, eight library cases, drills and the Practice Room. The Bain page is always free. The course links to these resources and does not rebuild them.
Exhibit 3 An example week 4 checkpoint, each skill scored 1 to 5
- Structure4
- Quantitative skill3
- Data interpretation4
- Business judgement3
- Communication4
- Handling pushback2
- Synthesis and recommendation3
Your lowest score, in red, sets next week's focus. The seven skills are the ones on the marking form I use in mock cases.
Already free on the site
The course links to these pages as you go. Anyone can read them without signing up.
- Breaking in
The order to learn cases in, starting from nothing. - Case prep
Profitability, market entry, market sizing and M&A, each with a worked example. - Firm library
56 firms, sortable by pay, accessibility and prestige, with each one's process and interview style.
Your consulting mentor
Ishaq Shah
OC&C Strategy Consultants
I had no spring week and got four internship offers, two of them in consulting (OC&C and Deloitte). I prepare people for OC&C, Bain and Deloitte interviews.
Start the consulting course
Day one arrives the day after you sign up.