Hacking the Case Interview: Your Shortcut Guide to Mastering Consulting Interviews

by Taylor Warfield

To land a management consulting job at any of the top firms, including McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, Oliver Wyman, and Accenture, you must get through several rounds of case interviews.

Whether your interview is in a few weeks or even tomorrow, this book is written to get you the maximum amount of knowledge in the least amount of time. Think of this book as taking the express lane towards beginning to master consulting case interviews. I cut out all of the filler material that some other consulting books have, and tell you everything that you need to know in a clear and direct way.

With this shortcut guide, you will:

Understand and become proficient at the nine different parts of a case interview, and know exactly what to say and do in each step
Learn the only framework strategy that you need to memorize to craft unique and tailored frameworks for every possible case scenario.
Gain knowledge of basic business terms and principles so that you can develop an astute, sharp business intuition
Acquire the skills to solve any market sizing or other quantitative problems
Uncover how to differentiate yourself from the thousands of other candidates out there that are fighting to get the same job you are
Practice your case interview skills with included practice cases and sample answers

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2024

Reviews

[Christopher Symnoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anddd we’re underway folks. Does not seem sufficient but also a solid intro

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reinforced nicely by the online offering

I read this book in about 2 hours. The web site has a free preview that covers the first chunk of this book, but in video format. If you are more of a visual learner, I'd recommend the video course. If you prefer to read, then the book is good. The information is nearly identical.

As my interview hasn't happened yet, I can't speak to ultimate efficacy yet. That being said, the structured approach laid out seems a solid way to approach case study interviews. I like that this approach had less than 20 things to memorize (all in) and really you could get away with 8. It is more about how to apply than what to memorize, which I think will be useful in the actual job day to day.

[Catherine Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’ll rate this 5 stars if i get a job and 1 star if i don’t

update: 3 stars because i got a job, but it’s in a different industry?

[Umar Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview and intro to cases for beginners. Helps you build a ton of business acumen. The practice cases are helpful to understand the flow of a typical case, but there really is no replacement for doing them live. The why consulting and why cases elements are not as strong here as the Victor Cheng book or the Cosentino introduction, but as a supplement I’d recommend this strongly.

If anything this book excels at teaching you how to apply structural thinking throughout the entirety of the case, particularly in the math and brainstorming portions.

[Zeyuan Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the name itself suggests, this is a shortcut book to understand case interviews.

Taking shortcuts do not work most of the time but this book is probably the best book on case interview if you are looking to learn the essence of cases within the shortest time possible.

Written by a formal MBB consultant in a short and straight to the point format.

After reading the book:

1) You will feel confident for the actual interview.
2) Equipped with the fundamentals to practice live cases.

[Natalia Ramírez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed multiple case interview books, and honestly, this is the best one out there yet! Provides all the important things to keep in mind when preparing for interviewing at consulting firms. Can't recommend it enough!

[MK Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and succinct. It’s short, so it misses some of the things Case and Point touches on that are important. I think great for a concise summary of everything you need to know but wouldn’t rely on this alone

[Felwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book only confused me more when it came to case interviews and working on my structure. I’d recommend that you read Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng instead.

[Mu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward and useful book!
As someone who didn’t know much about case interviews, it provided me with the essentials to understand them and know how to solve them.

[Vaish Behara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic - to the point and enables you to have a better commercial instinct.

[Hawraa AlHellani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book presents practical and effective ways of mastering case-solving during an interview.

[Samyu Yenamandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really helped me quickly learn to case! It’s amazing for a beginner and I’m so glad I relied on it.

[Hassan Zayour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Teaches good structure.

[Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

recommended 100%

[j. · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh babes we're really in it now

[Joshua Zvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet book that makes things easy and digestible. Gives good examples and cases to prepare for.

[Vanita Maharaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for if you get called for a case interview and have less than a week to start prep. #Lifesaver

[Jordi Caballero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read several books on consulting and how to prepare for case interviews, I would say that this one has been the most useful to me.

It is concise, specific and goes to the point. It helps you get structure for all the relevant parts of the case and gives you useful tips. At the end of the book you can find several cases, but you should certainly look for other sources since actual cases is not the main objective of the book. It is quick to read, I read it in under two days while taking notes. The author makes it an ejoyable read plus the font also helps to read quickly.

Would certainly recommend it to anyone trying to learn how to do case interviews.

[Tk]

TBC- sigh