List Price: $20.00 Our Price: $9.99 You Save: $10.01 (50%)

Product Description

Cosentino demystifies the consulting case interview. He takes you inside a typical interview by exploring the various types of case questions and he shares with you a system that will help you answer today's most sophisticated case questions.

Customer Reviews:

• The Best Case Prep Book
  I interviewed with all the big consulting firms and received offers from 3 of them because of the help I found in this book. It's an excellent start to anyone's case preparation, and I constantly recommend it to other friends in business school with me. Cosentino does an outstanding job of making the ideas simple enough for anyone (even with no business courses) to understand and enjoy. Nothing can replace practicing case interviews, but I'd suggest everyone start here by reading the tips and then the case examples to get an idea of what case interviews are like. I've read many books and case study guides, and if you're going to read only one, this should be it!...more info
• Great, thorough, entertaining case prep
  Marc Cosentino does an excellent job preparing you for case interviews. He knows what he is talking about, and he presents the material in an entertaining way, too! I highly recommend this book for everyone, but especially for those recruiting for a job in the consulting industry. Cosentino's book definitely helped me in getting a job with a great consulting firm.
  
  I strongly recommend this book....more info
• Nice read for all readers
  Very interesting read. Not only useful for case interview preparations but you can read it help improve your analytical and problem solving skills. ...more info
• Very helpful in landing a consulting job
  Case in Point is a must read for people who are serious about getting a consulting job.
  
  Having said that, this book will not help you get a consulting job unless:
  (a) You are already interested in business; and
  (b) Have good common sense; and
  (c) Are comfortable with quantitative questioning; and
  (d) Have good interviewing skills; and
  (e) have an impressive enough CV to get an interview.
  
  The above does not apply if you are one of those exceptional people who will probably receive offers everywhere you go (in which case the book may still be useful nonetheless).
  
  After reading this book I interviewed with both Bain and McKinsey (for AC and BA positions) as well as with a number of investment banks. Ultimately I received a couple of offers at investment banks, was knocked out in the second round at Bain and received an offer from McKinsey.
  
  Surprisingly the concepts I learnt in the book helped me with my IB interviews (at places such as Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) as once they establish the basics (ie you can do DCF and understand undergraduate finance 101) they quickly move to strategy-type questioning where people familiar with consulting frameworks have a massive advantage.
  
  Advantages of the Book
  
  The advantage of this book is that it gives you a number of frameworks which can be adapted to answer pure strategy questions. I am aware of no other books that give you such detailed frameworks. The book then gives you a large number of practice questions (most of them are `allegedly' based on real interviews), shows the implementation of those frameworks in candidate answers and then critiques those answers.
  
  To give you an example of how the book worked well for me - take my Bain interview Rnd 1 - the question was Toys R Us is thinking of putting in Vet surgeries in its stores - is it a good idea or not? What should they be thinking about? I was able to draw on the Case in Point problem of a retail store looking at putting a banking outlet in its store to guide my answer. If you immediately know that the things you should be looking at are entering a new market frameworks as well as synergy analysis and the potential for cannibalisation of store space you can arrive at an answer quickly that makes you look more insightful than the average.
  
  In one of my McK round 1 interviews I was actually told that I had hit every single point on the answer guide. Not bad considering that I hadn't thought of anything original.
  
  Disadvantages
  
  One disadvantage of this book are that you can become so proficient with the frameworks that you can start using a framework that the interviewer wasn't wanting. Perhaps this was my overconfidence!
  
  To give you an example in Bain Rnd 2 I was asked about a private equity company that had bought a company and wanted to "grow the business". I immediately started using a "grow the business" framework - ie revenue enhancement model, when it actually turned out that the interviewer wanted a cut cost to boost profitability model that focussed on holding period and exit strategy.
  
  Another disadvantage is that you never are allowed enough time to write down your proposed framework to the answer before you are required to start answering the case so you better have it all worked out in your head. A follow on problem of this is that your answer can seem "creative but unstructured". I personally found that Bain obsessed about structure but McK cared more about creativity.
  
  Some of the frameworks also need improving as they are too esoteric (especially at an entry level). The profit equation for example that Cosentino uses in the 5th edition is (I believe) so esoteric that if I had written it down I would have been laughed at. The one he advocates in the 4th edition is superior.
  
  The pricing section is very insightful (and interesting) but did not help me much with questions about corporate valuation (ie "we have an exploding offer in 20 minutes and need to decide whether we sell the factory for $5 million or not") where I had to fall back on what I had learned about accounting and finance in my undergraduate degree. This question arose in both Bain and McKinsey cases.
  
  Another thing that puzzled me is whether this book is targeted at MBA level entrants or undergraduates.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Overall the book is excellent and if married with the online questions (which you have to buy separately) can enhance case-interviewing immeasurably. I know friends of mine who I would consider smarter than me that bombed out spectacularly because they hadn't prepared.
  
  If you want to prepare then this is the gold standard. Successful preparation with this book will take at least 20+ hours.
  
  It won't however get you a job unless you bring the qualities to the table that the firms are after - eg leadership, presence, good grades and business acumen.
  ...more info
• master the case interview!!
  Its a great book for preparing yourself for the case interview with consulting firms. The author really makes it an easy read with good humour so you don't get bored after reading the first chapter. The framework and system that he outlines gives you the best foundation to tackle any case that is thrown at you. A definite buy if you're going to a consulting interview.
  - Read the book (more than once)
  - Practice as many cases as you can (with friends, colleagues...)
  - don't leave it to the last minute!!
  With this book you'll have no trouble mastering the case....more info
• The Bible of case interview prep
  Cosentino is definitely the dean of the case interview process. The latest edition of Case in Point is a "must have" for anyone preparing for consulting case interviews as an undergrad or MBA student. In the part part of this book, Cosentino discusses the consulting interview process in general and reviews very helpful techniques and frameworks for 'cracking the case.' The only downside of this book are the cases themselves which are sometimes. Therefore, while the first part of this book should be required reading for everyone's preparation, the cases are only good for beginning practice and should be complemented with more robust (and accurate) cases from elsewhere. ...more info
• Great and to-the-point case preparation for consulting interviews
  "Case in Point" has been staple reading amongst my colleagues that want to move into consulting. It's written for MBA graduates, but it's really accessible for everyone with some business background.
  
  The example cases are numerous and excellent, very challenging, and illustrate the type of interaction you should aim for with your interviewer. Furthermore, different structures for tackling a case are explained, and the most important points to highlight in different case scenarios are emphasised. It's too much to learn by rote, but if you have a decent sense of how business works then it's useful as a reminder of what you should be discussing.
  
  The book proclaims that it's approach is a "system," and I suppose that if you follow the approach to the letter, as well as quickly manage to identify the type of case you are dealing with, this is true. More realistically though the "system" is 4 steps gets you through the first 5 minutes of the interview, after which I find it hard to imagine how your own personal approach and dynamic is not going to take over. This might just be me though.
  
  General opinion amongst my peers as well is that "Case in Point" is much better than the Vault case preparation guide. I agree, it seems that the Vault guide is written for people that really don't know what's expected of them in a case interview (perhaps for a much younger audience?). If you're aiming for the top firms it's not up to scratch.
  
  Best of luck to everyone preparing for cases, remember you are brilliant and to be yourself in the interview!...more info
• Definitely Helped
  The book definitely helped me prepare for my case study interview. I was able to confidently answer the interviewer's questions, to the point that he later said I did an outstanding job on the case studies - better than he expected. The advice in the book is actually fairly straight forward and brief, with the majority of the book devoted to case study examples....more info
• Excellent condition, good starter book
  Case in point is a good starter book for all those who are pursuing consulting as a career option. It gives the beginner, a peek into case interview and gives one various different structures to think about.
  
  Once you understand the intuition behind the business cases, and know what levers to pull, its time to leave this book and create your own structures. this is worth every rupee comprising the $20 i paid for it....more info
• Great resource for case interviews
  This book offers alot of example cases that really let you see how case interviews are structured. They also offer many frameworks that can be used while thinking about case problems. I think the way the information is presented is very clear and will be helpful in preparing for the next round of case interviews....more info
• Worth every penny
  I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, and was pleased that it was all he said it would be. It offers a brief discussion of consulting as a career, greater detail on the interview process, and a whole bunch of opportunities to see how the case interview works. Along the way, it provides a framework to think about cases that is useful beyond the consulting interview framework and applicable to business and life in general....more info
• Start your case prep here!
  I recommend Case in Point for 2 main reasons: It is both practical and thorough. The simulated cases give the novice a sense for the given-and-take of a case interview. And Cosentino's "Ivy Case System" helps non-MBAs to get grounded in the broad classes of issues that companies, and hence consultants, face.
  
  My advice: Kick-start your case interview preparation with this guide, and then check out CQI to boost your business quant and test your case-cracking skills....more info
• Best Case Interview Preparation Ever!
  After having read some german case interview preparation books I bought this book and I have to say that "Case in Point" is the best preparation for consulting interviews you can get.
  The cases in this book are absolutely realistic! The solutions that are suggested by the author are very detailed.
  This book helped me a lot to get some offers of big consulting firms in Germany....more info
• Good and helpful to understand Case Questions!!
  This book gives a simple & easy outline how to approach case questions.
  The model case questions are explained in proper structural steps and hence easy to understand.
  I would recommend the book to others who wish to understand Case Studies interviews/Analysis....more info
• Incredibly helpful for case interviews
  I found this book incredibly helpful for my case interview with a consulting firm this fall. I only read it briefly, but the basic strategy laid out in this book is simple and easy to conceptualize (and therefore easy to remember).
  
  I am planning to keep this book handy for future case interviews....more info
• Best way to get a job...
  This book got me a job at Mckinsey. It provides insightful cases that make you think and be creative, it gives a detailed guideline for everyone to follow in the interviews and more importantly, it shows what you can expect in the interview process. I also interviewed with BCG (although I preferred Mckinsey) and the book served just as well. Practice a lot with this book; two weeks may not be enough to land you a job at the top consulting firms (1 /2 months is enough, though). Honestly, you may be increasing your chances of getting an offer from the company you wish by some 50% with this book!...more info
• Great book!
  If you are thinking about interviewing for consulting. This book is the way to go....more info
• The best possible preparation in less time
  I was receommended this book by multiple friends, who have been through similar interviews. Once i started reading this book, then i realized why everyone of them was literally chanting about this book. The content is very relevant to management and consulting related jobs, especially for a person like me who did not have any bacground in this field. Book has a very easy to follow organization and language so i never got bored reading this.
  
  cons:
  There are none actually. I could only wish that there was some part-2 of this as well, which could get in to a little more complicated cases....more info
• Very good!
  Very helpful! I bought this to help me prepare for consulting interviews. Having read it, it is a great confidence boost for going to those interviews....more info
• overhyped, underdelivered
  Case in Point is a decent book and offers good advice. But having worked in strat con myself, I disagree with Cosentinos methodology. I think it is too unstructured and will lead interviewees to shoot with unrefined questions during the interview. Also, the way he tackles Cases suggests that one can learn and repeat the same structure in the interview. From my experience, this is not the winning strategy. Preparation is important, but I would favor practicing a more general understanding of business frameworks.
  
  Also, the book is solely focused on the US. If your interview is for an international office, the recruiting process will be very different. Look for local books, websites etc....more info
• Case in Point: Complete Interview Case Preparation
  Unequivocally the best consulting/case interview preparation book I've read to date. For anyone interested in Management Consulting -- if your Career Center doesn't have this text you should seriously consider transferring...
  
  To put my review in its proper context, my background involves several years of consulting experience followed by an MBA and MSF from a top institution. Currently, I lead the strategy unit for a F500 technology services business.
  
  From the "Look Inside" preview the value-add should be obvious, so I won't go into the details other than to say Marc provides a framework that can be applied to just about every business situation/case. I will comment, however, that in addition to preparing the candidate for the interview process, the book also gets the successful candidate thinking about how an engagement should be managed (identifying issues and hypotheses, prioritizing, developing work streams etc...). Adopting this higher-level of thinking during the interview process will help you score points with interviewers.
  
  ...more info
• The answer to interview madness
  I am a second year MBA candidate at Columbia Business School and in the thick of interview prep. I have a stack of case prep materials and had no idea to begin. When I asked my friends who have successfuly gone through the process, i.e. they're all heading back to top consulting firms, they said I should stick to Case in Point.
  
  They were right. Case in Point is by far the best case book out there. The book's lighthearted approach helps you dissect cases and the Ivy Case System makes breaking these problems down simple. It helps you organize your thinking to focus on the key aspects of the case- something that interviewers are definitely looking for. I've also been using CQ Interactive on CaseQuestions.com, which lets me practice even when I can't get someone to give me a case.
  
  Case in Point does a great job highlighting things that you might take for granted but that would be really important in an interview to set you apart from the rest of the pack. If you are looking into consulting, this is where you should turn.
  
  
  
  ...more info