S24E4: She Bombed MBB Her First Try – Then Landed 2 Offers the Next Time

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   S24 · E7 · 11 Aug 2026 · 34 min

   S24E7: MBA Case Prep in 2–4 Weeks: An Ex-Bain Interviewer's Plan

   Send us Fan Mail Most 2nd-year MBA candidates have 2 to 4 weeks to get case interview-ready this cycle, not the usual 6 to 8. More cases won't close that gap for McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Former Bain interviewer and LBS MBA Mitali Jalan compressed her prep into under 4 weeks and landed her offer. This session is her plan for doing it on a short runway. The fix isn't more volume. It's knowing what to drill, and when. Listen for: Mitali's 4-step sequence for compressing 6 to 8 weeks of prep into...

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   S24 · E6 · 7 Aug 2026 · 10 min

   S24E6: McKinsey Solve Game 2026: What It Is and How to Prepare

   Send us Fan Mail McKinsey screens candidates with a video game – McKinsey Solve – before they ever see a case interview. Most candidates either try to copy other people's answers or panic because they don't know what it's measuring. So here's the breakdown: what Solve is, what McKinsey is testing for inside it, and how to approach it. The answer isn't Solve-specific prep. It's the same problem-solving fundamentals that carry you through the entire McKinsey recruiting process. We cover: What t...

3. 

   S24 · E5 · 6 Aug 2026 · 47 min

   S24E5: McKinsey Case Interview Example: Electric Truck Market Entry

   Send us Fan Mail George Cary spent five years as a McKinsey EM. In this live case, he coaches candidate Harvey through a real McKinsey market entry study: should a diesel truck manufacturer build and sell electric trucks. Harvey builds a framework, runs the full cost-of-ownership math, and lands a final recommendation. George pauses after every section to break down good vs. great in real time. You'll learn: Why McKinsey calls it "problem solving," not casing – and the vocabulary that signals...

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   S24 · E3 · 31 Jul 2026 · 9 min

   S24E3: 3 Questions That Kill Your Case Interview Opening

   Send us Fan Mail "Any other objectives?" sounds polite. But in a case interview opening, it costs you points. Namaan breaks down the 3 questions that kill candidates in the first 2 minutes of a case. The case opening is the first section that gets scored. And it's nearly identical every single time. So if there's one part of the case you can walk in ready for, it's this one. Get the opening right, and the rest of the case gets easier. Resources: If you struggle with case openings, Black Belt ...

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   S24 · E2 · 29 Jul 2026 · 8 min

   S24E2: How Consulting Firms Really Score Case Interviews

   Send us Fan Mail You can nail every case you practice and still get rejected. That's because firms aren't grading you on vibes. McKinsey scores you piece by piece – opening, structure, math, brainstorming, closing. Other firms use 3 buckets instead: structure, problem solving, communication. Either way, a 4 out of 4 in math won't save a 1 out of 4 in brainstorming. Firms want you solid across the board. In this episode, Namaan breaks down exactly what's being scored – and why doing 100 more p...

6. 

   S24 · E1 · 24 Jul 2026 · 6 min

   S24E1: The Hottest Consulting Sectors to Target in 2026

   Send us Fan Mail McKinsey is making 12% more hires this year than last. But the jobs aren't going to the same profile of candidate. Energy and utilities is projected to grow 11% in 2026 – one of the least sexy practices in consulting, and one of the hottest right now. Healthcare, private equity, and consumer/retail are all shifting too. If you're aiming at the wrong sector or the wrong skill set, you're competing for the smallest slice of the market. Namaan breaks down where the hiring is con...

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   S24 · E28 · 9 Oct 2026 · 34 minNew

   S24E28: Top 10 Healthcare Consulting Firms and Who Leads Each Segment

   Send us Fan Mail Almost every large consulting firm has a healthcare practice. Far fewer have a healthcare position. In this episode of The Briefing, Namaan breaks down our 2027 healthcare consulting research. The big finding is that healthcare consulting splits into two sides, care delivery and life sciences, and a firm that’s excellent at one is often absent from the other. So the question for any practice leader is which side your firm has built a position on. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain take ...

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   S24 · E27 · 7 Oct 2026 · 8 min

   S24E27: Busted: The Online Assessment Isn't the Hardest Part of Recruiting

   Send us Fan Mail "I need to start prepping for the online assessment now, because it's the hardest part of getting an interview." Katie hears some version of this on her calls all the time, and it's easy to see why. The test can feel like a weird game you have no way to practice for, and it's the first thing standing between your application and an interview. So in our first episode of Case Busters, Katie puts it to the test. Should you really be grinding practice tests months before you appl...

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   S24 · E26 · 2 Oct 2026 · 6 min

   S24E26: The 3-Part Case Interview Closing That Can Rescue Your Score

   Send us Fan Mail In most cases, your interviewer already knows how they'll score you by the time you reach the closing. But when it's a close one, the closing is the tiebreaker, and it can rescue your score. Namaan breaks down the 3 parts of a closing that works: the recap, the recommendation, and the risks and next steps. Practice it in every case, so the closing is ready to rescue your score when you need it. Resources: Start my free Case Foundations course – it covers all 5 core components...

10. 

    S24 · E25 · 1 Oct 2026 · 26 min

    S24E25: Ex-Deloitte and Bain Coach: Big 4 Interview Formats You Haven't Practiced

    Send us Fan Mail Big 4 interviews are around the corner – and most candidates need 6–8 weeks of prep to be ready. Mitali Jalan spent years at Deloitte and Bain, then coached 400+ candidates. She sees one gap sink strong applicants again and again: they practice 1-on-1 cases and never practice the other formats the Big 4 use. Think group cases, written cases, presentations, and AI-assisted or Excel cases. And behavioral prep matters just as much – at some firms, it carries equal weight to...

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