You're a student and you're interested in consulting. You want to make the right moves to set yourself up for an eventual jump into consulting. Even if this is your big dream, at this stage, you shouldn't be too single-mindedly focused on consulting. You'll understand why by the end of this section. The advice for this phase may sound a bit more generic, but it will help you regardless of the field you ultimately end up in working in. If you're holding yourself to a high standard, you'll have plenty of opportunity, and you'll find success eventually. 

Your main questions at this point are what to study, and where to study. Your focus should be on academic excellence, so it's good to aim high when choosing your university. High profile employers, regardless whether they are consulting firms, investment banks or tech companies, hold experience abroad in high esteem. So consider studying abroad if you have the chance to do so. It will not only help you in your employability later on but will also be a great experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. Alternatively, definitely do a semester abroad. Those are definitely the experiences as a student that you don't want to miss. In terms of your major, focus on your strengths and interests. There's no need to have a business major, but there's a need to be great at what you do. Firms want to hire outstanding individuals, not mere cookie-cutter versions of a consultant caricature. Don’t see your life as a series of checkboxes that you all need to tick. See it as a journey full of opportunities. What's also important is to surround yourself with other ambitious and interesting students. A strong peer group is invaluable. You can learn from each other, and you'll hold each other accountable to a high standard. And a strong network can help you decades into your career. 

Outside of academia, it's critical to collect work experience. Again, that's important regardless of the field you eventually choose. You'll learn a lot, and you'll better understand if a certain job or employer is right for you. For consulting, you ideally get experience at large corporations or otherwise reputable employers. Brand names matter here. If you're not a business student, a position as an assistant at a reputable research facility is also strong. Now, most likely you won't get that amazing internship at Google right off the bat. Instead, you'll likely start somewhere smaller, and less fancy. But these experiences are important stepping stones to your eventual internship at Google towards the end of your studies. In a best-case scenario you'll even secure great consulting internships during your studies. That's amazing, since it will be a big career boost, but you can also figure out if the job is right for you. In any case, you see that it's an advantage to start building your career early, and taking it step by step. If you approach it like a marathon, amazing things can happen — things that you cannot fix in a sprint in your last year at university if you've been slacking until then. 

You're approaching the final stages of your studies and you have a career in consulting on your mind. If you were completely unambitious so far, it might be hard to turn things around. But if you have a solid foundation, this is the time to plan the finishing touches on your profile. It's also the time where networking becomes extremely useful. There's a good chance that you have recruiting events of consulting firms near you, or even on your campus. Even if it is just a coffee chat, you can seize the opportunity and talk to the people there. Frequently, you'll meet young consultants there, who are very open. You can discuss your CV with them, or even ask them to pass it on to a recruiter. These may then give you feedback informally on what you're still missing to qualify for a full-time job or an internship at their firm. 

You're taking your last exams and finalizing your last internships. This is where it's becoming concrete, and you're starting to prepare for applications. You should start thinking about which firms and which offices might be a good fit for you. You should also start working on your CV and reflecting on your strengths. This is a great way to write an outstanding CV and prepare for the personal fit part of the interview. And of course, it's time to familiarize yourself with case interviews. By the end of this phase, you should have a clear idea about case interviews and ideally have had a few practice sessions. By that point in time you still have more than enough time to fix your weaknesses when it comes to case interviews.

If you didn't already do that, now it's also time to start reading business news regularly. Ideally, you have access to the Financial Times, or The Economist, but there are many great free resources as well. Read 1 or 2 articles per day and skim the top stories. Over time, you'll accumulate crucial knowledge that will come in handy for the case interviews. Doing this will improve your business judgement tremendously, and you'll become attuned to the specifics of a variety of industries. Aside from business news, you may also want to get smart on tech and startups (think of TechCrunch) and Geopolitics. You should be familiar with the big stories at least. 

If you're a bookworm, biographies of business leaders can also be an informative read to better understand a certain industry or at least the thinking process that was involved in growing the respective business. Some of the classics are from Phil Knight (Nike – Shoe Dog), Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone – What it takes), Steve Jobs (Apple – Steve Jobs) or Ray Dalio (Bridgewater – Principles) but there are many more great biographies out there.

Now you should be in full preparation mode, with case practice in full swing. Ideally, you practice cases at least 3 times a week with one, or better, multiple great case partners. Quantity and quality of practice are both important. Maybe you even work with a coach, if you feel it helps and you can afford it. Don't restrict yourself to one approach, try out different ones, maybe even our case simulation. If you're doing every single interview with the same partner, always via Zoom from your college dorm room, it may not be ideal. The actual interviews will always feel a little different, and you need to be ready for whatever they're throwing at you. So mix it up a little. Even just doing an interview face to face instead of via Zoom will put you into an entirely new learning zone. Your goal should now be to develop strong fundamentals, so you can succeed in any setting. 

Also, you should have a collection of strong experiences ready, which highlight your interpersonal qualities. These are stories you can share in the personal fit part of the interview. Work on these experiences and really flesh them out. Try and remember as many details as you can, and what you were thinking at the time. Once you organized these stories, also practice delivering them. To yourself, but maybe also to friends. Additionally, you should prepare and practice a strong response for the "Why do you want to work in consulting?" question. 

By now, you should have decided which companies to apply for. For each of them, prepare a separate application and tailor it to the company to the degree that this is possible. Even if no cover letter is required, think about writing a good one for each application. It forces you to think about what makes each company special and why you'd want to work there. That's another interview question you should prepare: "Why do you want to work for us?". You must prepare this question diligently, and specifically for each company. 

If you're lucky enough to get invited by multiple companies, we have the age old question around scheduling. There are different schools of thought regarding the order in which to schedule your interviews. You have a bit of leeway here and you can use it tactically. Some will tell you to do your favorite firms last, because then you'll get to practice more. You can even use the interviews at the firms you're less interested in as a dry run, to experience an actual interview day. Sounds disrespectful, but that's what's happening. Others will warn you not to wait too long with your favorite firms. First of all, this endless process is wearing you out, so just get it over with. And secondly, you might get an exploding offer from a very reputable company, before you even had a chance to interview with your dream firm. Then you have to decide whether to turn down a perfectly good offer and put it all on the line to join your dream firm. The risk is that you don't make it, and end up with no consulting offer. All we want to say here is to not overcomplicate things, rather focus on your case skills and the personal fit. But maybe don't do the interview at your dream firm right at the very beginning. 

In the meantime, you should still set aside a few minutes a day to read the news, particularly business news. You can also add in other drills so you can eliminate weaknesses you're identifying in your case practice. For example, you might be doing structuring drills. Or creativity drills. Or simply, mental math drills to improve speed and accuracy (a long division shouldn't surprise you either). There are plenty of ways to do that online. 

The big day is approaching and you may be getting nervous. Don't let your nerves get the better of you. Just stay calm and follow your routines. Maintain a moderate practice schedule. One practice interview per day is great. Also, you should rehearse your personal fit questions from time to time. If time permits and you think it helps, keep reading the news, and do a few short drills. Your goal for this week is to stay in the zone, but not to overwork yourself. Eat right. Sleep right. Go outside. Exercise. 

One thing you need to make sure is that you have all the logistics for your interview figured out. You have to be on time, there's no excuse. If it's an online interview, make sure you have a stable internet connection and your equipment works. That means, test your laptop's microphone and speakers, ideally in the same video conferencing software that you'll be using (e.g., Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams). If it's an in-person interview, make sure you know where you have to go. If it's in a different city and the interview is in the morning, consider spending the night at a hotel (ideally near the interview location). Most consulting firms will pay for a night in the hotel prior to the interview day anyway if you're living in another city, so it's best to make use of that offer. That way you don't have to get up too early and you avoid traffic jams or cancelled flights and trains. 

You're now only a few hours away from the interviews, and you're probably nervous. But if you've followed the process up until here, you should be more than well-prepared. To calm your nerves, see the interview as a mutual getting to know each other. They want to learn more about you, and you can learn more about them. And the interviewers want you to do well.

Also, don't put the job up on a pedestal. At the end of the day, it's just a job. And if it doesn't pan out for you, don't despair. You've done everything you could do, so no reason to beat yourself up about it. You'll realize that through this long and intense practice, you have become a substantially better business person and there are countless opportunities for you. In fact, people we met at the interviews at McKinsey have gone on to become wildly successful after not getting an offer. And while you should take ownership for whatever happens, remember that these interview processes are never perfect. As much as a firm touts itself as 100% objective, for most candidates there is a small component of luck involved. 

All this is just to say, don't go crazy now. Whatever happens, happens. Have a positive attitude about it, and try to have fun. You get to talk to a seasoned consultant about your past experiences, and solve an exciting case. If you're having fun, you can't go wrong. The interviewers will notice that too: This candidate might just be born to do this job! 

The day before, don't do cases anymore. If you want, go over your stories at some time during the day. Relax, and get yourself in a good mood. Don't eat to heavy (you may want to spare yourself the king-size burrito and the extra spicy nachos). Set the alarm so that you have plenty of time between waking up and going into the interview. And go to bed early, so you have a good night's rest. 

It's the big day. You've been preparing for this for a long time, but that's all in the past. Do whatever you need to do to get yourself in the right mood now. Some candidates go for a run, others need an extra strong cup of coffee. Get yourself ready and make sure you leave early for the interview. You should be arriving with 10 minutes to spare, comfortably (not sweaty from chasing the subway). If the interviews last the whole day you'll of course get a proper lunch but having a cereal or protein bar in your backpack in case you get hungry can't hurt. Moreover, having lunch while waiting for the interviewers to finish discussing your performance and letting you know whether you made it to the next round is also not the most relaxed way to enjoy your meal. 

Maybe you're the only person there for an interview on that day. Or maybe you're one of 10 people. That depends entirely on the firm, but it shouldn't matter to you. You're not competing against anyone, especially if its a large firm. They'll decide simply based on your performance, so focus on yourself. It could be that 6 out of 10 people ace the interviews and get hired but it could also be that only 1 out of 10 makes it. 

If you didn't get it already, you may now receive an interview schedule for the day (if you have multiple interviews back to back). And you may also get the CVs of your interviewers. There will be little waiting periods before and between your interviews. You can use that time to skim the CVs and see if there's anything that peaks your interest. Maybe you learn something about the interviewer's focus area in the firm, or about an interesting hobby. Or you simply discover that you both went to the same university. Such points are a great way to break the ice with the interviewer.   

And before you know it, your name gets called. You'll be guided into a separate room in which the interview will be conducted, and take a seat across from your interviewer. It's on! 

GOOD LUCK!