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Building business judgment is learnable – most candidates just go about it the wrong way.

Tauseef Charanya spent 10 years at BCG, conducted over 300 case interviews, and coached hundreds of candidates through the process. 

In this episode, he explains what business acumen actually looks like in a case interview, why work experience alone doesn't build it, and the 4 layers you need to hit to get an offer.

Resources:

• If you're ready to work on your business acumen with an MBB coach, Black Belt is the program built to get you there
• Not sure where you stand? Book a free 15-minute call with Katie and she'll help you figure out the right next step
• If you're earlier in your prep, Case Foundations is a free starting point for case prep

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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Using AI for case prep? For most candidates, it's costing them the offer.

McKinsey and Bain are already grading how you use AI in interviews this cycle.

Most candidates ask AI for answers, skip the hypothesis, and accept whatever it hands back. That skips the exact skill firms are testing: how you think through a problem, not just the answer you get to.

In this episode, Namaan breaks down the 3 AI case prep mistakes, and the right way to use it like a directed junior analyst instead.

Resources:

• If you want an MBB coach checking your process, not just your answers, Black Belt pairs you with one
• Want the foundational skills before you loop AI in? Grab free access to Case Foundations and build the process AI should be pressure-testing, not replacing

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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This episode is presented by Bates White, one of the world's top economic consulting firms. If you're an undergraduate rising junior (Class of 2028), Bates White internship applications open in August. Learn more.

Consulting firms are moving towards non-traditional cases. They want to see if you can think, not just if you've memorized a framework. 

This one is a BCG-style case built around two universities launching a joint degree from zero. 

Ex-BCG coach Yusuf Shaikh runs candidate Wasif through it live – the structure, the math behind a 240-student enrollment target, and the real-time correction when the numbers had no framework behind them.

Wasif had the right answer and still lost the case on structure. Yusuf explains why – and what to do differently.

Coaching:

• Black Belt is how you get a dedicated coach, a personalized prep plan, and coaching from experts like Yusuf who know what MBB is looking for
• Book a free 15-minute call with Katie to discuss your options

Resources:

• Create a free account and get access to our Case Foundations course, market research, and job board – no credit card required

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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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Everyone assumes AI is eating consulting alive – demand shrinking, firms pulling back. That's the narrative. 

The data from our July Consulting Market Outlook says something else entirely.

In this episode of The Briefing, Japheth sits down with Namaan to unpack what's actually happening in the market right now. 

Demand is up. The bottleneck isn't leads or RFPs – it's delivery. And that changes who's winning in the second half of 2026, for firms and for candidates.

We cover:

• Why the firms stuck in the middle are getting squeezed out
• The 3 things on the podium now that AI is just the entry fee
• What candidates should be asking firms that most aren't

Resources:

• Download the July Consulting Market Outlook Report free – the data behind everything Namaan breaks down in this episode
• If you represent a consulting firm and want your perspective shaping future MC research, rankings, or thought leadership, get on Namaan's calendar
• If your profile still reads generalist in a market that's paying for sector depth, Black Belt helps you fix that before it costs you the offer

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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BCG's HireQuotient Online Assessment is the Online Case – same test, new platform.

Katie – MC's Black Belt Advisor and ex-BCG – breaks down what's on it, how it's scored, and the thing that fails candidates outright.

We walk through a live demo so you can see the mechanics before BCG sends you the real thing. Finish in time, prioritize fast, rule things out. And when you get to the final video rec – you get one shot. Whatever's recorded when the clock hits zero goes to BCG.

Resources:

• If you want chatbot cases to practice before BCG sends you the real thing – plus a coach to build your full prep plan – Black Belt is for you
• New to case prep? Case Foundations is free and gets you started on the right foot
• Not sure if your BCG profile is competitive? 15 minutes with Katie will tell you exactly where you stand

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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The consumer and retail consulting market is fragmenting. Specialists are winning deals that used to go to the big firms – and the clients driving that shift aren't going back.

2 partners from this year's Top Consumer & Retail Consulting Firms ranking break it down. 

Keith Fogerty from Advancy and Shikha Jain from Simon-Kucher share what's actually happening in the market – revenue growth pressure, AI's real role, private equity's tightening standards, and why a pretty PowerPoint that collects dust is a failed engagement.

If you're building a career in consumer or retail consulting, or running a practice in this space, this is the market intelligence you can't get anywhere else.

Full speaker bios and firm profiles here.

Resources:

• See this year's Top Consumer & Retail Consulting Firms ranking
• Ready to break into a top consulting firm? Black Belt is where serious candidates get the coaching to do it
• Explore top firms hiring in Consumer and Retail on the Management Consulted Job Board

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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Bruno had every disadvantage on paper: international student, non-target school, three internships that didn't add up to one clear story.

He didn't let it hold him back, landing a full-time offer at BCG.

In this episode of Recruiting Reality Check, Katie – MC's Black Belt Advisor – breaks down what got Bruno there. Spoiler: it wasn't more cases. It was a plan he stuck to even when it felt too "boring" to work. 

Turns out, unsexy habits get results.

We cover:

• Why stacking cases with peers doesn't fix a weak strategy
• How Bruno turned a shared home country into 3 real referrals
• The unsexy habit Katie tells every candidate to copy

Resources:

• If you're stacking cases and still not landing offers, Black Belt fixes the approach, not just the reps
• Not sure your profile is competitive for MBB? 15 minutes with Katie will tell you where you stand
• Your free MC account unlocks Case Foundations and the same tools Bruno used to build his plan

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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Every McKinsey interviewee last year got at least 1 non-traditional case. Most candidates are still only prepping for standard business cases.

Namaan breaks down what's actually different about case interviews in 2026, and it's not just the case types.

McKinsey is piloting an AI-enabled interview round. Bain's also adding one this summer. 

The bar on communication and presence just went up too, because AI raised the floor on sounding prepared – but sounding ready isn't the same as being ready anymore.

Resources:

• If you've only drilled business cases, Case Foundations will get you ready for the case types firms are actually giving in 2026
• Want a coach who is up to date on 2026 cases? Black Belt builds your prep around what firms are testing for right now, not two years ago

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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Energy consulting grew in line with the market for a decade. Flat. Unremarkable. Nobody paid attention.

That changed. 

The market's now projected to grow 11% in 2026, and leverage for candidates with ops or technical backgrounds is higher than at any point in recent history.

In this episode of The Briefing, Japheth sits down with Namaan to break down what's driving the boom. Spoiler: it's not just the data center buildout you've been reading about.

Whether you're hunting for your next role or you're a firm trying to win the talent war, this one's for you.

Resources:

Go deeper on the data:

• Want the full picture from the firms themselves? Watch our Energy & Utilities panel with the leaders driving this hiring wave
• Curious where energy consulting firms rank for 2026? Check out our Energy & Utilities ranking
• That 11% growth number comes straight from Business Insider's reporting on AI's power demand surge

Go act on it:

• If you're still leading with sustainability credentials, Black Belt helps you reframe your profile around the implementation experience firms want
• Ready to see who's hiring right now? Browse open energy consulting roles on our job board

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more

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The reality of MBB recruiting: 100 candidates apply. 15 get an interview. 1 gets the offer.

Most of the 99 who don't get it aren't underqualified. They just had a bad plan.

Kabreya Ghaderi, who coached hundreds of candidates and spent time at McKinsey, PwC, and Bridgespan, sees strong candidates still miss because their prep plan has a hole in it they can't see from the inside.

In this episode, Kabreya walks through the 4 gaps that sink even candidates who are doing everything "right." What stood out:

• Logging more cases can actually lock in the wrong habits, faster
• One candidate did 80 practice cases and was still nowhere near ready
• Feeling ready and being ready are two different things, and most people can't tell which one they are

Resources:

• Get the personalized plan you need + expert coaching by joining Black Belt
• Book 15 minutes with Katie to get your questions answered
• Start building case proficiency today with our free Case Foundations starter course
• Book 1:1 coaching with Kabreya

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
• Watch the video version of the podcast on YouTube
• Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok
• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more