If you’ve done some research on consulting case practice resources, you have likely come across Victor Cheng’s Look Over My Shoulder (LOMS). The resource is a podcast that used by many aspiring consultants. Victor Cheng is a former McKinsey consultant who discusses best practices for case interviews while interviewing candidates in the Look Over My Shoulder program.
Look Over My Shoulder is a resource that has gained a solid reputation for good reason. Many consultants have used the resource to crack into the industry. However, just as any other resource, there are some pros and cons to using LOMS. We’ll be providing our review on the program and will focus on the main pros and cons to help you make an educated decision as to whether or not you should utilize the resource.
Note: The main value proposition of LOMS is the ability to watch live case walkthroughs. Here at Management Consulted, we have a collection of free case walkthroughs available to you 24/7. Why pay hundreds of dollars for something you can get for free?
Look Over My Shoulder Pros
Pro #1 - Good Format to Learn About Cases
Look Over My Shoulder’s podcast format is a great way to learn how to crack case interviews. The format allows you to listen and learn on the go, whether you’re walking to class or on the commute back home. The podcast also repeats best practices and lessons multiple times across the various cases. This helps you more easily recognize the patterns of successful case interviewers in an easy to digest format.
Pro #2 - Great Way to Learn How to Differentiate Between Bad and Best Practices
Look Over My Shoulder consists of eight cases that are used to interview 22 different candidates. Since a case interview can twist and turn in so many different ways, a few candidates are interviewed for the same case prompt. The candidates have varying levels of skills, and Victor Cheng does a good job pointing out what a candidate does poorly and well. As a result, users of LOMS are able to learn the bad practices to avoid and the best practices to adopt.
Pro #3 - Good Quality Cases
The cases presented to the candidates are chosen thoughtfully. The cases are of high quality and provide candidates with a variety of different types of cases across various industries. The clients include a moving company, an Internet company, a steel company, and more. These cases are also based on high-probability case objectives that you may come across in your own case interviews. Exposure to this variety of solid cases is a main advantage of the Look Over My Shoulder program.
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Look Over My Shoulder Cons
Con #1 - Listening Can Build Confidence Without Skill
Using LOMS can sometimes give a candidate a false sense of confidence. Those who use the resource may feel like they’re ready to take on any case, but being able to crack cases requires actual practice. As a result, it’s important to not just be a passive listener (which is actually what Victor Cheng suggests) and instead be an active learner. In order to properly gain skills from using LOMS, you will need to apply what you learn in practice cases - ideally with expert feedback.
Con #2 - Only One Interviewer’s Perspective With Strong McKinsey Bias
There are thousands and thousands of different consultants who could be your interviewer. All of them have varying interviewing styles. Though Victor Cheng is an extremely knowledgeable interviewer, his perspective and style is only one of many. In order to truly be prepared for case interviews, you will need to receive advice from multiple seasoned coaches.
Con #3 - Cases Presented are McKinsey Focused
Because Victor Cheng’s consulting and recruiting experience is based on his time at McKinsey, Look Over My Shoulder is based on one firm’s style. Of course, McKinsey is one of the top firms in the consulting world, but if you are interviewing for other firms or something besides strategy consulting, LOMS may not be the best fit for you.
Additional Resources to Consider
We hope you enjoyed our review of Look Over My Shoulder. If you are looking for additional resources, check out some of the following resources that provide a more holistic approach to preparing for case interviews.
- Case Library - 500 practice cases (with solutions) representing 25+ firm styles and industries
- Mental Math course - Improve your case interview-specific math skills
- Case Interview course - An interactive online course that walks you through MC's revolutionary case solving system
- Black Belt Deluxe - 8, 1:1, 1hr interview coaching sessions with MBB coaches; resume and cover letter edits; MC All-Access Digital Pass (all of our practice cases, courses and drills)