Podcasts for Consulting and Case Interview Preparation

Podcasts help you prepare for consulting and case interviews while on the go. It’s not always easy to prepare for a career in consulting or get ready for case interviews during your commute, while at the gym, or while running errands. Listening to podcasts can help you to better understand complex business problems, hear creative solutions that can be modified for other industries, or simply just show that curiosity and love of learning that many consulting companies are looking for. Below are some of the most useful podcasts that I have found for learning and preparing for case interviews and consulting.

General Business Podcasts:

Here are a cross-selection of 5 business podcasts that cover an array of topics from organizational design, marketing, workforce development, and marketing.

• Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ideacast: At nearly 700 episodes on a broad range of topics, the HBR Ideacast provides greater context on many of their articles in quick ten to thirty minute episodes.
• Six Pixels of Separation: This podcast provides insights into branding, marketing, social media, technology, and how connected we all have become.
• Workforce Central: This podcast includes interviews with public and private sector leaders in workforce development, education, business and economic development, and other workforce opportunities in the United States.
• Worklife: Organizational psychologist and Wharton Professor Adam Grant provides thoughtful ideas and insights on how to improve the work environment.
• Breaking Down Your Business: A podcast focused more on entrepreneurship and centers on challenges that many small businesses face.

Government Podcasts:

These 5 podcasts help you better understand the unique challenges and opportunities that the government faces. These conversations with industry experts with real-world experience will give you some case studies, frameworks, and broaden your thinking on government solutions.

• The Business of Government Radio Hour: Put on by the IBM Center for Business and Government, this podcast is a weekly podcast with each episode clocking in at nearly an hour. These episodes are packed with interviews, case studies, and how agencies and their leaders are leading strategy and transformation efforts.
• Gov Innovator: This podcast has nearly 200 episodes and covers state and local topics as well as federal topics. Interviews with industry leaders provide real-world case studies and insights on government innovations.
• GovLove: This podcast focuses more on the people, policies, and profession of those in local government. This provides unique insights and case studies on a much more localized level.
• Government Matters: This podcast focuses on the business of government and recaps federal headlines as well as interviews industry leaders on topics ranging from technology, security, defense, workforce and industry issues.
• NPR Politics: This podcast has episodes spanning from fifteen to thirty minutes on current events and topics at the intersection of business and politics.

Nonprofit Podcasts:

The nonprofit industry faces its own distinct opportunities and challenges as these organizations try to meet their mission and increase their impact. Here are 5 podcasts to help you prepare for the industry.

• The Business of Giving: This weekly, hour long podcast is hosted by Denver Frederick, who has 40+ years of experience in the philanthropy world. It explores possible solutions to today’s social problems including global poverty, affordable housing, clean drinking water, and education.
• Hubcast: Hubcast, a podcast by Nonprofit Hub, covers a wide range of topics in the nonprofit world. These thirty minute episodes include interviews with experts and thought leaders on management strategies and best practices from research and articles.
• Nonprofit Leadership Podcast: This podcast covers critical trends, issues, and opportunities that nonprofits face and brings in founders, CEOs, and thought leaders to share real experience and strategies that made them successful.
• Stanford Social Innovation Review: The SSIR Podcast is comprised of conversations with leading experts on social entrepreneurship, innovation, and covers specific case studies within the social sector. Initially, it also covers topics such as mergers and acquisitions in the nonprofit space and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Successful Nonprofits: This podcast covers opportunities that many nonprofits face including managing risk, developing a fundraising strategy, and leveraging social media.

I’d recommend sampling a few of these and finding 2-3 (total) that you like and can follow regularly. Ramp up your listening as you get ready for your case interviews. Happy listening!

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