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Case interview questions and why you should use them in tech
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Several years ago, we discovered one of the most troublesome issues of the IT professional hiring process: it is not very realistic. Luckily, there are numerous interview techniques to help with this, from situational interview questions examples to the ideal personal interview questions and coding challenges that can be used on your next candidate. This article will focus on one of a number of technical interviewing strategies you can implement in your recruiting process: the case interview questions.
Case interview questions for tech companies
The case interview was originally a technique focused on assessing candidates for partner-track roles and associate-level employees. However, it has evolved to analyst-level employees who provide internal support to senior management and the research department.
In this article you’ll see:
What is a case interview?
Why use case interview questions.
- Types of cases you might see in an interview
- Sample case interview questions
- Case interview scenarios
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A case interview typically involves presenting a candidate with an authentic business scenario, similar to the one that your firm regularly handles with its clients. During the case interview, an interviewer presents a situation and asks the candidate to explore the underlying causes of the problem. The candidate is then expected to perform an analysis and provide advice on how to handle the scenario. In the IT realm, the candidate may be asked to demonstrate how that advice might be implemented in order to show specialized technical proficiency. So, in brief, the candidate’s task is to:
- ask questions, to help identify the main problems
- develop and present a framework for analysis
- use the framework to offer recommendations or suggestions of advice
The questions or ‘cases’ used in these case interviews are often drawn from the interviewer’s actual project experience. So generally, the interviewer must be suitably experienced, not just in their professional capacity, but also in the ability to host these kinds of interviews. Case interviews typically last from 45 to 60 minutes, with a focus on the case itself for around two-thirds of that period.
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Case interviews are more often used by management consulting firms (increasingly by other organizations too) as part of the selection process. Sometimes the case interview will be the only form of questioning but often they are used in conjunction with another form of technical assessment , i.e coding or situational. They are commonly used one-on-one but can be utilized in groups as part of an assessment center.
Case interview questions test for the ability to translate a problem statement into a working technical solution . A case interview can test not just programming skills but also:
- analytical and logical reasoning ability
- numerical and verbal reasoning
- problem-solving ability
- organizational and time management
- the ability to think quickly under pressure
- presentation and communication skills
- confidence, business acumen, and professionalism
An advantage of the case interview is that the correct answer is not as vital as the process the candidate used to reach it. The objective of this type of interview is not to merely produce the right answer, but for the candidate to demonstrate their ability to solve complex problems independently and under pressure. In fact, there is often no ‘right’ answer. The nature of these interviews is generally very interactive, designed for the candidate to ask questions, seek clarification, and bounce ideas back off the interviewer.
Types of case interview questions
There are essentially three types of case interview questions and we will cover them here.
Brainteasers
Brain teasers are sometimes referred to as “ back of the envelope” questions in the consultancy field. They are logic questions that are used to gauge a candidate’s problem-solving skills. They are almost always numerically driven and the candidate will be asked to estimate the value, cost, or a number of an everyday item, thing, or commodity.
However, the use of brain teasers is flawed. Even ask Laszlo Bock, former senior VP of people operations at Google. He went on record to say they are “ a complete waste of time ” and that they “ don’t predict anything .” Decontextualization helps. These questions measure how good candidates are at coming up with a clever, plausible-seeming solution to an abstract problem under pressure. However, employees don’t experience this type of pressure on the job.
Imagine being asked how to explain the internet to someone coming out of a 30-year coma. Not very applicable is it?
Image credit: pxhere
The “parade of facts” or graphic interpretation.
The parade of facts question is one that provides significant detail, some of it irrelevant, that tests the candidate’s ability to distill key issues. This form of questioning requires a depth of analysis based on relevant facts. As these questions are time-consuming, the use of them is relatively rare.
Because of this, firms tend to gravitate towards a graphic or statistical interpretation approach. The scenario might come in the form of an image or a graph, but still includes outlying information, i.e red herrings. This format is often less confusing for the candidate and is a more efficient technique to disperse key information. With this type of questioning, the candidate is required to interpret and review statistical data represented in a chart or graph.
Perhaps the most common form of case interview poses the question in only a few sentences. This leaves the candidates with minimal information and forces them to go several layers deeper by asking relevant questions to understand the key issues. Sometimes this type of interview is referred to as “the great unknown.”
The format is commonly used in a role-play scenario where the candidate is the consultant and the interviewer as the improvised client or manager. The fact this style of interview invites the candidate to formulate their own questions and develop frameworks is attractive to the organization’s using it .
The roleplay method is a great tool for the candidate to display client relationship skills and prove that they enjoy solving problems. Even if the structure of the question isn’t entirely role-play in nature, the question is very much situational and circumstantial. It places the candidate in the role of a consultant and allows them to creatively and critically analyze a real-world (often) business problem.
Tech case interview scenarios
Business situations.
These questions are designed to test the level of business knowledge a candidate has and whether they can apply it to authentic business problems.
Several types of common business problems can include (but are not limited to):
- profit and loss
- organizational structure
- the implementation of new technology
- marketing scenarios
The candidate will likely offer a verbal response to a question of this nature. The interviewer can draw on their own experiences to help guide the candidate through the scenario.
Some examples of a good question:
- A progressive, tech-savvy CEO of a regional hospital chain is concerned that their company’s profitability is half that of the market leader. Using your tech background and business expertise, how can the company grow its net income?
- Describe how you would approach a situation where your current project’s progress is slipping because of a lack of contributions from one of the client’s project team members?
- A multinational manufacturing firm is faced with flat sales and the IT department is under pressure to identify ways to reduce costs. Our team has been tasked with developing a roadmap to achieving cost savings – how should we proceed?
- A very large sports league needs to move their entire datacenter into the cloud in six weeks to support their new mobile video application. What are the first sets of challenges you would expect to face?
Business strategy
A business strategy question might involve an area such as growth, organizational expansion, and multiple operations issues. A complex business strategy question can involve multi-industry, multinational, and market-dependent problems. A more localized scenario is even a possibility, giving the interviewer the freedom to probe your knowledge in a variety of areas.
Common types of business strategy scenarios include:
- advising clients about an acquisition or merger
- responding to a competitive move by another company in the industry
- evaluating opportunities for a new product introduction
A scenario that has been tackled effectively will be from a candidate who sets out a problem-solving framework. So in essence, setting out a plan, formulating the analysis and drawing recommendations from those conclusions.
- A client is a global financial services firm that is considering allocating more resources to the facilitation of electronic fund transfers globally. The CEO wants you to develop a strategic plan to increase the company’s share of the market.
- A client is a software development investment company attempting to develop a ride-sharing app that uses “green” technology for its driving fleet, resulting in 85% less emissions and being 15% more affordable than its competition. Please help determine the product’s market potential and the strategy to bring it to the market.
- A large retail firm is looking to develop a new digital strategy to better engage customers and improve sales – how should they begin this journey and what factors are most important to keep in mind?
- The third-ranked competitor in the cellular phone services market is at a disadvantage relative to its larger competitors. Providing cellular phone service has high fixed costs – for the equipment that transmits calls, the retail stores that sell phones and the marketing spend that is key to customer retention. The CEO is considering acquiring a smaller competitor in order to gain market share. They would like our help thinking through this decision.
Image credit: pxhere
Business operations.
Business operations case scenarios are questions that fundamentally relate to the running of the business itself and are more complex than market sizing questions or brainteasers. Interviewers enjoy questions like these because they allow the interviewer to see if the candidate has the ability to comprehend critical issues that pertain to running a business.
Common types of business operations questions include:
- the relationship between revenues and costs
- the relationship and impact of fixed and variable costs on a company’s profitability
Questions pertaining to business operations require the candidate to demonstrate a learned understanding of business processes and an ability to distill key issues from a lengthy amount of information. These scenarios are usually represented by the “parade of facts” case type.
A (lengthy) example of a good question:
- Your client ABC Technology is a large information technology (IT) outsourcing service provider. At the time of its creation, ABC Technology had revenues of $25 billion, 170,000 employees and operated in 70 countries.
The client (ABC) is nearing the end of a long-term contract with its largest customer, Giant Corp. The CEO of Giant Corp. has notified ABC Technology of its intent to “level the playing field” of competition for its IT-related business. The customer Giant Corp. has indicated that 100% of the business ABC Technology currently enjoys will be available for bids by ABC Technology’s competitors.
The client would like your assistance in developing a view of its business with Giant Corp. In addition, ABC Technology believes the trend to structure outsourcing initiatives by standardized service lines will continue, and therefore it views this client opportunity as a “wave of the future” that it will soon see repeated with its other major clients.
Your desired outcome is to develop a high-level engagement approach and to brainstorm what insights are needed to strengthen ABC Technology’s response to the forthcoming bid process. How would you go about it?
Market sizing
Market sizing questions are focused on establishing the size of a market in regards to annual revenue or the number of units sold. They are rather simple in design, and generally do not require the candidate to explain how to successfully compete in the market. These questions are common from consulting firms early in the consulting interview process. They are even more frequent in interviews with undergraduate students who are not so business savvy. Market sizing questions are often represented by a succinct brainteaser such as:
- What is the size of the market for mobile food delivery services in the United States?
- Discuss what is wrong with the following statistic: the Volvo is the safest car on the road because a recent study has shown that Volvos have the fewest number of accident deaths per mile driven.
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Although they take their inspiration from a broader field of economic comprehension, case interview questions can be an effective technique to assess IT consultants and professionals alike. Some types and scenarios work better than others according to their content, IT is proof of this.
One of the most interesting aspects of case interviews is that once a question has been posed, there are an infinite number of directions the case can go. This affords the interviewer many angles from which to assess a candidate. It is certain that depending on the role you are hiring for, case interview questions are able to genuinely evaluate your candidate’s creative and critical thinking process. Now that you’re familiar with case interview questions, we wholeheartedly recommend the 45 behavioral questions to use during non-technical interview with developers .
We hope this gives you a solid idea of how case interview questions can be useful to your organization. If you’d like to read more on a related subject, please check out our article on work-sample interviews .
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Technical Consulting Case Interviews
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Many companies that recruit here at Bauer, including the IT consulting firms, have a case interview that is a crucial part of the interview process. Learning how to ace a case interview takes time and you should start preparing as soon as possible. The resources below will help you get more familiar with the case interview process and provide practice cases to work through.
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What is a case interview?
According to Accenture, “A case interview is a type of job interview, used most frequently by consulting firms, that allows an applicant to demonstrate his/her ability to solve a given business problem. During a case interview, an interviewer presents a situation or case and then asks the applicant to explore the underlying causes of the problem and suggest recommendations to remedy the problem.” The interviewer is not necessarily looking for the correct answer, rather they are looking at how you define and analyze the problem and communicate with the interviewer. For positions in IT, the case will usually be related to technology.
Vault Case Interview Guides
Vault is a free resource for Bauer students that can be found on Gateway under the External Links section on the Gateway home page. It provides multiple guides to help you prepare for your case interview and research careers in consulting.
The following guides can be found under the “Vault Guides” tab in the consulting section.
Vault Guide to the Case Interview
This guide is full of information to help you prepare for a case interview. It goes over what to expect, the different types of questions, frameworks, and has more than 50 sample cases.
Vault Case Interview Practice Guide
This guide has 27 case interview questions long with a step-by-step analysis of each case. There are 2 IT specific cases that you will want to check out.
Other guides to check out:
Vault Career Guide to Consulting
Vault Guide to the Top 10 Technology Consulting Firms, 2013 Edition
Accenture has a guide to help guide you through the case interview.
https://www.accenture.com/t20180913t100614z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/careers/pdf-14/accenture-fy19-case-workbook-one-accenture-technology.pdf
Deloitte also provides an interactive case prep tool on their website.
http://caseinterviewprep.deloitte.com/
Want to see more cases?
Over 1000 practice cases can be found at https://www.consultingcase101.com/ .
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Case Interview: The Free Preparation Guide (2024)
The case interview is a challenging interview format that simulates the job of a management consultant , testing candidates across a wide range of problem-solving dimensions.
McKinsey, BCG and Bain – along with other top consulting firms – use the case interview because it’s a statistically proven predictor of how well a candidate will perform in the role. The format is not only used by management consulting firms. Other types of organizations – like tech companies, financial services institutions, and non-profits – often use case interviews to assess candidates who are interviewing for roles focused on shaping strategic initiatives.
If you’re preparing to face a case interview, you may be feeling a little apprehensive. The format is notoriously demanding and unlike any other type of recruitment assessment you may have experienced before. However, with the right preparation and investment of time and effort, it is possible to master.
In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about the case interview, outlining exactly what you need to do to prepare effectively and ace the case.
Key takeaways
- The classic case interview format follows the same steps that a management consultant would encounter on a client project. The interview is a little like a role-play where the interviewer plays the role of a client and the candidate plays the part of the consultant hired to solve the problem.
- Some firms occasionally deviate from the classic case interview format. Popular alternatives include written case studies – which require candidates to review paper documents and then prepare and deliver a presentation – and market sizing case interviews, which require candidates to estimate a number.
- Case interviews test candidates against a set of six problem-solving dimensions: structuring, math, judgment and insights, creativity, synthesis, and case leadership. The interviewer uses a scorecard to assess the candidate’s performance in each of these areas.
- Case interview questions can be about almost any type of challenge or opportunity. However, our research indicates that there are 10 types of questions that are asked most frequently at top consulting firms. These include questions on profit improvement, revenue growth, and market entry.
- To do well in a case interview, it’s vital to create custom interview structures that meet the conditions of the ‘AIM’ test. It helps to have a good working knowledge of key case interview frameworks, but this alone is not sufficient.
- A strong grasp of case math is also crucial when it comes to case interview performance. While only high-school level math skills are required, it’s an aspect of the case interview that many candidates find challenging.
- Successful candidates are able to summarize their findings effectively. They also demonstrate strong case leadership by progressing through the case proactively and remaining focused on its overarching objectives.
- To prepare for a case interview, it’s essential to learn every problem-solving skill that will be assessed. We teach all of these skills in our Interview Prep Course , which contains all the video lectures, sample interviews, case material, and practice tools you’ll need to ace any case interview.
- Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions with a partner before their interview. You’ll find over 100 high-quality cases in our Case Library and a diverse community of candidates available for practice in our Practice Room .
- Some candidates choose to supplement their preparation by working with a coach who has been an interviewer at a top consulting firm. Here at CaseCoach, our coaches have all been handpicked from the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain.
- Although the world’s top consulting firms all test candidates using similar methods, none of them approach the interview process in exactly the same way. If you’re preparing to interview at a top consulting firm, it’s important to do your research and find out what you can expect.
An introduction to the case interview
The case interview format, the classic case interview.
The vast majority of case interviews follow the same steps that management consultants encounter on real client projects.
- Brief: The interviewer gives the candidate a brief for the case. They explain the context in which the client is operating, and outline the challenge they’re facing.
- Clarification: The candidate then has the chance to ask clarifying questions. They might do this to ensure they’ve understood the context of the problem correctly or to confirm the client’s goals.
- Reflection: The candidate takes 60 to 90 seconds or so to reflect and lay out a structured approach to solving the case.
- Analysis: The candidate and interviewer then work through the case together, carrying out analyses and moving toward a recommendation. This is the part of the case where you’ll be handling numerical questions, reviewing exhibits, coming up with creative ideas, and so on. It comprises the vast majority of the time you’ll spend on the case.
- Synthesis: The case concludes with the candidate synthesizing their findings and making an overall recommendation to the client.
So what does this unique interview format look and feel like? In reality, a consulting case interview is a little like a role-play. The interviewer plays the role of a manager or client, and the candidate plays the part of the consultant hired to solve the problem. However, a case interview shouldn’t feel like a performance. The most successful candidates treat it as a natural conversation between two professional people.
In the video below you can see an example of exceptional case interview performance in action. The candidate and interviewer in the video are both former McKinsey interviewers.
Interviewer-led vs candidate-led cases
Although the classic case interview has an established format and assesses a specific set of skills, cases can be delivered in different ways. Some are more candidate-led, while others are more interviewer-led
In a candidate-led case, the candidate is in the driver’s seat and is free to explore different aspects of the problem. Interviewers don’t tell candidates what to focus on next. Instead, they provide additional information – like an exhibit or a new fact – when asked. The candidate then analyzes the information and suggests next steps to get to the answer.
In an interviewer-led case, the interviewer may interrupt the candidate and ask them to either perform a specific investigation or focus on a different aspect of the problem. This doesn’t mean the interview is going badly; the interviewer is simply following a script. As a result, in an interviewer-led case, candidates are less likely to take the wrong path.
It’s difficult to predict which style of case you’ll receive. Some firms are known for using one style of interview more frequently than another. However, in practice, most interviews fall somewhere between the two extremes, depending on the style of the interviewer and the case material they’re using. You should therefore always be ready to suggest next steps and have a view about how to get to the answer.
Other case interview formats
While the classic case interview is most common, there are a couple of other interview formats that top consulting firms use from time to time:
The written case study
Some management consulting firms use written case studies to simulate the experience of carrying out consulting work even more accurately than the classic, verbal case interview. In some locations, BCG and Bain have been known to adopt this approach for a small minority of candidates.
In written cases, candidates review a series of paper documents and then structure the problem, run some numbers, generate ideas and, finally, deliver a short presentation. You can learn more in our article on how to crack written case studies .
Market sizing case interviews
Management consulting firms and other employers sometimes use market sizing questions – also known as estimation questions – as a standalone interview format to assess candidates on a wide range of problem-solving dimensions.
In a market sizing interview, you’ll be asked to estimate a number. This might be something like the revenue of a sandwich store or how many ATMs there are in a certain city. The ability to size a market is also a skill required for solving many case interview questions. You can learn more in our article on how to nail market sizing case interviews .
Some key differences to expect
While case interviews are highly codified, it’s important to remember that every interview is unique.
In the final round of interviews, for example, cases may feel less scripted than they did in the first stage. Partners – who are part of the interviewing group in the final round – often use the same case for years at a time. This means they can deliver it without a script and, as a result, tend to give candidates more room to take the lead. You can learn more in our article on the differences between a first and final-round interview at McKinsey, BCG and Bain .
In addition, each firm or office might bring their own nuance or style to the classic case interview format. It’s important to do your research and find out what you can expect from the interview experience at your target firm or office. You can learn more in our article on how the interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain differ .
The skills assessed in case interviews
Case interviews are primarily about testing a set of problem-solving skills. The interviewer uses a scorecard to assess a candidate’s performance in the following dimensions:
- Structuring: This is the ability to break problems down into logical drivers. It’s most obviously required at the beginning of a case, where you can pause and take a moment to come up with an approach. But it’s also tested each time you have to consider a new aspect of the problem.
- Math: Most cases contain a quantitative component, such as estimation questions, break-even questions, or other calculations. To do well in this dimension, you need to lay out a clear and efficient approach, run calculations quickly and accurately, and then state their implications for the case.
- Judgment and insights: This dimension is about extracting insights from data, usually by interpreting information in a chart. Performing well in this area involves processing new information quickly, prioritizing what’s important, and connecting your findings to develop sound recommendations.
- Creativity: Cases often have a creative thinking component. Sharing numerous, varied and sound ideas – ideally in a structured way – can help you succeed here.
- Synthesis: This is all about wrapping up the case with a clear and practical recommendation, and delivering it convincingly.
- Case leadership: This dimension is about progressing through the case efficiently and staying focused on its objectives. Case leadership involves gathering facts effectively and building on new findings to develop a recommendation. It’s a particularly important dimension in candidate-led cases.
Questions to expect
If you’re preparing to interview at a top management consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain, you’re probably curious about the kind of case interview questions you can expect to receive.
To identify the most common case interview questions , we surveyed CaseCoach users who interviewed at either McKinsey, BCG or Bain for a generalist role in 2023. We found that of the 260+ case interviews reported by respondents:
- 20% focused on profit improvement
- 15% focused on revenue growth
- 12% focused on market entry
- 10% focused on cost cutting
- 9% focused on process optimization
These topics align with the typical challenges and opportunities faced by CEOs. Because the job of a management consultant is to help CEOs find solutions to these problems, it’s vital for candidates to demonstrate that they understand the issues behind these questions.
However, while there are some recurring topics, the context and nuances of each individual case mean that no two case questions are the same. Increasingly, firms are testing candidates on questions that fall outside of these recurring topics. One way they’re doing this is by focusing on non-traditional areas, like the public sector. If you’re interviewing for a generalist management consulting role, it’s therefore important to be ready for almost any type of case question.
If you’re interviewing for a role that’s focused on a specific industry or function, like financial services , you’ll likely be given a case focused on that particular area.
How to ace the case
Case interviews require you to think on your feet to solve a complex problem that you’ve never seen before, while being assessed against a number of problem-solving dimensions. Here’s what you need to do to rise to the challenge and ace the case:
1. Create case interview structures that meet the AIM test
Of all the case interview assessment dimensions, structuring is perhaps the most challenging, particularly for those who are just starting out. It requires candidates to propose a prioritized and insightful approach to the case that’s composed of a comprehensive set of independent drivers. Structuring plays a foundational role in the interview, setting the course for the entire conversation.
So, what does good case structuring look like? An effective structure should meet the conditions of the ‘AIM’ test. ‘AIM’ stands for:
- Answer-focused: The structure should identify the client’s goal and the question to solve. It should also provide an approach to answering that question.
- Insightful: The structure should be tailored to the specifics of the client or to the problem in question. You shouldn’t be able to apply it to another case of the same type.
- MECE: This is a well-known acronym among consultants. It stands for ‘mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive’. In plain English, if a structure is ‘MECE’ it has been broken down into an exhaustive set of independent drivers.
2. Know key case interview frameworks
In a case interview, you’ll be asked to structure a variety of problems. There are a number of frameworks that can help you do this, whether the problem you’re structuring corresponds to a common case question or a different topic entirely:
Business frameworks
You can use established business frameworks to craft custom structures for the most common types of case questions. These include frameworks for mastering profitability questions , answering revenue growth questions and nailing market sizing questions .
Academic frameworks
For unusual case questions that don’t relate to an obvious business framework, it can be helpful to draw on an academic framework like supply and demand, ‘the three Cs’, or Porter’s Five Forces. You can learn more about all of these in our ultimate guide to case interview frameworks . The article includes other business and academic frameworks that you can use to craft custom structures for case questions.
Logical frameworks
Finally, logical frameworks can help you look at the big picture in order to structure your approach. These options can be particularly useful when you’re faced with an unusual case question that doesn’t lend itself to a business or academic framework. Some examples of logical frameworks include:
- Structuring with equations: This approach is most helpful for quantitative case questions. Listen out for introductions that focus on a number. These cases can often be broken down into an equation and then structured along its variables.
- Structuring based on hypotheses: This approach is most helpful for structuring qualitative cases. It involves laying out what you most need to believe in order to validate a specific recommendation. These beliefs form your set of key hypotheses, which you then test as you progress through the case.
- Structuring with root causes: This approach works well for structuring cases that require identifying the reasons for a problem. It involves laying out its potential causes in a way that is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (i.e. MECE).
How to apply these frameworks
While business, academic, and logical frameworks can be helpful when it comes to structuring a problem, learning how to use them correctly is a skill in itself. Simply applying a framework to a case interview question in a ‘cookie-cutter’ fashion is not enough. To impress your interviewer and pass the AIM test, your structure will need to be heavily tailored to the situation at hand. In fact, many case questions can be best answered by combining different frameworks.
Ultimately, interviewers want to understand how your mind works and see you think on your feet. You’ll therefore need to demonstrate that you can propose a custom case interview structure to any question.
3. Be comfortable with simple math
Management consulting firms expect you to navigate mathematical problems confidently and reliably in case interviews. Regardless of your academic background or past experience, you’ll need to be able to set an approach to solve the problem, perform calculations quickly and accurately, and state the implications of your solution.
The good news is that you’ll only be required to demonstrate a high-school level of math skills in case interviews. However, with no calculators allowed and an interviewer looking over your shoulder, it’s natural to find this aspect of the experience a little intimidating.
So, what can you expect from case math? The problems you’ll be asked to solve may take the form of straight calculations, exhibits that require calculations, word problems, and estimation questions.
To do well in this part of the case interview, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of:
- The four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
- Key math concepts such as fractions, percentages, and weighted averages
- Business math concepts such as income statements, investments, and valuations
To stand out to your interviewer, you’ll also need to work through math problems confidently and efficiently. Here are our top tips for doing this:
- Keep track of zeros: Case questions often involve large numbers, sometimes in the millions or even billions. Keeping close track of your zeros is therefore crucial. We recommend either counting the zeros in your calculation, using scientific notation, or assigning letter units to zeros.
- Simplify your calculations: This will help you work through problems quickly and efficiently while reducing the potential for mistakes. One way of simplifying calculations is by rounding numbers up or down to make them more ‘friendly’.
- Memorize frequently-used fractions: Some fraction values are used so frequently in case math that knowing them – along with their percentage value and decimal conversions – can save you significant time. We recommend memorizing the fraction and corresponding percentage and decimal values of 1/2, 1/3, all the way through to 1/10.
You can learn more in our guide to mastering case interview math .
4. Summarize your findings
Synthesis is a key skill assessed by interviewers, predominantly at the end of a case interview. You need to provide a clear and sound recommendation that answers the overall question convincingly. You must also describe the key supporting points that informed your recommendation and then outline any further steps you would advise the client to take.
When it comes to concluding cases effectively, this four-step framework can be extremely helpful:
- Quickly play the case question back to your interviewer.
- Answer the question directly and briefly by distilling your response into a single sentence, if possible.
- List the points that support your conclusion.
- Outline the next steps that you recommend to the client.
You can learn more in our article on how to conclude a case study interview .
5. Bring it all together with strong case leadership
Case leadership, more than any other dimension, will give your interviewer an indication of how independently you could handle your workstream as a consultant. It’s a particularly important skill in candidate-led cases, where you’ll set the course of the discussion without the interviewer steering you in a particular direction.
Demonstrating strong case leadership means progressing the case efficiently and staying focused on its overarching objectives. Using a ‘tracker page’ to capture your structure and organize your notes throughout the case will help you in this regard.
Another aspect of case leadership is gathering facts effectively. This includes making reasonable assumptions, requesting missing information, and asking probing questions.
Finally, you’ll be expected to build on new findings to develop your recommendation, adapt your approach, and suggest next steps.
Effective case leadership is all about showing your interviewer that you have a strong command of the problem-solving process. After investigating each key driver in your structure, you need to be able to articulate where you are in your overall approach to solving the problem, and what the next steps should be.
To do this, we recommend using a five-step process to handle every kind of analysis you conduct during the case, whether you’re responding to a numerical question, the data in an exhibit, or something else.
Here’s what that five-step process looks like:
- Set your approach. Define what you’re going to do upfront. It’s particularly important to be explicit here, especially if the analysis is in any way complex or ambiguous.
- Conduct your analysis. Your approach here will vary according to the kind of question you’re working through.
- State your findings. You may also want to make a note of your findings on your tracker page.
- State the implications of your findings. Explain how they impact both your answer to the question and the client’s broader goal.
- Suggest next steps. Your findings will sometimes change how you want to approach the rest of the case. This may mean altering your initial structure and editing it on your tracker page.
6. Be your best on the day
When the day of your interview comes around, you’ll want to be at your very best. But what exactly does this mean?
First, you should present yourself in a professional manner. It goes without saying that you should arrive on time but, ideally, you should plan to arrive early. You should also come equipped with the right material: a pen, squared A4 or letter-size paper pad, and copies of your resume. It’s also vital to dress appropriately for the occasion. Usually, this means wearing formal business dress, but this means different attires in different locations. We recommend doing some research to find out what consultants wear at your target firm and office.
To be at your best on the day of your interview, you must be well rested. Sadly, tiredness is one of the most common reasons for underperformance in consulting interviews. The day before is not the time to cram in further preparation. Instead, aim to have a quiet day and to get plenty of sleep at night.
Ultimately, consulting firms want to hire people who can represent the firm and interact with clients at every level, from the shop floor to the C-suite. Successful candidates treat the case interview as an opportunity to play the role of a management consultant advising a client (i.e. the interviewer). This means exhibiting a great deal of confidence and credibility, together with effective communication and an engaging attitude. It’s vital to stay focused on the overall problem and to drive the resolution of the case while being receptive to the interviewer’s input.
There are a lot of balls to juggle in a case interview, with the added pressure of a potentially life-changing outcome, but successful candidates don’t let their nerves get the better of them. We’ve provided some helpful hints and tips in our article on handling the stress of consulting interviews .
Being your best on the day of your interview requires extensive preparation. It means mastering each dimension of the case interview scorecard to the extent that the skills become second nature to you. It also means completing sufficient case practice to be able to focus on the big picture of the case you’re solving, rather than on simply demonstrating a set of skills.
How to prepare for case interview success
Delivering a standard of performance worthy of an offer from a top firm requires extensive case interview prep. In our experience, most successful candidates invest around 60 hours – or 10 hours each week over a six-week period – in their preparation. Failing to put this effort in is among the most common reasons why many candidates are unsuccessful.
Here’s what effective case interview preparation involves:
Learning the skills
In a case interview, your performance is assessed against a set of common problem-solving dimensions. To recap, these are structuring, math, judgment and insights, creativity, synthesis, and case leadership. It’s important to:
- gain a precise understanding of the expectations on each of these skills
- learn the techniques that will allow you to meet these expectations
- practice until your performance meets the required standard
We teach all these skills in our Interview Prep Course . In our bite-sized video lectures, we map out each of the key skills assessed in a case, and explain what you need to know to demonstrate each skill. We also share our tips on how to improve in each dimension, going above and beyond the advice we’ve included in this article.
In addition, our Interview Prep Course includes many more sample interviews that show real candidates – who went on to join top consulting firms – solving cases. Former consulting interviewers explain what the candidates did well on each dimension and where they could have improved.
Math is a critical prerequisite to handling cases and is something you should be comfortable with before you begin practicing. Our Case Math Course – provided as part of the Interview Prep Course – will help you brush up your skills. It contains 21 video lectures that cover everything you need to know, including the four operations, key math concepts, our pro tips, and business math.
After watching all our Interview Prep and Case Math video lectures, we recommend heading to the ‘Drills’ area of CaseCoach, where you can start practicing specific skills. Drills are interactive exercises that pose rapid-fire questions and provide instant feedback. They help you build your skills and confidence in specific case dimensions quickly, allowing you to make the most of your live case practice with partners. Our Interview Prep Course includes a comprehensive set of drills in four key areas: structuring, calculation, case math and chart interpretation.
When it comes to succeeding in a case interview, nothing beats live practice with a partner. Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions before their interview.
To practice live cases with a partner, you’ll need access to both case material and practice partners. In our Case Library , you’ll find over 100 cases – complete with solutions – developed by former management consultants. You can download eight of these cases right away by creating a free CaseCoach account. You’ll find a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room , where we facilitate over 3,000 practice sessions a week.
You can learn more in our article on how to practice case interviews .
Working with a coach
Some candidates choose to supplement their preparations by working with a consulting interview coach who has been an interviewer at a top firm.
These coaches have the skills and experience to gauge your level of performance and help you identify your areas of strength and weakness. They can also provide you with accurate and helpful feedback on your case-solving skills. This insight can help you accelerate your preparation and improve your performance. Getting used to interviewing with a professional should also help to reduce the stress of the consulting interview experience.
Here at CaseCoach, our coaches are all former consultants and interviewers who have been handpicked from the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain.
Do your research
Although employers who use case interviews all test candidates using similar methods, none of them approach the interview process in exactly the same way.
For instance, if you expect to interview with McKinsey, Bain or BCG, it’s helpful to know that these firms all give cases of similar complexity. However, there are some key differences. For example:
- Bain has been known to use estimation questions, such as market sizing, in interviews for its most junior (i.e. Associate Consultant level) roles.
- BCG and Bain occasionally use written cases.
- When it comes to the ‘fit’ interview, McKinsey uses its Personal Experience Interview format, while most Bain offices now use a ‘behavioral interview’ . Only BCG consistently uses the classic fit interview format .
Other differences include the number of rounds of interviews each firm conducts, and their preference for using interviewer-led or candidate-led cases. Wherever you interview, it’s vital to do your research and find out what you might be able to expect.
When it comes to getting ready for the case interview, knowing what you will be assessed on, learning how to succeed, and having access to the best practice resources can all go a long way. Now, you need to put in the hard work and prepare! Good luck.
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- Case Interview: A comprehensive guide
- Pyramid Principle
- Hypothesis driven structure
- Fit Interview
- Consulting math
- The key to landing your consulting job
- What is a case interview?
- Types of case interview
- How to solve cases with the Problem-Driven Structure?
- What to remember in case interviews
- Case examples or building blocks?
- How do I prepare for case interviews
- Interview day tips
- How we can help
1. The key to landing your consulting job.
Case interviews - where you are asked to solve a business case study under scrutiny - are the core of the selection process right across McKinsey, Bain and BCG (the “MBB” firms). This interview format is also used pretty much universally across other high-end consultancies; including LEK, Kearney, Oliver Wyman and the consulting wings of the “Big Four”.
If you want to land a job at any of these firms, you will have to ace multiple case interviews.
It is increasingly likely that you will also have to solve online cases given by chatbots. You might need to pass these either before making it to interview or be asked to sit them alongside first round interviews.
Importantly, case studies aren’t something you can just wing . Firms explicitly expect you to have thoroughly prepared and many of your competitors on interview day will have been prepping for months.
Don’t worry though - MCC is here to help!
This article will take you through a full overview of everything you’ll need to know to do well, linking to more detailed articles and resources at each stage to let you really drill down into the details.
As well as traditional case interviews, we’ll also attend to the new formats in which cases are being delivered and otherwise make sure you’re up to speed with recent trends in this overall part of consulting recruitment.
Before we can figure out how to prepare for a case interview, though, we will first have to properly understand in detail what exactly you are up against. What format does a standard consulting case interview take? What is expected of you? How will you be assessed?
Let's dive right in and find out!
Professional help
Before going further, if this sounds like a lot to get your head around on your own, don't worry - help is available!
Our Case Academy course gives you everything you need to know to crack cases like a pro:
Case Academy Course
To put what you learn into practice (and secure some savings in the process) you can add mock interview coaching sessions with expereinced MBB consultants:
Coaching options
And, if you just want an experienced consultant to take charge of the whole selection process for you, you can check out our comprehensive mentoring programmes:
Explore mentoring
Now, back to the article!
2. What is a case interview?
Before we can hope to tackle a case interview, we have to understand what one is.
In short, a case interview simulates real consulting work by having you solve a business case study in conversation with your interviewer.
This case study will be a business problem where you have to advise a client - that is, an imaginary business or similar organisation in need of guidance.
You must help this client solve a problem and/or make a decision. This requires you to analyse the information you are given about that client organisation and figure out a final recommendation for what they should do next.
Business problems in general obviously vary in difficulty. Some are quite straightforward and can be addressed with fairly standard solutions. However, consulting firms exist precisely to solve the tough issues that businesses have failed to deal with internally - and so consultants will typically work on complex, idiosyncratic problems requiring novel solutions.
Some examples of case study questions might be:
- How much would you pay for a banking licence in Ghana?
- Estimate the potential value of the electric vehicle market in Germany
- How much gas storage capacity should a UK domestic energy supplier build?
Consulting firms need the brightest minds they can find to put to work on these important, difficult projects. You can expect the case studies you have to solve in interview, then, to echo the unique, complicated problems consultancies deal with every day. As we’ll explain here, this means that you need to be ready to think outside the box to figure out genuinely novel solutions.
2.1. Where are case interviews in the consulting selection process?
Not everyone who applies to a consulting firm will have a case interview - far from it!
In fact, case interviews are pretty expensive and inconvenient for firms to host, requiring them to take consultants off active projects and even fly them back to the office from location for in-person interviews (although this happens less frequently now). Ideally, firms want to cut costs and save time by narrowing down the candidate pool as much as possible before any live interviews.
As such, there are some hoops to jump through before you make it to interview rounds.
Firms will typically eliminate as much as 80% of the applicant pool before interviews start . For most firms, 50%+ of applicants might be cut based on resumes, before a similar cut is made on those remaining based on aptitude tests. McKinsey currently gives their Solve assessment to most applicants, but will use their resulting test scores alongside resumes to cut 70%+ of the candidate pool before interviews.
You'll need to be on top of your game to get as far as a case interview with a top firm. Getting through the resume screen and any aptitude tests is an achievement in itself! Also we need to note that the general timeline of an application can differ depending on a series of factors, including which position you apply, your background, and the office you are applying to. For example, an undergraduate applying for a Business Analyst position (the entry level job at McKinsey) will most likely be part of a recruitment cycle and as such have pretty fixed dates when they need to sit the pre-screening test, and have the first and second round interviews (see more on those below). Conversely, an experienced hire will most likely have a much greater choice of test and interview dates as well as more time at their disposal to prepare.
For readers not yet embroiled in the selection process themselves, let’s put case interviews in context and take a quick look at each stage in turn. Importantly, note that you might also be asked to solve case studies outside interviews as well…
2.1.1. Application screen
It’s sometimes easy to forget that such a large cut is made at the application stage. At larger firms, this will mean your resume and cover letter is looked at by some combination of AI tools, recruitment staff and junior consulting staff (often someone from your own university).
Only the best applications will be passed to later stages, so make sure to check out our free resume and cover letter guides, and potentially get help with editing , to give yourself the best chance possible.
2.1.2. Aptitude tests and online cases
This part of the selection process has been changing quickly in recent years and is increasingly beginning to blur into the traditionally separate case interview rounds.
In the past, GMAT or PST style tests were the norm. Firms then used increasingly sophisticated and often gamified aptitude tests, like the Pymetrics test currently used by several firms, including BCG and Bain, and the original version of McKinsey’s Solve assessment (then branded as the Problem Solving Game).
Now, though, there is a move towards delivering relatively sophisticated case studies online. For example, McKinsey has replaced half the old Solve assessment with an online case. BCG’s Casey chatbot case now directly replaces a live first round case interview, and in the new era of AI chatbots, we expect these online cases to quickly become more realistic and increasingly start to relieve firms of some of the costs of live case interviews.
Our consultants collectively reckon that, over time, 50% of case interviews are likely to be replaced with these kinds of cases . We give some specific advice for online cases in section six. However, the important thing to note is that these are still just simulations of traditional case interviews - you still need to learn how to solve cases in precisely the same way, and your prep will largely remain the same.
2.1.3. Rounds of Interviews
Now, let’s not go overboard with talk of AI. Even in the long term, the client facing nature of consulting means that firms will have live case interviews for as long as they are hiring anyone. And in the immediate term, case interviews are still absolutely the core of consulting selection.
Before landing an offer at McKinsey, Bain, BCG or any similar firm, you won’t just have one case interview, but will have to complete four to six case interviews, usually divided into two rounds, with each interview lasting approximately 50-60 minutes .
Being invited to first round usually means two or three case interviews. As noted above, you might also be asked to complete an online case or similar alongside your first round interviews.
If you ace first round, you will be invited to second round to face the same again, but more gruelling. Only then - after up to six case interviews in total, can you hope to receive an offer.
2.2. Differences between first and second round interviews
Despite case interviews in the first and second round following the same format, second/final round interviews will be significantly more intense . The seniority of the interviewer, time pressure (with up to three interviews back-to-back), and the sheer value of the job at stake will likely make a second round consulting case interview one of the most challenging moments of your professional life.
There are three key differences between the two rounds:
- Time Pressure : Final round case interviews test your ability to perform under pressure, with as many as three interviews in a row and often only very small breaks between them.
- Focus : Since second round interviewers tend to be more senior (usually partners with 12+ years experience) and will be more interested in your personality and ability to handle challenges independently. Some partners will drill down into your experiences and achievements to the extreme. They want to understand how you react to challenges and your ability to identify and learn from past mistakes.
- Psychological Pressure: While case interviews in the first round are usually more focused on you simply cracking the case, second round interviewers often employ a "bad cop" strategy to test the way you react to challenges and uncertainty.
2.3. What skills do case interviews assess?
Reliably impressing your interviewers means knowing what they are looking for. This means understanding the skills you are being assessed against in some detail.
Overall, it’s important always to remember that, with case studies, there are no strict right or wrong answers. What really matters is how you think problems through, how confident you are with your conclusions and how quick you are with the back of the envelope arithmetic.
The objective of this kind of interview isn’t to get to one particular solution, but to assess your skillset. This is even true of modern online cases, where sophisticated AI algorithms score how you work as well as the solutions you generate.
If you visit McKinsey , Bain and BCG web pages on case interviews, you will find that the three firms look for very similar traits, and the same will be true of other top consultancies.
Broadly speaking, your interviewer will be evaluating you across five key areas:
2.1.1.One: Probing mind
Showing intellectual curiosity by asking relevant and insightful questions that demonstrate critical thinking and a proactive nature. For instance, if we are told that revenues for a leading supermarket chain have been declining over the last ten years, a successful candidate would ask:
“ We know revenues have declined. This could be due to price or volume. Do we know how they changed over the same period? ”
This is as opposed to a laundry list of questions like:
- Did customers change their preferences?
- Which segment has shown the decline in volume?
- Is there a price war in the industry?
2.1.2. Structure
Structure in this context means structuring a problem. This, in turn, means creating a framework - that is, a series of clear, sequential steps in order to get to a solution.
As with the case interview in general, the focus with case study structures isn’t on reaching a solution, but on how you get there.
This is the trickiest part of the case interview and the single most common reason candidates fail.
We discuss how to properly structure a case in more detail in section three. In terms of what your interviewer is looking for at high level, though, key pieces of your structure should be:
- Proper understanding of the objective of the case - Ask yourself: "What is the single crucial piece of advice that the client absolutely needs?"
- Identification of the drivers - Ask yourself: "What are the key forces that play a role in defining the outcome?"
Our Problem Driven Structure method, discussed in section three, bakes this approach in at a fundamental level. This is as opposed to the framework-based approach you will find in older case-solving
Focus on going through memorised sequences of steps too-often means failing to develop a full understanding of the case and the real key drivers.
At this link, we run through a case to illustrate the difference between a standard framework-based approach and our Problem Driven Structure method.
2.1.3. Problem Solving
You’ll be tested on your ability to identify problems and drivers, isolate causes and effects, demonstrate creativity and prioritise issues. In particular, the interviewer will look for the following skills:
- Prioritisation - Can you distinguish relevant and irrelevant facts?
- Connecting the dots - Can you connect new facts and evidence to the big picture?
- Establishing conclusions - Can you establish correct conclusions without rushing to inferences not supported by evidence?
2.1.4. Numerical Agility
In case interviews, you are expected to be quick and confident with both precise and approximated numbers. This translates to:
- Performing simple calculations quickly - Essential to solve cases quickly and impress clients with quick estimates and preliminary conclusions.
- Analysing data - Extract data from graphs and charts, elaborate and draw insightful conclusions.
- Solving business problems - Translate a real world case to a mathematical problem and solve it.
Our article on consulting math is a great resource here, though the extensive math content in our MCC Academy is the best and most comprehensive material available.
2.1.5. Communication
Real consulting work isn’t just about the raw analysis to come up with a recommendation - this then needs to be sold to the client as the right course of action.
Similarly, in a case interview, you must be able to turn your answer into a compelling recommendation. This is just as essential to impressing your interviewer as your structure and analysis.
Consultants already comment on how difficult it is to find candidates with the right communication skills. Add to this the current direction of travel, where AI will be able to automate more and more of the routine analytic side of consulting, and communication becomes a bigger and bigger part of what consultants are being paid for.
So, how do you make sure that your recommendations are relevant, smart, and engaging? The answer is to master what is known as CEO-level communication .
This art of speaking like a CEO can be quite challenging, as it often involves presenting information in effectively the opposite way to how you might normally.
To get it right, there are three key areas to focus on in your communications:
- Top down : A CEO wants to hear the key message first. They will only ask for more details if they think that will actually be useful. Always consider what is absolutely critical for the CEO to know, and start with that. You can read more in our article on the Pyramid Principle .
- Concise : This is not the time for "boiling the ocean" or listing an endless number possible solutions. CEOs, and thus consultants, want a structured, quick and concise recommendation for their business problem, that they can implement immediately.
- Fact-based : Consultants share CEOs' hatred of opinions based on gut feel rather than facts. They want recommendations based on facts to make sure they are actually in control. Always go on to back up your conclusions with the relevant facts.
Being concise and to the point is key in many areas, networking being one for them. For more detail on all this, check out our full article on delivering recommendations .
Prep the right way
3. types of case interview.
While most case interviews share a similar structure, firms will have some differences in the particular ways they like to do things in terms of both the case study and the fit component.
As we’ll see, these differences aren’t hugely impactful in terms of how you prepare. That said, it's always good to know as much as possible about what you will be going up against.
3.1. Different case objectives
A guiding thread throughout this article and our approach in general will be to treat each case as a self-contained problem and not try to pigeonhole it into a certain category. Having said that, there are of course similarities between cases and we can identify certain parameters and objectives.
Broadly speaking, cases can be divided into issue-based cases and strategic decision cases. In the former you will be asked to solve a certain issue, such as declining profits, or low productivity whereas in the latter you will be ask whether your client should or should not do something, such as enter a specific market or acquire another company. The chart below is a good breakdown of these different objectives:
![tech case study interview Case Focus](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-case-focus.png)
3.2. How do interviewers craft cases
While interviewers will very likely be given a case bank to choose from by their company, a good number of them will also choose to adapt the cases they would currently be working on to a case interview setting. The difference is that the latter cases will be harder to pigeonhole and apply standard frameworks to, so a tailored approach will be paramount.
If you’ve applied for a specific practice or type of consulting - such as operational consulting, for example - it’s very likely that you will receive a case geared towards that particular area alongside a ‘generalist’ consulting case (however, if that’s the case, you will generally be notified). The other main distinction when it comes to case interviews is between interviewer-led and candidate-led.
3.3. Candidate-led cases
Most consulting case interview questions test your ability to crack a broad problem, with a case prompt often going something like:
" How much would you pay to secure the rights to run a restaurant in the British Museum? "
You, as a candidate, are then expected to identify your path to solve the case (that is, provide a structure), leveraging your interviewer to collect the data and test your assumptions.
This is known as a “candidate-led” case interview and is used by Bain, BCG and other firms. From a structuring perspective, it’s easier to lose direction in a candidate-led case as there are no sign-posts along the way. As such, you need to come up with an approach that is both broad enough to cover all of the potential drivers in a case but also tailored enough to the problem you are asked to solve. It’s also up to you to figure out when you need to delve deeper into a certain branch of the case, brainstorm or ask for data. The following case from Bain is an excellent example on how to navigate a candidate-led case.
3.4. Interviewer-led cases
This type of case - employed most famously by McKinsey - is slightly different, with the interviewer controlling the pace and direction of the conversation much more than with other case interviews.
At McKinsey, your interviewer will ask you a set of pre-determined questions, regardless of your initial structure. For each question, you will have to understand the problem, come up with a mini structure, ask for additional data (if necessary) and come to the conclusion that answers the question. This more structured format of case also shows up in online cases by other firms - notably including BCG’s Casey chatbot (with the amusing result that practising McKinsey-style cases can be a great addition when prepping for BCG).
Essentially, these interviewer-led case studies are large cases made up of lots of mini-cases. You still use basically the same method as you would for standard (or candidate-led) cases - the main difference is simply that, instead of using that method to solve one big case, you are solving several mini-cases sequentially. These cases are easier to follow as the interviewer will guide you in the right direction. However, this doesn’t mean you should pay less attention to structure and deliver a generic framework! Also, usually (but not always!) the first question will ask you to map your approach and is the equivalent of the structuring question in candidate-led cases. Sometimes, if you’re missing key elements, the interviewer might prompt you in the right direction - so make sure to take those prompts seriously as they are there to help you get back on track (ask for 30 seconds to think on the prompt and structure your approach). Other times - and this is a less fortunate scenario - the interviewer might say nothing and simply move on to the next question. This is why you should put just as much thought (if not more) into the framework you build for interviewer-led cases , as you may be penalized if you produce something too generic or that doesn’t encompass all the issues of the case.
3.5. Case and fit
The standard case interview can be thought of as splitting into two standalone sub-interviews. Thus “case interviews” can be divided into the case study itself and a “fit interview” section, where culture fit questions are asked.
This can lead to a bit of confusion, as the actual case interview component might take up as little as half of your scheduled “case interview”. You need to make sure you are ready for both aspects.
To illustrate, here is the typical case interview timeline:
![tech case study interview Case interview breakdown](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/CI-case-interview-breakdown.png)
- First 15-30 minutes: Fit Interview - with questions assessing your motivation to be a consultant in that specific firm and your traits around leadership and teamwork. Learn more about the fit interview in our in-depth article here .
- Next 30-40 minutes: Case Interview - solving a case study
- Last 5 minutes: Fit Interview again - this time focussing on your questions for your interviewer.
Both the Case and Fit interviews play crucial roles in the finial hiring decision. There is no “average” taken between case and fit interviews: if your performance is not up to scratch in either of the two, you will not be able to move on to the next interview round or get an offer.
NB: No case without fit
Note that, even if you have only been told you are having a case interview or otherwise are just doing a case study, always be prepared to answer fit questions. At most firms, it is standard practice to include some fit questions in all case interviews, even if there are also separate explicit fit interviews, and interviewers will almost invariably include some of these questions around your case. This is perfectly natural - imagine how odd and artificial it would be to show up to an interview, simply do a case and leave again, without talking about anything else with the interviewer before or after.
3.5.1 Differences between firms
For the most part, a case interview is a case interview. However, firms will have some differences in the particular ways they like to do things in terms of both the case study and the fit component.
3.5.2. The McKinsey PEI
McKinsey brands its fit aspect of interviews as the Personal Experience Interview or PEI. Despite the different name, this is really much the same interview you will be going up against in Bain, BCG and any similar firms.
McKinsey does have a reputation for pushing candidates a little harder with fit or PEI questions , focusing on one story per interview and drilling down further into the specific details each time. We discuss this tendency more in our fit interview article . However, no top end firm is going to go easy on you and you should absolutely be ready for the same level of grilling at Bain, BCG and others. Thus any difference isn’t hugely salient in terms of prep.
3.6. What is different in 2023?
For the foreseeable future, you are going to have to go through multiple live case interviews to secure any decent consulting job. These might increasingly happen via Zoom rather than in person, but they should remain largely the same otherwise.
However, things are changing and the rise of AI in recent months seems pretty much guaranteed to accelerate existing trends.
Even before the explosive development of AI chatbots like ChatGPT we have seen in recent months, automation was already starting to change the recruitment process.
As we mentioned, case interviews are expensive and inconvenient for firms to run . Ideally, then, firms will try to reduce the number of interviews required for recruitment as far as possible. For many years, tests of various kinds served to cut down the applicant pool and thus the number of interviews. However, these tests had a limited capacity to assess candidates against the full consulting skillset in the way that case interviews do so well.
More recently, though, the development of online testing has allowed for more and more advanced assessments. Top consulting firms have been leveraging screening tests that better and better capture the same skillset as case interviews. Eventually this is converging on automated case studies. We see this very clearly with the addition of the Redrock case to McKinsey’s Solve assessment.
As these digital cases become closer to the real thing, the line between test and case interview blurs. Online cases don’t just reduce the number of candidates to case interview, but start directly replacing them.
Case in point here is BCG’s Casey chatbot . Previously, BCG had deployed less advanced online cases and similar tests to weed out some candidates before live case interviews began. Now, though, Casey actually replaces one first round case interview.
Casey, at time of writing, is still a relatively “basic” chatbot, basically running through a pre-set script. The Whatsapp-like interface does a lot of work to make it feel like one is chatting to a “real person” - the chatbot itself, though, cannot provide feedback or nudges to candidates as would a human interviewer.
We fully expect that, as soon as BCG and other firms can train a truer AI, these online cases will become more widespread and start replacing more live interviews.
We discuss the likely impacts of advanced AI on consulting recruitment and the industry more broadly in our blog.
Here, though, the real message is that you should expect to run into digital cases as well as traditional case interviews.
Luckily, despite any changes in specific case interview format, you will still need to master the same fundamental skills and prepare in much the same way.
We’ll cover a few ways to help prepare for chatbot cases in section four. Ultimately, though, firms are looking for the same problem solving ability and mindset as a real interviewer. Especially as chatbots get better at mimicking a real interviewer, candidates who are well prepared for case cracking in general should have no problem with AI administered cases.
3.6.1. Automated fit interviews
Analogous to online cases, in recent years there has been a trend towards automated, “one way” fit interviews, with these typically being administered for consultancies by specialist contractors like HireVue or SparkHire.
These are kind of like Zoom interviews, but if the interviewer didn’t show up. Instead you will be given fit questions to answer and must record your answer in your computer webcam. Your response will then go on to be assessed by an algorithm, scoring both what you say and how you say it.
Again, with advances in AI, it is easy to imagine these automated case interviews going from fully scripted interactions, where all candidates are asked the same list of questions, to a more interactive experience. Thus, we might soon arrive at a point where you are being grilled on the details of your stories - McKinsey PEI style - but by a bot rather than a human.
We include some tips on this kind of “one way” fit interview in section six here.
4. How to solve cases with the Problem-Driven Structure?
If you look around online for material on how to solve case studies, a lot of what you find will set out framework-based approaches. However, as we have mentioned, these frameworks tend to break down with more complex, unique cases - with these being exactly the kind of tough case studies you can expect to be given in your case interviews.
To address this problem, the MyConsultingCoach team has synthesized a new approach to case cracking that replicates how top management consultants approach actual engagements.
MyConsultingCoach’s Problem Driven Structure approach is a universal problem solving method that can be applied to any business problem , irrespective of its nature.
As opposed to just selecting a generic framework for each case interview, the Problem Driven Structure approach works by generating a bespoke structure for each individual question and is a simplified version of the roadmap McKinsey consultants use when working on engagements.
The canonical seven steps from McKinsey on real projects are simplified to four for case interview questions, as the analysis required for a six-month engagement is somewhat less than that needed for a 45-minute case study. However, the underlying flow is the same (see the method in action in the video below)
Let's zoom in to see how our method actually works in more detail:
4.1. Identify the problem
Identifying the problem means properly understanding the prompt/question you are given, so you get to the actual point of the case.
This might sound simple, but cases are often very tricky, and many candidates irretrievably mess things up within the first few minutes of starting. Often, they won’t notice this has happened until they are getting to the end of their analysis. Then, they suddenly realise that they have misunderstood the case prompt - and have effectively been answering the wrong question all along!
With no time to go back and start again, there is nothing to do. Even if there were time, making such a silly mistake early on will make a terrible impression on their interviewer, who might well have written them off already. The interview is scuppered and all the candidate’s preparation has been for nothing.
This error is so galling as it is so readily avoidable.
Our method prevents this problem by placing huge emphasis on a full understanding of the case prompt. This lays the foundations for success as, once we have identified the fundamental, underlying problem our client is facing, we focus our whole analysis around finding solutions to this specific issue.
Now, some case interview prompts are easy to digest. For example, “Our client, a supermarket, has seen a decline in profits. How can we bring them up?”. However, many of the prompts given in interviews for top firms are much more difficult and might refer to unfamiliar business areas or industries. For example, “How much would you pay for a banking license in Ghana?” or “What would be your key areas of concern be when setting up an NGO?”
Don’t worry if you have no idea how you might go about tackling some of these prompts!
In our article on identifying the problem and in our full lesson on the subject in our MCC Academy course, we teach a systematic, four step approach to identifying the problem , as well as running through common errors to ensure you start off on the right foot every time!
This is summarised here:
![tech case study interview Four Steps to Identify the Problem](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/four-steps-to-identify-the-problem.webp)
Following this method lets you excel where your competitors mess up and get off to a great start in impressing your interviewer!
4.2. Build your problem driven structure
After you have properly understood the problem, the next step is to successfully crack a case is to draw up a bespoke structure that captures all the unique features of the case.
This is what will guide your analysis through the rest of the case study and is precisely the same method used by real consultants working on real engagements.
Of course, it might be easier here to simply roll out one an old-fashioned framework, and a lot of candidates will do so. This is likely to be faster at this stage and requires a lot less thought than our problem-driven structure approach.
However, whilst our problem driven structure approach requires more work from you, our method has the advantage of actually working in the kind of complex case studies where generic frameworks fail - that is exactly the kind of cases you can expect at an MBB interview .
Since we effectively start from first principles every time, we can tackle any case with the same overarching method. Simple or complex, every case is the same to you and you don’t have to gamble a job on whether a framework will actually work
4.2.1 Issue trees
Issue trees break down the overall problem into a set of smaller problems that you can then solve individually. Representing this on a diagram also makes it easy for both you and your interviewer to keep track of your analysis.
To see how this is done, let’s look at the issue tree below breaking down the revenues of an airline:
![tech case study interview Frame the Airline Case Study](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/airline-tree.png)
These revenues can be segmented as the number of customers multiplied by the average ticket price. The number of customers can be further broken down into a number of flights multiplied by the number of seats, times average occupancy rate. The node corresponding to the average ticket price can then be segmented further.
4.2.2 Hypothesis trees
Hypothesis trees are similar, the only difference being that rather than just trying to break up the issue into smaller issues you are assuming that the problem can be solved and you are formulating solutions.
In the example above, you would assume revenues can be increased by either increasing the average ticket price or the number of customers . You can then hypothesize that you can increase the average occupancy rate in three ways: align the schedule of short and long haul flights, run a promotion to boost occupancy in off-peak times, or offer early bird discounts.
![tech case study interview Frame the Airline Case Study Hypothesis](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-airline-hypothesis-tree.png)
4.2.3 Other structures:structured lists
Structured lists are simply subcategories of a problem into which you can fit similar elements. This McKinsey case answer starts off by identifying several buckets such as retailer response, competitor response, current capabilities and brand image and then proceeds to consider what could fit into these categories.
Buckets can be a good way to start the structure of a complex case but when using them it can be very difficult to be MECE and consistent, so you should always aim to then re-organize them into either an issue or a hypothesis tree.
It is worth noting that the same problem can be structured in multiple valid ways by choosing different means to segment the key issues. Ultimately all these lists are methods to set out a logical hierachy among elements.
4.2.4 Structures in practice
That said, not all valid structures are equally useful in solving the underlying problem. A good structure fulfils several requirements - including MECE-ness , level consistency, materiality, simplicity, and actionability. It’s important to put in the time to master segmentation, so you can choose a scheme isn’t only valid, but actually useful in addressing the problem.
After taking the effort to identify the problem properly, an advantage of our method is that it will help ensure you stay focused on that same fundamental problem throughout. This might not sound like much, but many candidates end up getting lost in their own analysis, veering off on huge tangents and returning with an answer to a question they weren’t asked.
Another frequent issue - particularly with certain frameworks - is that candidates finish their analysis and, even if they have successfully stuck to the initial question, they have not actually reached a definite solution. Instead, they might simply have generated a laundry list of pros and cons, with no clear single recommendation for action.
Clients employ consultants for actionable answers, and this is what is expected in the case interview. The problem driven structure excels in ensuring that everything you do is clearly related back to the key question in a way that will generate a definitive answer. Thus, the problem driven structure builds in the hypothesis driven approach so characteristic of real consulting practice.
You can learn how to set out your own problem driven structures in our article here and in our full lesson in the MCC Academy course.
4.2. Lead the analysis
A problem driven structure might ensure we reach a proper solution eventually, but how do we actually get there?
We call this step " leading the analysis ", and it is the process whereby you systematically navigate through your structure, identifying the key factors driving the issue you are addressing.
Generally, this will mean continuing to grow your tree diagram, further segmenting what you identify as the most salient end nodes and thus drilling down into the most crucial factors causing the client’s central problem.
Once you have gotten right down into the detail of what is actually causing the company’s issues, solutions can then be generated quite straightforwardly.
To see this process in action, we can return to our airline revenue example:
![tech case study interview Lead the analysis for the Airline Case Study](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/airline-case-lead.png)
Let’s say we discover the average ticket price to be a key issue in the airline’s problems. Looking closer at the drivers of average ticket price, we find that the problem lies with economy class ticket prices. We can then further segment that price into the base fare and additional items such as food.
Having broken down the issue to such a fine-grained level and considering the 80/20 rule(see below), solutions occur quite naturally. In this case, we can suggest incentivising the crew to increase onboard sales, improving assortment in the plane, or offering discounts for online purchases.
Our article on leading the analysis is a great primer on the subject, with our video lesson in the MCC Academy providing the most comprehensive guide available.
4.4. Provide recommendations
So you have a solution - but you aren’t finished yet!
Now, you need to deliver your solution as a final recommendation.
This should be done as if you are briefing a busy CEO and thus should be a one minute, top-down, concise, structured, clear, and fact-based account of your findings.
The brevity of the final recommendation belies its importance. In real life consulting, the recommendation is what the client has potentially paid millions for - from their point of view, it is the only thing that matters.
In a case interview, your performance in this final summing up of your case is going to significantly colour your interviewer’s parting impression of you - and thus your chances of getting hired!
So, how do we do it right?
Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle elegantly sums up almost everything required for a perfect recommendation. The answer comes first , as this is what is most important. This is then supported by a few key arguments , which are in turn buttressed by supporting facts .
Across the whole recommendation, the goal isn’t to just summarise what you have done. Instead, you are aiming to synthesize your findings to extract the key "so what?" insight that is useful to the client going forward.
All this might seem like common sense, but it is actually the opposite of how we relay results in academia and other fields. There, we typically move from data, through arguments and eventually to conclusions. As such, making good recommendations is a skill that takes practice to master.
We can see the Pyramid Principle illustrated in the diagram below:
![tech case study interview The Pyramid principle often used in consulting](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/consulting-pyramid.png)
To supplement the basic Pyramid Principle scheme, we suggest candidates add a few brief remarks on potential risks and suggested next steps . This helps demonstrate the ability for critical self-reflection and lets your interviewer see you going the extra mile.
The combination of logical rigour and communication skills that is so definitive of consulting is particularly on display in the final recommendation.
Despite it only lasting 60 seconds, you will need to leverage a full set of key consulting skills to deliver a really excellent recommendation and leave your interviewer with a good final impression of your case solving abilities.
Our specific article on final recommendations and the specific video lesson on the same topic within our MCC Academy are great, comprehensive resources. Beyond those, our lesson on consulting thinking and our articles on MECE and the Pyramid Principle are also very useful.
4.5. What if I get stuck?
Naturally with case interviews being difficult problems there may be times where you’re unsure what to do or which direction to take. The most common scenario is that you will get stuck midway through the case and there are essentially two things that you should do:
- 1. Go back to your structure
- 2. Ask the interviewer for clarification
Your structure should always be your best friend - after all, this is why you put so much thought and effort into it: if it’s MECE it will point you in the right direction. This may seem abstract but let’s take the very simple example of a profitability case interview: if you’ve started your analysis by segmenting profit into revenue minus costs and you’ve seen that the cost side of the analysis is leading you nowhere, you can be certain that the declining profit is due to a decline in revenue.
Similarly, when you’re stuck on the quantitative section of the case interview, make sure that your framework for calculations is set up correctly (you can confirm this with the interviewer) and see what it is you’re trying to solve for: for example if you’re trying to find what price the client should sell their new t-shirt in order to break even on their investment, you should realize that what you’re trying to find is the break even point, so you can start by calculating either the costs or the revenues. You have all the data for the costs side and you know they’re trying to sell 10.000 pairs so you can simply set up the equation with x being the price.
As we’ve emphasised on several occasions, your case interview will be a dialogue. As such, if you don’t know what to do next or don’t understand something, make sure to ask the interviewer (and as a general rule always follow their prompts as they are trying to help, not trick you). This is especially true for the quantitative questions, where you should really understand what data you’re looking at before you jump into any calculations. Ideally you should ask your questions before you take time to formulate your approach but don’t be afraid to ask for further clarification if you really can’t make sense of what’s going on. It’s always good to walk your interviewer through your approach before you start doing the calculations and it’s no mistake to make sure that you both have the same understanding of the data. For example when confronted with the chart below, you might ask what GW (in this case gigawatt) means from the get-go and ask to confirm the different metrics (i.e. whether 1 GW = 1000 megawatts). You will never be penalised for asking a question like that.
![tech case study interview Getting stuck](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-energy-consumption.png)
5. What to remember in case interviews
If you’re new to case cracking you might feel a bit hopeless when you see a difficult case question, not having any idea where to start.
In fact though, cracking case interviews is much like playing chess. The rules you need to know to get started are actually pretty simple. What will make you really proficient is time and practice.
In this section, we’ll run through a high level overview of everything you need to know, linking to more detailed resources at every step.
5.1. An overall clear structure
You will probably hear this more than you care for but it is the most important thing to keep in mind as you start solving cases, as not only it is a key evaluation criterion but the greatest tool you will have at your disposal. The ability to build a clear structure in all aspects of the case inteview will be the difference between breezing through a complicated case and struggling at its every step. Let’s look a bit closer at the key areas where you should be structured!
5.1.1 Structured notes
Every case interview starts with a prompt, usually verbal, and as such you will have to take some notes. And here is where your foray into structure begins, as the notes you take should be clear, concise and structured in a way that will allow you to repeat the case back to the interviewer without writing down any unnecessary information.
This may sound very basic but you should absolutely not be dismissive about it: taking clear and organized notes will allow what we found helps is to have separate sections for:
- The case brief
- Follow-up questions and answers
- Numerical data
- Case structure (the most crucial part when solving the case)
- Any scrap work during the case (usually calculations)
When solving the case - or, as we call it here, in the Lead the analysis step, it is highly recommended to keep on feeding and integrating your structure, so that you never get lost. Maintaining a clear high level view is one of the most critical aspects in case interviews as it is a key skill in consulting: by constantly keeping track of where you are following your structure, you’ll never lose your focus on the end goal.
In the case of an interviewer-led case, you can also have separate sheets for each question (e.g. Question 1. What factors can we look at that drive profitability?). If you develop a system like this you’ll know exactly where to look for each point of data rather than rummage around in untidy notes. There are a couple more sections that you may have, depending on preference - we’ll get to these in the next sections.
5.1.2 Structured communication
There will be three main types of communication in cases:
- 1. Asking and answering questions
- 2. Walking the interviewer through your structure (either the case or calculation framework - we’ll get to that in a bit!)
- 3. Delivering your recommendation
Asking and answering questions will be the most common of these and the key thing to do before you speak is ask for some time to collect your thoughts and get organised. What you want to avoid is a ‘laundry list’ of questions or anything that sounds too much like a stream of consciousness.
Different systems work for different candidates but a sure-fire way of being organised is numbering your questions and answers. So rather than saying something like ‘I would like to ask about the business model, operational capacity and customer personas’ it’s much better to break it down and say something along the lines of ‘I’ve got three key questions. Firstly I would like to inquire into the business model of our client. Secondly I would like to ask about their operational capacity. Thirdly I would like to know more about the different customer personas they are serving’.
A similar principle should be applied when walking the interviewer through your structure, and this is especially true of online case interviews (more and more frequent now) when the interviewer can’t see your notes. Even if you have your branches or buckets clearly defined, you should still use a numbering system to make it obvious to the interviewer. So, for example, when asked to identify whether a company should make an acquisition, you might say ‘I would like to examine the following key areas. Firstly the financial aspects of this issue, secondly the synergies and thirdly the client’s expertise’
The recommendation should be delivered top-down (see section 4.4 for specifics) and should employ the same numbering principle. To do so in a speedy manner, you should circle or mark the key facts that you encounter throughout the case so you can easily pull them out at the end.
5.1.3 Structured framework
It’s very important that you have a systematic approach - or framework - for every case. Let’s get one thing straight: there is a difference between having a problem-solving framework for your case and trying to force a case into a predetermined framework. Doing the former is an absolute must , whilst doing the latter will most likely have you unceremoniously dismissed.
We have seen there are several ways of building a framework, from identifying several categories of issues (or ‘buckets’) to building an issue or hypothesis tree (which is the most efficient type of framework). For the purpose of organization, we recommend having a separate sheet for the framework of the case, or, if it’s too much to manage, you can have it on the same sheet as the initial case prompt. That way you’ll have all the details as well as your proposed solution in one place.
5.1.4 Structured calculations
Whether it’s interviewer or candidate-led, at some point in the case you will get a bunch of numerical data and you will have to perform some calculations (for the specifics of the math you’ll need on consulting interviews, have a look at our Consulting Math Guide ). Here’s where we urge you to take your time and not dive straight into calculating! And here’s why: while your numerical agility is sure to impress interviewers, what they’re actually looking for is your logic and the calculations you need to perform in order to solve the problem . So it’s ok if you make a small mistake, as long as you’re solving for the right thing.
As such, make it easy for them - and yourself. Before you start, write down in steps the calculations you need to perform. Here’s an example: let’s say you need to find out by how much profits will change if variable costs are reduced by 10%. Your approach should look something like:
- 1. Calculate current profits: Profits = Revenues - (Variable costs + Fixed costs)
- 2. Calculate the reduction in variable costs: Variable costs x 0.9
- 3. Calculate new profits: New profits = Revenues - (New variable costs + Fixed costs)
Of course, there may be more efficient ways to do that calculation, but what’s important - much like in the framework section - is to show your interviewer that you have a plan, in the form of a structured approach. You can write your plan on the sheet containing the data, then perform the calculations on a scrap sheet and fill in the results afterward.
5.2. Common business knowledge and formulas
Although some consulting firms claim they don’t evaluate candidates based on their business knowledge, familiarity with basic business concepts and formulae is very useful in terms of understanding the case studies you are given in the first instance and drawing inspiration for structuring and brainstorming.
If you are coming from a business undergrad, an MBA or are an experienced hire, you might well have this covered already. For those coming from a different background, it may be useful to cover some.
Luckily, you don’t need a degree-level understanding of business to crack case interviews , and a lot of the information you will pick up by osmosis as you read through articles like this and go through cases.
However, some things you will just need to sit down and learn. We cover everything you need to know in some detail in our Case Academy Course course. However, some examples here of things you need to learn are:
- Basic accounting (particularly how to understand all the elements of a balance sheet)
- Basic economics
- Basic marketing
- Basic strategy
Below we include a few elementary concepts and formulae so you can hit the ground running in solving cases. We should note that you should not memorise these and indeed a good portion of them can be worked out logically, but you should have at least some idea of what to expect as this will make you faster and will free up much of your mental computing power. In what follows we’ll tackle concepts that you will encounter in the private business sector as well as some situations that come up in cases that feature clients from the NGO or governmental sector.
5.2.1 Business sector concepts
These concepts are the bread and butter of almost any business case so you need to make sure you have them down. Naturally, there will be specificities and differences between cases but for the most part here is a breakdown of each of them.
5.2.1.1. Revenue
The revenue is the money that the company brings in and is usually equal to the number of products they sell multiplied to the price per item and can be expressed with the following equation:
Revenue = Volume x Price
Companies may have various sources of revenue or indeed multiple types of products, all priced differently which is something you will need to account for in your case interview. Let’s consider some situations. A clothing company such as Nike will derive most of their revenue from the number of products they sell times the average price per item. Conversely, for a retail bank revenue is measured as the volume of loans multiplied by the interest rate at which the loans are given out. As we’ll see below, we might consider primary revenues and ancillary revenues: in the case of a football club, we might calculate primary revenues by multiplying the number of tickets sold by the average ticket price, and ancillary revenues those coming from sales of merchandise (similarly, let’s say average t-shirt price times the number of t-shirts sold), tv rights and sponsorships.
These are but a few examples and another reminder that you should always aim to ask questions and understand the precise revenue structure of the companies you encounter in cases.
5.2.1.2. Costs
The costs are the expenses that a company incurs during its operations. Generally, they can be broken down into fixed and variable costs :
Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs
As their name implies, fixed costs do not change based on the number of units produced or sold. For example, if you produce shoes and are renting the space for your factory, you will have to pay the rent regardless of whether you produce one pair or 100. On the other hand, variable costs depend on the level of activity, so in our shoe factory example they would be equivalent to the materials used to produce each pair of shoes and would increase the more we produce.
These concepts are of course guidelines used in order to simplify the analysis in cases, and you should be aware that in reality often the situation can be more complicated. However, this should be enough for case interviews. Costs can also be quasi-fixed, in that they increase marginally with volume. Take the example of a restaurant which has a regular staff, incurring a fixed cost but during very busy hours or periods they also employ some part-time workers. This cost is not exactly variable (as it doesn’t increase with the quantity of food produced) but also not entirely fixed, as the number of extra hands will depend on how busy the restaurant is. Fixed costs can also be non-linear in nature. Let’s consider the rent in the same restaurant: we would normally pay a fixed amount every month, but if the restaurant becomes very popular we might need to rent out some extra space so the cost will increase. Again, this is not always relevant for case interviews.
5.2.1.3. Profit and profit margin
The profit is the amount of money a company is left with after it has paid all of its expenses and can be expressed as follows:
Profit = Revenue - Costs
It’s very likely that you will encounter a profitability issue in one of your case interviews, namely you will be asked to increase a company’s profit. There are two main ways of doing this: increasing revenues and reducing costs , so these will be the two main areas you will have to investigate. This may seem simple but what you will really need to understand in a case are the key drivers of a business (and this should be done through clarifying questions to the interviewer - just as a real consultant would question their client).
For example, if your client is an airline you can assume that the main source of revenue is sales of tickets, but you should inquire how many types of ticket the specific airline sells. You may naturally consider economy and business class tickets, but you may find out that there is a more premium option - such as first class - and several in-between options. Similarly to our football club example, there may be ancillary revenues from selling of food and beverage as well as advertising certain products or services on flights.
You may also come across the profit margin in case interviews. This is simply the percentage of profit compared to the revenue and can be expressed as follows:
Profit margin = Profit/Revenue x 100
5.2.1.4. Break-even point
An ancillary concept to profit, the break-even point is the moment where revenues equal costs making the profit zero and can be expressed as the following equation:
Revenues = Costs (Fixed costs + Variable costs)
This formula will be useful when you are asked questions such as ‘What is the minimum price I should sell product X?’ or ‘What quantity do I need to sell in order to recoup my investment?’. Let’s say in a case interview an owner of a sandwich store asks us to figure out how many salami and cheese salami sandwiches she needs to sell in order to break even. She’s spending $4 on salami and $2 for cheese and lettuce per sandwich, and believes she can sell the sandwiches at around $7. The cost of utilities and personnel is around $5000 per month. We could lay this all out in the break-even equation:
7 x Q ( quantity ) = (4+2) x Q + 5000 ( variable + fixed costs )
In a different scenario, we may be asked to calculate the break-even price . Let’s consider our sandwich example and say our owner knows she has enough ingredients for about 5000 sandwiches per month but is not sure how much to sell them for. In that case, if we know our break-even equation, we can simply make the following changes:
P ( price ) x 5000 = (4+2) x 5000 + 5000
By solving the equation we get to the price of $7 per sandwich.
5.2.1.5. Market share and market size
We can also consider the market closely with profit, as in fact the company’s performance in the market is what drives profits. The market size is the total number of potential customers for a certain business or product, whereas the market share is the percentage of that market that your business controls (or could control, depending on the case).
There is a good chance you will have to estimate the market size in one of your case interviews and we get into more details on how to do that below. You may be asked to estimate this in either number of potential customers or total value . The latter simply refers to the number of customers multiplied by the average value of the product or service.
To calculate the market share you will have to divide the company’s share by the total market size and multiply by 100:
Note, though, that learning the very basics of business is the beginning rather than the end of your journey. Once you are able to “speak business” at a rudimentary level, you should try to “become fluent” and immerse yourself in reading/viewing/listening to as wide a variety of business material as possible, getting a feel for all kinds of companies and industries - and especially the kinds of problems that can come up in each context and how they are solved. The material put out by the consulting firms themselves is a great place to start, but you should also follow the business news and find out about different companies and sectors as much as possible between now and interviews. Remember, if you’re going to be a consultant, this should be fun rather than a chore!
5.3 Public sector and NGO concepts
As we mentioned, there will be some cases (see section 6.6 for a more detailed example) where the key performance indicators (or KPIs in short) will not be connected to profit. The most common ones will involve the government of a country or an NGO, but they can be way more diverse and require more thought and application of first principles. We have laid out a couple of the key concepts or KPIs that come up below
5.3.1 Quantifiability
In many such scenarios you will be asked to make an important strategic decision of some kind or to optimise a process. Of course these are not restricted to non-private sector cases but this is where they really come into their own as there can be great variation in the type of decision and the types of field.
While there may be no familiar business concepts to anchor yourself onto, a concept that is essential is quantifiability . This means, however qualitative the decision might seem, consultants rely on data so you should always aim to have aspects of a decision that can be quantified, even if the data doesn’t present itself in a straightforward manner.
Let’s take a practical example. Your younger sibling asks you to help them decide which university they should choose if they want to study engineering. One way to structure your approach would be to segment the problem into factors affecting your sibling’s experience at university and experience post-university. Within the ‘at uni’ category you might think about the following:
- Financials : How much are tuition costs and accommodation costs?
- Quality of teaching and research : How are possible universities ranked in the QS guide based on teaching and research?
- Quality of resources : How well stocked is their library, are the labs well equipped etc.?
- Subject ranking : How is engineering at different unis ranked?
- Life on campus and the city : What are the living costs in the city where the university is based? What are the extracurricular opportunities and would your sibling like to live in that specific city based on them?
Within the ‘out of uni’ category you might think about:
- Exit options : What are the fields in which your sibling could be employed and how long does it take the average student of that university to find a job?
- Alumni network : What percentage of alumni are employed by major companies?
- Signal : What percentage of applicants from the university get an interview in major engineering companies and related technical fields?
You will perhaps notice that all the buckets discussed pose quantifiable questions meant to provide us with data necessary to make a decision. It’s no point to ask ‘Which university has the nicest teaching staff?’ as that can be a very subjective metric.
5.3.1 Impact
Another key concept to consider when dealing with sectors other than the private one is how impactful a decision or a line of inquiry is on the overarching issue , or whether all our branches in our issue tree have a similar impact. This can often come in the form of impact on lives, such as in McKinsey’s conservation case discussed below, namely how many species can we save with our choice of habitat.
5.4 Common consulting concepts
Consultants use basic business concepts on an every day basis, as they help them articulate their frameworks to problems. However, they also use some consulting specific tools to quality check their analysis and perform in the most efficient way possible. These principles can be applied to all aspects of a consultant’s work, but for brevity we can say they mostly impact a consultant’s systematic approach and communication - two very important things that are also tested in case interviews. Therefore, it’s imperative that you not only get to know them, but learn how and when to use them as they are at the very core of good casing. They are MECE-ness, the Pareto Principle and the Pyramid principle and are explained briefly below - you should, however, go on to study them in-depth in their respective articles.
Perhaps the central pillar of all consulting work and an invaluable tool to solve cases, MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive . It can refer to any and every aspect in a case but is most often used when talking about structure. We have a detailed article explaining the concept here , but the short version is that MECE-ness ensures that there is no overlap between elements of a structure (i.e. the Mutually Exclusive component) and that it covers all the drivers or areas of a problem (Collectively Exhaustive). It is a concept that can be applied to any segmentation when dividing a set into subsets that include it wholly but do not overlap.
Let’s take a simple example and then a case framework example. In simple terms, when we are asked to break down the set ‘cars’ into subsets, dividing cars into ‘red cars’ and ‘sports cars’ is neither mutually exclusive (as there are indeed red sports cars) nor exhaustive of the whole set (i.e. there are also yellow non-sports cars that are not covered by this segmentation). A MECE way to segment would be ‘cars produced before 2000’ and ‘cars produced after 2000’ as this segmentation allows for no overlap and covers all the cars in existence.
Dividing cars can be simple, but how can we ensure MECEness in a case-interview a.k.a. a business situation. While the same principles apply, a good tip to ensure that your structure is MECE is to think about all the stakeholders - i.e. those whom a specific venture involves.
Let’s consider that our client is a soda manufacturer who wants to move from a business-to-business strategy, i.e. selling to large chains of stores and supermarkets, to a business-to-consumer strategy where it sells directly to consumers. In doing so they would like to retrain part of their account managers as direct salespeople and need to know what factors to consider.
A stakeholder-driven approach would be to consider the workforce and customers and move further down the issue tree, thinking about individual issues that might affect them. In the case of the workforce, we might consider how the shift would affect their workload and whether it takes their skillset into account. As for the customers, we might wonder whether existing customers would be satisfied with this move: will the remaining B2B account managers be able to provide for the needs of all their clients and will the fact that the company is selling directly to consumers now not cannibalise their businesses? We see how by taking a stakeholder-centred approach we can ensure that every single perspective and potential issue arising from it is fully covered.
5.4.2 The Pareto Principle
Also known as the 80/20 rule, this principle is important when gauging the impact of a decision or a factor in your analysis. It simply states that in business (but not only) 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. What this means is you can make a few significant changes that will impact most of your business organisation, sales model, cost structure etc.
Let’s have a look at 3 quick examples to illustrate this:
- 80% of all accidents are caused by 20% of drivers
- 20% of a company’s products account for 80% of the sales
- 80% of all results in a company are driven by 20% of its employees
The 80/20 rule will be a very good guide line in real engagements as well as case interviews, as it will essentially point to the easiest and most straightforward way of doing things. Let’s say one of the questions in a case is asking you to come up with an approach to understand the appeal of a new beard trimmer. Obviously you can’t interview the whole male population so you might think about setting up a webpage and asking people to comment their thoughts. But what you would get would be a laundry list of difficult to sift through data.
Using an 80/20 approach you would segment the population based on critical factors (age groups, grooming habits etc.) and then approach a significant sample size of each (e.g. 20), analysing the data and reaching a conclusion.
5.4.3 The Pyramid Principle
This principle refers to organising your communication in a top-down , efficient manner. While this is generally applicable, the pyramid principle will most often be employed when delivering the final recommendation to your client. This means - as is implicit in the name - that you would organise your recommendation (and communication in general) as a pyramid, stating the conclusion or most important element at the top then go down the pyramid listing 3 supporting arguments and then further (ideally also 3) supporting arguments for those supporting arguments.
Let’s look at this in practice in a case interview context: your client is a German air-conditioning unit manufacturer who was looking to expand into the French market. However, after your analysis you’ve determined that the market share they were looking to capture would not be feasible. A final recommendation using the Pyramid Principle would sound something like this: ‘I recommend that we do not enter the German market for the following three reasons. Firstly, the market is too small for our ambitions of $50 million. Secondly the market is heavily concentrated, being controlled by three major players and our 5 year goal would amount to controlling 25% of the market, a share larger than that of any of the players. Thirdly, the alternative of going into the corporate market would not be feasible, as it has high barriers to entry.Then, if needed, we could delve deeper into each of our categories
6. Case examples or building blocks?
As we mentioned before, in your case interview preparation you will undoubtedly find preparation resources that claim that there are several standard types of cases and that there is a general framework that can be applied to each type of case. While there are indeed cases that are straightforward at least in appearance and seemingly invite the application of such frameworks, the reality is never that simple and cases often involve multiple or more complicated components that cannot be fitted into a simple framework.
At MCC we don’t want you to get into the habit of trying to identify which case type you’re dealing with and pull out a framework, but we do recognize that there are recurring elements in frameworks that are useful - such as the profitability of a venture (with its revenues and costs), the valuation of a business, estimating and segmenting a market and pricing a product.
We call these building blocks because they can be used to build case frameworks but are not a framework in and of themselves, and they can be shuffled around and rearranged in any way necessary to be tailored to our case. Hence, our approach is not to make you think in terms of case types but work from first principles and use these building blocks to build your own framework. Let’s take two case prompts to illustrate our point.
The first is from the Bain website, where the candidate is asked whether they think it’s a good idea for their friend to open a coffee shop in Cambridge UK (see the case here ). The answer framework provided here is a very straightforward profitability analysis framework, examining the potential revenues and potential costs of the venture:
![tech case study interview Profitability framework](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-profitability-bain.png)
While this is a good point to start for your case interview (especially taken together with the clarifying questions), we will notice that this approach will need more tailoring to the case - for example the quantity of coffee will be determined by the market for coffee drinkers in Cambridge, which we have to determine based on preference. We are in England so a lot of people will be drinking tea but we are in a university town so perhaps more people than average are drinking coffee as it provides a better boost when studying. All these are some much needed case-tailored hypotheses that we can make based on the initial approach.
Just by looking at this case we might be tempted to say that we can just take a profitability case and apply it without any issues. However, this generic framework is just a starting point and in reality we would need to tailor it much further in the way we had started to do in order to get to a satisfactory answer. For example, the framework for this specific case interview doesn’t cover aspects such as the customer’s expertise: does the friend have any knowledge of the coffee business, such as where to source coffee and how to prepare it? Also, we could argue there may be some legal factors to consider here, such as any approvals that they might need from the city council to run a coffee shop on site, or some specific trade licences that are not really covered in the basic profitability framework.
Let’s take a different case , however, from the McKinsey website. In this scenario, the candidate is being asked to identify some factors in order to choose where to focus the client’s conservation efforts. Immediately we can realise that this case doesn’t lend itself to any pre-packaged framework and we will need to come up with something from scratch - and take a look at McKinsey’s answer of the areas to focus on:
![tech case study interview Conservation case](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-conservation-mckinsey.png)
We notice immediately that this framework is 100% tailored to the case - of course there are elements which we encounter in other cases, such as costs and risks but again these are applied in an organic way. It’s pretty clear that while no standard framework would work in this case, the aforementioned concepts - costs and risks - and the way to approach them (a.k.a building blocks ) are fundamentally similar throughout cases (with the obvious specificities of each case).
In what follows, we’ll give a brief description of each building block starting from the Bain example discussed previously, in order to give you a general idea of what they are and their adaptability, but you should make sure to follow the link to the in-depth articles to learn all their ins and outs.
6.1 Estimates and segmentation
This building block will come into play mostly when you’re thinking about the market for a certain product (but make sure to read the full article for more details). Let’s take our Bain Cambridge coffee example. As we mentioned under the quantity bucket we need to understand what the market size for coffee in Cambridge would be - so we can make an estimation based on segmentation .
The key to a good estimation is the ability to logically break down the problem into more manageable pieces. This will generally mean segmenting a wider population to find a particular target group. We can start off with the population of Cambridge - which we estimate at 100.000. In reality the population is closer to 150.000 but that doesn’t matter - the estimation has to be reasonable and not accurate , so unless the interviewer gives you a reason to reconsider you can follow your instinct. We can divide that into people who do and don’t drink coffee. Given our arguments before, we can conclude that 80% of those, so 80.000 drink coffee. Then we can further segment into those who drink regularly - let’s say every day - and those who drink occasionally - let’s say once a week. Based on the assumptions before about the student population needing coffee to function, and with Cambridge having a high student population, we can assume that 80% of those drinking coffee are regular drinkers, so that would be 64.000 regular drinkers and 16.000 occasional drinkers. We can then decide whom we want to target what our strategy needs to be:
![tech case study interview Coffee segmentation](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-coffee-segmentation.png)
This type of estimation and segmentation can be applied to any case specifics - hence why it is a building block.
6.2 Profitability
We had several looks at this building block so far (see an in-depth look here ) as it will show up in most case interivew scenarios, since profit is a key element in any company’s strategy. As we have seen, the starting point to this analysis is to consider both the costs and revenues of a company, and try to determine whether revenues need to be improved or whether costs need to be lowered. In the coffee example, the revenues are dictated by the average price per coffe x the number of coffees sold , whereas costs can be split into fixed and variable .
Some examples of fixed costs would be the rent for the stores and the cost of the personnel and utilities, while the most obvious variable costs would be the coffee beans used and the takeaway containers (when needed). We may further split revenues in this case into Main revenues - i.e. the sales of coffee - and Ancillary revenues , which can be divided into Sales of food products (sales of pastries, sandwiches etc., each with the same price x quantity schema) and Revenues from events - i.e renting out the coffee shop to events and catering for the events themselves. Bear in mind that revenues will be heavily influenced by the penetration rate , i.e. the share of the market which we can capture.
6.3 Pricing
Helping a company determine how much they should charge for their goods or services is another theme that comes up frequently in cases. While it may seem less complicated than the other building blocks, we assure you it’s not - you will have to understand and consider several factors, such as the costs a company is incurring, their general strategic positioning, availability, market trends as well as the customers’ willingness to pay (or WTP in short) - so make sure to check out our in-depth guide here .
![tech case study interview Pricing Basics](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-pricing-basics.png)
In our example, we may determine that the cost per cup (coffee beans, staff, rent) is £1. We want to be student friendly so we should consider how much students would want to pay for a coffee as well as how much are competitors are charging. Based on those factors, it would be reasonable to charge on average £2 per cup of coffee. It’s true that our competitors are charging £3 but they are targeting mostly the adult market, whose willingness to pay is higher, so their pricing model takes that into account as well as the lower volume of customers in that demographic.
6.4. Valuation
A variant of the pricing building block, a valuation problem generally asks the candidate to determine how much a client should pay for a specific company (the target of an acquisition) as well as what other factors to consider. The two most important factors (but not the only ones - for a comprehensive review see our Valuation article ) to consider are the net present value (in consulting interviews usually in perpetuity) and the synergies .
In short, the net present value of a company is how much profit it currently brings in, divided by how much that cash flow will depreciate in the future and can be represented with the equation below:
![tech case study interview Net Present Value](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-net-present-value.png)
The synergies refer to what could be achieved should the companies operate as one, and can be divided into cost and revenue synergies .
Let’s expand our coffee example a bit to understand these. Imagine that our friend manages to open a chain of coffee shops in Cambridge and in the future considers acquiring a chain of take-out restaurants. The most straightforward example of revenue synergies would be cross-selling, in this case selling coffee in the restaurants as well as in the dedicated stores, and thus getting an immediate boost in market share by using the existing customers of the restaurant chain. A cost synergy would be merging the delivery services of the two businesses to deliver both food and coffee, thus avoiding redundancies and reducing costs associated with twice the number of drivers and vehicles.
6.5. Competitive interaction
This component of cases deals with situations where the market in which a company is operating changes and the company must decide what to do. These changes often have to do with a new player entering the market (again for more details make sure to dive into the Competitive Interaction article ).
Let’s assume that our Cambridge coffee shop has now become a chain and has flagged up to other competitors that Cambridge is a blooming market for coffee. As such, Starbucks has decided to open a few stores in Cambridge themselves, to test this market. The question which might be posed to a candidate is what should our coffee chain do. One way (and a MECE one) to approach the problem is to decide between doing something and doing nothing . We might consider merging with another coffee chain and pooling our resources or playing to our strengths and repositioning ourselves as ‘your student-friendly, shop around the corner’. Just as easily we may just wait the situation out and see whether indeed Starbucks is cutting into our market share - after all, the advantages of our product and services might speak for themselves and Starbucks might end up tanking. Both of these are viable options if argued right and depending on the further specifics of the case.
![tech case study interview Competitive Interaction Structure](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/case-interview/competitive-interaction-structure.webp)
6.6. Special cases
Most cases deal with private sectors, where the overarching objective entails profit in some form. However, as hinted before, there are cases which deal with other sectors where there are other KPIs in place . The former will usually contain one or several of these building blocks whereas the latter will very likely have neither. This latter category is arguably the one that will stretch your analytical and organisational skills to the limit, since there will be very little familiarity that you can fall back on (McKinsey famously employs such cases in their interview process).
So how do we tackle the structure for such cases? The short answer would be starting from first principles and using the problem driven structure outlined above, but let’s look at a quick example in the form of a McKinsey case :
![tech case study interview McKinsey Diconsa Case](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-diconsa.png)
The first question addressed to the candidate is the following:
![tech case study interview McKinsey Diconsa Case](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-dic-new.png)
This is in fact asking us to build a structure for the case. So what should we have in mind here? Most importantly, we should start with a structure that is MECE and we should remember to do that by considering all the stakeholders . They are on the one hand the government and affiliated institutions and on the other the population. We might then consider which issues might arise for each shareholder and what the benefits for them would be, as well as the risks. This approach is illustrated in the answer McKinsey provides as well:
![tech case study interview McKinsey Framework](https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/images/pages/CI-diconsa-framework.png)
More than anything, this type of case shows us how important it is to practise and build different types of structures, and think about MECE ways of segmenting the problem.
7. How Do I prepare for case interviews
In consulting fashion, the overall preparation can be structured into theoretical preparation and practical preparation , with each category then being subdivided into individual prep and prep with a partner .
As a general rule, the level and intensity of the preparation will differ based on your background - naturally if you have a business background (and have been part of a consulting club or something similar) your preparation will be less intensive than if you’re starting from scratch. The way we suggest you go about it is to start with theoretical preparation , which means learning about case interviews, business and basic consulting concepts (you can do this using free resources - such as the ones we provide - or if you want a more through preparation you can consider joining our Case Academy as well).
You can then move on to the practical preparation which should start with doing solo cases and focusing on areas of improvement, and then move on to preparation with a partner , which should be another candidate or - ideally - an ex-consultant.
Let’s go into more details with respect to each type of preparation.
7.1. Solo practice
The two most important areas of focus in sole preparation are:
- Mental math
As we mentioned briefly, the best use of your time is to focus on solving cases. You can start with cases listed on MBB sites since they are clearly stated and have worked solutions as well (e.g. Bain is a good place to start) and then move to more complex cases (our Case Library also offers a range of cases of different complexities). To build your confidence, start out on easier case questions, work through with the solutions, and don't worry about time. As you get better, you can move on to more difficult cases and try to get through them more quickly. You should practice around eight case studies on your own to build your confidence.
Another important area of practice is your mental mathematics as this skill will considerably increase your confidence and is neglected by many applicants - much to their immediate regret in the case interview. Find our mental math tool here or in our course, and practice at least ten minutes per day, from day one until the day before the interview.
7.2. Preparation with a partner
There are aspects of a case interview - such as asking clarifying questions - which you cannot do alone and this is why, after you feel comfortable, you should move on to practice with another person. There are two options here:
- Practicing with a peer
- Practicing with an ex-consultant
In theory they can be complementary - especially if you’re peer is also preparing for consulting interviews - and each have advantages and disadvantages. A peer is likely to practice with you for free for longer, however you may end up reinforcing some bad habits or unable to get actionable feedback. A consultant will be able to provide you the latter but having their help for the same number of hours as a peer will come at a higher cost. Let’s look at each option in more detail.
7.2.1. Peer preparation
Once you have worked through eight cases solo, you should be ready to simulate the case interview more closely and start working with another person.
Here, many candidates turn to peer practice - that is, doing mock case interviews with friends, classmates or others also applying to consulting. If you’re in university, and especially in business school, there will very likely be a consulting club for you to join and do lots of case practice with. If you don’t have anyone to practice, though, or if you just want to get a bit more volume in with others, our free meeting board lets you find fellow applicants from around the world with whom to practice. We recommend practicing around 10 to 15 ‘live’ cases to really get to a point where you feel comfortable.
7.2.2. Preparation with a consultant
You can do a lot practising by yourself and with peers. However, nothing will bring up your skills so quickly and profoundly as working with a real consultant.
Perhaps think about it like boxing. You can practice drills and work on punch bags all you want, but at some point you need to get into the ring and do some actual sparring if you ever want to be ready to fight.
Practicing with an ex consultant is essentialy a simulation of a case interview. Of course, it isn’t possible to secure the time of experienced top-tier consultants for free. However, when considering whether you should invest to boost your chances of success, it is worth considering the difference in your salary over even just a few years between getting into a top-tier firm versus a second-tier one. In the light of thousands in increased annual earnings (easily accumulating into millions over multiple years), it becomes clear that getting expert interview help really is one of the best investments you can make in your own future.
Should you decide to make this step, MyConsultingCoach can help, offering bespoke mentoring programmes , where you are paired with a 5+ year experienced, ex-MBB mentor of your choosing, who will then oversee your whole case interview preparation from start to finish - giving you your best possible chance of landing a job!
7.3. Practice for online interviews
Standard preparation for interview case studies will carry directly over to online cases.
However, if you want to do some more specific prep, you can work through cases solo to a timer and using a calculator and/or Excel (online cases generally allow calculators and second computers to help you, whilst these are banned in live case interviews).
Older PST-style questions also make great prep, but a particularly good simulation is the self-assessment tests included in our Case Academy course . These multiple choice business questions conducted with a strict time limit are great preparation for the current crop of online cases.
7.4. Fit interviews
As we’ve noted, even something billed as a case interview is very likely to contain a fit interview as a subset.
We have an article on fit interviews and also include a full set of lessons on how to answer fit questions properly as a subset of our comprehensive Case Academy course .
Here though, the important thing to convey is that you take preparing for fit questions every bit as seriously as you do case prep.
Since they sound the same as you might encounter when interviewing for other industries, the temptation is to regard these as “just normal interview questions”.
However, consulting firms take your answers to these questions a good deal more seriously than elsewhere.
This isn’t just for fluffy “corporate culture” reasons. The long hours and close teamwork, as well as the client-facing nature of management consulting, mean that your personality and ability to get on with others is going to be a big part of making you a tolerable and effective co-worker.
If you know you’ll have to spend 14+ hour working days with someone you hire and that your annual bonus depends on them not alienating clients, you better believe you’ll pay attention to their character in interview.
There are also hard-nosed financial reasons for the likes of McKinsey, Bain and BCG to drill down so hard on your answers.
In particular, top consultancies have huge issues with staff retention. The average management consultant only stays with these firms for around two years before they have moved on to a new industry.
In some cases, consultants bail out because they can’t keep up with the arduous consulting lifestyle of long hours and endless travel. In many instances, though, departing consultants are lured away by exit opportunities - such as the well trodden paths towards internal strategy roles, private equity or becoming a start-up founder.
Indeed, many individuals will intentionally use a two year stint in consulting as something like an MBA they are getting paid for - giving them accelerated exposure to the business world and letting them pivot into something new.
Consulting firms want to get a decent return on investment for training new recruits. Thus, they want hires who not only intend to stick with consulting longer-term, but also have a temperament that makes this feasible and an overall career trajectory where it just makes sense for them to stay put.
This should hammer home the point that, if you want to get an offer, you need to be fully prepared to answer fit questions - and to do so excellently - any time you have a case interview.
8. Interview day - what to expect, with tips
Of course, all this theory is well and good, but a lot of readers might be concerned about what exactly to expect in real life . It’s perfectly reasonable to want to get as clear a picture as possible here - we all want to know what we are going up against when we face a new challenge!
Indeed, it is important to think about your interview in more holistic terms, rather than just focusing on small aspects of analysis. Getting everything exactly correct is less important than the overall approach you take to reasoning and how you communicate - and candidates often lose sight of this fact.
In this section, then, we’ll run through the case interview experience from start to finish, directing you to resources with more details where appropriate. As a supplement to this, the following video from Bain is excellent. It portrays an abridged version of a case interview, but is very useful as a guide to what to expect - not just from Bain, but from McKinsey, BCG and any other high-level consulting firm.
8.1. Getting started
Though you might be shown through to the office by a staff member, usually your interviewer will come and collect you from a waiting area. Either way, when you first encounter them, you should greet your interviewer with a warm smile and a handshake (unless they do not offer their hand). Be confident without verging into arrogance. You will be asked to take a seat in the interviewer’s office, where the case interview can then begin.
8.1.1. First impressions
In reality, your assessment begins before you even sit down at your interviewer’s desk. Whether at a conscious level or not, the impression you make within the first few seconds of meeting your interviewer is likely to significantly inform the final hiring decision (again, whether consciously or not).
Your presentation and how you hold yourself and behave are all important . If this seems strange, consider that, if hired, you will be personally responsible for many clients’ impressions of the firm. These things are part of the job! Much of material on the fit interview is useful here, whilst we also cover first impressions and presentation generally in our article on what to wear to interview .
As we have noted above, your interview might start with a fit segment - that is, with the interviewer asking questions about your experiences, your soft skills, and motivation to want to join consulting generally and that firm in particular. In short, the kinds of things a case study can’t tell them about you. We have a fit interview article and course to get you up to speed here.
8.1.2. Down to business
Following an initial conversation, your interviewer will introduce your case study , providing a prompt for the question you have to answer. You will have a pen and paper in front of you and should (neatly) note down the salient pieces of information (keep this up throughout the interview).
It is crucial here that you don’t delve into analysis or calculations straight away . Case prompts can be tricky and easy to misunderstand, especially when you are under pressure. Rather, ask any questions you need to fully understand the case question and then validate that understanding with the interviewer before you kick off any analysis. Better to eliminate mistakes now than experience that sinking feeling of realising you have gotten the whole thing wrong halfway through your case!
This process is covered in our article on identifying the problem and in greater detail in our Case Academy lesson on that subject.
8.1.3. Analysis
Once you understand the problem, you should take a few seconds to set your thoughts in order and draw up an initial structure for how you want to proceed. You might benefit from utilising one or more of our building blocks here to make a strong start. Present this to your interviewer and get their approval before you get into the nuts and bolts of analysis.
We cover the mechanics of how to structure your problem and lead the analysis in our articles here and here and more thoroughly in the MCC Case Academy . What it is important to convey here, though, is that your case interview is supposed to be a conversation rather than a written exam . Your interviewer takes a role closer to a co-worker than an invigilator and you should be conversing with them throughout.
Indeed, how you communicate with your interviewer and explain your rationale is a crucial element of how you will be assessed. Case questions in general, are not posed to see if you can produce the correct answer, but rather to see how you think . Your interviewer wants to see you approach the case in a structured, rational fashion. The only way they are going to know your thought processes, though, is if you tell them!
To demonstrate this point, here is another excellent video from Bain, where candidates are compared.
Note that multiple different answers to each question are considered acceptable and that Bain is primarily concerned with the thought processes of the candidate’s exhibit .
Another reason why communication is absolutely essential to case interview success is the simple reason that you will not have all the facts you need to complete your analysis at the outset. Rather, you will usually have to ask the interviewer for additional data throughout the case to allow you to proceed .
NB: Don't be let down by your math!
Your ability to quickly and accurately interpret these charts and other figures under pressure is one of the skills that is being assessed. You will also need to make any calculations with the same speed and accuracy (without a calculator!). As such, be sure that you are up to speed on your consulting math .
8.1.4. Recommendation
Finally, you will be asked to present a recommendation. This should be delivered in a brief, top-down "elevator pitch" format , as if you are speaking to a time-pressured CEO. Again here, how you communicate will be just as important as the details of what you say, and you should aim to speak clearly and with confidence.
For more detail on how to give the perfect recommendation, take a look at our articles on the Pyramid Principle and providing recommendations , as well the relevant lesson within MCC Academy .
8.1.5. Wrapping up
After your case is complete, there might be a few more fit questions - including a chance for you to ask some questions of the interviewer . This is your opportunity to make a good parting impression.
We deal with the details in our fit interview resources. However, it is always worth bearing in mind just how many candidates your interviewers are going to see giving similar answers to the same questions in the same office. A pretty obvious pre-requisite to being considered for a job is that your interviewer remembers you in the first place. Whilst you shouldn't do something stupid just to be noticed, asking interesting parting questions is a good way to be remembered.
Now, with the interview wrapped up, it’s time to shake hands, thank the interviewer for their time and leave the room .
You might have other case interviews or tests that day or you might be heading home. Either way, if know that you did all you could to prepare, you can leave content in the knowledge that you have the best possible chance of receiving an email with a job offer. This is our mission at MCC - to provide all the resources you need to realise your full potential and land your dream consulting job!
8.2. Remote and one-way interview tips
Zoom case interviews and “one-way” automated fit interviews are becoming more common as selection processes are increasingly remote, with these new formats being accompanied by their own unique challenges.
Obviously you won’t have to worry about lobbies and shaking hands for a video interview. However, a lot remains the same. You still need to do the same prep in terms of getting good at case cracking and expressing your fit answers. The specific considerations around remote case interviews are, in effect, around making sure you come across as effectively as you would in person.
8.2.1. Connection
It sounds trivial, but a successful video case interview of any kind presupposes a functioning computer with a stable and sufficient internet connection.
Absolutely don’t forget to have your laptop plugged in, as your battery will definitely let you down mid-interview. Similarly, make sure any housemates or family know not to use the microwave, vacuum cleaner or anything else that makes wifi cut out (or makes a lot of noise, obviously)
If you have to connect on a platform you don’t use much (for example, if it’s on Teams and you’re used to Zoom), make sure you have the up to date version of the app in advance, rather than having to wait for an obligatory download and end up late to join. Whilst you’re at it, make sure you’re familiar with the controls etc. At the risk of being made fun of, don’t be afraid to have a practice call with a friend.
![](http://help4study.online/777/templates/cheerup1/res/banner1.gif)
8.2.2. Dress
You might get guidance on a slightly more relaxed dress code for a Zoom interview. However, if in doubt, dress as you would for the real thing (see our article here ).
Either way, always remember that presentation is part of what you are being assessed on - the firm needs to know you can be presentable for clients. Taking this stuff seriously also shows respect for your interviewer and their time in interviewing you.
8.2.3. Lighting
An aspect of presentation that you have to devote some thought to for a Zoom case interview is your lighting.
Hopefully, you long ago nailed a lighting set-up during the Covid lockdowns. However, make sure to check your lighting in advance with your webcam - bearing in mind what time if day your case interview actually is. If your case interview is late afternoon, don’t just check in the morning. Make sure you aren’t going to be blinded from light coming in a window behind your screen, or that you end up with the weird shadow stripes from blinds all over your face.
Natural light is always best, but if there won’t be much of that during your interview, you’ll likely want to experiment with moving some lamps around.
8.2.4. Clarity
The actual stories you tell in an automated “one-way” fit interview will be the same as for a live equivalent. If anything, things should be easier, as you can rattle off a practised monologue without an interviewer interrupting you to ask for clarifications.
You can probably also assume that the algorithm assessing your performance is sufficiently capable that it will be observing you at much the same level as a human interviewer. However, it is probably still worth speaking as clearly as possible with these kinds of interviews and paying extra attention to your lighting to ensure that your face is clearly visible.
No doubt the AIs scoring these interviews are improving all the time, but you still want to make their job as easy as possible. Just think about the same things as you would with a live Zoom case interview, but more so.
9. How we can help
There are lots of great free resources on this site to get you started with preparation, from all our articles on case solving and consulting skills to our free case library and peer practice meeting board .
To step your preparation up a notch, though, our Case Academy course will give you everything you need to know to solve the most complex of cases - whether those are in live case interviews, with chatbots, written tests or any other format.
Whatever kind of case you end up facing, nothing will bring up your skillset faster than the kind of acute, actionable feedback you can get from a mock case interview a real, MBB consultant. Whilst it's possible to get by without this kind of coaching, it does tend to be the biggest single difference maker for successful candidates.
You can find out more on our coaching page:
Explore Coaching
Of course, for those looking for a truly comprehensive programme, with a 5+ year experienced MBB consultant overseeing their entire prep personally, from networking and applications right through to your offer, we have our mentoring programmes.
You can read more here:
Comprehensive Mentoring
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Secrets to a successful case-study interview
January 9, 2023
Prepping for (and maybe fretting) the case-study interview?
While this kind of interview may appear intimidating, consider this: The interviewer really wants you to do well.
So, shake off the nerves, relax and have fun.
Tips for standing out in the case-study interview:
- Take your time; don't rush it. Talk through the problem. If you can't make sense of it, take a moment and allow yourself some time to process what you've been missing. If you get stuck, get creative. Don't let yourself get bogged down; rely on your ingenuity.
- Ask questions. You can always ask your interviewer to define an acronym or to repeat or confirm details. If the interviewer asks, “How do we achieve success?”, don’t be afraid to ask, “What does ‘success’ mean to you? Is it turning a profit? Raising the company’s profile?” When you work on a client project, you need to ask questions to figure out what the problems might be, and the same applies here. The interviewer is your biggest asset in the room. They have the information you need to “solve the case” successfully. Use them wisely!
- Be flexible. The focus of a case-study interview may vary. So, be prepared to participate in whatever discussion the interviewer has in mind. They may spend the first half of the interview asking about your previous experience, or they may dive right into the case study at the start. The bottom line: Be flexible, and be ready to discuss the work you do and how you do it.
- Use visual aids. Don’t be afraid to use pen and paper, sketch out your thoughts, and talk through the problem at hand if it helps you get your ideas across. What matters most is demonstrating that you can solve problems.
- Focus on impact. Inventory the information you have, and then dive in where you can have the most impact. Don’t forget to discuss your thought process and explain your assumptions.
- Tell a story. Your experience has helped you progress in your career and education; use that experience. For example, in a business case study, you could bring your experience as a traveler to a case about a hypothetical airline. Your individuality is important. Your unique insights will serve you well when you’re interviewing.
- Pay attention to cues. If the interviewer says something, it probably means something. Don’t dismiss seemingly extraneous details. For example, the interviewer might say, “The case is about a retailer who wants to increase the value of a company it purchased, and the owner loved the brand when growing up.” The purpose of that detail is to indicate that turning around and selling the asset is not an option for making it profitable, because the owner is attached to it.
Preparing for the job you want can take time, but it’s a worthwhile investment—especially when you receive an offer.
Your ideas, ingenuity and determination make a difference.
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Anaam Zamorano
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47 case interview examples (from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.)
![tech case study interview Case interview examples - McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.](https://d3no4ktch0fdq4.cloudfront.net/public/CACHE/images/blog-articles/images/green-chameleon-21532-unsplash2_f2dce933-74af-44f4-9130-c1dd820d5643/98ab8b3ac7fe8f3a4e88ebe1a2019277.webp)
One of the best ways to prepare for case interviews at firms like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain, is by studying case interview examples.
There are a lot of free sample cases out there, but it's really hard to know where to start. So in this article, we have listed all the best free case examples available, in one place.
The below list of resources includes interactive case interview samples provided by consulting firms, video case interview demonstrations, case books, and materials developed by the team here at IGotAnOffer. Let's continue to the list.
- McKinsey examples
- BCG examples
- Bain examples
- Deloitte examples
- Other firms' examples
- Case books from consulting clubs
- Case interview preparation
Click here to practise 1-on-1 with MBB ex-interviewers
1. mckinsey case interview examples.
- Beautify case interview (McKinsey website)
- Diconsa case interview (McKinsey website)
- Electro-light case interview (McKinsey website)
- GlobaPharm case interview (McKinsey website)
- National Education case interview (McKinsey website)
- Talbot Trucks case interview (McKinsey website)
- Shops Corporation case interview (McKinsey website)
- Conservation Forever case interview (McKinsey website)
- McKinsey case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
- McKinsey live case interview extract (by IGotAnOffer) - See below
2. BCG case interview examples
- Foods Inc and GenCo case samples (BCG website)
- Chateau Boomerang written case interview (BCG website)
- BCG case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
- Written cases guide (by IGotAnOffer)
- BCG live case interview with notes (by IGotAnOffer)
- BCG mock case interview with ex-BCG associate director - Public sector case (by IGotAnOffer)
- BCG mock case interview: Revenue problem case (by IGotAnOffer) - See below
3. Bain case interview examples
- CoffeeCo practice case (Bain website)
- FashionCo practice case (Bain website)
- Associate Consultant mock interview video (Bain website)
- Consultant mock interview video (Bain website)
- Written case interview tips (Bain website)
- Bain case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
- Digital transformation case with ex-Bain consultant
- Bain case mock interview with ex-Bain manager (below)
4. Deloitte case interview examples
- Engagement Strategy practice case (Deloitte website)
- Recreation Unlimited practice case (Deloitte website)
- Strategic Vision practice case (Deloitte website)
- Retail Strategy practice case (Deloitte website)
- Finance Strategy practice case (Deloitte website)
- Talent Management practice case (Deloitte website)
- Enterprise Resource Management practice case (Deloitte website)
- Footloose written case (by Deloitte)
- Deloitte case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
5. Accenture case interview examples
- Case interview workbook (by Accenture)
- Accenture case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
6. OC&C case interview examples
- Leisure Club case example (by OC&C)
- Imported Spirits case example (by OC&C)
7. Oliver Wyman case interview examples
- Wumbleworld case sample (Oliver Wyman website)
- Aqualine case sample (Oliver Wyman website)
- Oliver Wyman case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
8. A.T. Kearney case interview examples
- Promotion planning case question (A.T. Kearney website)
- Consulting case book and examples (by A.T. Kearney)
- AT Kearney case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
9. Strategy& / PWC case interview examples
- Presentation overview with sample questions (by Strategy& / PWC)
- Strategy& / PWC case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
10. L.E.K. Consulting case interview examples
- Case interview example video walkthrough (L.E.K. website)
- Market sizing case example video walkthrough (L.E.K. website)
11. Roland Berger case interview examples
- Transit oriented development case webinar part 1 (Roland Berger website)
- Transit oriented development case webinar part 2 (Roland Berger website)
- 3D printed hip implants case webinar part 1 (Roland Berger website)
- 3D printed hip implants case webinar part 2 (Roland Berger website)
- Roland Berger case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
12. Capital One case interview examples
- Case interview example video walkthrough (Capital One website)
- Capital One case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
12. EY Parthenon case interview examples
- Candidate-led case example with feedback (by IGotAnOffer)
14. Consulting clubs case interview examples
- Berkeley case book (2006)
- Columbia case book (2006)
- Darden case book (2012)
- Darden case book (2018)
- Duke case book (2010)
- Duke case book (2014)
- ESADE case book (2011)
- Goizueta case book (2006)
- Illinois case book (2015)
- LBS case book (2006)
- MIT case book (2001)
- Notre Dame case book (2017)
- Ross case book (2010)
- Wharton case book (2010)
Practice with experts
Using case interview examples is a key part of your interview preparation, but it isn’t enough.
At some point you’ll want to practise with friends or family who can give some useful feedback. However, if you really want the best possible preparation for your case interview, you'll also want to work with ex-consultants who have experience running interviews at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc.
If you know anyone who fits that description, fantastic! But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.
Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can do mock case interviews 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from MBB firms . Start scheduling sessions today!
Related articles:
![tech case study interview Questions to ask at the end of a consulting interview](https://d3no4ktch0fdq4.cloudfront.net/public/CACHE/images/blog-articles/images/rawpixel-714370-unsplash_-_resize_23e15c35-c248-45ac-ba66-6510f65e628a/95f20452a6592228a66869a908c91036.webp)
Career in Consulting
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/paul-schafer-t6oZEgL0z18-unsplash-Copie-1024x385_e81e514d85f60ea611528f0f6d87765e.jpg)
280 Free Case Interview Examples
Do you want to get access to over 280 free case interview examples (with answers)?
If you have interviews planned at McKinsey , The Boston Consulting Group , or any other consulting firm, you are probably looking for case interview examples.
So, to help you prepare, I have compiled a list of 280 free case interview examples:
- Over 30 free case interview examples (+ interview prep tips) from the websites of top consulting firms
- More than 250 free case interview examples from top business school case books
Moreover, you’ll get my take on which case studies you will likely have in interviews.
In short, the resources listed hereafter will be very helpful if you are starting out or have already made good progress in preparing for your case interviews.
One last word : check out this free case-cracking course to learn how to crack the most recent types of case questions consulting firms use in actual interviews.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Get the latest data about salaries in consulting, mckinsey: tips and case interview examples.
McKinsey & Company’s website is definitely one of my favorites.
Because this gives so much insightful information about the role of a consultant and what the hiring process looks like.
Therefore, I highly recommend spending time on their website, even if you are not targeting McKinsey.
In the meantime, here are 8 McKinsey case interview examples
- Electro-light
- GlobaPharma
- National Education
- Talbot trucks
- Shops corporation
- Conservation forever
![tech case study interview McKinsey hub](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/McKinsey-hub-768x236.png)
Check out the McKinsey Hub : A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at McKinsey.
Besides, here is another McKinsey case interview example.
This case interview question has been recently asked in a real interview:
𝘦𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘊𝘰, 𝘢 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉2𝘉 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉2𝘊 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘊𝘰’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵.
How would you approach this business problem?
When ready, check this video below where I present how to approach this problem.
BCG: Tips And Case Interview Examples
The Boston Consulting Group website states something very important: the goal of the hiring process is to get to know you better, which means, in the context of Consulting interviews, understanding how you solve problems .
Remember this: in case interviews, to show how you think is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than to find an answer to the case .
As a result, you will have case study questions to showcase your problem-solving skills. Likewise, fit interviews have the same purpose: to show what problems you faced and how you resolved them.
- BCG interview prep tips
- BCG’s interactive case tool
- BCG case interview example: climate change challenge
- BCG case interview example: GenCo
- BCG case interview example: FoodCo
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/BCG-hub-1024x268.png)
Check out the BCG Hub : A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at BCG.
Bain: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Bain & Company’s website highlights something very important: successful applicants manage to turn a case interview into a conversation between two consultants .
In other words, you don’t want to appear as a candidate but as a consultant !
To do this, you need to master the main problem-solving techniques that consulting firms want to see.
- Bain interview prep tips here and here
- Bain case interview examples: coffee , fashioco
- Bain case interview sample videos: a first video , a second video
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Bain-hub-1024x228.png)
Check out the Bain Hub : A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at Bain & Company.
Deloitte: Tips And Case Interview Examples
As for the BCG’s section above, the Deloitte website clearly states that in case interviews , it is much more important to show how you think and interact with your interviewer than to find the right answer to the case.
- Deloitte interview prep tips
- Deloitte case interview examples: here (more than 15 case interview examples)
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal Agency
- Deloitte case interview example: Recreation Unlimited
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal benefits Provider
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal Civil Cargo protection Bureau
Get 4 Complete Case Interview Courses For Free
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Capture-decran-2022-08-18-101409-768x168.png)
You need 4 skills to be successful in all case interviews: Case Structuring, Case Leadership, Case Analytics, and Communication. Join this free training and learn how to ace ANY case questions.
Oliver Wyman: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Like the Deloitte website, Oliver Wyman’s website points out that, above all, you must demonstrate your ability to think in a structured, analytical, and creative way.
In other words, there are no right or wrong answers, but only showing how you solve problems matters.
- Oliver Wyman interview prep tips
- Oliver Wyman case interview examples: here (Aqualine) and here (Wumbleworld)
Kearney: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Now it’s time to tell you something you could have heard a hundred times.
Yet too many candidates do it.
Do NOT force your solution to adapt to a standard framework . As a result, this will only take you to a place you don’t want to go: the pool of rejected candidates .
To learn more about this, check the “What Not To Do” section on the AT Kearney website .
- Kearney interview prep tips
- Kearney case interview examples: here and here
- Kearney case book: here
Strategy&: Interview Prep Tips
Strategy& doesn’t provide case study examples on its website, but it shares insights on career progression, which I recommend reading when you prepare for your fit interviews.
- Strategy& interview prep tips
Roland Berger: Tips And Case Interview Examples
I like the examples of case studies presented on the Roland Berger website .
Because the two examples of case studies are very detailed and illustrate the kind of solutions your interviewers expect during case discussions.
- Roland Berger interview prep tips
- A first Roland Berger case interview example: part 1 and part 2
- A second Roland Berger case interview example: part 1 and part 2
Alix Partners: Interview Prep Tips
Like Strategy&, Alix Partners doesn’t provide case study examples on its website.
However, they give an overview of what they are looking for: they want entrepreneurial, self-starter, and analytical candidates, which are skills that all consulting firms highly appreciate .
- Alix Partners interview prep tips
OC&C: Interview Prep Tips
Here are two case study examples from OC&C:
- Imported spirit
- Leisure clubs
253 Case Studies From Business School Case Books
Most of these 253 case study examples are based on case interviews used by consulting firms in real job interviews .
As a result, you can have a good idea of the case study questions you can have when interviewing at these firms .
The Full List Of 253 Free Case Study Examples
- Chicago business school
- Australian Graduate School of Management
- Columbia business school
- Harvard business school
- Wharton business school (2009)
- Wharton busines school (2017)
- Darden business school
Do you want to practice a specific type of case study? Now you can…
I have sorted this list of 253 case studies by type: profitability, market expansion, industry analysis, pricing, investment or acquisition, and guesstimates (also known as market sizing questions).
![tech case study interview Full list of case study examples sorted by type](https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Full-list-of-case-studies-sorted-by-type-1024x549.png)
Bonus #1: Know The Types Of Cases You Are Likely To have During Your Interviews
- Profitability cases (29% of cases from that list)
- Investment cases (19% of cases from that list)
- Market sizing questions (15% of cases from that list)
As a result, assuming you’ll have 6 interviews (and therefore 6 case interviews) during the recruitment process:
- “Profitability cases are 29%” means that chances to have 2 profitability case studies during your recruitment process are very high
- “Investment cases are 19%” means that chances to have 1 investment case study during your recruitment process are very high.
- “ Guesstimates are 15%” means that chances of having 1 market sizing question during your recruitment process are high.
Bonus #2: The 10 Cases I Recommend You Doing Now
Over 250 examples of case interviews are a great list, and you may not know where to start.
So, I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorite case studies.
The 5 case studies I recommend doing if you are a BEGINNER
1. stern case book: drinks gone flat (starting at page 24).
This is a good introduction to a common type of case (declining sales here). I liked the solution presented for this case, particularly how it started by isolating declining sales (what range of products? Volumes or prices, or both?).
2. Stern case book: Sport bar (starting at page 46)
This is an investment case (should you invest in a new bar). Even if the solution presented in this case book is not MECE , it covers the most common quantitative questions you might have in such a case. I recommend doing this case.
3. Stern case book: MJ Wineries (starting at page 85)
This is a profitability case. I liked the solution presented in this case because it illustrates how specific good candidates should be. The case concerns wine, so a good candidate should mention the quality of lands and grapes as important factors.
4. AGSM case book: Piano tuners (starting at page 57)
This is a typical market sizing question. How to answer this type of question is a must-know before going to your interviews.
5. Darden case book: National Logistics (starting at page 49)
Again, this is a very common case (how to reduce costs). I liked the broad range of questions asked in this case, covering key skills assessed by consulting firms during case interviews: brainstorming skills (or creativity), quantitative skills, and business sense.
The 5 case studies I recommend if you are more ADVANCED in your preparation
1. stern: the pricing games (starting at page 55).
This case study asks you to help your client assess different business models. I liked this case because the range of issues to tackle is quite broad.
2. Wharton 2017: Engineer attrition at SLS Oil & Gas Services (starting at page 55)
I liked this case study because the case prompt is uncommon: your client has been facing a very high attrition rate among its population of Engineers. As a result, it’s very unlikely that your solution fits a well-known framework, and you’ll have to demonstrate your problem-solving skills by developing a specific solution.
3. Wharton 2017: Pharma Company Goes International, Outsources Benefits, Integrates New Technology (starting at page 95)
This case is about a client considering outsourcing a part of their activity. Even though I don’t know if this type of case study is very common, I had many case studies like this when I passed my interviews a few years ago. And I always found them difficult!
4. Insead: Gas retail case (starting at page 73)
The question in the problem statement is very broad, making this case difficult. So, only good candidates can have a structured case discussion here.
5. Darden: Fire Proof (starting at page 84)
This is a market entry case. Try to solve it by developing a structure as MECE as possible.
CareerInConsulting.com's Free Resources
Access my exclusive free training to help you prepare for your case interviews .
Besides, you can learn my step-by-step guide to answering market sizing questions .
You’ll get my formula to solve all market sizing questions.
Moreover, if you are a beginner, you can read my article on how to solve business cases (+ a 4-week prep plan to get case interview ready).
Also, check these 11 must-know frameworks to ace your case interviews.
Finally, you can read the articles in the blog section of my website.
That’s quite a list.
To complete this list, check this free case interview course , where you’ll find case questions recently asked in actual interviews.
Now, I’d like to hear from you.
Which key insights were new to you?
Or maybe I have missed something.
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below.
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- Hacking the Case Interview
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Deloitte case interviews are the most difficult part of the interview process. Deloitte interviews are comprised of case interviews, a group case interview, and behavioral or fit interview questions. You will need to pass every single Deloitte case interview in order to land a job offer.
In this comprehensive article, we’ll cover exactly what to expect in your upcoming Deloitte interview and how to best answer all of the different types of questions, including Deloitte case interviews. We’ll cover in detail:
- Deloitte interview process
- What is a Deloitte case interview?
- What does a Deloitte case interview assess?
- How to solve Deloitte case interviews
- The different types of Deloitte case interviews
- Examples of Deloitte case interviews
- Deloitte case interview tips
- How to prepare for Deloitte case interviews
- How to solve the Deloitte group case interview
- Deloitte behavioral and fit interview questions
- Recommended Deloitte case interview resources
If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.
Deloitte Interview Process
The Deloitte interview process typically consists of two rounds of interview that include case interviews, a group case interview, and behavioral or fit interview questions. The entire interview process can take anywhere from one week to a few months.
Given its size, Deloitte may have a different interview process depending on the country or the office that you are interviewing for. However, the most common interview process consists of two rounds of interviews following the submission of your Deloitte resume .
- First round interviews : you will have one 30 to 45-minute behavioral interview and one or two 30 to 45-minute case interviews.
- Final round interviews : you will have a 30 to 45-minute behavioral interview, a 30 to 45-minute case interview, and a one hour group case interview
There are three important distinctions between your first round Deloitte interview and your final round Deloitte interview.
One, your interviewers will likely be more senior people at Deloitte. This means that the case interviews you receive may be a bit less structured and more qualitative in nature. The case interview may feel more like a discussion where you and the interviewer are discussing your opinions and ideas on a business problem.
Two, there will be more of an emphasis on assessing your fit with the firm. The first round interview is primarily used as a screener to determine whether or not you can solve case interviews effectively and whether or not you have the potential to be a great consultant.
Final round interviews will also continue to assess this, but interviewers will also be determining whether or not you would be a great fit with the office. Are you coachable and easy to work with? Are you collaborative? These are a few of the qualities that interviewers want to see.
Three, your interviewers may read the notes that your interviewers wrote during your Deloitte first round interview. If there was a particular area of the case interview that you struggled with, interviewers may want to test you again on it to make sure that it is not a significant weakness.
What is a Deloitte Case Interview?
A Deloitte case interview, also known as a “case” for short, is a 30 to 60-minute exercise in which you and the interviewer work together to develop a recommendation or answer to a business problem.
These business problems can be anything that real companies face:
- How can Amazon increase its profitability?
- What can Apple do to increase customer retention?
- How should Tesla price its new electric vehicle?
- Where should Disney open another Disneyland theme park?
Deloitte case interviews simulate what the consulting job will be like by placing you in a hypothetical business situation. Cases simulate real business problems that consulting firms solve for their clients. Many Deloitte case interviews are based on actual projects that interviewers have worked on.
While consulting projects typically last between 3 to 9 months, case interviews condense solving the business problem into just 30 to 45 minutes.
Deloitte case interviews can cover any industry, including retail, consumer packaged goods, financial services, energy, education, healthcare, government, and technology.
They can also cover a wide range of business situations, including entering a new market, launching a new product, acquiring a company, improving profitability, and growing revenues.
Although Deloitte case interviews cover a wide range of industries and business situations, no technical or specialized knowledge is needed. Unless you are interviewing for a consulting firm that specializes in a particular industry or function, cases are designed to be solved by someone that has general business knowledge.
Nailing your Deloitte case interviews is critical to get a job at Deloitte. There is no way to get a Deloitte job offer without passing your case interviews.
What Does a Deloitte Case Interview Assess?
Deloitte case interviews assess five different qualities or characteristics: logical and structured thinking, analytical problem solving, business acumen, communication skills, and personality and cultural fit.
1. Logical and structured thinking : Consultants need to be organized and methodical in order to work efficiently.
- Can you structure complex problems in a clear, simple way?
- Can you take tremendous amounts of information and data and identify the most important points?
- Can you use logic and reason to make appropriate conclusions?
2. Analytical problem solving : Consultants work with a tremendous amount of data and information in order to develop recommendations to complex problems.
- Can you read and interpret data well?
- Can you perform math computations smoothly and accurately?
- Can you conduct the right analyses to draw the right conclusions?
3. Business acumen : A strong business instinct helps consultants make the right decisions and develop the right recommendations.
- Do you have a basic understanding of fundamental business concepts?
- Do your conclusions and recommendations make sense from a business perspective?
4. Communication skills : Consultants need strong communication skills to collaborate with teammates and clients effectively.
- Can you communicate in a clear, concise way?
- Are you articulate in what you are saying?
5. Personality and cultural fit : Consultants spend a lot of time working closely in small teams. Having a personality and attitude that fits with the team makes the whole team work better together.
- Are you coachable and easy to work with?
- Are you pleasant to be around?
All of these five qualities can be assessed in just a 30 to 60-minute Deloitte case interview. This is what makes case interviews so effective in assessing consulting candidates.
How to Solve Deloitte Case Interviews
Deloitte case interviews are candidate-led. You will be in the driver’s seat of the case interview and will be expected to ask the right questions, probe for data, and propose each next step to solve the case.
In a Deloitte case interview, you are not assessed on whether or not you have the correct answer. Instead, Deloitte uses case interviews to assess six different qualities:
- Problem solving : Can you decompose a problem into smaller, more manageable questions?
- Analytical ability : Can you draw the right insights from data and information?
- Strategic thinking : Do you have a sharp business acumen and practical business judgment?
- Logical thinking : Are you structured, organized, and rational in the way that you think?
- Creativity : Can you generate interesting or unique ideas and solutions?
- Professional demeanor : Are you calm, confident, and articulate?
Our step-by-step guide to case interviews is presented in the video below. We highly recommend watching that video in its entirety.
On Deloitte's case interview website , they recommend taking five steps to solve a case interview:
1. Understand the issue and ask clarifying questions
The most important part of the case interview is to make sure you understand the business issue and the objective of the case. The quickest way to fail a case interview is to answer or address the wrong business problem.
Therefore, if either the business issue or objective of the case is unclear, make sure to ask clarifying questions.
2. Identify the underlying assumptions
Next, you’ll need to decompose the overall business problem into smaller, more manageable issues. Identify what would need to be true in order for you to recommend a particular course of action.
To do this, it will be helpful to put together a framework, which is a tool that helps you organize your ideas and thoughts into different categories. For a complete guide on how to create tailored and unique frameworks for each case, check out our article on case interview frameworks .
3. Summarize specific issues and findings
Afterwards, you’ll begin investigating different issues or areas of your framework. After investigating each one, it is important that you summarize the key takeaways or insights that you uncovered.
Connect these findings back to the overall business problem and explain how your findings impact your potential recommendation.
4. State your recommendations
Once you have gathered enough evidence and support for your recommendation, you will need to present your recommendation in a clear and concise way.
Start by giving a firm recommendation. Then, provide the three major reasons that support your recommendation. This should summarize most of the important findings from the case.
5. Outline next steps and the expected results or impact
After delivering a recommendation, you should propose potential next steps that you would take if you had more time or data. What would you need to know to further strengthen your recommendation or make you more confident in your answer?
You can also talk about the expected results or impact of your recommendation. This may also have implications on potential next steps, such as analyzing the risks or quantifying the financial benefits.
The Different Types of Deloitte Case Interviews
There are three different types of Deloitte case interviews, one type for each of Deloitte's consulting groups:
- Strategy & Operations : primarily focused on corporate strategy, supply-chain improvement, business model transformation, and process improvements. The work that this group does is most similar to the work that McKinsey, BCG, and Bain do
- Business Technology : primarily focused on digital strategy, delivery of information technology programs, and building tech-based solutions for clients
- Human Capital : primarily focused on organization transformation, change management, corporate learning and development, and diversity and inclusion
The type of case that you get depends on what group you are interviewing with.
For example, If you are interviewing with the Strategy & Operations group, you’ll get a strategy or operations case . You may be asked to determine whether to enter a new market, launch a new product, or make an acquisition.
If you are interviewing with the Technology group, you’ll get a technology or IT case. You may be asked to determine whether to roll out a new IT system, how to assess different technologies, or how to best coordinate an IT transformation.
If you are interviewing with the Human Capital group, you may be asked to determine the optimal organization structure, how to better incentivize employees to perform better, or how to save payroll costs.
Examples of Deloitte Case Interviews
Below are practice cases created by Deloitte. We recommend working through these so that you know exactly what to expect in your Deloitte case interview.
For undergraduates:
- Engagement Strategy: Federal Agency V (strategy case)
- Recreation Unlimited (strategy case)
- Strategic Vision: Federal Benefits Provider (strategy case)
- MedX: The Smart Pill Bottle (business technology case)
- Architecture Strategy: Federal Finance Agency (business technology case)
For advanced degree students:
- Finance strategy: Federal Health Agency (strategy case)
- Talent Management: Federal Civil Cargo Protection Bureau (strategy case)
For more practice, check out our article on 23 MBA consulting casebooks with 700+ free practice cases .
Deloitte Case Interview Tips
Below are eight of Deloitte's case interview tips to help you improve your case interview performance.
Tip #1: Take notes
While the interviewer is providing you with the case background information, take notes on the most important pieces of information. Pay particularly close attention to the context, company, and case objective.
Tip #2: Make sure you understand the case question
Answering or addressing the wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a case interview. The most important thing is understanding what the business issue is and what overall question you’ll be expected to answer at the end of the case.
Tip #3: Ask questions
Do not be afraid to ask questions. You will not be penalized for asking questions that are important and relevant to the case.
Great questions to ask include asking for the definition of an unfamiliar term, asking questions that clarify the objective of the issue, and asking questions to strengthen your understanding of the context or company.
Tip #4: After you develop a framework, develop an initial hypothesis
A hypothesis is an educated guess on the answer based on the data and information that you have so far. It helps guide your analysis and keeps you on the right track.
After developing a framework, try to develop a hypothesis to help you decide what area of your framework you should explore first.
Tip #5: Take time to structure your thoughts
When asked a question in a case interview, don’t always start answering immediately. Instead, take the time to process the question and develop an organized and structured way to answer it. It is acceptable to ask the interview for a brief moment to collect your thoughts.
Your answer will likely be much stronger if you give yourself time to think.
Tip #6: Present a clear, logical story for your recommendation
Remember that consultants need to convince clients to follow their proposed recommendations. Being articulate and persuasive are necessary skills for management consultants .
When you deliver your recommendation, try to make it a coherent story. This will make your recommendation easier to follow and more compelling.
Tip #7: Walk the interviewer through your thinking and explain assumptions
You do not get any points for the ideas and thinking that you do not communicate. Therefore, you should make every effort to talk through your thoughts out loud.
Walk the interviewer through what you are thinking. Explain why you have made particular decisions. State your assumptions. This makes it easier for the interviewer to provide feedback or hints to help you out.
Tip #8: Engage the interviewer in a business conversation
Remember that a case interview is a collaborative exercise. You should not be dismissing the feedback and suggestions that the interviewer provides you. They may be trying to help steer the case in the right direction or provide you with hints when you get stuck.
Treat the interviewer as your teammate and turn the case interview into a business conversation.
How to Prepare for Deloitte Case Interviews
There are seven steps to preparing for Deloitte case interviews.
1. Understand what a case interview is
The first step in preparing for Deloitte case interviews is to understand exactly what case interviews are.
When you are familiar with what case interviews are, it is important to know what a great Deloitte case interview performance looks like.
Knowing what a great Deloitte case interview performance looks like will facilitate how quickly you learn case interview strategies in the next step.
Before continuing onto the next step, you should be familiar with:
- The overall objective of a case interview
- The structure and flow of a case interview
- The types of questions you could get asked
- What a great case interview performance looks like
2. Learn the right strategies
Now that you have sufficient background knowledge, the next step in preparing for Deloitte case interviews is to learn the right strategies to build good case interview habits.
It is much more effective to learn the right case strategies the first time than to learn poor strategies and try to correct them later.
The quickest, most efficient way to learn these strategies is to go through our Comprehensive Case Interview Course .
If you prefer reading case interview prep books instead, the three I recommend are:
- The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook
- Case Interview Secrets
Hacking the Case Interview provides strategies on exactly what to do and what to say in every step of the case interview. It is a concise and straight to the point guide. I recommend this book as the first book to read for beginners.
Case Interview Secrets teaches core concepts such as the issue tree , drill-down analysis, and a hypothesis driven approach. It illustrates these concepts through stories and anecdotes. If you have read Hacking the Case Interview, I recommend also reading this book to get perspectives from a second author. Check out our full review of Case Interview Secrets .
Case in Point provides a ton of specific and complex frameworks. However, you likely won’t be using many of these in an actual case interview because many of them are overly complex and specific. If you have time, it may be useful to skim through this book. Check out our full review of Case in Point .
At the bare minimum, read either the first or second book. If you have the time, read the first two books so that you can get strategies from two different authors.
Make sure to spend sufficient time learning the right strategies before starting to practice cases. It is ineffective to practice cases if you have no idea what strategies to practice and refine.
Before moving onto the next step, you should at least have strategies for the following parts of a case interview:
- Developing unique and tailored frameworks
- Solving quantitative problems
- Answering qualitative questions
- Delivering a recommendation
3. Practice 3-5 cases by yourself
Once you have learned the right strategies, the next step in Deloitte case interview prep is to practice.
When practicing case interviews, it is usually better to practice with a case interview partner than to practice by yourself . Casing with a partner better simulates the real case interview experience.
However, when you are just starting to practice, I recommend doing the first 3 – 5 cases by yourself.
There are three reasons for this:
- You can get the hang of the case interview structure and format much more quickly working by yourself rather than having to wait to schedule a time with a partner
- There are many aspects of case interviews that you can practice without a partner, such as structuring a framework and solving quantitative problems. You can get much more practice working through these parts by yourself
- You may have difficulty finding a case interview partner if you are a complete beginner. Without having done any cases, you likely won’t know how to properly give a case or provide good feedback
4. Practice 5-10 cases with a partner
The next step in preparing for Deloitte case interviews is to case with a partner.
Casing with a partner is the best way to simulate a real case interview. There are many aspects of case interviews that you won’t be able to improve on unless you practice live with a partner.
When practicing cases with a partner, ensure you are spending enough time after cases to deliver feedback.
For a case that takes around 30 – 40 minutes, spend at least 15 – 20 minutes for feedback. Much of your learning and improvement will come from these feedback sessions.
Do not move onto the next step until you have done at least 5 – 10 cases and are beginning to feel comfortable with case interviews.
5. Practice with a former or current consultant
At this point, I highly recommend asking former or current consultants to give you a practice case. This will significantly help you prepare for case interviews.
Doing a mock case with a former or current consultant is highly advantageous because they know exactly how to run cases and give feedback. You’ll receive incredibly helpful feedback that your previous case partners likely missed.
If you feel that you are plateauing with your case partner, that is a sign you should do a mock case interview with a former or current consultant.
You can find former or current consultants among:
- People you met during the consulting recruiting process
- Your broader LinkedIn network
I would not ask a consultant that is involved with the consulting recruiting process for a case too prematurely. Although these practice cases are not evaluative, some firms will actually make note of how well you perform during the practice case.
At this point, you will have accumulated a long list of improvement areas from all of the different people you have cased with.
6. Work on your improvement areas
In this step of preparing for Deloitte case interviews, you will work on strengthening and fine-tuning your improvement areas. Examples of common improvement areas include:
- Creating a more complete and mutually exclusive framework
- Performing math calculations quicker or more smoothly
- Providing more structure to your qualitative answers
- Leading the case more proactively
- Delivering a more succinct recommendation
Try to focus on improving one thing at a time. This is much more effective than trying to improve everything at once.
For some areas, such as math, it will be better to work independently. For other areas, such as learning to proactively lead the case, it will be better to work with a case partner.
If you are looking for more cases, look at the resources listed in step four. If you are looking for specific drills or practice problems for a particular part of a case interview, check out The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook .
Do not move onto the next step until you have finished working on all of your improvement areas.
7. Stay sharp
If you have progressed this far, congratulations! You have almost finished preparing for Deloitte case interviews.
Once you feel that you have no more improvement areas to work on, the key is to not burn yourself out by doing too many unnecessary cases.
While each case that you do makes you slightly better, there is a point when doing too many cases can create case fatigue right before your interview. Case fatigue can negatively impact your interview performance.
On the other hand, you also don’t want to go weeks without having done a case. You may end up forgetting strategies or become rusty and slow.
Once you have achieved case mastery, I recommend doing no more than 2 cases per week in the weeks leading up to your interview. This ensures that you remain sharp for case interviews, but don’t have case fatigue.
How to Solve the Deloitte Group Case Interview
Deloitte is one of the few consulting firms that uses group case interviews in their final round of interviews. They conduct group case interviews because Deloitte’s work culture has a huge emphasis on teamwork and culture fit.
Here’s what to expect:
- You’ll be put into a group with 3 to 5 other candidates
- The interviewer will hand out case materials
- You’ll be given 10 minutes to review the case materials and prepare
- The group will have a discussion for 20 minutes
- During this discussion, interviewers will be observing candidates and will not interfere
- Afterwards, the interviewer will ask the group specific questions for another 20 minutes
Group case interviews can be challenging to prepare for because it is difficult to replicate the exact conditions to practice them. However, if you prepare for case interviews well, you will be in a great position to succeed in group case interviews.
Your goal in a group case interview is to add value to the group. There are six different ways that you can add value:
- Lead or facilitate the discussion : You can propose what topics to discuss, the order they should be discussed in, and how much time should be allocated towards each topic. If the group gets off track, you can bring the group’s focus back together.
- Expand upon other people’s ideas : If a group member suggests a great idea or raises a good point, build upon it and make it even better.
- Synthesize information : You can summarize information that other people have said and reconcile different viewpoints and ideas together.
- Keep track of time : You can volunteer to keep track of time and make sure that the group is on track.
- Play devil’s advocate : You can help your group develop strong ideas by testing the team’s thinking by considering potential risks or downsides of their ideas.
- Take notes: You can keep track of what other people are saying so that you can recall what has been discussed if any group members have questions.
Follow these five tips to shine during your Deloitte group case interview.
Tip #1: Treat your group members as teammates, not competition
The group case interview is not an exercise in which you are competing with others. Interviewers are trying to assess whether you would be a great teammate. Multiple people or even all people in your group can receive job offers.
Therefore, focus on adding value to the group rather than making yourself look better than your teammates.
Tip #2: Don’t speak too much, but don’t speak too little
If you speak too much, this may be seen as being too aggressive or controlling. If you speak too little, you may come off as shy or timid.
If you were to rank all of the members in your group by how much each person spoke, you would want to be roughly in the middle. This would be the perfect balance of speaking and listening.
Tip #3: Don’t interrupt or talk over your group members
Interrupting others when they are speaking is rude and disrespectful. You do not want to be inconsiderate or a jerk. Be nice and respectful to your group members.
Tip #4: Involve other people
If you observe that someone has not spoken much, ask them for their thoughts or opinions. If you notice that someone has been cut off when they were speaking, ask them to finish their thoughts after the person interrupting them has finished what they have to say.
These are easy ways to show interviewers that you are a considerate and helpful teammate.
Tip #5: Speak only if you are adding value to the group
Just because you are speaking a lot during the group case interview does not mean that you are doing well. Interviewers are not assessing you purely on the quantity of what you say. They care more about the quality.
Great teammates know when to speak and when to listen. Therefore, you should speak only if you are adding some kind of value to the group. Interviewers can tell when people are speaking for the sake of getting air time.
For a full guide on group case interviews, check out our consulting group case interview step-by-step guide .
Deloitte Behavioral and Fit Interview Questions
In addition to case interviews, you will likely be asked a few behavioral or fit interview questions. There are ten questions that are most commonly asked.
1. Why Deloitte?
How to answer: Provide your three biggest reasons why you’re interested in working at Deloitte. You could mention that you loved the people that you have met from Deloitte so far. You can talk about Deloitte’s massive global presence, their expertise in nearly any industry or function, or their professional development opportunities.
2. Why consulting?
How to answer: Again, provide three reasons for why you’re interested in consulting. You could mention the fast career progression opportunities, the learning opportunities to develop soft and hard skills, or the level of impact that you can make right away in consulting.
3. Walk me through your resume.
How to answer: Provide a concise summary of your work experience, starting with the most recent. Focus on emphasizing your most impressive and unique accomplishments. At the end, tie your experiences to why you are interested in consulting and why you would be a great fit for Deloitte.
4. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
How to answer: Choose your most impressive, unique, or memorable accomplishment. Structure your answer by providing information on the situation, the task, the actions you took, and the results of your work. Explain why the accomplishment is so meaningful to you and what qualities that reveals about you as a person.
5. Tell me about something that is not on your resume.
How to answer: This is a great opportunity to highlight an accomplishment that is not related to your professional work experience. Perhaps there is a non-profit that you volunteer at, a side project or business that you work on, or a hobby that you have won awards or recognition for. Select an accomplishment that is impressive and interesting.
6. Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team.
How to answer: If possible, choose a time when you directly managed a person or a team. For this question and the following similar questions, make sure that you structure your answer. Provide information on the situation, the task, the actions you took, and the results of your work. This is known as the STAR method and is the most common way of answering behavioral or fit interview questions.
7. Describe a time when you faced conflict or disagreement.
How to answer: When answering this question, focus on emphasizing the steps you took to resolve the conflict or disagreement. Speak about the interpersonal skills you had to use in order to mediate the situation. Interviewers want to know that you can handle conflict in a constructive way.
8. Give an example of a time when you successfully persuaded someone.
How to answer: Choose a time when you were able to change someone’s mind who originally disagreed with you. Focus on emphasizing the steps that you took to persuade that person and what impact this had on the organization. Interviewers want to know that you are a great communicator and have strong people skills.
9. Tell me about a time when you failed.
How to answer: Choose a time when you failed to meet a deadline or did not meet expectations. You do not want to pick a failure that is too big or embarrassing. Focus on emphasizing what you learned from the experience and how you used that experience to deliver even better results in the next opportunity that you got. Interviewers want to see that you strive to learn from your past failures and are always working to get better.
10. Are there any questions that you have for me?
How to answer: This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the interviewer on a more personal level. Ask them questions about their experience in consulting. Ask what their favorite case was or what they are looking to do next in their career. The more you can get the interviewer talking about themself, the more likely they will be to have a positive impression of you. People love talking about themselves, so make sure to listen attentively and ask follow-up questions.
For a step-by-step guide on how to best answer all of these questions and more, check out our complete guide on consulting behavioral interview questions .
Recommended Deloitte Case Interview Resources
To prepare for Deloitte case interviews, you can use a variety of different case interview prep books, online courses, and coaching. We'll cover each of these different categories of resources in more detail.
Deloitte Case Interview Prep Books
Case interview prep books are great resources to use because they are fairly inexpensive, only costing $20 to $30. They contain a tremendous amount of information that you can read, digest, and re-read at your own pace.
Based on our comprehensive review of the 12 popular case interview prep books , we ranked nearly all of the case prep books in the market.
The three case interview prep books we recommend using are:
- Hacking the Case Interview : In this book, learn exactly what to do and what to say in every step of the case interview. This is the perfect book for beginners that are looking to learn the basics of case interviews quickly.
- The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook : In this book, hone your case interview skills through 65+ problems tailored towards each type of question asked in case interviews and 15 full-length practice cases. This book is great for intermediates looking to get quality practice.
- Case Interview Secrets : This book provides great explanations of essential case interview concepts and fundamentals. The stories and anecdotes that the author provides are entertaining and help paint a clear picture of what to expect in a case interview, what interviewers are looking for, and how to solve a case interview.
Deloitte Case Interview Courses
Case interview courses are more expensive to use than case interview prep books, but offer more efficient and effective learning. You’ll learn much more quickly from watching someone teach you the material, provide examples, and then walk through practice problems than from reading a book by yourself.
Courses typically cost anywhere between $200 to $400.
If you are looking for a single resource to learn the best Deloitte case interview strategies in the most efficient way possible, enroll in our comprehensive case interview course .
Through 70+ concise video lessons and 20 full-length practice cases based on real interviews from top-tier consulting firms, you’ll learn step-by-step how to crush your Deloitte case interview.
We’ve had students pass their Deloitte first round interview with just a week of preparation, but know that your success depends on the amount of effort you put in and your starting capabilities.
Deloitte Case Interview Coaching
With case interview coaching, you’ll pay anywhere between $100 to $300 for a 40- to 60-minute mock case interview session with a case coach. Typically, case coaches are former consultants or interviewers that have worked at top-tier consulting firms.
Although very expensive, case interview coaching can provide you with high quality feedback that can significantly improve your case interview performance. By working with a case coach, you will be practicing high quality cases with an expert. You’ll get detailed feedback that ordinary case interview partners are not able to provide.
Know that you do not need to purchase case interview coaching to receive a consulting job offer. The vast majority of candidates that receive offers from top firms did not purchase case interview coaching. By purchasing case interview coaching, you are essentially purchasing convenience and learning efficiency.
Case interview coaching is best for those that have already learned as much as they can about case interviews on their own and feel that they have reached a plateau in their learning. For case interview beginners and intermediates, it may be a better use of their money to first purchase a case interview course or case interview prep book before purchasing expensive coaching sessions.
If you do decide to eventually use a case interview coach, consider using our case coaching service .
There is a wide range of quality among coaches, so ensure that you are working with someone that is invested in your development and success. If possible, ask for reviews from previous candidates that your coach has worked with.
Summary of the Best Deloitte Interview Resources
To prepare for Deloitte interviews as well as interviews from other consulting firms, we recommend the following resources:
For help landing consulting interviews
- Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews
For help passing case interviews
- Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
- Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.
- Hacking the Case Interview Book (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
- The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.
For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews
- Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.
Land Multiple Consulting Offers
Complete, step-by-step case interview course. 30,000+ happy customers.
35 Case Interviews Examples from MBB / Big Four Firms
Studying case interview examples is one of the first steps in preparing for the management consulting recruitment process. If you don’t want to spend hours searching the web, this article presents a comprehensive and convenient list for you – with 35 example cases, 16 case books, along with a case video accompanied by detailed feedback on tips and techniques.
A clear understanding of “what is a case interview” is essential for effective use of these examples. I suggest reading our Case Interview 101 guide, if you haven’t done so.
McKinsey case interview examples
Mckinsey practice cases.
- Diconsa Case
- Electro-Light Case
- GlobaPharm Case
- National Education Case
What should I know about McKinsey Case interviews?
At McKinsey, case interviews often follow the interviewer-led format , where the interviewer asks you multiple questions for you to answer with short pitches.
How do you nail these cases? Since the questions can be grouped into predictable types, an efficient approach is to master each question type. However, do that after you’ve mastered the case interview fundamentals!
For a detailed guide on interviewer-led cases, check out our article on McKinsey Case Interview .
BCG & Bain case interview examples
Bcg practice cases.
- BCG – Written Case – Chateau Boomerang
Bain practice cases
- Bain – Coffee Shop Co.
- Bain – Fashion Co.
- Bain – Mock Interview – Associate Consultant
- Bain – Mock Interview – Consultant
What should I know about BCG & Bain case interviews?
Unlike McKinsey, BCG and Bain case interviews typically follow the candidate-led format – which is the opposite of interviewer-led, with the candidate driving the case progress by actively breaking down problems in their own way.
The key to acing candidate-led cases is to master the case interview fundamental concepts as well as the frameworks.
Some BCG and Bain offices also utilize written case interviews – you have to go through a pile of data slides, select the most relevant ones to answer a set of interviewer questions, then deliver those answers in a presentation.
For a detailed guide on candidate-led cases, check out our article on BCG & Bain Case Interview .
Deloitte case interview examples
Deloitte practice cases.
Undergrad Cases
- Human Capital – Technology Institute
- Human Capital – Agency V
- Strategy – Federal Benefits Provider
- Strategy – Extreme Athletes
- Technology – Green Apron
- Technology – Big Bucks Bank
- Technology – Top Engine
- Technology – Finance Agency
Advanced Cases
- Human Capital – Civil Cargo Bureau
- Human Capital – Capital Airlines
- Strategy – Club Co
- Strategy – Health Agency
- Technology – Waste Management
- Technology – Bank of Zurich
- Technology – Galaxy Fitness
What should I know about Deloitte case interviews?
Case interviews at Deloitte also lean towards the candidate-led format like BCG and Bain.
The Deloitte consultant recruitment process also features group case interviews , which not only test analytical skills but also place a great deal on interpersonal handling.
Accenture case interview examples
Accenture divides its cases into three types with very cool-sounding names.
Sorted in descending order of popularity, they are:
These are similar to candidate-led cases at Bain and BCG. albeit shorter – the key is to develop a suitable framework and ask the right questions to extract data from the interviewer.
These are similar to the market-sizing and guesstimate questions asked in interviewer-led cases – demonstrate your calculations in structured, clear-cut, logical steps and you’ll nail the case.
These cases have you sort through a deluge of data to draw solutions; however, this type of case is rare.
Capital One case interview examples
Capital One is the odd one on this list – it is a bank-holding company. Nonetheless, this being one of the biggest banks in America, it’s interesting to see how its cases differ from the consulting ones.
Having gone through Capital One’s guide to its cases, I can’t help but notice the less-MECE structure of the sample answers. Additionally, there seems to be a greater focus on the numbers.
Nonetheless, having a solid knowledge of the basics of case interviews will not hurt you – if anything, your presentation will be much more in-depth, comprehensive, and understandable!
See Capital One Business Analyst Case Interview for an example case and answers.
Other firms case interview examples
Besides the leading ones, we have some examples from other major consulting firms as well.
- Oliver Wyman – Wumbleworld
- Oliver Wyman – Aqualine
- LEK – Cinema
- LEK – Market Sizing
- Kearney – Promotional Planning
- OC&C – Imported Spirits
- OC&C – Leisure Clubs
Consulting clubs case books
In addition to official cases, here are a few case books you can use as learning materials.
Do keep in mind: don’t base your study on frameworks and individual case types, but master the fundamentals so you can tackle any kind of case.
- Wharton Consulting Club Case Book
- Tuck Consulting Club Case Book
- MIT Sloan Consulting Club Case Book
- LBS Consulting Club Case Book
- Kellogg Consulting Club Case Book
- INSEAD Consulting Club Case Book
- Harvard Consulting Club Case Book
- ESADE Consulting Club Case Book
- Darden Consulting Club Case Book
- Berkeley Consulting Club Case Book
- Notre-Dame Consulting Club Case Book
- Illinois Consulting Club Case Book
- Columbia Consulting Club Case Book
- Duke Consulting Club Case Book
- Ross Consulting Club Case Book
- Kearney Case Book
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://image.mconsultingprep.com/fit-in/1000x1000/case_thumb/1669781962130_reading_list_bro.png)
Case interview example – Case video
The limitation of most official case interview examples is that they are either too short and vague, or in text format, or both.
To solve that problem for you, we’ve extracted a 30-minute-long, feedback-rich case sample from our Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program .
This is a candidate-led, profitability case on an internet music broadcasting company called Pandora.
In 30 minutes, this candidate demonstrates the exact kind of shortcoming that most candidates suffer during real case interviews – they come in with sharp business senses, then hurt their own chances with inadequate techniques.
Here are seven notable areas where the candidate (and you) can improve:
Thanking Throughout the case, as especially in the opening, he should have shown more appreciation for the time the interviewer spent with him.
Structured opening The candidate’s opening of the case feels unstructured. He could have improved it by not mixing the playback and clarification parts. You can learn to nail the case in a 3-minute start through this video on How to Open Any Case Perfectly .
Explicitness A lot of the candidate’s thought process remains in his head; in a case interview, it’s better to be as explicit as possible – draw your issue tree out and point to it as you speak; state your hypothesis when you move into a branch; when you receive data, acknowledge it out loud.
Avoiding silence The silence in his case performance is too long, including his timeout and various gaps in his speech; either ask for timeout (and keep it as short as possible) or think out loud to fill those gaps.
Proactivity The candidate relies too much on the interviewer (e.g: asking for data when it can easily be calculated); you don’t want to appear lazy before your interviewer, so avoid this.
Avoiding repeating mistakes Making one mistake twice is a big no-no in consulting interviews; one key part of the consulting skill set is the ability to learn, and repeating your mistakes (especially if the interviewer has pointed it out) makes you look like someone who doesn’t learn.
Note-taking Given the mistakes this candidate makes, he’s probably not taking his notes well. I can show you how to get it right if you watch this video on Case Interview Note-Taking .
Nonetheless, there are three good points you can learn from the candidate:
The candidate sums up what he’s covered and announces his upcoming approach at the start and at key points in the case – this is a very good habit that gives you a sense of direction and shows that you’re an organized person.
The candidate performs a “reality check” on whether his actions match the issue tree; in a case interview it’s easy to lose track of what you’re doing, so remember to do this every once in a while.
The candidate prompts the interviewer to give out more data than he asked for; if anything, this actually matches a habit of real consultants, and if you’re lucky, your interviewer may actually give out important pieces you haven’t thought of.
These are only part of the “ninja tips” taught In our Case Interview E2E Secrets Program – besides the math and business intuition for long-term development, a key feature is the instant-result tips and techniques for case interviews.
Once you’ve mastered them, you can nail any case they throw at you!
For more “quality” practice, let’s have a mock case interview with former consultants from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Oliver Wyman, Strategy& and many other consulting firms. They will help you identify your problem areas and give you actionable feedback, making your preparation much easier and faster.
Hi! This is Kim and welcome to another performance in the Tips & Techniques part of our amazing End-to-end program. You are about to hear a really interesting performance.
There is a common Myth that Profitability cases are easier. Well, for beginners, that’s may make sense, but I would argue that Profitability cases can be really tricky and candidates without good foundation will make about the same level of mistakes regardless of type of cases given.
The profitability case we are about to watch will show that. It’s a very unconventional
Profitability. It started out like a typical one but getting more and more tricky toward the end.
The candidate is fairly good in term of business intuition, but the Tips & Techniques aspect needs a lot of fine tune! Now let’s go ahead and get started!
It’s actually a little better to playback the case information and ask clarifications. The candidate does not distinguish between the two and do both at a same time. Also, the candidate was asking these clarifications in an unorganized and unstructured fashion. This is not something terrible, but could have been better, especially when this is the very first part of the case, where the crucial first impression is being formed.
My pitch would sound like this:
“That’s a very interesting problem and I am happy to get the chance to solve it. First of all let me tell you my understanding of the case context and key objectives. Then I would like to ask a few clarifying questions regarding a few terminology and concepts. Both of these are to make sure that I will be solving the right problem.
So here is my understanding of the case: The client is ABC. Here are some DEF facts about the situation we just talked about. And the key case question is XYZ.
Does that correctly and adequately summarize the case?”
Once the interviewer confirms, I would move to the clarification part as follows: “Now I would like to ask a few clarification questions. There are three of them: No 1, … No 2, … and No 3, …”
You may see above pitch as obvious but that’s a perfect example of how you should open any cases. Every details matters. We will point out those details in just a second. But before we do that, it’s actually very helpful if you can go back, listen carefully to the above pitch, and try to point out the great components yourselves. Only after that, go back to this point and learn it all together.
Alright, let’s break down the perfect opening.
First of all, you hear me say: “That’s a very interesting problem and I am happy to get a chance to solve it”. This seems trivial but very beneficial in multiple ways:
1. I bought myself a couple of seconds to calm down and get focused. 2. By nature, we as human unconsciously like those who give us compliments. Nothing better than opening the case with a modest compliment to the interviewer.
And (c) I showed my great attitude towards the case, which the interviewer would assume is the same for real future consulting business problems.
You should do that in your interviews too. Say it and accompany it with the best smile you can give. It shows that you are not afraid of any problems. In fact, you love them and you are always ready for them.
Secondly, I did what I refer to as the “map habit”, which is to always say what you are about to do and then do it. Just like somebody in the car showing the drivers the route before cruising on the road. The driver would love it. This is where I said: “Let me tell you my understanding of the case context and key objectives. Then ABC…”.
Third, right at the beginning of the case, I try to be crystal clear and easy to follow. I don’t let the interviewer confused between playing the case vs. asking clarification questions. I distinguish between the two really carefully. This habit probably doesn’t change the outcome of how the case goes that much, but it certainly significantly changes the impression the interviewer has of me.
Fourth, in playing back the case, each person would have a different way to re-phrase. But there are three buckets to always include:
1. Who is the client 2. The facts regarding the client and the situation and (c) The key question and the objective of the case.
Fifth, after playing the case context and objectives, I pause for a second and ALIGN with the interviewer: “Does it correctly and adequately summarize the case?”. This is a habit that every consulting manager loves for young consultants to do. Nobody wants first-year folks to spend weeks of passion and hard-work building an excel model that the team can’t use. This habit is extensively taught at McKinsey, Bain and BCG, so therefore interviewers would love somebody that exhibits this habit often in case interview.
Lastly, when asking clarification questions, you hear me number them very carefully to create the strong impression that I am very organized and structured. I said I have three clarifying questions. Then I number them as I go through each. No.1, No.2, and No.3.
Sometimes, during interviews it’s hard to know exactly how many items you are going to get. One way is to take timeout often to carefully plan your pitch. If this is not possible in certain situations, you may skip telling how many items you have; but you should definitely still number your question: No.1, No.2; and so on.
Just a moment ago, the candidate actually exhibited a good habit. After going through his clarification questions, the candidate ended by asking the “is there anything else” question. In this case, I actually give out an important piece of data.
Though this is not very common as not every interviewer is that generous in giving out data. But this is a habit management consultants have to have every day when talking to experts, clients, or key stakeholders. The key is to get the most data and insights out of every interview and this is the type of open-ended question every consultant asks several times a day.
To show of this habit in a case interview is very good!
There are three things I would like you to pay attention to:
First, it took the candidate up to 72 seconds to “gather his thoughts”. This is a little too long in a case interview. I intentionally leave the 72 seconds of silence in the recording so you get an idea of how long that is in real situations. But it’s worth-noting here is not only that. While in some very complicated and weird cases, it’s ok to take that long to really think and gather ideas. In this case, the approach as proposed by the candidate is very simple. For this very approach, I think no more than 15 to 20 seconds should be used.
No.2, with that said, I have told I really like the fact that this candidate exhibits the “map” habit. Before going straight to the approach he draws the overall approach first.
No.3. You also see here that the candidate tried to align the approach with me by asking my thoughts on it. As I just said on the previous comment, this is a great habit to have. Not only does it help reduce chance of going into the wrong direction in case interviews, but it also creates a good impression. Consulting interviewers love people doing it often!
Here we see a not-really-bad response that for sure could be much better. The candidate was going into the first branch of the analysis which is Revenue. I would fix this in 3 aspects:
First, even though we just talked about the overall approach, it’s still better to briefly set up the issue tree first then clearly note that you are going into one branch.
Second, this is not a must, but I always try to make my hypothesis as explicitly clear as possible. Here the candidate just implicitly made a hypothesis that the problem is on the revenue side. The best way to show our hypothesis-driven mindset is to explicitly say it.
Third, you hear this a ton of times in our End-to-End program but I am going to repeat it again and again. It is better to show the habit of aligning here too. Don’t just go into revenue, before doing that, give the interviewer a chance to agree or to actually guide you to Cost.
So, summarizing the above insights, my pitch would sound something like this:
“So as we just discussed, a profit problem is either caused by revenue or by cost. Unless you would like to go into cost first, let’s hypothesize that the problem is on revenue side. I would like to look deeper into Revenue. Do we have any data on the revenue?”
And while saying this, you should literally draw an issue tree and point to each as you speak.
There is an interesting case interview tip I want to point out here. Notice how the candidate responds after receiving two data points from me. He went straight into the next question without at least acknowledging the data received and also without briefly analyzing it.
I am glad that the candidate makes this mistakes… well, not glad for him but for the greater audience of this program. I would like to introduce to you the perfect habit of what you should react and do every time you have any piece of data during case interviews. So three things you need to do:
Step 1: Say … that’s an interesting piece of data. This helps the interviewer acknowledge that you have received and understand the data. This also buys you a little time. And furthermore, it’s always a good thing to give out modest compliments to the interviewer.
Step 2: Describe the data, how it looks, is there any special noteworthy trend? In this case, we should point out that revenue actually grew by more than 50%.
Also notice here that I immediately quantified the difference in specific quantitative measurement (in this case, percentage). Saying revenue went up is good, but it’s great to be able to say revenue went up by more than 50%.
Step 3: Link the trend identified back to the original case question and the hypothesis you have. Does it prove, disprove, or open up new investigation to really test the hypothesis? In this case, this data piece actually opened up new investigating areas to test the hypothesis that the bottleneck is within revenue.
My sample pitch for this step 3 would sound like this: “It’s interesting that revenue went up quite a bit. However, to be able to fully reject our hypothesis on the revenue, I would like to compare our revenue to that of the competitors as well.”
Then only at this point, after going through 3 steps above, I ask for the competitors’ revenue like the candidate did.
Notice here that I ended up asking the same question the candidate did. This shows that the candidate does have a good intuition and thought process. It’s just that he did all of these implicitly on his head.
In consulting case interview, it’s always good to do everything as explicitly as possible. Not only is it easier to follow but it helps show your great thought process.
… the rest of the transcript is available in our End To End Case Interview
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Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program
Elevate your case interview skills with a well-rounded preparation package
Preparing for case interviews is a hard task when you only have 1 week, so the first part you need to learn during this time is fundamentals of case interview
Case interview in consulting is difficult with the passing rate is around 10%. This is because big consulting firms keep an extremely high recruitment standard
A case interview is where candidates is asked to solve a business problem. They are used by consulting firms to evaluate problem-solving skill & soft skills
Practice a case
Case interviews represent real client engagements giving you insight into our approach and the work we do. It also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate clear thinking, practical judgment, and a professional demeanor, while helping us assess your thought process, creativity, and comfort with ambiguity.
How to use this tool:.
You will be presented with an example of a real-life business situation, along with a series of questions.
Answer each question to the best of your ability, then check your work.
At any time, you can access the business situation in the upper right corner.
Please note: This is not an assessment and we do not track your responses or results. You can practice as often as you'd like.
Completion time: 15/20 min
Practice a case interview
Please note that cases may differ in format and level of detail depending on the duration of the interview, but remember in the actual interview, we will be looking at your ability to think through a problem versus any specific technical skill or subject matter knowledge.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am an advanced degree student, i am an undergraduate student, i am an undergraduate student, choose your intended area in order to access cases related to it, strategy cases, finance strategy: federal health agency, leadauto: market expansion, talent management: federal civil cargo protection bureau, previous, business technology solution cases, strategy cases, architecture strategy: federal finance agency, medx: the smart pill bottle, business technology solution cases , engagement strategy: federal agency v, recreation unlimited, strategic vision: federal benefits provider.
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Case interview tips
Cases can help us assess a candidate across multiple dimensions, and your answers should project clear thinking, practical judgment, and a professional demeanor. Apply this five-step approach while working through the case interview:
![tech case study interview](https://iuploads.scribblecdn.net/9b4f777a-02a2-49df-b235-2cec600fcdb2/global/imagelib/uncategorized/consulting_case_prep_understand-899732e7f4002e4a12388802f678ab9de0511f43.png?v=08292023194605)
For more guidance on what we look for:
Explore consulting careers for undergrad and graduate students.
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bcCwMPujeCQ/hqdefault.jpg)
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Work everywhere—right here at deloitte. work with people from every industry, every discipline, and every corner of the world, follow life at deloitte.
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100 Best Case Study Questions for Your Next Customer Spotlight
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Published: November 29, 2022
Case studies and testimonials are helpful to have in your arsenal. But to build an effective library, you need to ask the right case study questions. You also need to know how to write a case study .
![tech case study interview marketing team coming up with case study questions](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case%20study%20questions.jpg?width=595&height=400&name=case%20study%20questions.jpg)
Case studies are customers' stories that your sales team can use to share relevant content with prospects . Not only that, but case studies help you earn a prospect's trust, show them what life would be like as your customer, and validate that your product or service works for your clients.
Before you start building your library of case studies, check out our list of 100 case study questions to ask your clients. With this helpful guide, you'll have the know-how to build your narrative using the " Problem-Agitate-Solve " Method.
![tech case study interview Download Now: 3 Free Case Study Templates](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/53/d9168e25-63d1-4ff5-aea9-9820a5de6a56.png)
What makes a good case study questionnaire?
The ultimate list of case study questions, how to ask your customer for a case study, creating an effective case study.
Certain key elements make up a good case study questionnaire.
A questionnaire should never feel like an interrogation. Instead, aim to structure your case study questions like a conversation. Some of the essential things that your questionnaire should cover include:
- The problem faced by the client before choosing your organization.
- Why they chose your company.
- How your product solved the problem clients faced.
- The measurable results of the service provided.
- Data and metrics that prove the success of your service or product, if possible.
You can adapt these considerations based on how your customers use your product and the specific answers or quotes that you want to receive.
What makes a good case study question?
A good case study question delivers a powerful message to leads in the decision stage of your prospective buyer's journey.
Since your client has agreed to participate in a case study, they're likely enthusiastic about the service you provide. Thus, a good case study question hands the reins over to the client and opens a conversation.
Try asking open-ended questions to encourage your client to talk about the excellent service or product you provide.
Free Case Study Templates
Tell us about yourself to access the templates..
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Categories for the Best Case Study Questions
- Case study questions about the customer's business
- Case study questions about the environment before the purchase
- Case study questions about the decision process
- Case study questions about the customer's business case
- Case study questions about the buying team and internal advocates
- Case study questions about customer success
- Case study questions about product feedback
- Case study questions about willingness to make referrals
- Case study question to prompt quote-worthy feedback
- Case study questions about the customers' future goals
![tech case study interview tech case study interview](https://offers.hubspot.com/hubfs/Case%20Study%20Creation%20Kit%2001-300.png)
Showcase your company's success using these three free case study templates.
- Data-Driven Case Study Template
- Product-Specific Case Study Template
- General Case Study Template
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Case Study Interview Questions About the Customer's Business
Knowing the customer's business is an excellent way of setting the tone for a case study.
Use these questions to get some background information about the company and its business goals. This information can be used to introduce the business at the beginning of the case study — plus, future prospects might resonate with their stories and become leads for you.
- Would you give me a quick overview of [company]? This is an opportunity for the client to describe their business in their own words. You'll get useful background information and it's an easy prompt to get the client talking.
- Can you describe your role? This will give you a better idea of the responsibilities they are subject to.
- How do your role and team fit into the company and its goals? Knowing how the team functions to achieve company goals will help you formulate how your solution involves all stakeholders.
- How long has your company been in business? Getting this information will help the reader gauge if pain points are specific to a startup or new company vs. a veteran company.
- How many employees do you have? Another great descriptor for readers to have. They can compare the featured company size with their own.
- Is your company revenue available? If so, what is it? This will give your readers background information on the featured company's gross sales.
- Who is your target customer? Knowing who the target audience is will help you provide a better overview of their market for your case study readers.
- How does our product help your team or company achieve its objectives? This is one of the most important questions because it is the basis of the case study. Get specifics on how your product provided a solution for your client. You want to be able to say "X company implemented our solution and achieved Y. "
- How are our companies aligned (mission, strategy, culture, etc.)? If any attributes of your company's mission or culture appealed to the client, call it out.
How many people are on your team? What are their roles? This will help describe key players within the organization and their impact on the implementation of your solution.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_5](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_5.webp?width=1124&height=598&name=case-study-questions_5.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About the Environment Before the Purchase
A good case study is designed to build trust. Ask clients to describe the tools and processes they used before your product or service. These kinds of case study questions will highlight the business' need they had to fulfill and appeal to future clients.
- What was your team's process prior to using our product? This will give the reader a baseline to compare the results for your company's product.
- Were there any costs associated with the process prior to using our product? Was it more expensive? Was it worth the cost? How did the product affect the client's bottom line? This will be a useful metric to disclose if your company saved the client money or was more cost-efficient.
- What were the major pain points of your process prior to using our product? Describe these obstacles in detail. You want the reader to get as much information on the problem as possible as it sets up the reasoning for why your company's solution was implemented.
- Did our product replace a similar tool or is this the first time your team is using a product like this? Were they using a similar product? If so, having this information may give readers a reason to choose your brand over the competition.
- What other challenges were you and your team experiencing prior to using our product? The more details you can give readers regarding the client's struggles, the better. You want to paint a full picture of the challenges the client faced and how your company resolved them.
- Were there any concerns about how your customers would be impacted by using our product? Getting answers to this question will illustrate to readers the client's concerns about switching to your service. Your readers may have similar concerns and reading how your client worked through this process will be helpful.
- Why didn't you buy our product or a similar product earlier? Have the client describe any hesitations they had using your product. Their concerns may be relatable to potential leads.
- Were there any "dealbreakers" involved in your decision to become a customer? Describing how your company was able to provide a solution that worked within those parameters demonstrates how accommodating your brand is and how you put the customer first. It's also great to illustrate any unique challenges the client had. This better explains their situation to the reader.
- Did you have to make any changes you weren't anticipating once you became a customer? Readers of your case study can learn how switching to your product came with some unexpected changes (good or bad) and how they navigated them. If you helped your client with troubleshooting, ask them to explain that here.
How has your perception of the product changed since you've become a customer? Get the interviewee to describe how your product changed how they do business. This includes how your product accomplished what they previously thought was impossible.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_7](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_7.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_7.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About the Decision Process
Readers of the case study will be interested in which factors influenced the decision-making process for the client. If they can relate to that process, there's a bigger chance they'll buy your product.
The answers to these questions will help potential customers through their decision-making process.
- How did you hear about our product? If the client chose to work with you based on a recommendation or another positive case study, include that. It will demonstrate that you are a trusted brand with an established reputation for delivering results.
- How long had you been looking for a solution to this problem? This will add to the reader's understanding of how these particular challenges impacted the company before choosing your product.
- Were you comparing alternative solutions? Which ones? This will demonstrate to readers that the client explored other options before choosing your company.
- Would you describe a few of the reasons you decided to buy our product? Ask the interviewee to describe why they chose your product over the competition and any benefits your company offered that made you stand out.
- What were the criteria you used when deciding to buy our product? This will give readers more background insight into the factors that impacted their decision-making process.
- Were there any high-level initiatives or goals that prompted the decision to buy? For example, was this decision motivated by a company-wide vision? Prompt your clients to discuss what lead to the decision to work with you and how you're the obvious choice.
- What was the buying process like? Did you notice anything exceptional or any points of friction? This is an opportunity for the client to comment on how seamless and easy you make the buying process. Get them to describe what went well from start to finish.
- How would you have changed the buying process, if at all? This is an opportunity for you to fine-tune your process to accommodate future buyers.
- Who on your team was involved in the buying process? This will give readers more background on the key players involved from executives to project managers. With this information, readers can see who they may potentially need to involve in the decision-making process on their teams.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_10](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_10.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_10.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About the Customer's Business Case
Your case study questions should ask about your product or solution's impact on the customer's employees, teams, metrics, and goals. These questions allow the client to praise the value of your service and tell others exactly what benefits they derived from it.
When readers review your product or service's impact on the client, it enforces the belief that the case study is credible.
- How long have you been using our product? This will help readers gauge how long it took to see results and your overall satisfaction with the product or service.
- How many different people at your company use our product? This will help readers gauge how they can adapt the product to their teams if similar in size.
- Are there multiple departments or teams using our product? This will demonstrate how great of an impact your product has made across departments.
- How do you and your team currently use the product? What types of goals or tasks are you using the product to accomplish? Get specifics on how the product actively helps the client achieve their goals.
- If other teams or departments are using our product, do you know how they're using it? With this information, leads can picture how they can use your product across their teams and how it may improve their workflow and metrics.
- What was the most obvious advantage you felt our product offered during the sales process? The interviewee should explain the benefits they've gained from using your product or service. This is important for convincing other leads you are better than the competition.
- Were there any other advantages you discovered after using the product more regularly? Your interviewee may have experienced some additional benefits from using your product. Have them describe in detail what these advantages are and how they've helped the company improve.
- Are there any metrics or KPIs you track with our product? What are they? The more numbers and data the client can provide, the better.
- Were you tracking any metrics prior to using our product? What were they? This will allow readers to get a clear, before-and-after comparison of using your product.
- How has our product impacted your core metrics? This is an opportunity for your clients to drive home how your product assisted them in hitting their metrics and goals.
Case Study Interview Questions About the Buying Team and Internal Advocates
See if there are any individuals at the customer's company who are advocates for your product.
- Are there any additional team members you consider to be advocates for our product? For example, does anyone stick out as a "power user" or product expert on your team? You may want to interview and include these power users in your case study as well. Consider asking them for tips on using your service or product.
- Is there anyone else on your team you think we should talk to? Again, the more people can share their experience using your product, the better.
- Are there any team members who you think might not be the biggest fans of our product or who might need more training? Providing extra support to those struggling with your product may improve their user experience and turn into an opportunity to not only learn about their obstacles but turn them into a product fan
- Would you share some details about how your team implemented our product? Get as much information as possible about the rollout. Hopefully, they'll gush about how seamless the process was.
- Who from your company was involved in implementing our product? This will give readers more insight into who needs to be involved for a successful rollout of their own.
- Were there any internal risks or additional costs involved with implementing our product? If so, how did you address them? This will give insight into the client's process and rollout and this case study question will likely provide tips on what potential leads should be on the lookout for.
- Is there a training process in place for your team's use of our product? If so, what does it look like? If your company provided support and training to the client, have them describe that experience.
- About how long does it take a new team member to get up to speed with our product? This will help leads determine how much time it will take to onboard an employee to your using your product. If a new user can quickly get started seamlessly, it bodes well for you.
- What was your main concern about rolling this product out to your company? Describing their challenges in detail will provide readers with useful insight.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_8](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_8.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_8.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About Customer Success
Has the customer found success with your product? Ask these questions to learn more.
- By using our product can you measure any reduced costs? If it has, you'll want to emphasize those savings in your case study.
- By using our product can you measure any improvements in productivity or time savings? Any metrics or specific stories your interviewee can provide will help demonstrate the value of your product.
- By using our product can you measure any increases in revenue or growth? Again, say it with numbers and data whenever possible.
- Are you likely to recommend our product to a friend or colleague? Recommendations from existing customers are some of the best marketing you can get.
- How has our product impacted your success? Your team's success? Getting the interviewee to describe how your product played an integral role in solving their challenges will show leads that they can also have success using your product.
- In the beginning, you had XYZ concerns; how do you feel about them now? Let them explain how working with your company eliminated those concerns.
- I noticed your team is currently doing XYZ with our product. Tell me more about how that helps your business. Illustrate to your readers how current customers are using your product to solve additional challenges. It will convey how versatile your product is.
- Have you thought about using our product for a new use case with your team or at your company? The more examples of use cases the client can provide, the better.
- How do you measure the value our product provides? Have the interviewee illustrate what metrics they use to gauge the product's success and how. Data is helpful, but you should go beyond the numbers. Maybe your product improved company morale and how teams work together.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_6](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_6.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_6.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About Product Feedback
Ask the customer if they'd recommend your product to others. A strong recommendation will help potential clients be more open to purchasing your product.
- How do other companies in this industry solve the problems you had before you purchased our product? This will give you insight into how other companies may be functioning without your product and how you can assist them.
- Have you ever talked about our product to any of your clients or peers? What did you say? This can provide you with more leads and a chance to get a referral.
- Why would you recommend our product to a friend or client? Be sure they pinpoint which features they would highlight in a recommendation.
- Can you think of any use cases your customers might have for our product? Similar industries may have similar issues that need solutions. Your interviewee may be able to provide a use case you haven't come up with.
- What is your advice for other teams or companies who are tackling problems similar to those you had before you purchased our product? This is another opportunity for your client to talk up your product or service.
- Do you know someone in X industry who has similar problems to the ones you had prior to using our product? The client can make an introduction so you can interview them about their experience as well.
- I noticed you work with Company Y. Do you know if they are having any pain points with these processes? This will help you learn how your product has impacted your client's customers and gain insight into what can be improved.
- Does your company participate in any partner or referral programs? Having a strong referral program will help you increase leads and improve customer retention.
- Can I send you a referral kit as a thank-you for making a referral and give you the tools to refer someone to us? This is a great strategy to request a referral while rewarding your existing customers.
- Are you interested in working with us to produce additional marketing content? The more opportunities you can showcase happy customers, the better.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_11](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_11.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_11.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About Willingness to Make Referrals
- How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or client? Ideally, they would definitely refer your product to someone they know.
- Can you think of any use cases your customers might have for our product? Again, your interviewee is a great source for more leads. Similar industries may have similar issues that need solutions. They may be able to provide a use case you haven't come up with.
- I noticed you work with Company Y; do you know if they are having any pain points with these processes? This will help you learn how your product has impacted your client's customers and gain insight into what can be improved.
Case Study Interview Questions to Prompt Quote-Worthy Feedback
Enhance your case study with quotable soundbites from the customer. By asking these questions, prospects have more insight into other clients and their success with your product — which helps build trust.
- How would you describe your process in one sentence prior to using our product? Ideally, this sentence would quickly and descriptively sum up the most prominent pain point or challenge with the previous process.
- What is your advice to others who might be considering our product? Readers can learn from your customer's experience.
- What would your team's workflow or process be like without our product? This will drive home the value your product provides and how essential it is to their business.
- Do you think the investment in our product was worthwhile? Why? Have your customer make the case for the value you provide.
- What would you say if we told you our product would soon be unavailable? What would this mean to you? Again, this illustrates how integral your product is to their business.
- How would you describe our product if you were explaining it to a friend? Your customers can often distill the value of your product to their friends better than you can.
- What do you love about your job? Your company? This gives the reader more background on your customer and their industry.
- What was the worst part of your process before you started using our product? Ideally, they'd reiterate how your product helped solve this challenge.
- What do you love about our product? Another great way to get the customer's opinion about what makes your product worth it.
- Why do you do business with us? Hopefully, your interviewee will share how wonderful your business relationship is.
![tech case study interview case-study-questions_0](https://www.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/case-study-questions_0.webp?width=2000&height=1047&name=case-study-questions_0.webp)
Case Study Interview Questions About the Customers' Future Goals
Ask the customer about their goals, challenges, and plans for the future. This will provide insight into how a business can grow with your product.
- What are the biggest challenges on the horizon for your industry? Chances are potential leads within the same industry will have similar challenges.
- What are your goals for the next three months? Knowing their short-term goals will enable your company to get some quick wins for the client.
- How would you like to use our product to meet those challenges and goals? This will help potential leads understand that your product can help their business as they scale and grow.
- Is there anything we can do to help you and your team meet your goals? If you haven't covered it already, this will allow your interviewee to express how you can better assist them.
- Do you think you will buy more, less, or about the same amount of our product next year? This can help you gauge how your product is used and why.
- What are the growth plans for your company this year? Your team? This will help you gain insight into how your product can help them achieve future goals.
- How can we help you meet your long-term goals? Getting specifics on the needs of your clients will help you create a unique solution designed for their needs.
- What is the long-term impact of using our product? Get their feedback on how your product has created a lasting impact.
- Are there any initiatives that you personally would like to achieve that our product or team can help with? Again, you want to continue to provide products that help your customers excel.
- What will you need from us in the future? This will help you anticipate the customer's business needs.
- Is there anything we can do to improve our product or process for working together in the future? The more feedback you can get about what is and isn't working, the better.
Before you can start putting together your case study, you need to ask your customer's permission.
If you have a customer who's seen success with your product, reach out to them. Use this template to get started:
Thank you & quick request
Hi [customer name],
Thanks again for your business — working with you to [solve X, launch Y, take advantage of Z opportunity] has been extremely rewarding, and I'm looking forward to more collaboration in the future.
[Name of your company] is building a library of case studies to include on our site. We're looking for successful companies using [product] to solve interesting challenges, and your team immediately came to mind. Are you open to [customer company name] being featured?
It should be a lightweight process — [I, a product marketer] will ask you roughly [10, 15, 20] questions via email or phone about your experience and results. This case study will include a blurb about your company and a link to your homepage (which hopefully will make your SEO team happy!)
In any case, thank you again for the chance to work with you, and I hope you have a great week.
[Your name]
If one of your customers has recently passed along some praise (to you, their account manager, your boss; on an online forum; to another potential customer; etc.), then send them a version of this email:
Hey [customer name],
Thanks for the great feedback — I'm really glad to hear [product] is working well for you and that [customer company name] is getting the results you're looking for.
My team is actually in the process of building out our library of case studies, and I'd love to include your story. Happy to provide more details if you're potentially interested.
Either way, thank you again, and I look forward to getting more updates on your progress.
You can also find potential case study customers by usage or product data. For instance, maybe you see a company you sold to 10 months ago just bought eight more seats or upgraded to a new tier. Clearly, they're happy with the solution. Try this template:
I saw you just [invested in our X product; added Y more users; achieved Z product milestone]. Congratulations! I'd love to share your story using [product] with the world -- I think it's a great example of how our product + a dedicated team and a good strategy can achieve awesome results.
Are you open to being featured? If so, I'll send along more details.
Case Study Benefits
- Case studies are a form of customer advocacy.
- Case studies provide a joint-promotion opportunity.
- Case studies are easily sharable.
- Case studies build rapport with your customers.
- Case studies are less opinionated than customer reviews.
1. Case studies are a form of customer advocacy.
If you haven't noticed, customers aren't always quick to trust a brand's advertisements and sales strategies.
With every other brand claiming to be the best in the business, it's hard to sort exaggeration from reality.
This is the most important reason why case studies are effective. They are testimonials from your customers of your service. If someone is considering your business, a case study is a much more convincing piece of marketing or sales material than traditional advertising.
2. Case studies provide a joint-promotion opportunity.
Your business isn't the only one that benefits from a case study. Customers participating in case studies benefit, too.
Think about it. Case studies are free advertisements for your customers, not to mention the SEO factor, too. While they're not promoting their products or services, they're still getting the word out about their business. And, the case study highlights how successful their business is — showing interested leads that they're on the up and up.
3. Case studies are easily sharable.
No matter your role on the sales team, case studies are great to have on hand. You can easily share them with leads, prospects, and clients.
Whether you embed them on your website or save them as a PDF, you can simply send a link to share your case study with others. They can share that link with their peers and colleagues, and so on.
Case studies can also be useful during a sales pitch. In sales, timing is everything. If a customer is explaining a problem that was solved and discussed in your case study, you can quickly find the document and share it with them.
4. Case studies build rapport with your customers.
While case studies are very useful, they do require some back and forth with your customers to obtain the exact feedback you're looking for.
Even though time is involved, the good news is this builds rapport with your most loyal customers. You get to know them on a personal level, and they'll become more than just your most valuable clients.
And, the better the rapport you have with them, the more likely they'll be to recommend your business, products, or services to others.
5. Case studies are less opinionated than customer reviews.
Data is the difference between a case study and a review. Customer reviews are typically based on the customer's opinion of your brand. While they might write a glowing review, it's completely subjective and there's rarely empirical evidence supporting their claim.
Case studies, on the other hand, are more data-driven. While they'll still talk about how great your brand is, they support this claim with quantitative data that's relevant to the reader. It's hard to argue with data.
An effective case study must be genuine and credible. Your case study should explain why certain customers are the right fit for your business and how your company can help meet their specific needs. That way, someone in a similar situation can use your case study as a testimonial for why they should choose your business.
Use the case study questions above to create an ideal customer case study questionnaire. By asking your customers the right questions, you can obtain valuable feedback that can be shared with potential leads and convert them into loyal customers.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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COMMENTS
Generally, you'll want to follow these six steps. 1. Understand the case. Your technology case interview will begin with the interviewer giving you the case background information. While the interviewer is speaking, make sure that you are taking meticulous notes on the most important pieces of information.
Walk the interviewer through your ideas and opinions. Deliver a recommendation out loud: Just as you would do in a real case interview, ask for a brief moment to collect your thoughts and review your notes. Once you have decided on a recommendation, present your recommendation to the interviewer. 3.
Solving a technology case interview is very similar to working through any traditional case study. As with most case interviews, you should follow the following steps to succeed: Recap, Probe, & Understand ... Technology case interviews can address a wide variety of tech-focused problems. Here are a few example prompts for technology cases ...
During the case interview, an interviewer presents a situation and asks the candidate to explore the underlying causes of the problem. The candidate is then expected to perform an analysis and provide advice on how to handle the scenario. In the IT realm, the candidate may be asked to demonstrate how that advice might be implemented in order to ...
Tip #4 - Talk through your calculations out loud: This decreases the likelihood of making a mistake and helps the interviewer follow what you are doing. Tip #5 - Structure your answer to qualitative questions: Use a simple two-part framework such as internal/external, short-term/long-term, or economic/non-economic.
Vault Guide to the Case Interview. This guide is full of information to help you prepare for a case interview. It goes over what to expect, the different types of questions, frameworks, and has more than 50 sample cases. Vault Case Interview Practice Guide. This guide has 27 case interview questions long with a step-by-step analysis of each case.
To be successful during a case study interview, be mindful of potential questions an interviewer may ask. Knowing these questions can serve you as a guide to help prioritize the most important elements asked in an interview. 4. Practice interviewing with different use cases and the delivery of your responses.
By Enguerran Loos, Founder of CaseCoach. Updated on 20 February 2024. The case interview is a challenging interview format that simulates the job of a management consultant, testing candidates across a wide range of problem-solving dimensions. McKinsey, BCG and Bain - along with other top consulting firms - use the case interview because it ...
1. The key to landing your consulting job. Case interviews - where you are asked to solve a business case study under scrutiny - are the core of the selection process right across McKinsey, Bain and BCG (the "MBB" firms). This interview format is also used pretty much universally across other high-end consultancies; including LEK, Kearney ...
Tips for standing out in the case-study interview: Take your time; don't rush it. Talk through the problem. If you can't make sense of it, take a moment and allow yourself some time to process what you've been missing. If you get stuck, get creative. Don't let yourself get bogged down; rely on your ingenuity. Ask questions.
12. Capital One case interview examples. Case interview example video walkthrough (Capital One website) Capital One case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer) 12. EY Parthenon case interview examples. Candidate-led case example with feedback (by IGotAnOffer) 14. Consulting clubs case interview examples. Berkeley case book (2006) Columbia case book ...
Deloitte case interview examples: here (more than 15 case interview examples) Deloitte case interview example: Federal Agency. Deloitte case interview example: Recreation Unlimited. Deloitte case interview example: Federal benefits Provider. Deloitte case interview example: Federal Civil Cargo protection Bureau.
Case Interview Frameworks: Ultimate Guide. The case interview is the ultimate challenge for most consulting candidates. Whether you're just starting your preparation or you are 30 practice cases in, it's helpful to familiarize yourself with the most popular case interview frameworks. However, the goal is not to memorize the case study ...
Understand the case situation and what is being asked. Analyze the case issues and potential solutions in a structured manner. Make certain your thought processes are transparent to the interviewer. Be creative, yet practical—use your business judgment and give specifics. Take notes.
For a case that takes around 30 - 40 minutes, spend at least 15 - 20 minutes for feedback. Much of your learning and improvement will come from these feedback sessions. Do not move onto the next step until you have done at least 5 - 10 cases and are beginning to feel comfortable with case interviews. 5.
10 example cases with 100+ real-time feedbacks on tips and techniques, 50+ exercises on business intuition and 1300+ questions for math practice! Learning 35 case interview examples, 16 casebooks, and a feedback-rich case video help you to best preparing for the management consulting recruitment process.
Case interview tips. Cases can help us assess a candidate across multiple dimensions, and your answers should project clear thinking, practical judgment, and a professional demeanor. Apply this five-step approach while working through the case interview: Understand the issue; ask clarifying questions as needed.
You were definitely a huge help in preparing for the interviews. - L.S. Case Interview Questions for Tech Companies provides 155 practice questions and answers to conquer case interviews for the following tech roles: marketing, operations, finance, strategy, business development, vendor management and product management.
Follow Along! Did you know case interviews are usually different for technology consulting case interviews? In today's video, we go through a real mock inter...
Here are some case study interview examples. You can utilise these samples to gain a better sense of how interviewers may pose case interview questions and what subjects they may address: 1. A hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a customer of a corporation. Their core consumer base consists primarily of international visitors.
Get expert case interview coaching: https://managementconsulted.com/black-belt/In this BCG mock case interview, Erick walks through a technology case study. ...
100 Case Study Interview Questions [Updated for 2020] Brittany Fuller. Published: November 29, 2022. Case studies and testimonials are helpful to have in your arsenal. But to build an effective library, you need to ask the right case study questions. You also need to know how to write a case study. Case studies are customers' stories that your ...
US tech companies has boosted shareholder returns and supported higher valuations. 1 Based on a single-stage dividend discount model. Assuming the same payout ratio since 1900 (as many US tech stocks do not pay dividends) results in slightly lower implied real growth of 3.9%. The emergence of generative AI and related potential task
Tensions are on a knife edge after Israel carried out a strike on the Hezbollah leader allegedly behind an attack in the Golan Heights.