When applying to top consulting firms, one of the most crucial stages of the interview process is the case interview. This format is designed to assess your analytical competencies, problem-solving skills, and ability to think strategically under pressure. Let's take a look at what to expect.
A case interview is a 30-minute simulation of a typical business project that consultants may have worked on. Cases provide a real example of an on-the-job experience and the assumption is that if a candidate is successfully able to tackle a case interview, he or she is also more likely to be a successful management consultant.
Case studies are the most important and usually the longest part of consulting interviews. In addition to the case study, the interview typically includes introductory small talk, a personal fit interview, and closing questions (see the illustration below).
Many companies review and standardize their consulting cases prior to a real interview to ensure that the case is neither too difficult nor too easy. Companies also ensure that a variety of skills are tested during the interviews.
The Typical Flow of a Case Interview
The case interview typically follows a structured flow to ensure that both the interviewer and the candidate cover all necessary aspects of the business problem. It involves the following phases:
1. Case Presentation and Problem Understanding
To start off, the interviewer will present a specific business problem or scenario. This could range from market entry considerations, to profitability issues, or organizational changes. The problem is usually based on real-world business issues that the consulting firm dealt with in the past.
You are expected to listen carefully, take notes, and clarify any points that are not clear to fully understand the scope and context of the problem.
👉 To get a better feeling for possible case prompts, check out the following beginner cases.
You have been hired to support the owner of a bike-shop as a business consultant. The bike-shop has suffered a significant revenue decline during the last year, and now the owner would like you to assess the situation and options for the way forward.They want to know last year’s profit, i.e. how it was affected by the revenue decline, and what the priority actions are to survive the next year. (short term)In addition they would like to understand the strategic competitive position of the shop better and how to increase revenues again mid- to long-term.
Our client (FastFood Co) is a fast-food company that has > 20 restaurants in the city. Recently, the business has encountered significant challenges, with net profit drops to negative.The client wants us to help them turn around the business. How would you help them?
Afterwards, you outline a structured approach or framework to tackle the problem. Common frameworks include the SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, or the 4P's, with which you can structure your information. This step demonstrates your ability to break down complex issues into manageable parts.
However, keep in mind that it is not enough to simply memorize the standard framework concepts. While standard frameworks are useful for a rudimentary outline of a case problem, they need to be optimized and adapted to the individual case. Don't worry, as this is a skill you can develop, but it definitely requires thorough preparation and practice.
Once you have crafted your structure, clearly explain your framework to the interviewer, ensuring he or she understands your thought process and logical flow.
3. Analysis and Problem Solving
Next, you dive into the analysis. During the interview, your interviewer may provide additional data, charts or exhibits. Analyze this information to support your framework and build your argument. Formulate hypotheses based on your analysis and test them against the data provided. If needed, adjust your approach based on your new findings.
During the quantitative analysis, perform the necessary calculations to support your findings. This could include market sizing estimations, profitability calculations or a cost analysis. Good mental math skills will definitely help in this phase.
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Once you have worked through your structure, provide clear, and actionable recommendations based on your analysis. Use the Pyramid Principle of communication, highlight your key findings and explain how they address the problem.
You should also be ready to justify your suggestions with evidence from your analysis (i. e. data) and discuss possible next steps or further areas of investigation that the client may wish to consider.
After all, the interviewer may question your conclusions or ask for further clarification. Be prepared to defend your recommendations and discuss alternative perspectives.
After, all the best way to prepare for your interview is practice. Explore our Case Library with real examples now!
Your client tk Commodity Trade (tk ComT) is a global materials trader - they buy and sell raw materials. tk ComT had stable EBITDA margins in recent years. They consider expanding their target market and entering the Lithium (electric vehicle battery grade) trade, due to the current high demand for electric cars and Lithium-ion batteries. The client is concerned about minimizing the cash spending and about improving the payback period for this market-entry campaign, due to corporate cash policy.As a consultant, you are expected to calculate the size of the Lithium market and to assess the payback periods for an organic market entry (with own resources) as well as for the acquisition of an established company. Finally, the client expects a proposal about the best market entry strategy and potential opportunities and risks.
Your client is a Franchisee of a popular Steakhouse-chain in Germany. The Franchisee currently owns 2 Steakhouse-restaurants and wants you to investigate how well these perform and if there is any way for improvement?
Your client is a leading retail coffee chain. They are present in several countries globally and are a popular brand in most of the markets that they operate in, with several thousands stores in operation.A key focus of the company currently is diversity & inclusion. In their biggest market which is the US, 1 in 4 people have some sort of disability. One realization the client has had is that their retail stores are not as inclusive to individuals with disabilities. McKinsey has been brought on to help them design more inclusive spaces in their retail stores.
You’re a consultant based in Germany who is currently en route to a client in France who sells golf balls. You’re thinking about the client trying to figure out how large the market is for golf balls in France in terms of number of balls purchased each year.
Our client is Homeware Heaven. They are a homeware and appliance retailer that sells items such as kitchen appliances (fridges, ovens), kitchenware, lighting, bedding and bath products, home decor etc. They have 100 stores in the top 20 cities in the US. Their stores are large stand-alone stores located outside of the city centre. Over the last 3 years, business has not been going well for our client. Their revenue has been declining year over year and they have had fewer unique shoppers in their stores. They have hired McKinsey to help them turnaround the situation
Your client, Wall Inc., is a dry wall manufacturer. A new competitor has just entered the market and is charging a lower price. Wall Inc. is considering reducing its own price by 20% in response. The client wants us to evaluate whether this is a good idea.
Cruise company German Sea Tours (GST) is a successful operator of international cruises. GST currently offers several cruise trips, lasting between 5 and 24 days. Additional services can be booked on board (e.g. excursions at each destination, onboard leisure activities). Customers tend to book their tickets several months in advance. GST has had a long history of revenue growth, but in the past five years, it showed lower growth rates. Board members are not sure whether the market, in general, saw lower growth or whether the problem is specific to GST. GST recognizes that winning new customers and stimulating existing customers to book their vacations with GST is crucial for future growth and therefore has always focused on keeping a close relationship with its (potential) cruise-trip bookers. GST’s chief commercial officer (CCO) Ms. Brown has hired Simon-Kucher & Partners to assess the market environment and competitive positioning for cruise ships and to conduct a subsequent evaluation of potential growth options.
You are part of the Strategy & Operations team at Revolut.Revolut has had significant growth over the past couple of years, with customer base growing 20-30% per year. Our apps have also been highly rated in the various app stores - be it GooglePlay or on the Apple store.Revolut's current customer strategy is to segment customers based on their subscription tiers/plans. Standard: FreePlus: $3.99/mthPremium: $7.99/mthMetal: $14.99/mthUltra: Ultra $55/mthKey differentiation between the plans are in the pricing and features. Namely, the more expensive tiers like Metal and Ultra have additional features such as personalized and premium card design, free access to lifestyle apps (e.g. Financial Times, Class Pass etc), better FX rates and priority customer support.It's great that Revolut has been expanding rapidly, but we are starting to see some stresses on our existing operations and processes. One key area of concern is in customer service, our satisfaction scores have started to trend down and call center headcounts and costs have been increasing in recent years, but we are struggling to handle the load of incoming requests and tickets.You have been tasked to lead a project to solve this problem without ballooning costs.
This question set covers the fundamentals of debt instruments, credit metrics, and risk assessment. It mixes definitions, calculations, and case-style questions to prepare you for corporate finance and investment banking interviews.
Our client is a supermarket chain in Britain called Sparx. They have been the market leader for more than 30 years. However 5 years ago they have seen growth stall and 2 years later revenues started shrinking, keeping so until today. The profitability of the chain has followed the revenue downturn trend, but dropped in percentage much more than the revenues.They now hold only 25% market share, with the second player getting dangerously closer with 23%.What’s wrong and how can you help them turn this situation around?
Unser Kunde, Schmuck Agentur, ist ein führender europäischer Fachhändler für Accessoires und Schmuck. Der Kunde ist derzeit nur in Europa aktiv und vertreibt sowohl Premium- und Luxusprodukte, meist von europäischen Marken, als auch "Mid-Market" Produkte, die eher der hauseigenen Marke angehören. Der Großteil des Vertriebs geschieht über das eigene stationäre Geschäft in Europa.Schmuck Agentur möchte expandieren, und zieht hierfür den chinesischen Markt in Betracht. Aus diesem Grund wirst Du gebeten zunächst Bewertungskriterien für einen möglichen Markteintritt zu erarbeiten. Im Anschluss wirst Du Informationen erhalten, die Dir erlauben einige Faktoren zu bewerten. Abschließend sollst Du eine Empfehlung aussprechen, ob der Kunde das stationäre Geschäft nach China expandieren sollte.
Dubai Airport has decided to counter the chaos in the airport taxi service by commencing a bidding process to assign airport taxi services to 3 operators only. After years of cheating passengers, black-market drivers and unlicensed cabs, the airport has had enough of the problems and is now taking action. They are retracting all existing permits and are issuing 2,100 new permits to the three largest operators in the country.Our client is a local Big-three taxi operator with a 3,000 car fleet, but he is not servicing the airport yet. He has a spare capacity of 500 taxis and he is considering applying for 500 new permits, but he doesn’t know if he will get a positive return on his investment.He asked us to help him determine if he should pursue applying for the permits or not.
A printing company is planning to take over another printing company with similar technology and printing machines. The candidate is supposed to evaluate the acquisition by answering a line of questions that are presented in the “suggested approach” section.
Your client is the Government of Indonesia, specifically a joint committee formed between a few key ministries including the Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Environment & Forestry. Indonesia is one of the largest developing countries in the world, with a population of about 285M people and an average monthly income of only USD 500. Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is actually a vast archipelago comprised of 17,000 islands, giving it one of the longest and most complex coastlines in the world. It is also part of the Coral Triangle, an area demarcated by scientists as the global epicenter of marine diversity. Your client tells you that Indonesia's once pristine coral reefs have seen a rapid decline over the past decade. They have come to you for help and want to figure out what is causing the problem.
Your client is a D2C (direct to customer) online fashion business in a developing country. It is a new brand, launched about 2 years ago and founded by ex-investment bankers. Their brand focuses on trendy, edgy design that is less main-stream (versus big brands like H&M, Uniqlo, Zara etc) for adult men. While they have been growing fast, they want to understand how they can further improve their sales.
As a consultant at Mercedes-Benz Management Consulting (MBMC), you actively shape the desire for Mercedes-Benz as an iconic luxury brand. While you contribute to decisive projects that design the future of the world’s No.1 premium carmaker, you also develop your own career path, and have the unique possibility to build your personal brand and cultivate relationships with the top management.Your client on your current project is the head of Top-End Vehicles & Mercedes-AMG GmbH who reports directly to the CTO of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG. AMG represents the segment of performance luxury within the Mercedes-Benz portfolio.As part of your current project scope your client asks you to identify new opportunities to attract top-end customers & retain their loyalty. Therefore, you shall structure and explore the customer journey and identify possible measures regarding top end customer & Community Management. Furthermore, you shall quantitatively analyze an option to individualize AMG products along different regions and prepare them for decision.Finally, of course, the client is interested in your recommendation.
Sie wurden vom Vorstand der Global Plastics AG beauftragt, die wirtschaftliche Performance der Unternehmens-Gruppe im Rahmen eines Independent Business Review (IBR) zu analysieren und das Management zu beraten. Das Unternehmen ist seit dem 1. Januar 2019 durch eine Kontokorrentlinie i.H.v. € 150,0 Mio. finanziert. Darüber hinaus gibt es keine weiteren Verbindlichkeiten gegenüber Kreditinstituten. Das finanzierende Bankenkonsortium hat aufgrund schlechter Quartalszahlen und einer angespannten Marktlage eine Validierung der Mittelfristplanung angefordert.Die Global Plastics AG produziert weltweit in 5 Werken Kunststoffbauteile für Fahrzeuginnenräume in den Anwendungsbereichen PKW (PT-Segment), LKW (CT-Segment) sowie Land- (AG-Segment) und Baumaschinen (CON-Segment). Global Plastics beliefert primär deutsche Premium-OEMs und gilt als Qualitätsführer im Interior-Markt. Das Unternehmen nutzt dabei patentierte Technologien in den Bereichen Spritzguss, Kunststoffgalvanik sowie Heißprägung. Der Interior-Markt ist zunehmend von einem Preisdruck durch asiatische Wettbewerber geprägt, die den Qualitätsansprüchen europäischer Kunden immer besser entsprechen.Die Global Plastics AG hat Ihnen zur Analyse ihre GuV und Bilanz zur Verfügung gestellt. Dort sind die Ergebnisse der Geschäftsjahre 2019 bis 2021 sowie der Forecast des Geschäftsjahres 2022 enthalten.Bitte lösen Sie die unten aufgeführten Aufgaben.
This question set helps you deepen your understanding of LBO modeling by covering key mechanics such as capital structure, debt repayment flows, purchase price allocation, and return calculations. You'll practice explaining value creation levers, modeling revolvers and PIK debt, and adjusting financial statements post-acquisition.Expect to spend around 25–35 minutes on the full set. Use the model answers to test your knowledge, and improve your structuring.
Our client is a local shipping firm in Spain where they handle local shipping of packages delivered by international shipping firms like FedEx, UPS & DHL. These firms deliver packages to the key city hubs and then our client takes it from there.They want to know how many trucks they should lease to support their operations. From a cost-savings perspective they can only lease one model-type and we need to find out how many trucks the start-up needs.
Mastering the case interview is a crucial step in securing a consulting job. To perform well, you need to demonstrate structured thinking, analytical skills, and clear communication while solving a real-world business problem.
The interview typically follows a structured flow, starting with an introduction and resume discussion, followed by the case presentation, where you clarify the problem and outline a logical framework. From there, you analyze data, test hypotheses, and apply quantitative skills to arrive at well-supported recommendations. Finally, you summarize your findings and engage in a discussion to defend your approach.
Success in case interviews comes down to practice. Familiarizing yourself with common frameworks is useful, but true preparation involves adapting them to different cases, improving your problem-solving speed, and refining your communication. By structuring your thoughts clearly, staying flexible in your approach, and confidently presenting your findings, you’ll increase your chances of impressing your interviewer and landing an offer at a top consulting firm. 🚀
Let's Move On With the Next Articles:
The Personal Fit Interview
Basics of Case Interviews
The personal fit interview is a crucial part of the selection process in consulting. It’s often underestimated by candidates who tend to focus on the challenging case interviews only. But the personal fit interview is just as important! It’s all about determining if you’ll fit well within the team and align with the company culture. Read this article to find out why the personal fit interview matters so much and how to prepare effectively.
Consulting interviews are not just about your skills and knowledge — companies also want to see how well you align with their culture and values, often called "personal fit". This part of the interview is your chance to show you’re a natural addition to the team.Here’s a look at three common personal fit questions and some tips on how to answer them confidently and thoughtfully.
Every case interview has a certain structure. An important factor on how your case interview is going to proceed is if the interview is interviewer-led or candidate-led.We’d like to explain the two interview formats – candidate-led cases and interviewer-led cases – highlight their differences, and provide you with tips on how to excel in each of them.
