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!
Der Automobilhersteller YourCars denkt zunehmend darüber nach, wie er seine Kosten senken und gleichzeitig seinen ökologischen Fußabdruck minimieren kann. Eine mögliche Lösung besteht darin, die Prinzipien der Kreislaufwirtschaft, insbesondere die „5Rs" – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle – in seine Produktionsprozesse zu integrieren. Hauptziel dieser Überlegungen ist es, den Verbrauch und die Verschwendung von Ressourcen zu minimieren, die Lebensdauer von Produkten und Materialien zu maximieren und letztendlich einen nachhaltigeren und effizienteren Betrieb zu gewährleisten. Zu diesem Zweck beauftragt die Geschäftsführung eine Unternehmensberatung mit der Erarbeitung erster Ansätze.Du als Unternehmensberater:in sollst der Geschäftsführung die Chancen und Risiken des Kreislaufwirtschaftsansatzes erläutern. Darüber hinaus möchte die Geschäftsführung wissen, in welchen Bereichen Einsparpotenziale bestehen. Schlussendlich sollst du basierend auf der Analyse eine Empfehlung aussprechen.
We are a premium brand apparel retailer facing a consistent decrease in market share. We would like you to figure out why this is happening and provide recommendations to reverse this trend.
The client, VacuLuxe Innovations, is a manufacturer for vacuum pumps, e.g. rotary vane pumps, cryogenic pumps located in Germany. The company has grown from a start-up to a major corporation over the last 50 years. However, after benchmarking the economics of their business, the client discovered that their direct spend (i.e., COGS supplier spend) represented a higher percentage of their revenue than their closest competitors.The client's top management has engaged the SCM and procurement specialized consultancy Inverto to advise the company in this critical situation.An initial meeting with the CPO of VacuLuxe Innovations will be conducted tomorrow. VacuLuxe Innovations aims to discuss optimization potentials in the current collaboration with suppliers as well as levers to improve the supply chain resilience & carbon footprint. Unfortunately, VacuLuxe Innovations has only submitted the following high level data for their direct spend yet.
Sensorio Hightech GmbH is a leading manufacturer of technically advanced consumer electronics sensors based in Germany with EUR 500 m in revenues. It is a successfully growing affiliate with technically advanced consumer electronics sensors as its main business. Sensorio Hightech GmbH is looking at the smart home market for further growth. In addition, the company is aiming to tap into new regional markets. You are a member of a consulting team mandated by Sensorio Hightech GmbH to:assess possible new target segments in the smart home market(optional – if there’s time left: recommend go-to-market measures)The company is looking for a recommendation answering the following questions, taking into account Sensorio’s capabilities and current situation in various regions, the overall market environment, and smart home ecosystem:Smart home market segmentation & attractiveness analysis (qualitative & quantitative)What are relevant market segments of the smart home market?What are potential factors that determine the market segment's attractiveness for Sensorio Hightech GmbH?Which market segment(s) is/are most attractive for Sensorio Hightech GmbH to enter, and why?(Optional: Entry strategy (qualitative))How does the strategy to successfully entering the target segment(s) look like?What are the crucial factors Sensorio Hightech GmbH needs to get right?What parts of the value chain does Sensorio Hightech GmbH want to cover?
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.
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.
After a congress about general science in which you took part out of personal interest, a renowned scientist comes to talk to you. He swears he invented the world’s first perpetual motion apparatus. It requires no energy source and keeps running forever. It can even turn a small fan with its motion.The scientist asks you in which markets he can monetize the invention and how much money he could make in Europe in the first year.
Your client, ACR, is a chain of medical laboratories. They provide patients with MRI and CT scans as well as other major tests.They have expensive testing equipment in their inventory and run about 250 labs. Usually doctors refer their patients to one of the labs.Because ACR is worried about a decrease in profits, they have hired us to evaluate the market.
Do you remember that one friend in school that always asked you to help him out with homework? Well, things never change and as this friend learned that you are a consultant now, you receive a call. The friend’s grandfather, who was a captain, passed away and left an oil tanker behind. As your friend wants to be sure for tax reasons, exactly how much worth the tanker is, your help is needed – again!
This set of questions is designed to help you prepare for the most common valuation topics in finance interviews. It covers the basics (like DCF, comparables, and multiples) but also includes practical scenarios that test whether you can apply these concepts in context.Set aside about 30–35 minutes to go through everything. For each question, you’ll find a clear model answer to check your reasoning and deepen your technical knowledge.
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.
The municipal utility Hamburg Energized is a local energy retail (power and gas) and distribution grid company active in the city of Hamburg. The majority of shares of Hamburg Energized is held by the city itself. As the distribution system operator of Hamburg, Hamburg Energized is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the gas and electricity grid on customer level.In the course of the energy transition in Germany, the responsible board member for the technical grid operations, Jan Bremer, thinks about deploying Smart Meters in the gas and electricity grid. He approaches you with the request to conduct a feasibility analysis and to give a clear recommendation whether or not Hamburg Energized should use Smart Meters in its gas and electricity grid in the future.
Sie sind Abschlussprüfer der CarVermietungen GmbH, einem deutschen Unternehmen, das geleaste Fahrzeuge europaweit an Privat- und Geschäftskunden weitervermietet.Im Rahmen der Prüfung führen Sie Interviews mit dem Management des Unternehmens durch. Dabei wecken insbesondere die langfristigen ökologischen und digitalen Herausforderungen der Firma Ihr Interesse. Sie erfahren unter anderem, dass die Hauptunterschiede zum üblichen Geschäft in einem Transformationsplan liegen und lassen sich vom CFO den Plan vorstellen.Die Finanzdirektorin teilt Ihnen stolz mit, dass die CarVermietungen GmbH in die Elektrifizierung der Fahrzeugflotte investiert. Die Anzahl der Elektroautos wird im Lagebericht veröffentlicht. Die CarVermietungen GmbH bietet ihren Kunden seit dem vierten Quartal eine Erweiterung zum bestehenden Bonusprogramm an. Die Kunden können ihre gesammelten Bonuspunkte am Jahresende auf ein Umweltprogramm übertragen, das vorwiegend in den Anbau von Bäumen und Wasseralgen investiert, um die klimafreundliche CO2-Bindung zu fördern. In diesem Zusammenhang hat das Unternehmen auch eine weitere Zielgruppe definiert und eine entsprechende Kundenliste erstellt. Darüber hinaus wurden im laufenden Geschäftsjahr durch den Zukauf von Daten über ein soziales Netzwerk zusätzlich neue Kunden hinzugewonnen.Die CarVermietungen GmbH hat im letzten Quartal außerdem in P2P-Carsharing investiert, da sich dieses neue Geschäftsmodell im Ausland bereits als vielversprechend erwiesen hat. Private Autobesitzer haben die Möglichkeit, ihr Fahrzeug über die Carsharing-Plattform anzubieten und die Vermietung gänzlich über eine App abzuwickeln. Die Mietwagengebühren betragen ein Drittel des Mietwertes und die CarVermietungen GmbH zahlt eine Versicherung, die jeden Kunden abdeckt. Die Versicherungsprämien für das Folgejahr wurden bereits ausgezahlt.
Our client is Multifit, a producer of vitamin pills.Their primary customers are health stores and pharmacies. Right now they are considering entering the health foods and beverages market.Your task is to give them a recommendation on what they should do.
Nutripremium is a very well-known premium nutrition food company in Europe (€1 billion revenue last year). It is based in Spain and has an excellent market share not only in its home country but also in Portugal, France, Italy and Germany. Nutripremium has two main lines of products:Vitamin-supplements for pregnant womenConcentrated dehydrated aliments and vitamin pills for sick patients (with Diabetes or Cancer).The CEO of Nutripremium thinks that the market in Europe is starting to get saturated and wants you to analyze the Chinese market.What are the key areas you would explore to determine whether this is a good idea?
Your client is a pharmaceutical company which is worried about the portfolio optimization of their R&D projects.They hired us to investigate it and help them make the most return of their R&D investments in the short and mid-term (without totally forgetting the long-term horizon).How would you go about it and what would you recommend the client to do?
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.
Pedal Pals is an interactive fitness platform with millions of members, offering connected, technology-enabled fitness classes that utilize its proprietary hardware, the Pedal Pal stationary bicycle. Pedal Pals generates strong recurring revenue from its members, who pay subscription fees to access Pedal Pal's Connected Fitness products. Additionally, they have strong sales of the hardware product. Pedal Pals has an admired brand for high quality and sustainability. Recently the company has been challenged by a large, activist investor. The activist investor is citing the plummeting stock price impacting shareholder returns. The activist has attributed the issue directly to poor cost control throughout Pedal Pals. Pedal Pals CEO has hired your organization to determine how to manage its cost issue.
Your client is a direct mail clothing retailer. They primarily sell clothes through their product catalog. Next year, postage costs will increase to 40 cents per catalog. Your client wants to know whether his current business model is still profitable.
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.
