Alvarez & Marsal Case Interview Infrastructure and Capital Projects Analyst

Question

Hi,

I have a second round interview with Alvarez & Marsal for an analyst role in Infrastructure and Capital Projects. I am from an engineering background, so have not had to do consulting case style interviews before. What should my approach to preparation be? I am solid on maths, anything related to infrastructure and financial terminology, but have had no practice on case study style assessments. I don't have much time so unsure where my effort is best placed with the different types of cases.

Any advice or guidance would be much appreacited!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Congrats on reaching the second round with Alvarez & Marsal! Given your strong engineering background, technical skills, and familiarity with infrastructure and financial terminology, your main focus should be on structuring your approach to case interviews and practicing with experienced partners.

Since time is limited, I recommend:
    1.    Understanding Case Interview Fundamentals – Learn the basic frameworks (profitability, market entry, investment decisions) but don’t over-memorize. Focus on structuring your thinking logically rather than forcing pre-set frameworks.
    2.    Practicing with Experienced Partners (most important) – The fastest way to improve is by solving cases with people who know how to do them well and can give targeted feedback. Happy to coach you if you’d like.
    3.    Focusing on Relevant Case Types – Given the role, expect cases around cost optimization, project feasibility, capital investment, and operational efficiency in infrastructure projects.

Let me know if you’d like to schedule a session—I’d be happy to help you refine your approach. Best of luck with your prep!

Best,

Evelina

Answer 2

Hello!

Given you mentioned you don't have much time, I would suggest the following:

Solve a few infra-related cases across different types of potential problems: E.g., you can start with the following (feel free to reach out if you'd like some suggestions on cases for each of the below):
1. 1x strategy / investment / M&A case (e.g., should a client invest in a lithium processing facility?)
2. 1x profitability / cost optimization case (e.g., how could a solar farm optimize its costs?)
3. 1x revenue growth case (e.g., how could an electric utility in US increase its sources of revenue over the next 10-20 years?)
4. If you have time, you can practice a few more types of cases or cases for other / similar industries (e.g., asset-heavy / manufacturing industries)
Practice brainstorming questions, focusing in particular on infrastructure and capital projects: You can read some of the latest news on infra / capital projects industry and create a few brainstorming questions (e.g., what are the potential implementation challenges for the small modular nuclear reactor project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee?)
Prepare / polish motivation and behavioral question answers: You mentioned this is the second round, so I assume you have these ones ready and can focus on polishing them based on your first round feedback

Good luck and fingers crossed!

Maria

Answer 3

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