Case interviews serve as a crucial benchmark in the consulting recruitment process, designed to assess a candidate’s problem-solving abilities and analytical thinking skills under pressure. Research indicates that around 80% of consulting firms utilize case interviews as a primary evaluation method, meaning thorough preparation is essential for prospective candidates. This guide will help you navigate the complexities of case interviews and equip you with strategies to showcase your skills effectively.
Case interview preparation
Case interviews test your ability to think on your feet, structure complex problems, and provide actionable business solutions. Successfully cracking a consulting case interview is a critical step in consulting interview preparation.
It’s important to note that case interviews are not something you can approach casually or ‘wing.’ Consulting firms explicitly expect candidates to be well-prepared, and many of your competitors will have been practicing for months. Lack of preparation is a major reason why candidates fail.
The objective of this kind of interview isn’t to get to one particular solution, but to assess your skillset. Broadly speaking, your interviewer will be evaluating you across five key areas: probing mind, structure, problem-solving, numerical agility, and communication.
In case interviews, you are expected to be quick and confident with both precise and approximated numbers. This translates to performing simple calculations quickly, analysing data, and solving business problems.
Your job is to analyze the provided information and make a final recommendation. While some business problems may seem straightforward, consulting firms focus on solving complex, unique issues that require creative, non-standard solutions.
To secure an offer from McKinsey, Bain, BCG, or a similar firm, you’ll need to complete four to six case interviews, typically split across two rounds. Each interview will last approximately 50-60 minutes.
Second round case interviews will be significantly more intense, featuring time pressure and a focus on your personality and ability to handle challenges independently, while also testing your reactions to uncertainty.
This is a complete guide to case interviews for beginners. Whether you have no idea what a case interview is or have just started preparing for consulting interviews, we’ll walk you through the case interview fundamentals. Although case interviews can seem complicated, with the right knowledge and strategies, they can be fairly straightforward and mastered by anyone.
Nailing your case interviews is critical to getting into consulting. There is no way to get a consulting job offer without passing your case interviews. Specifically, these interviews assess five different qualities: logical and structured thinking, analytical problem solving, business acumen, communication skills, and personality and cultural fit.
There are seven key components or steps of a case interview:
- Understanding the case background
- Asking clarifying questions
- Structuring a framework
- Kicking off the case
- Solving quantitative problems
- Answering qualitative questions
- Delivering a recommendation
After you understand the case background and objective of the case interview, lay out a framework of what areas you want to look into in order to answer or solve the case. A case interview framework is simply a tool that helps you structure and break down complex problems into simpler components.
When creating a framework, it is completely acceptable to ask the interviewer for a few minutes of silence to write out your ideas. The entire process of brainstorming and developing a structured framework should only take a few minutes.
A case interview simulates real consulting work by having you solve a business case study in conversation with your interviewer. You’ll be tasked with advising a client (an imaginary business or organization) on how to solve a problem or make a decision.
Be sure to prepare for behavioral interview questions, which may follow your case or be part of subsequent interviews. You can find preparation tips for behavioral interviewing in our interview guide, alongside resources including over 500 cases, nine video courses, 10,000 case drills, 11 industry primers, and 12 chatbot cases.
Utilize the Case Interview Complete Prep Guide for 2024 interviews, which includes practical tips, examples, and videos so you can ace the case interview. This step-by-step case interview preparation guide helps you secure offers from top management consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, and more. It also includes case frameworks and example cases to practice with, plus tips on PEI and fit questions.
BCG case interview tips
Preparing for a BCG case interview can be a daunting task. Landing a BCG offer can seem like a landmine. If you don’t know where to start and how to structure your preparation, here are some useful tips.
- Start Early: Begin your preparation well in advance.
- Ditch the Memorized Frameworks: Learning frameworks by heart stifles your creativity and limits your adaptability.
- Develop Consistent Routines: Regular practice helps build your confidence and skills.
- Build Your Business Sense: Familiarize yourself with current business trends and practices.
- Seek Qualitative Feedback: Get insights from those who have experienced the interview process.
- Practice with Experienced Candidates: Collaborate with peers who understand the case interview format.
Understanding the BCG case interview process is crucial. One of the questions candidates often ask is: ‘Should I use a hypothesis? And if so, when should I use one?’ In BCG’s candidate-led cases, the interviewer expects you to take the lead.
Be prepared for a substantial focus on quantitative questions during the case study. BCG tends to present more quantitative challenges without providing data, in contrast to McKinsey.
Part of your preparation should include:
- Researching BCG and the Role: Familiarize yourself with the job description and responsibilities.
- Reviewing Practice Cases: Reading and practicing real-life business cases will enhance your understanding.
Common case interview frameworks
Today we’re going to cover the top case interview frameworks, as well as how you can create your own custom frameworks that you can use in your interview no matter which type of case interview problem you’re given.
Understanding frameworks has always been critical for the 8,000+ candidates who we’ve helped with consulting interview preparation.
Case interview frameworks or consulting frameworks are arguably the most critical component of a case interview.
Outstanding case frameworks set you up for success for the case, while poor frameworks make the case difficult to solve.
A case interview framework is simply a tool that helps you structure and break down complex problems into simpler, smaller components.
The following case interview frameworks are among the most common you’ll find in case interviews with consulting firms:
- Profitability Framework: The profitability framework is the most basic framework in business analysis. It simply breaks down profit into its basic revenue and cost components and is commonly used to identify the root cause of profitability issues. Revenue can simply be broken down into the Number of Units Sold x Price Per Unit. Costs can be broken down into Variable and Fixed Costs.
- 4Ps Framework: The 4Ps framework is widely used by company executives to design their marketing strategy. This framework is commonly used when launching a new product or when reviewing the positioning of an existing product. Key elements of the product definition could include: customer need fulfilled by product, product usage, good vs. service, product lifecycle, competing products and substitutes, etc.
- Porter’s 5 Forces: This framework is commonly used by CEOs to explore the competitive dynamics of industries. Understanding these dynamics is extremely important when you’re considering entering a new industry or assessing the competitive dynamics of the industry a company is already in.
- 3Cs Framework: The 3Cs framework is also commonly used to put together strategies for companies. Key elements to consider include: customer demographics, customer needs, competitors’ value proposition and brand, and what defines the company such as product offering and financial performance.
- Market Entry Framework: This framework is commonly used to make decisions on whether a company should enter a new market or not. Key elements to consider include: market size and profitability, client capabilities, and whether it makes financial sense to enter the new market.
There are four case interview framework strategies you should have in your toolkit:
- Strategy #1: Creating Frameworks from Scratch
- Strategy #2: Memorizing 8 – 10 Broad Business Areas
- Strategy #3: Breaking Down Stakeholders
- Strategy #4: Breaking Down Processes
The first two case framework strategies can be applied to over 90% of cases. However, some cases may require you to identify and focus on various stakeholders that are involved in running or operating a business.
For cases in which many different stakeholders are involved, it will be useful to look at each stakeholder and determine what each could do to address the problem.
An effective structure is at the heart of any successful response to a case interview question. A good case interview structure should identify the right question, present a comprehensive set of independent drivers, and…
Challenges of case interviews
Common challenges in case interviews include:
- Information Overload: Candidates often face too much data at once, making it difficult to identify key issues.
- Time Pressure: The limited time frame adds stress and can lead to rushed conclusions.
- Incomplete Information: Candidates must be comfortable working with insufficient data.
- Failing to Understand the Client’s Problem: Thoroughly understanding both the client’s needs and the interviewer’s expectations is essential.
- Not Having a Structured Approach: An organized problem-solving method is critical for systematic analysis.
- Not Asking Enough Questions: Candidates should engage in a two-way dialogue by asking questions, which helps clarify issues.
- Lacking Data Analysis Skills: Candidates need strong skills for interpreting exhibits and performing calculations.
- Not Being Prepared for the Recommendation: Successfully making well-supported recommendations is often where candidates struggle.
- Overly Relying on Pre-determined Frameworks: Adapting to the specific case context is crucial.
It’s essential to put in sufficient preparation effort. Many successful candidates invest around 60 hours, targeting 10 hours each week over a six-week period.
