Big Four Case Interviews

Hi Anonymous,

if you are referring to the strategy branch of big 4 (Monitor Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, S&) – cases are quite similar. There are differences between different companies and geographies though, thus would be helpful if you could disclose it for specific advice. I helped several people for Monitor, Parthenon and Strategy& in different geographies, please feel free to PM me for more info if interesting.

The structure of the final round is the same as the first one (fit + case+ your questions); however, there is far more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main difference you will find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. may not have a “proper” structured case to present – during some of my finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because at the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on:

• Review in details your fit stories – they will matter more than in the first round. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can test almost exclusively in p2p mocks with peers/experts.
• Prepare on cases as you did for the first round. More market sizing practice could be useful to think outside the box if you get unusual questions.

Best,
Francesco

(editiert)