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.
Dein Klient ist der Vorstandsvorsitzende eines großen Automobilkonzerns. Er möchte, dass Du ihm hilfst, die Gewinnmarge seines Unternehmens zu verbessern.
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?
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.
We are a profitable American provider of fire and water remediation services. We are generally hired by insurance companies to provide cleaning services in the wake of burning and flooding damages. We we would like your counsel on whether to enter the growing USA traditional residential cleaning market or not. Traditional housecleaning usually takes place 2-3 times per month.
Our client is a large American music company with a 40% market share and $20 billion in revenue. During the last holiday season, the client released fewer new tracks onto music streaming services compared to the year before. We would like you to figure out what could be causing this and possible solutions to the problem.
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.
Ein guter Freund von Dir hat seinen Job gekündigt, um seinen Lebensunterhalt nun mit dem Verkauf von Handyhüllen zu bestreiten. Du sollst ihm dabei helfen, sein Vorhaben zu bewerten.
This question set explores how companies use forwards, swaps, and options in practice to manage risk. You’ll cover theory, applications, and calculations. The aim is to test not only technical knowledge but also structured reasoning when applying derivatives to real-world corporate finance situations.
As a consultant at Mercedes-Benz Management Consulting (MBMC), you are actively shaping the future of automotive mobility. While you are contributing to decisive projects that design the future of the world’s No.1 premium carmaker, you also develop your own career path, and you 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 product strategy who reports directly to the CEO. She asks you to explore new profit pools and business opportunities regarding innovations and monetarization strategies.Initially, you shall structure and explore potential business models, and discuss necessary conditions and implications of these business models. In a next step, you shall quantitatively analyze possible options and prepare them for decision. And of course, the client is interested in your recommendation.
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 big financial services company in Germany that just implemented a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system. Its intention is to provide the leadership with a real time view into the organisation’s sales channel.Before the introduction of the CRM system the sales teams have maintained the client sales information in separate Excel spread sheets. This made it very complicated for the managers to have an overview of the latest information.At the end of the fiscal year, all sales teams have to migrate their sales data into the new system. They want our advice regarding the necessary change management.
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.
Your client is the CEO of Wiehle, a major household appliance manufacturer. It has been decided that a coffee machine should be added to the product line. The question is how this coffee machine should be designed: either to exclusively use Wiehle pads or to be compatible with the pads of existing third-party providers as well?
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 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.
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.
Our client is a Canadian TV company, Universal TV. They recently entered the US market in the northeast to expand its market share and capture a large part of the 4 m consumers in a market that has little competition. However, in the past few years, Universal TV has been unable to realize a profit.You are hired to figure out why this is the case and what their next move should be.
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.
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.
