Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!
Back to overview

Bain Written Case

Hi All,

I'm having a written case next week with Bain London. It's  a 30-minute exercise with 20 slides and text to analyse and then 30 minutes to present to a partner. 

If anyone had already had it, can you please share your experiences? I.e.

-What industries were covered?

-What frameworks did you use?

-What key points should I (and all future candidates ) concentrate on?

Thank you very much in advance.

4 Answers
10.4k Views
24
Be the first to answer!
Nobody has responded to this question yet.
Top answer
Anonymous
on Dec 13, 2015

The actual case is different from office to office and they do not focus on any one specific industry only. The cases also get recycled with new ones coming in frequently and hence there is no point trying to figure out which industry it will be.

The approach to your written case should be the same as any other consulting case. The difference is that you HAVE a LOT of data presented to you. This is a test of seeing how well you synthesize the data, connect the dots to draw logical conclusions. This written case has less to do with a framework with which to analyse the 'case' and more with a framework for how you SUMMARIZE YOUR ANSWER.

The key to summarizing your answer is simply to use a simple issue/decision tree (am sure you can find more details online). This typically goes:

  1. The Key Question asked of me was X
  2. I believe the answer is X
  3. My key (2-4) reasons/assertions for this answer are A, B, C, ...
  4. The data points supporting the reasons are from slides (provided) N and M.
  5. ... and so on ...

There is a MATH component to the written case as well. Here you should understand What you are trying to calculate, What are the data points you need to calculate it and then find those data points in the slides. For this I would recommend that you develop your 'equation' first and then try to hunt for the data in the slides. If you try to gather all the data first and then try to build out your equation to fit that ... you may get lost in the details (you'll always be given more data than is actually needed to solve the problem; one of the key consulting skills is to FOCUS on most important things and ignore the rest).

Hope this is helpful.

5
Matteo
Coach
on Dec 06, 2015
MBB consultant (Mckinsey & BCG) focused on Digital & Technology applied to Business, also interviewing for BCG PLatinion

Hi, I have had a similar case since when I went trough the recruiting process as an experienced consultant and this was the first step.

I will answer below to your 3 questons:

1) banking, business development in new market

2) market analysis, SWOT, and then used a profitability risk matrix to compare with alternatives, finally NPV(discounted cashflows) and break-even analysis to evaluate the investment

3) Start with strategic macro-economic view: regulations, competitors, barriers to enter, socio-political aspects, status of that industry in the market (early-stage vs. mature, etc.). Then continue with market analysis (volume and value estimations) and conclude with evaluation of initial investment, fix/variable costs and potential revenues.

Hope this is useful, good luck!

Clara
Coach
on Mar 01, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

I would not try to focus on the case that other people had, your case will most likely be different. Remember that the skillset tested is the same than in the "usual" cases, hence, all the practice you may have done totally plays in your favor. 

One important point to add is the need to be very 80-20, structured and to the point, since the prep time is very short, so we need discipline with the analysis to have enaugh time to prep the communication strategy. 

There are many many entries in thsi same Q&A regarding written cases, hence, I would recommend you to look with the keywords "written case"

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Anonymous A
on Dec 11, 2015

Has anyone heard back for the London office?

0
Similar Questions
Consulting
Best Preparation Method for Written Cases at Bain and BCG?
on Nov 02, 2015
Global
4 Answers
21.3k Views
Top answer by
112
4 Answers
21.3k Views
+1
Consulting
Is BCG more theoretical than McKinsey and Bain?
on Nov 11, 2015
Global
1 Answer
8.7k Views
Top answer by
38
1 Answer
8.7k Views
Consulting
Strategy& Final Round
on Jul 22, 2016
Global
4 Answers
6.0k Views
20
4 Answers
6.0k Views
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or fellow student?
0 = Not likely
10 = Very likely
You are a true consultant! Thank you for consulting us on how to make PrepLounge even better!