Hi there,

I agree with Ian.

• Does it help to know more about the industry of the case? ⮕ YES. Industry knowledge is useful for brainstorming during the case. If you can’t think about the importance of the load factor in an airline case, or that customers may not pay for prescription drugs in some countries as they are refunded by the government in a healthcare case, you may be at a disadvantage compared to other candidates.
• Is it necessary that you know well the industry of the case? ⮕ NO. Unless you are interviewing for an expert role, you are not supposed to be an expert in any industry. However, if you are not familiar with an industry, you are supposed to ask for information on the industry to clarify what is not clear (at the bare minimum the revenue model).

If you feel you are not strong in some industries (eg financial services, healthcare) try to do more cases in that sector – after 4-5, you should have a good understanding of the industry and be able to do better when brainstorming.

In terms of your second question: it is more likely that you get a question on the sectors covered by the interviewer. However there is no guarantee you will necessarily get a case based on that particular sector.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hey, unless you are going for a specific experienced hire role, generally they dont expect you to have detailed prior knowledge of an industry & function. The idea is to test your structured problem solving in unknown scenarios. So dont worry about it. While reading and getting a generic overview of industries is good, focus on getting comfortable with solving cases. Dont get biased if you come across a familiar industry but really focus on being 100% comfortable with your systematic approach to solve the case.

Have a look at this thread for some generic tips on broad industry types:https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hi-i-have-a-question-regarding-cases-on-new-industry-8899

(edited)