Roland Berger Cases

Hey A,

I was based at RB Headquarters in Munich for a long time and was part of the recruiting team, so I can give you the first-hand information.

Process

Normally, a group of candidates (8-10 people) is invited to the assessment day, which consists of 2 parts:

1. Morning session (for full-time employees and interns), which consists from:
   1. RB presentation about the company and Q&A
   2. One personal fit interview with a case / brainteaser
   3. Test to prove your math, logic and literacy in German
   4. One big case interview with a small personal fit part
   5. Afterwards joint lunch break in the Hilton Hotel nearby the office, where candidates could relax a bit and ask some further questions from other consultants, who come extra for a lunch with them (these consultants were not the interviewers in the morning session)

After the 1st round the decision on interns (who gets an offer) and initial decision on the candidates (who out of the group shall continue in the 2nd round – usually 2-4 persons out of 10) is made

1. Afternoon session (for full-time employees only) with two options
   1. If only 1 or 2 persons managed to get into the 2nd round in the afternoon, they need to solve 1-3 further cases
   2. If 3 or more persons made it through then there is a group case, where the pitch in front of the management board is simulated
2. If you are the lucky one (or two ?) who managed to leave a good impression during the assessment day, then you will be invited to the 3rd round with a partner, which takes place on a different day. If you make it, you get an offer

Case types/topics

By contrast, to the other top tier companies, RB is organized in competence centers (CCs). CCs are either specialized by the industry (i.e. Automotive, Financial Services, Transportation, etc.) or by function (digital, restructuring, etc.). Therefore, young consultant from the beginning do not follow the generalist track, but rather start building up their expertise in the specific industry/function. It leaves also an impact on the cases you will have to solve during the interview.

It is hard to predict which kind of the cases you will get in the interview, because RB does all kind of projects (market entry, strategy development, process optimization, due diligence, etc.). However, the company is of course famous for it’s restructuring, cost cutting and efficiency improvements capabilities, which in the light of the coming economic downturn will urge the demand for these kind of consultants in the nearest 2-3 years. The cases become more demanding and complex during the 1st and 2nd round.

I hope that it brings you more light both process and case wise

Good luck and let me know, if you need any help & guidance in the preparation process.

Best,

André