Case Interview Examples: Master List

Updated

The case interview is the biggest challenge consulting candidates must overcome to receive an offer. Most aspiring consultants are coveting an offer from the likes of McKinsey, Bain, BCG, and Deloitte. Though some are blessed with the innate talent to crack cases, for the vast majority of us, cracking a consulting case interview requires Case Interview Graphic, case interview types, case interview frameworks, case interview examplespersistence, strategic preparation, and out-loud practice. That’s where case interview examples come in (we even have over 1 dozen mock case interview walkthroughs as a resource for you in your case prep).

As is the case with much of what we face in life, consulting case interviews become less and less intimidating the more you go through them. Not just read, but do. There are a wide range of resources publicly available from even the top consulting firms. See below for a list of case interview examples compiled for your convenience! And don’t forget, there’s no substitute for out-loud practice!

Looking for even more case interview examples? You need the MC Consulting Case Library, complete with 500 cases representing 25+ different firm styles.

Case Interview Examples:

Accenture Case Interview Examples

Accenture offers a wide variety of practice areas, namely management consulting, IT consulting, and back office outsourcing. The firm’s management consulting arm is its most sought after division and is broken down into three parts: Strategy, Operations, and Digital. Case interviews with Accenture will be dependent on the consulting division you are applying for. Accenture’s management consulting cases are similar in style to those you would find at McKinsey.

Take a look at Accenture’s Case Interview Workbook (Accenture website) to help with your preparation and check out our Accenture Case Interview Guide for more help on acing the interview.

American Express Case Interview Examples

American Express helps clients create travel programs tailored to achieve specific goals. The company’s extensive capabilities and results-orientated approach allows it to implement strategies that: streamline operations, improve the traveler experience, reduce risk and increase savings.

Learn more about American Express consulting here (American Express website) or through a list of previous case studies (consultingcase101).

Bain Case Interview Examples

Bain employs a blend between candidate-led and interviewer-led case interviews. This means that it is the candidate’s job to probe for data and provide guidance as you go through your framework, but your interviewer may help you get back on track if you probe too far in the wrong direction. Above all, Bain prizes practicality and data buckets that mirror potential project work streams. The firm is known for its expertise in working with Private Equity funds and other principal investors. That expertise is reflected topically in the Bain case interview.

For more help with your preparation, check out these Bain case interview questions (Bain website).

For further tips straight from the source, take a look at Bain’s written case interview tips as well.

Want to know more about the firm as a whole? Our firsthand account of what life is like at Bain.

BCG Case Interview Examples

BCG is famous for its candidate-led interviews. The company sells itself to clients on its’ expertise in corporate development, innovation, and business growth. This is often reflected in their case interviews.

BCG helpfully provides three detailed cases to practice: GenCo case interview, Foods Inc case interview, and Interactive case interview (BCG website). Looking for more? There are dozens more BCG-style cases in the MC Consulting Case Library, and use our BCG Case Interview Guide for more help.

Booz Allen Hamilton Case Interview Examples

Booz Allen Hamilton offers management and technology consulting services. The firm’s emphasizes technology and services to the U.S. Federal Government. The firm is a spin off of Booz & Co., which was acquired by PwC.

See a list of previous cases from Booz Allen Hamilton to assist with your case prep (Consulting case101).

Booz Allen Hamilton also provides a list of interview tips (Booz Allen Hamilton website), and we break down the interview process in detail here.

Capital One Case Interview Examples

Capital One has an internal strategy group that focuses on high level direction for the financial institution. Consultants tackle company-defining strategic issues and advise the company’s most senior executives.

See Capital One’s practice case interview (Capital One website) for a better understanding of what the firm is looking for, or check out our Capital One Case Interview Guide for more help.

Deloitte Case Interview Examples

Deloitte’s consulting practice is divided into three main practice areas: Strategy & Operations, Technology, and Human Capital. Therefore, depending on the practice area you are recruiting for, your Deloitte case interview will differ widely. However, the same best practices still apply to preparing for Deloitte case interviews. They still require a solid framework and excellent communication skills.

Deloitte provides a handful of practice cases that are helpful depending on the consulting division you are interested in:

Again, we have dozens more Deloitte cases waiting for you in the MC Consulting Case Library. Also use our Delloite Case Interview Guide to ensure you are well-prepared for the case interview.

EY Case Interview Examples

Ernst & Young acquired The Parthenon Group in 2014 and has enhanced its presence in the strategy sector since then. The firm offers eight different types of consulting services: strategy, technology, big data and analytics, digital, cybersecurity, risk, customer, and emerging technology. EY’s strategy consulting cases are similar to those you would find at Bain.

See a list of previous cases (Consultingcase101) to help with your preparation.

We break down EY-Parthenon in detail here and the EY-Parthenon Case Interview process.

Find dozens of EY and EY-Parthenon cases in the Case Library.

Google Case Interview Examples

Google provides consulting services that focus on the Cloud. Consultants at Google educate clients on best practices and guiding principles for a successful implementation of Google’s services. Solutions are customized for various business needs with consultants who deliver a broad range of technical expertise including: infrastructure, G Suite services, machine learning, data and analytics, application development, and security.

Learn more about the types of projects Google consultants work on here (Google website) and our guide to the Google Interview Questions.

IBM Case Interview Examples

IBM Global Business Services focuses on cognitive data analytics, cloud technology and mobile app development. The firm utilizes IBM’s rich history and competitive advantage in technology in order to best help its’ clients.

IBM doesn’t provide practice cases, but check out IBM Case Studies (IBM website) to get an understanding of the type of projects they work on.

You can also see this list of previous cases (Consultingcase101) for more insight, and find IBM cases in our Case Library and visit our IBM Case Profile for more details on the company, culture, and interviews.

Kearney Case Interview Examples

Kearney is an American global management consulting firm that focuses on strategic and operational CEO-agenda issues facing businesses, governments and institutions. Kearney maintains offices in more than 40 countries, and its U.S. salaries are on par – and often exceed – those at the big boys.

Kearney provides several ways to learn more about its projects, including case studies, a consulting case book, crack the case tips, and a one practice case called Promotional Planning (Kearney website). We also wrote an in-depth profile of the firm, complete with insights into Kearney’s interview process.

L.E.K. Case Interview Examples

L.E.K. Consulting is a management consulting firm founded in 1983 by three individual partners from Bain & Company: James Lawrence, Iain Evans, and Richard Koch. The company’s primary service lines consist of corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and operations. The firm employs a generalist model across all major industries. This includes a large presence in: defense, aviation, life sciences, healthcare, energy, entertainment, transport, retail, consumer products, financial services, and private equity. However, the firm’s largest presence by far is in the life sciences and healthcare sectors.

L.E.K. provides tips on interview preparation and a case interview example (L.E.K. website). Looking for more detail? Check out our in-depth profile of L.E.K. Strategy Consulting.

McKinsey Case Interview Examples

McKinsey case interviews are interviewer-led, meaning that the interviewer sets the pace of the case. Interviewers at McKinsey also like to test a candidate’s creativity by asking open-ended questions. Due to the intense competition amongst candidates for the McKinsey case interview, interviewers will often test the quality and logic of your answers by providing pushback more than that you would experience at other firms.

There are multiple McKinsey case interview examples here: McKinsey interview webpage (McKinsey website).

McKinsey also requires that many of its’ candidates take a problem-solving test (see our McKinsey PST Prep Guide). The PST is unique to McKinsey and should not be taken lightly. Practice tests can be found near the bottom of McKinsey’s interviewing webpage.

For more, read our guide to McKinsey Case Interviews and practice the dozens of McKinsey-style cases in the Case Library.

Oliver Wyman Case Interview Examples

Oliver Wyman is an international management consulting firm with a large focus on banking and financial services. Founded in 1984, the firm adopted its current form in May 2007. This was when Mercer Oliver Wyman joined with Mercer Management Consulting and Mercer Delta to become one firm, called Oliver Wyman.

Oliver Wyman provides two example cases on its site: Wumbleworld Case and Aqualine Case (Oliver Wyman website). There are many more in the Case Library. plus we have a comprehensive guide to Oliver Wyman Case Interviews.

PwC Case Interview Examples

PwC is a consulting giant. This is partly due to its acquisition of Booz & Company in 2014. The company has two consulting arms: Strategy& and PwC Consulting. The former focuses on executive level strategy while the latter focuses on digital and M&A strategy. The cases for PwC’s Strategy& are a mix between BCG and McKinsey style cases, while PwC Consulting cases mirror those at BCG. In addition to cases, PwC’s Strategy& is known to have candidates participate in group interviews and present a written, take-home case.

There are not many PwC consulting practice cases available outside of the Case Library. PwC does provide a handful of case studies (PwC website) that can provide some insight on the types of projects they work on.

Some more specific case studies for Strategy& include: a banking case study, healthcare case study, and technology case study (PwC website). You can also check out our in-depth guide to PWC Case Interviews.

ZS Associates Case Interview Examples

ZS Associates is a management consulting firm that provides sales and marketing solutions primarily to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The firm was founded in 1983 by Prabhakant Sinha and Andris Zoltners. Sinha and Zoltners worked together as professors of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

See here for a list of previous cases (Consulting cases 101). For more up-to-date cases, our Case Library is the place to go.

Though ZS doesn’t provide practice cases itself, you can learn more through their market research case studies and recruiting hints (ZS website)

Add Your Firm’s Case Interview Examples

Add your consulting firm to this case interview list. If your firm is not included here, but you conduct case interviews, send us text we can include this guide (200 words or fewer) by emailing [email protected]. Include your recommendations for candidate practice and links to practice cases – we’d love to include them here!

Free Case Books

Looking for more cases specifically from top MBA casebooks? See below for casebooks compiled by some of the top MBA programs in the world. These resources not only include cases but also helpful tips on building case interview frameworks and other consulting interview advice.

Management Consulted Resources

At Management Consulted, we have best-in-class resources to help you ace your consulting case interview.

  • Free Case Interview Prep Course. A course that will equip you with all the basics of preparing you for your case interview. For free!
  • Free Case of the Month – can you crack one of the cases from our Case Library? Check it out, and then conquer the 500 additional cases in our Case Library.
  • Case Interview Bootcamp (including structure drills) – 32 video lessons on every part of a case interview. From frameworks to math to case creativity, we break it all down – with expert videos to boot.
  • Mental Math for Consulting (including math drills) – 32 lessons covering key mental math concepts – percentages, equations, interest, profit, and more. The quickest way to brush up on the math concepts you actually need to conquer a case. Includes 30 quizzes and hundreds of quick math drills!

Mental Math Graphic, case interview examples

Work alongside us in the Case Interview and Mental Math courses!

The Management Consulted Experts

We’ve identified what separates successful candidates from the ones who just get close. Over the last 12 years, we’ve helped thousands of clients land offers. Actually –

 

60% of our Black Belts land offers at Top 10 firms vs. a 3% acceptance rate industry-wide!

 

But are you ready for a surprise? The best-read candidates aren’t the most successful. It’s the ones who prioritize out-loud practice with an expert that make it all the way to an offer. That’s why our courses include applied drills, and why we have hand-selected MBB coaches on our team. This gives you the 1-to-1 practice and instruction you need to land offers at: McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, Samsung, American Express, and almost 200 other consulting companies.

It’s also why we created Black Belt – the world’s top accelerated case interview preparation program. In this program, one of our coaches assesses your strengths and weaknesses, and then builds a specific plan for you to break into your target firms within your timeline.

Recommended Case Interview Books

Don’t get us wrong, reading is a great place to start, but only if you use it a place to start. Here at MC, we have a handful of books we recommend to aspiring consultants.

Of course, our favorite is the ones we labored over for hundreds of hours to write:

Case Interview Books:

Bonus Reading:

Concluding Thoughts – Where do I start my case interview prep?

If you are just starting your consulting case interview preparation, read our Case Interview Complete Prep Guide first. This will lay a great case interview foundation for you. (You could also check out the Free Case Interview Prep Course). Next, start your case interview preparation with the casebooks. Then review the official ones published on each company’s website (Note: just do 3-5 to familiarize yourself with a case). And don’t forget the case interview list of casebooks we gave above!

Next, it’s time to work with an expert. Again, we recommend Black Belt – the top accelerated consulting interview prep program in the world. Some of you may be thinking that it is too soon to get expert help. After all, shouldn’t you get as strong as you can on your own first? The answer is no, for one simple reason:

“The more you practice yourself, the greater the chance you begin to bake bad habits into your case approach.”

We’d much prefer you to do at least 1 session with us early on in your process so we can inform your self-guided prep, even if you save the bulk of the coaching with us towards the middle/end part of your process.

So, to recap if you’re just starting out:

  1. Read the Case Interview Prep Guide
  2. Do 3-5 cases only out of casebooks and from firm websites
  3. Join the Black Belt program

At the end of the day, case interview mastery comes down to quality over quantity. Best of luck as you work through the quality resources above!

Additional Resources:

 

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