As the weather turns to fall, legions of eager students turn their attention to the annual recruitment season for consulting firms. The interview process is nerve-wracking to begin with, but to evaluate a candidate’s problem-solving abilities and personality under pressure, consulting interviewers employ the case interview method in which the candidate is presented a business case without any data shared beforehand and must solve the problem. In the case interview, the candidate’s problem-solving methodology is more important than the actual solution he proposes, so special attention must be paid during preparation.
The following resources have been useful in preparing to dissect case interviews.
Example of a case interview
Cosentino demystifies the consulting case interview by taking you inside a typical interview and exploring the various types of case questions. The book includes over 40 strategy cases, ten case starts exercises and 21 ways to cut costs, plus more. Case in Point is a great way to become familiarized with case archetypes.
MConsulting Prep touches upon the fundamentals of case interviews with this introductory video.