It’s recruiting season! And if you’re applying to positions with management consulting firms you’re very likely to encounter a case interview. A case interview is a job interview in which the applicant is given a question, situation, problem or challenge and asked to resolve the situation. The case is often a business situation or a business case. Many times these cases are situations that the interviewer has encountered in real life.
Interviewers are primarily concerned with assessing if you think like a consultant and if you would be successful when interacting with clients. The case is an excellent way for firms to test the analytical, logical, quantitative, and communication abilities that are so vital to being a successful consultant.
When preparing for case interview, keep in mind these three key things that interviewers are looking for:
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- Are you logical, methodical and structured in your analysis?
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- Do you demonstrate the ability to think creatively about complex problems?
- Do you display a confident demeanor and likable personality?
The Human Ecology Career Exploration Center has in depth resources on case interview preparation including data sheets, frameworks, as well as a copy of the book Case In Point. We also have a Case Interview Preparation Booklet that walks you through the steps to cracking the case. You can also schedule a mock case interview with one of our trained career assistants.
How to Get Started:
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- Visit the CEC for resources!
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- Familiarize yourself with the case interview format and style
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- Practice cases! It’s also important to both give and receive cases since being on both sides of the table provide a valuable learning perspective
- Study basic frameworks (but don’t grow overly reliant on them)
- Build your business acumen by keeping up with current events
- Sharpen your mental math skills
Some Additional Resources on Case Interviews:
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- Monthly subscription is $35 and an annual one is $155.
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- In this website you can do structuring “drills” in which they give you a prompt, you come up with a structure, and compare to suggested structures provided by the site administrators and others.
- They also have math drills and charts material
Link to Caseinteractive.com through the management library – structure drills, math drills, interactive cases, etc.
Link to CaseInterview.com offers users a free 6-hour case interview video tutorial. The website also has a large number of articles and Q&A related to consulting
The Vault Guide to Case Interviewing (Book)
Case In Point (Book)