How to approach a consulting case interview

A case interview is a conversation about an unfamiliar business problem. The interviewer is not checking whether you know the "right" answer — most cases do not have one. They are watching how you think when you do not yet know the answer.

What interviewers are assessing

Across firms and formats, four things come up again and again:

• Structured thinking — can you break a messy problem into clear, non-overlapping parts?
• Comfort with numbers — can you do quick, accurate maths and say what the result means?
• Business judgment — do your ideas make sense for this company, in this market?
• Communication — can someone follow your reasoning without effort?

Everything below is about showing those four things.

The shape of a case

1. Listen and write it down

Note the key facts as the interviewer speaks: the company, the problem, any numbers, and especially the objective. Play the problem back in one or two sentences. This catches misunderstandings early and shows you were listening.

2. Clarify what matters

Ask a small number of questions that change how you would solve the problem. Good clarifying questions usually cover:

• The objective — is "success" more profit, more revenue, market share, or something else?
• The timeframe — are we solving for this year or the next five?
• The scope — one product or all of them? One city or the whole country?

Avoid asking questions just to look thorough. Each question should earn its place.

3. Structure the problem

Ask for a minute to think, then lay out how you will approach the problem. The classic test is that your structure should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE): the branches should not overlap, and together they should cover the problem.

Take a fictional example: a chain of twelve bakeries in Jaipur has seen profits fall 15% in a year. A tailored structure might be:

• Revenue — number of customers per store, conversion of walk-ins to purchases, average bill, and store count.
• Costs — ingredients (prices and wastage), staff, rent, utilities, and delivery commissions.
• External factors — new competitors, changes in customer habits, and seasonality.

Notice that the structure uses the language of bakeries — footfall, wastage, delivery commissions — rather than a generic template. Interviewers can tell the difference immediately.

4. Form a hypothesis and prioritise

Say where you would look first and why. "Since costs like rent are usually fixed in the short run, I would start by checking whether revenue fell, and if so whether fewer customers or smaller bills drove it." This shows judgment and keeps the case moving.

5. Analyse — and always say "so what"

When you get data, read it carefully, do the maths out loud, and then interpret it. A number on its own is not an insight. "Average bill fell from ₹240 to ₹210 — a 12.5% drop — which on its own explains most of the profit decline" is.

For break-even or contribution questions, the break-even calculator is a quick way to check your practice maths afterwards.

6. Synthesise with the answer first

When the interviewer asks for a recommendation, lead with it. Then give the two or three reasons that support it, the main risk, and what you would do next. A useful shape:

"I recommend X. Three reasons: … The biggest risk is … To confirm, I would next look at …"

The mistakes that cost candidates most

• Forcing a framework. Reciting a memorised list signals that you are not thinking about the actual problem.
• Silent maths. If the interviewer cannot follow your calculation, they cannot give you credit for it.
• Data without interpretation. Every chart or number should end with what it means for the client.
• No synthesis. Running out of time without a recommendation is one of the most common ways to lose a case you were otherwise handling well.
• Treating hints as interruptions. When an interviewer nudges you, they are usually trying to help. Take the hint.

How to practise

Practise with a partner, out loud, against a clock. Take turns being the interviewer — reading a case from the other side teaches you a lot about what good answers sound like. Record a few sessions and listen back; you will notice filler words and unclear transitions you never hear in the moment.

A smaller number of cases done carefully, with honest feedback, beats a large number done quickly. Our case practice timer paces each phase, and the case prompts give you original cases to start with, including one solved step by step.