Interviewing

with
Consulting
Firms
A Guide by
The Schreyer Consulting Group

Consultation on content provided by the Smeal Business Career Center

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 Table of Contents
Contents

Introduction to Case Interviewing 3

Who We Are 4
What is Consulting? 5
More About Consulting 5
Firm Overview 5
Recruiting Timeline 6
Networking Best Practices 7
Brief Note on Behavioral Interviews 8
Case Interviews Explained 9
What is a Case Interview? 9
Case Interview Etiquette 10
Beginning of the Case 11
Structuring Case Interviews 12
Middle of Case 14
Brainstorming Questions 14
Case Interview Math 16
Navigating Between Questions 18
Advanced Case Interviewing Skills 20
Administering Practice Cases 20
Providing Constructive Feedback 21
Interviewee-Led Cases 23
Drawing Advanced Insights 24
Brainstorming Questions 24
Charts & Graphs 25
Conclusion 26
Appendix 27
Appendix 1: Consulting Checklist 27
Appendix 2: Case Preparation Timeline 29
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks 30
Appendix 4: Paper Layout 35

Click on a page title to jump to that section!

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Introduction to Case Interviewing

Case Interviewing
Introduction to
You’ve maybe met a few friends who plan on being a “consultant.” What is a consultant,
anyways? Well, consulting is simply a problem-solving service offering. Consulting can
span industries and functions, but in its essence, you’re being hired to solve a problem. If
you’re reading this, you’re probably excited about the idea of being hired to help companies
respond to new trends in a given industry, capture value from recent merger, or help make their
workforces more productive.

In this guide, we’ve synthesized lessons we’ve learned from our time preparing for consulting
interviews to bring you a short and effective tool to help you understand two things: what
consulting is and how you can land “the offer” at one of the best consulting firms. You will find
information on the recruiting process of companies, networking practices to get an interview,
and finally, how to master the case interview. This is not to say that only reading this guide
will be sufficient in accomplishing any of this. But, doing so will be an important first step in
understanding this industry, and how to break into it.

For more tips, you should network with other students in your academic college, students
in the consulting clubs on-campus (Nittany Consulting Group, Schreyer Consulting Group,
Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations, or any other consulting-related organization),
or consult your academic colleges. They will have a career office and advisors who will work
with you individually on career development and the recruiting process.

You should know from the outset - broadly speaking, consulting is a competitive industry to
break into. But don’t fret - we’ve created a checklist at the conclusion of this guide detailing all
the things you can do to make sure you’re always one step ahead.

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Who We Are

Case Interviewing
Introduction to
Before diving into the content, we think it’s important to
establish who we are. The three of us met through the
Schreyer Consulting Group, and all interned at consulting
firms after our junior year. While going through the
recruiting process, we all benefited from the knowledge of
upperclassmen that had landed internships and full-time
jobs in the consulting industry. Much of this knowledge was
not organized or available other than through conversations.
In the past few years, Penn State students have been very
successful at the top consulting firms. We decided to write
this guide because we are passionate about continuing
to create more consulting opportunities and resources for
Penn State students.

Nimay Godbole is a senior majoring in finance. He interned

with PwC’s Strategy& in the summer of 2019. On campus,
he is the president of The Schreyer Consulting Group, serves
as the vice president of a business fraternity, and worked as
an undergraduate research assistant. Outside of his college
involvement, he loves to binge watch Netflix...a lot, play
tennis, and follow Philadelphia sports teams.

Cory Steinle is a senior earning a Master of Science in Human

Resources and Employment Relations, and undergraduate
degrees in Communication Arts & Sciences and Labor &
Employment Relations. He interned with Deloitte’s GPS
(Government and Public Services) Human Capital practice in
the summer of 2019. On campus, he leads student operations
at Penn State’s Writing Center, serves as a Teaching Assistant
for the School of Labor and Employment Relations, founded
a college-consulting organization, and worked in two
communication labs. He enjoys traveling abroad, learning to
cook, and spending time with his friends and family.

Jacob Diamond is a senior majoring in finance and economics.

He interned with Deloitte’s Strategy & Operations practice
in the summer of 2019. On campus, he is the president of a
business fraternity, serves as one of the vice presidents for
The Schreyer Consulting Group, and led pro bono consulting
engagements with another consulting organization on campus.
In his free time, you can find him following Philadelphia sports,
playing pickup soccer, and hiking around State College.

**Note: The views on case interviewing expressed in this book are the opinions of the student-authors after practicing
for case interviews, and do not reflect the views of any professional services firm mentioned in this document.

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What is Consulting?

Case Interviewing
Introduction to
At its core, consulting is the business of providing professional advice. By definition, consulting
is a problem-solving service offering. There are many different types of consultants - for the
purpose of this guide, we will be focusing on business consultants.

So you might be wondering, why do consultants exist? Can’t people or companies solve
their own problems? These are great questions. The answer - no, people or companies can’t
always solve problems by themselves. And even if they can, it might be too tedious to do
so internally. Sometimes an external firm - most often a consulting company - will have a
better understanding of how to solve that problem. So, a company hires consultants to solve
problems because it’s either cheaper, better, or faster than if the company did so by itself. In
this way, firms who hire consultants always expect a return on investment.

There are many different facets within business consulting. Just because we’re calling it
business consulting doesn’t mean that only business majors can go into the field. Consulting
firms hire a wide cross-section of majors (from engineering to liberal arts to education), and
hire based off a candidate’s demonstrated problem-solving ability as shown through their prior
experiences and case interview. This is just a snapshot of what consulting is. To learn more,
you should research more online, ask your friends and peers, and reach out to your academic
colleges. The more you search, the more you’ll come to understand just how many lives,
businesses, and processes consultants touch. The following sections will now focus on the main
purpose of this guide: to help you get interviews and perform well in them.

Firm Overview
Now that you have a brief understanding of consulting, let’s talk about the different consulting
firms that exist and recruit at Penn State.

There are several consulting firms you should know about. A group of firms colloquially known
as the “Big 3” are McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company.
These firms recruit an extremely tiny, yet diverse, group of students with strong problem-
solving skills and excellent intuition. Typically, these firms recruit from Ivy league institutions
and top-ranked business schools, but recently, they’ve begun targeting Penn State students
who are passionate about consulting.

Penn State students are very successful in being recruited by all of the “Big 4” consultancies.
These firms include Deloitte LLC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, and EY. Each of these
firms differ in their feel, company culture, and services offerings. These firms are much larger,
and have offices in virtually every major city in the U.S. and globally. They offer flexibility
in recruiting - sometimes firms will recruit on-campus for several of their major U.S. offices.
Additionally, these firms more often than not offer some form of early recruiting, where they
come to campus to promote their firms and connect with underclassmen.

Figure 1. The “Big Three” Consulting Firms

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 Case Interviewing
Introduction to
Figure 2. The “Big Four” Consulting Firms
Other intermediary consultancies exist within the structure of Big Four firms, but operate
differently. For example, EY acquired Parthenon strategy consultancy in a 2014 deal.1 PwC
acquired Booz & Company that same year, relabeling the group Strategy&.2

Firms such as Accenture, IBM, Baker Tilly, RSM, and Grant Thornton are considered to be
middle market consulting firms. These companies service smaller clients and tend to not have
as much of a strategy focus as the Big Three or Big Four. Penn State has strong relations with
these firms and sends many students to these respective companies each year.

Other consulting firms will vary by specialty and industry. A.T. Kearney, Oliver Wyman, and ZS
Associates specialize in operations, finance & banking, and healthcare respectively. Because
of these firms’ unique history and Penn State’s lack of proximity to them, they don’t typically
recruit at Penn State. However, in the past year, we’ve had students accept full-time offers from
all three of these firms.

There are, of course, many other consulting firms and some we haven’t mentioned recruit
at Penn State. The more you search outside career websites (LinkedIn, Indeed), Penn State’s
Nittany Lion Careers (internal career site), and talk with peers in the consulting industry, the
more you’ll come to understand the industry and its opportunities.

Recruiting Timeline
Recruiting starts whenever you want it to. The reality is this - as the labor market for top
consulting talent increasingly strains, firms have to work harder to entice top talent. However,
as these firms continue to do this, it becomes increasingly advantageous to engage with
them as early as possible. As mentioned earlier, many of the firms have conferences for
underclassmen to learn more about the company and to further develop leadership and
problem-solving skills. Often times participants in these programs are very successful
candidates when it comes time for full-time and internship recruiting. Repeated contact with a
firm and its professionals (both its recruiters and consultants) helps to convey that a candidate
is passionate about a career in consulting.

Firms will traditionally recruit during the fall of your junior year for internships, and during the
fall of your senior year for full-time jobs. You can obtain a full-time consulting offer without
having considered the profession your freshman or sophomore years. In this way, firms will
consider the totality of your application - after all, they’re looking for the best talent.

All told, there are dozens of firms that will hire you into a consultant-type role. If you’re serious
about getting a job in consulting, you should probably consider applying to at least five, but
often, at least ten firms. The process for each firm is difficult and unique, but along the way,

1 Healy, B. (2014). Accounting Giant to Buy Partheon . The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.
bostonglobe.com/business/2014/07/21/boston-consultancy-parthenon-group-acquired-ernst-young/ECKVANjyAhb-
ztiIDOxm0DN/story.html.
2 Strategy&. (2019). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy%26.

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you’ll learn where you fit in most and what kinds of work you enjoy the most. The next section

Case Interviewing
Introduction to
discusses how to connect and network with firms.

Networking Best Practices

Several organizations at Penn State devote a lot of time teaching undergraduate students how
to properly network. While there is no surefire way to network with employers, this section will
touch on the big, overlying points of networking.

If we boil networking down to its essence, networking functions to reduce an organization’s

uncertainty about you as a candidate and further educate the firm about your background,
history, interests, and personality. Moreover, networking provides you, the candidate, the
opportunity to learn more about the firm you’re applying to, and whether you’re a proper fit.
As a bonus, networking serves to provide an edge in the interview selection process for well-
networked candidates.

Penn State students often excel at networking. Networking and leveraging your personal
brand is a part of the culture at the University - whether through business fraternities, student
organizations, or our rich alumni network. Students in all academic colleges should make efforts
to network frequently with firms. Strong networkers will attend multiple sessions and distinguish
themselves as the “best of their field,” marketing themselves as attractive candidates with
a diverse skill-set different from the “typical” consultant in their industry, yet still capable of
learning quickly and performing well on the job.

And, we should note - students across the University are able to join Smeal student
organizations if they would like to acquire professional development skills and network with
peers. You’re welcome to join these organizations if you are interested in learning more about
consulting!

Now, let’s take a look at how best to network with actual, real-life consultants.

Over the course of the many networking events you’ll attend, you may find yourself often
waiting in lines for just a 45 second to one minute “elevator pitch” to a recruiter or firm
employee. You’ll want to perfect this elevator pitch - who you are, what you study, why you’re
interesting, and why you’re a good fit for the firm. To do this, you’ll need to be prepared
to distinguish yourself as a student whose
interests align with the firm.

Preparing for an information session

is as simple as Googling the firm and
understanding its operations. You can find
this information most often on the firm’s
website, where they’ll provide case studies
of work they’ve provided in the past.
You may also consider looking for news
articles about the firm. Equipped with this
knowledge, you can confidently walk into
a room and understand the type of work
the firm conducts. Knowing this, you can
ask the consultants you’ll network with
insightful questions that function twofold:

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first, to provide you information that other applicants will not know (thus distinguishing you);

Case Interviewing
Introduction to
and second, to impress the consultants you meet.

Distinguishing yourself is much more difficult. This often involves “telling the story” of your
personal and professional career through your elevator pitch and subsequent conversations.
The easiest way to distinguish yourself is to be your authentic self during the recruiting process.
Be relaxed and confident and let your unique academic and professional interests come
through as you talk with firms. This is not to say that one does need to prepare or polish their
story. Practice goes a long way in how effective you are at communicating your unique story.
Ask questions that are interesting and constantly find ways to contribute an intelligent “new
perspective.”

Third and finally, constantly demonstrating your fit is important when networking. Remember
that every client interaction in consulting requires the consultant to build rapport, sell
themselves, and sell their solutions. Accordingly, firms should expect nothing different from
their potential candidates. When networking, you should be very cognizant of how you’re
pitching yourself to the firm. Here are three things you can do to demonstrate your fit.

1. Be an active participant in any conversation with a consultant.

2. Be flexible yet clear about your goals.
3. Treat the networking call as a conversation rather than a Q&A session.

In summary, in this section you’ve learned a little bit about a few of the consulting firms, the
recruiting timelines, and networking practices. However, these few pages are just the tip of the
iceberg. Seek out advice from personal mentors, clubs, organizations, career offices, and online
resources to learn more. Remember, the best networkers won’t wait until the fall semester to
network - start in the summer before the official recruiting cycle begins!

Brief Note on Behavioral Interviews

Behavioral interviewing mirrors networking, and is the final criteria firms use to assess your
personality, interests, and competencies outside of networking. But remember - networking
supplements your interview, and the more a firm has learned about you through your
networking, the more likely it is that you’ll shine in the behavioral interview. We want to be
clear - the purpose of this guide is not to prepare you for the behavioral interview, despite its
importance. There are several other resources on-campus that can help you prepare for the
behavioral interview - practicing with your friends, the career center, or most business-oriented
student organizations. Seek out these resources, and prepare adequately for the behavioral
interview to succeed.

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Case Interviews Explained
Case interviewing for consulting firms can be intimidating. Many other applicants will likely
be vying for your exact position as an incoming intern or analyst at any number of the top
consulting firms in the country. If you have been selected for an interview, this means your
competition has decreased to a much smaller pool of applicants. Most consulting firms will
have first and second round interviews, meaning your competition will become narrower (and
more talented) the further you find yourself in the recruiting process.

Receiving any type of interview in this industry is difficult on its own. By this point, you’ve likely

Case Interviews:
done a lot of the things we mentioned earlier in the guide - networked with current employees
of a firm, attended their on-campus events, and catered your resume based on their advice. Or

Explained
perhaps you’ve were selected on account of your phenomenal resume. Regardless, you now
face the most challenging part of the recruiting process - interviewing with senior members of
a firm in an intimate environment, and impressing them with your experience, potential, and
personality. With most firms, you have not just one, but two opportunities to make a positive
impression - a case and behavioral interview.

Like we just mentioned, there are many resources available on campus to prepare for
behavioral interviews. You have access to your peers, clubs, and career services on campus.
Thus, for the purposes of this guide, we will mostly be focusing on how to tackle the case
interview. 

What is a Case Interview?

You may have just heard the term case interview for the first time, so you must be wondering
what it is. Consulting firms, and increasingly many other companies, use a two-pronged
approach to interviews - behavioral and case interviews. As mentioned earlier, there are
thousands of resources dedicated to outlining how to ace behavioral interviews. However,
there are much fewer resources properly explaining the dynamics of the case interview. So, let’s
shift our attention to what a case interview is.

A case interview, in the context of consulting, is a miniaturized business problem that you will
solve alongside one or more interviewers. There are two types of cases: interviewer-led and
interviewee-led cases. We will focus mostly on interviewer-led cases as most companies follow
this format. Interviewee-led cases are covered in a later section. Firms choose to conduct
case interviews to gain a deeper level understanding of a candidate’s analytical thinking and
interpersonal skills. You will spend approximately 25 minutes talking through an ambiguous
business problem situation and recommend a solution to that problem by the end of the
interview.

A case is broken down into three major segments: the introduction, the body, and the
conclusion. The introduction is where you are introduced to the problem. The interviewer will
spend 1-2 minutes reading you the facts of the case - i.e. the broad strokes of the business
problem. You will spend approximately 2-3 minutes understanding the background of the
situation, asking clarifying questions, and creating a “framework” to break down the complex
situation into manageable portions you can attack piece-by-piece.

The body is where you’ll spend around 20 minutes diving into the core issues of the case.
You will be asked qualitative questions - where you can be asked to brainstorm ideas - and
quantitative questions, where you can be asked to perform mathematical calculations. These

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questions will slowly drive you towards a “solution” to the problem at hand.

Finally, you will spend 1-2 minutes delivering your recommendation in the formal “conclusion.”
This is essentially a summary of what you’ve discussed over the last 25 minutes, and what the
next steps you’d take in order to solve this business problem in the best possible way.

Case Interview Etiquette

Now that you have a general idea of what a case interview is, let’s dive deeper into the
recognized and universal etiquette that you should adhere to before diving into how to solve a

Case Interviews:
case.

Explained
A case interview is meant to simulate the real-life job situations that consultants face every day.
For this reason, half the “battle,” per say, in any case interview is just proving that you have the
presence and demeanor to be in front of clients, partners, or team of associates. Here are a few
tips to help you do just that:

• Write legibly. Throughout the interview, you’ll be using pen and paper to jot notes,
create frameworks, and record information. If you and/or the partner can barely read your
handwriting - whether that be your notes, framework, or anything else - the client definitely
won’t be able to either. You should also bring plenty of pen or pencil and paper (graph
or plain) to take notes. In
addition, you should set up
your paper in a structured
manner to help yourself
organize your notes. See the
appendix for an example on
how to structure your paper.
• Make eye contact. You’ll
be delivering your thoughts
and analysis periodically. You
don’t have to be staring at
the interviewer at all points
throughout the interview, but
make sure you are looking
head-on and projecting
confidence when you speak to
your interviewer.
• Engage with the interviewer. Turn your paper around when presenting your ideas.
This engages the interviewer and allows you to walk them through your logic to show
them how you plan to attack the problem. Make sure your paper is neatly organized in
different sections (i.e. a section for taking general notes, another for writing your ideas in a
presentable manner, an area for the question, and etc.).
• Be enthusiastic. Showing that you enjoy being creative and solving difficult problems tells
the interviewer that you’d be a strong potential team member.

Although there are many other small things you can do to stand out, these are just a few that
will help you make a positive impression in the interview. Let’s move on to how to actually go
through a case interview, where you’ll learn more tips and tricks.

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Beginning of the Case
Let’s dive into how to go about tackling each portion of the case interview!

When starting a case, there’s a specific structure interviewees should follow. At the start of
the case, the interviewer will begin reading you a case prompt. Think about this information
as the facts of the case - i.e., the facts of the problem you’re being asked to solve. Take down
(concise) notes about the prompt as your interviewer reads it aloud, then summarize the key
points of the prompt before asking clarifying questions. Do not attempt to write down every
word of the prompt - only jot down the higher-level facts (e.g., “sales = 20% decline” instead

Case Interviews:
of writing “the company experienced a decrease in sales of 20%”). After practicing a few cases,
your ability to identify the key parts of the prompt should improve and you tend recognize

Explained
pieces of information that may be valuable in later parts of the case interview.

Here’s an example (we will be using the same prompt throughout):

Interviewer: Our client is a global consumer packaged goods company, called Grime
Co., that makes paper products such as paper towels, cleaning products, and laundry
care products. The company’s CEO has set a sales target of $2B in 4 years while sales are
currently at $1B. Our client would like you to develop a strategy to deliver this growth. 3

Interviewee: So just to summarize, our client is a packaged goods company, and they want
us to develop a strategy to double their sales in 4 years. Are there any other goals I should
be aware of, such as overall profitability?

Notice a couple of things. First,the interviewee did not repeat back all of the information.
Second, the interviewee asked if there are any other objectives.

Once the prompt has been read, you want to confirm that you are not missing any critical
information. You do not need to read back all the information. The goal is to make sure you
have all the necessary information to move forward in the case. In addition, there are times
when the prompt will be a lot longer than the one shown above, and you may not have enough
time to write everything down. It is important here to do two things:

1. Try to write down information you think is most important while the interviewer is speaking.
2. If you feel that you are unable to keep pace while the interviewer is reading the prompt, ask
them to repeat back the information you think you missed after they’re done reading the
prompt.

The second thing the interviewee in the example did was that he/she asked if there were any
other objectives (a form of a clarifying question). Most times when you ask this question, the
response will immediately be a no. But sometimes, asking about other goals could be the
difference between getting important information and spending half the case looking for the
right information in the wrong place.

Other clarifying questions you can ask can relate to the company being discussed in the
case (i.e. product lines, employees, region of operation), its customers and competitors,

3 Household Cleaner’s Growth. (2010). The University of Michigan Ross School of Business MBA Consulting
Club. PDF File.

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or regarding the prompt itself (i.e. if there is a business term you don’t understand, it’s
encouraged to ask about it rather than make an uneducated guess). Make sure that the
questions you are asking are high-level questions that demonstrate your deep problem-solving
skills. These questions are not meant for you to immediately find ways to fix the issue, which
is why if you start asking questions that are too specific, the interviewer will not give you that
information until later.

The biggest piece of advice we can offer for this section is this: it is okay to ask questions!
No one expects you to be an expert on the issue being presented. Asking questions shows
that even in uncertain situations, you are willing to learn. This is the first step in becoming a
successful interviewee and consultant.

Case Interviews:
Explained
Structuring Case Interviews
Now that you know what the problem is, it is time to break it down. How you handle this key
step can help you standout from other candidates. The first question of the case will typically
prompt the candidate to structure the problem presented before them. This is usually asked
in this type of phrasing: “What are the key factors you would consider when…” The presence
of the word factors is often a signal that the interviewer is testing a candidate’s ability to
structure, break down, and prioritize a business problem into its component parts.

You should ask to take some time to think about this and simultaneously ask the interviewer,
“Do you mind if I take a moment to structure my thoughts?” before answering the question. To
answer the question, you’ll take some time on your own to create a framework. Frameworks
are characterized by visual free-body diagrams you will create as you hear the prompt and
progress through the case. You should give yourself between 1-1.5 minutes to make your
framework, then spend about 2 minutes delivering your answer to the interviewer. It is normal
to take that time to write down your notes quietly (silence is not awkward!).

Let’s take a look at an example of how to answer a framework-based question off of the prompt
mentioned above (sometimes the interviewer asks the question while delivering the prompt - in
this situation, follow the same steps we’ve discussed above).

Interviewer: What factors would you consider in helping Grime Co. attain their goal?

Interviewee: Can I take some time to jot down my ideas?

Interviewer: Go ahead.

*Take one to two minutes to structure the case. The structure for this example’s answer can
be found below.

Interviewee: There are three factors I’d like to consider. In order of importance, they are
(1) Grime Co.’s capabilities, (2) market outlook, and (3) risks. I would like to dive deeper into
Grime Co. capabilities first because I believe this will help me understand the background
of the business. It can be broken down into segmentation of current product lines and
new product investments. I’d like to look at those to see which product lines contribute
the greatest to revenue and where our company should focus its resources. Next, I’d like
to look at the overall market. I’d like to understand how the market is growing and identify
whether there are growth opportunities available through M&A. Finally, I’d like to look at
some intangibles, including risks associated with our strategy. I’d also consider the cultural
impact of our strategy and whether any technological risks are impeding our growth.

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 Figure 3. Example of advanced framework

Case Interviews:
This is an example of a more advanced framework; however, any strong framework will

Explained
accomplish two objectives. First, it will show the interviewer that you have strong critical
thinking skills; and second, it will help you complete the rest of the case by providing a
framework for your analysis. When thinking about how you would like to break the case down,
we have two recommendations of our own.

First, keep the framework intuitive. This means that you should identify factors that will directly
help you break down and solve the problem - and more than that, it should make complete
logical sense. In the example above, the interviewee picks three factors to break down the
problem into portions that will directly help him/her answer the larger question: how the
company can continue to grow its sales. It likely does not make sense to apply a value chain
framework to this growth case - value chains are most applicable to operational efficiency
problems. For those of you who are wondering what a value chain is, it is simply the sequential
steps taken to transform raw materials into outputs - hence, they’re most often applied to
business situations that demand efficiency.

Keeping the framework intuitive also means

keeping it M.E.C.E. M.E.C.E. is an acronym
that stands for “mutually exclusive, completely
exhaustive.” This picture will help you
understand what we mean by M.E.C.E.

To summarize, each factor you choose to

break down the problem is separate from one
another, and also, there are enough factors to
help address the entire problem. The notion
of M.E.C.E. is very idealistic. It is very hard to
create a framework within 1-1.5 minutes that Figure 4. The concept of M.E.C.E.1
will be able to address every issue the company faces, without overlapping with any other
considerations. However, with enough practice, you will be able to create frameworks that are
as close to M.E.C.E. as possible.

Second, do not apply a “cookie-cutter” framework to a given case type. For example, though
the 4-P framework (product, place, price, and promotion) or Porter’s Five Forces are widely
recognized ways to think about growth opportunities, but applying them directly to a case
interview shows the interviewer that you are not thinking critically about the problem in front
of you - you’re just reciting what you’ve memorized. The value in these popular frameworks is
to allow you to have questions and ideas for thinking about certain types of business problems
before the case interview. It is your job during the first moments of the case to determine which
questions, analyses, segmentations are most appropriate.

1 https://igotanoffer.com/blogs/mckinsey-case-interview-blog/mece

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 Note: Don’t worry if you don’t know frameworks such as 4Ps or Porter’s 5 Forces. They
are not imperative in ensuring that you perform well during a case interview or any other
situation. The best frameworks are those unique to each problem. However, it doesn’t hurt
to know a few frameworks that will help with categorizing and analyzing common business
problems. They will aid your creativity in crafting your own solutions to case problems. See
the Appendix for a few examples of frameworks.

Once you’ve developed your framework, there is a specific way that you should deliver it. Your
delivery should follow the top-down approach. Top-down communication dictates summarizing
high-level ideas, and then delving deeper into those buckets of ideas. Or, in the context of
our case, the top would be your first “buckets” in the structure, and the “bottom” would be

Case Interviews:
the questions that arise from those buckets. In addition, you want to give the best and most

Explained
important ideas first. This shows the interviewer that you are prioritizing ideas and problems - a
skill highly valued on consulting teams.

The interviewee did a perfect job with this approach when he/she communicated the areas
they wanted to explore and then expanding upon them once they had covered all the high
level buckets. This delivery method is one of the most important communication techniques, as
it demonstrates your ability to interact with the client professionally and efficiently.

Finally, you should always give a rationale for why you want to dive deeper into specific
aspects. This is known as being hypothesis-driven in your communication. We cover this notion
in the For the Advanced Case Interviewer section. However, for now, all you need to know
is that you should be deliberate and reasonable in crafting your plan, requesting additional
information, and presenting that plan to your interviewer.

Middle of Case
Now that you have successfully created a framework to simplify the problem, you’ll now spend
the majority of the time trying to find specific ways to achieve the goals stated in the prompt.
In this portion of the case, there are two types of questions the interviewer will ask you:
qualitative questions and quantitative questions. Qualitative questions demand you to
generate ideas, and can also be referred to as brainstorming questions. Quantitative questions
consist of basic algebra and mental math you’ll need to perform quickly and on-the-spot.

Brainstorming Questions
Brainstorming questions offer an opportunity for you to display your business acumen and
creativity. The best way to prepare for these questions is to read the business section of any
major newsource and practice case interviews. It is helpful to have some ideas of how to cut
costs, how to win customers, etc. Be careful to make sure that these are specific to the case.
This type of knowledge is not developed overnight, and for underclassmen reading this guide,
some of the best advice we received ourselves was to read the news everyday. Feel free to
mention current market trends (often found in the news) that may be driving your thinking
during these types of questions.

Don’t forget to take time at the beginning of this question (as with every question) to collect
your thoughts. In fact, write down each idea you have during this time. This is to your benefit
so you do not repeat ideas when answering. All of your ideas are not created equal; give your
best ideas up front and concisely describe your logic and reasoning behind them (top-down
approach).

14
Let’s run through an example to get a better understanding of how these questions are framed
and how you can answer them.

Interviewer: Identify ways that our client can increase sales through internal changes within
the next four years.

Interviewee: Can I take a moment to collect my ideas?

Interviewer: Sure.

Case Interviews:
Explained
Interviewee: *After about 45 seconds*
There are a couple of ways to increase sales through internal changes:
1. First, conduct R&D to invest in products such as tissues or bathroom cleaning supplies
that we don’t currently sell;
2. Second, strategically sell products in regions with high demand for paper or cleaning
products, which would mostly be in the developing and developed countries;
3. Third, advertise our products more aggressively if we there is a lack of brand
recognition with our company;
4. Fourth, optimize pricing to sell more volume/increase sales through competitor pricing
analysis.

There are two important rules you must follow while answering a brainstorming question:
identify tangible ways to achieve the goals and follow the top-down approach to deliver the
answer. It is important to understand that it will take practice to be able to do this well in such a
short time frame, but it can be done.

The interviewee did a couple of things correctly. First, he/she catered the solution directly
to Grime Co. and then answered in a top-down manner. Notice that although “conducting
R&D” is not unique in itself, the interviewee made sure to talk about doing so for Grime Co.
specifically and gave examples of what to invest in. This is enough to make a generic answer
such as R&D to a unique answer applicable to the problem you’re attempting to solve. The
interviewee also answered using the top-down approach. He/she gave, what they thought was
the best answer first and then moved to the least effective way to increase sales.

By following these simple steps of contextualizing the answer

to the problem at hand and the top-down approach, you’ll be Tip: Treat a
able to make a brainstorming question much less intimidating. brainstorming
However, sometimes you will lack the time to properly question as a
conceptualize a solution. The point of not giving you any time framework question.
to think - from an interviewer’s perspective - is to stress-test you, Try to structure your
and make you think on your feet. Thus, it is important to not get response with broader
frazzled, stay composed, and rely on your business acumen. By levels and then diving
remaining calm - and understanding the interviewer’s motives - deeper into each of
you’ll be able to demonstrate that even under pressure, you can them.
think critically and present yourself intelligently.

15
 Note: For underclassmen reading this, the best way to get better at brainstorming questions
is to do a couple of things. First, read the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or any other
news outlet. Second, join professional development clubs on campus that will help you
gain business knowledge (i.e. business fraternity, consulting clubs, investment associations,
research labs, etc.). You absolutely do not need to be a business major to do well in these
types of questions. But by following those two simple steps, you’ll be able to combine
business acumen with your problem-solving skills to answer these questions well.

Case Interview Math

Case Interviews:
Case interviews will almost certainly include a quantitative question (sometimes two!), and

Explained
it is important to have practiced case interview math beforehand. Typically, the math in case
interviews remains synonymous across firms, so practice really helps you, no matter who you’re
interviewing with. Let’s first begin by outlining the level of math ability expected from you. Case
interview math is not designed to test your understanding of Calculus. Instead, interviewers use
quantitative questions to test three skills:

1. Your ability to work with large numbers;

2. Your ability to structure analysis;
3. Your attention to detail.

The most complex case math will be a two variable system of equations (remember Algebra II).
Numbers may often be in the thousands, millions, or billions. You must make sure to answer the
question you are asked. Often times it is easy to put your head down
with the analysis and think an intermediate calculation is the ultimate
answer - so, attention to detail is an absolute must. Tip: Writing down the
question at the top of
Most candidates will be able to get through these quantitative your page is a great re-
problems; how you get through these problems, though, is often minder to both you and
the differentiating factor. Starting out, it is appropriate to take a the interviewer of the
minute to collect your thoughts. During this time, you should have question at hand.
one objective: to set up the algebraic equations (actually write these
equations down on your paper) necessary to solve the problem. Once
you have this set up, communicate in plain language to the interviewer your process for finding
the desired answer. This demonstrates that you are able to competently communicate analyses
and offers the interviewer a chance to jump in and correct you if you are off track.
Once again, let’s look at an example from the GrimeCo prompt above.

16
 Interviewer: The client has a new toilet cleaning product in development that analysts
believe will do well. Price will be $5 a unit, but requires 20% trade spend per product to
reach our target volume. We expect to sell 40 million units on average per year. If our client
launches this product, how much additional growth do we still need to achieve to hit our
target?

Interviewee: What does trade spend mean?

Interviewer: Trade spend is an additional cost incurred by the company to shelve the
products in retail stores.

Case Interviews:
Explained
Interviewee: Ok, can I take a moment to gather my thoughts?

Interviewer: Sure.

Interviewee: *After 30-45 seconds*

So how I plan on attacking this is by first identifying our actual price after trade spend and
then multiplying it by the average number of units we plan on selling. Does that sound good
to you?

Interviewer: Yes, it does.

Interviewee: Taking 20% of the actual price, you get $1 in trade spend. Hence our overall
“profit” will be $4/unit. Then, multiplying $4/unit by 40 million units will mean that we will
generate an additional $160M in sales per year. This means that we still need $1B minus
$160M = $840M increase in sales from other avenues.

There are three things the interviewee did well here: first, the interviewee asked a clarifying
question when they were uncertain of a specific term; second, they laid out the approach they
were going to take; and third, they framed the answer in the overall context of the case.
As mentioned earlier, it is okay to ask questions when you’re unsure about what something
means. It shows the interviewer that you are not pretending to know everything and are willing
to learn as you go along.

It is important to note how the interviewee laid out an approach they were planning on taking
to solve the problem before crunching the numbers. By verbalizing this beforehand, it allows
the interviewer to follow the steps you are going to be taking and correct you before you can
make a mistake. This is extremely important because it demonstrates your ability to interact in a
client-friendly manner - putting the process forward before implementing it. More importantly,
if you make a mistake, it allows the interviewer to see that you are coachable and can adapt.

Finally, these quantitative problems are more than just math problems. The interviewers
certainly ask for the numerical answer - but they are looking for you, the interviewee, to

17
interpret what that number means in the context of the case, the client’s business, and/or the
market. Recognizing the business context demonstrates your ability to see the larger picture.
In this situation, the interviewee realizes that although you can increase sales by $160M, you
still need to find a way to increase the revenue to $1B elsewhere. And that’s critical to finding
a solution to this client’s original goal. By following these steps, you’ll quickly come to master
case math. If you’re not comfortable with mental math, try practicing in your daily life. For
example, multiply the first two numbers by the last two numbers on a license plate. There is
also an app called Case Math that will help you get quicker with mental math. No matter how
you plan on practicing, just remember - it’s definitely worth practicing these problems a few
times.

Case Interviews:
Navigating Between Questions

Explained
Finally, there’s more to a good case interview than just brainstorming and math tests. Getting
into the “flow” of the case can help your interview feel more relaxed and conversational while
demonstrating your problem-solving skills. Here are some ways you can accomplish these
goals:

• Use your framework. Your framework (if structured well) should serve as your map for
navigating the case. If you ever feel lost or aren’t sure where to explore next, refer to your
initial buckets.
• Tell a story. With each question, you’ll be given more and more background information
about the problem you’re solving. Use that info to target important areas and paint a better
picture of why a specific number matters and what to do about it.
• Listen to verbal clues. When thinking about a topic, you may be tempted to make
decisions based on your own knowledge. Make sure you’re following where the interviewer
is telling you to go; often, they’ll give you subtle nudges in the right direction.

Your ability to do all three of these will help you master the basics. Remember, the case
interview is not only testing your analytical ability, but also your interpersonal skills. Showing
that you are able to trust your instincts by referring to your framework, contextualize the
scenario by crafting a story, and remain coachable by picking up subtle hints will allow you to
demonstrate your client-friendly skills.

Ending the Case

The past 25 minutes of your interview were designed to lead to this moment. You are almost
done, and the last step is to make a recommendation. Almost without fail, the final question or
scenario of the case will be a variation of the following question:

Interviewer: The CEO of the consumer packaged goods company has just walked in
and has asked for an update. Can you summarize what we discussed today and make a
recommendation?

Interviewee: Based off of our discussion today, we should be able to reach the target
of $2B in four years. We’ll be able to do so by investing in R&D internally and acquiring
another company to expand our international presence. However, there are risks associated
specifically with the acquisition, such as cultural risks and realizing synergies. Hence, our next
steps should be to continue significant due diligence to ensure that the target is the right fit
for our client’s company.

18
In this situation, you do not have too much time to think. Thus, take a couple seconds to gather
your thoughts and structure your response. There are 4 steps this interviewee followed to have
a strong, concise response.

• Make the recommendation: In a client scenario, the client wants to hear the solution first,
and that is exactly what you should start with. Throughout the case, you will naturally come
to a conclusion about what the solution of the problem is and this is what you want to state
initially. Simply put, the first sentence of a good conclusion will answer the question(s) that
was asked of you at the beginning of the case.
• Defend the recommendation with key findings: The next step, logically, is to corroborate

Case Interviews:
your solution with reasons you’ve established throughout the case. You should have two or

Explained
three reasons explaining why you think the solution you’re proposing is the right one - and,
better than any other alternatives.
• Analyze the risks & barriers: Every solution has some risks associated with it. By showing
that you understand these risks, you’re establishing a higher level of thinking that will
separate you from other candidates.
• Mitigate and conclude with next steps: You never want to leave the client with a negative
thought. Hence, you must identify how to mitigate the risk. In addition, these mitigations
can actually be action items. After making the recommendation, you must briefly explain
what the next steps are to make this plan actionable.

Overall, the conclusion should take approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute. This framework will
allow you to coherently and concisely summarize the case while leaving a lasting impression on
the interviewer.

Now that you’ve ended the case, you can sit back and relax! If you did an interview for an
internship or full-time, don’t ask for feedback on how you just performed. Simply have an
ordinary, non-case-related conversation, and ask your interviewer smart questions. If you were
doing a practice case, refer to our later section on how to make sure you are improving with
every case that you do!

19
Advanced Case Interviewing Skills
Now that you are familiar with the flow of a case interview, this section will help take you to
the next level. Mastering the basics is not enough to get the offer - though it may sometimes
be enough to move past the first round of interviews. You need to continuously demonstrate
higher-level thinking in order to succeed.

The topics covered in this section include administering practice cases, interviewee-led cases
and drawing advanced insights in brainstorming questions and charts/graphs.

Administering Practice Cases

Administering cases to your friends, peers, or at a career office is a great low-pressure way
to practice and improve your case interviewing skills. However, for your skills to improve, you
need to be able to trust the credibility of your interviewer and the criticisms they provide. Here
are some tips to guide your practice sessions and make sure you are constantly improving.

When you are sitting on the other side of the table giving a case to someone else, it’s easy
to relax a bit too much - after all, you’re not the one being interviewed. Here are some tips

Interviewing Skills
to help you enjoy the case, be more engaged, and give better feedback by being an active

Advanced Case
interviewer.

• Know the type of case you’re giving. In an interviewer-led case, the format is much more
Q&A based. In an interviewee-led case (you will learn about these in the next section),
allow the interviewee to speak more and be more conversational. Make sure you’ve read
the case thoroughly before giving it to your peers.

• Make it realistic. The objective is to simulate an environment as close to a real case

interview as possible. Acting too relaxed, texting during the case, or doing anything else
visibly distracting for the interviewee will keep them from getting into “the zone” and
seeing real improvements in their performance.

• Don’t go easy on them. You can throw the interviewee a few hints if they are struggling,
but make them ask pointed, relevant questions before giving up important background
information. Don’t be afraid to stress-test the interviewee.

• Keep a separate tab open on your computer to write down your feedback. Taking
notes makes it easier to know exactly what your criticisms were and put them in context.

• Don’t break from the case. Many times interviewees will ask to break from the case
interview format or environment to ask a question. While this okay once or twice for people
just beginning to practice, the biggest improvement often derives from the pressure of the
interview process - and completing your first live case.

Finally, in order to administer a case, you need to have access to one. You can find case
interviews online, by googling them, or downloading casebooks that have already been
created by the top MBA schools. Don’t worry, these cases will have answers you can refer to to
ensure that your interviewee is on the right track.

20
Providing Constructive Feedback
Giving feedback at the end of the case is one of the hardest components of practicing -
especially when you feel less advanced than the person you are interviewing. However, it really
is the most important part of this process. Feedback ensures that you are constantly learning
and improving from case to case, rather than making the same mistakes over and over again.

To start, make sure you congratulate the interviewer on finishing the case! Doing practice cases
isn’t always fun or easy, so this is essential to make sure the interviewer is calm and relaxed
when receiving your honest - and perhaps critical - feedback. You can also ask them to self-
assess their performance - this will show you which parts of your critique you need to focus
on more, and which parts they are already working (or know) to improve. Last but not least,
make sure they are taking notes on your feedback - otherwise, we guarantee they won’t
remember it.

The first level of critiques should center on the interviewee’s demeanor and client-readiness
when delivering their answers. Keep an eye out for things like eye contact, volume and tone
of voice, appropriate word choice, and confidence when assessing the delivery of an answer.
These things may not seem like a big deal, but can go a long way towards making a good

Interviewing Skills
impression and convincing the interviewer you can handle yourself well.

Advanced Case
The second level of critiques should be focused on the content of each answer. Use this area
to correct inefficient or inaccurate frameworks, show the interviewer how they misinterpreted
one of the questions, or suggest another way of approaching a question in the case. Make your
criticisms as specific as possible and use examples to demonstrate your point - often people
will forget what their answers actually were. An interviewee will greatly benefit from a refresher
on how they answered or structured their response to a question. Use your notes from during
the case to remind them exactly what they said, why it could be improved, and how you think
they should have done it.

Following these steps will ensure that you are assessing the interviewee holistically. You are
covering the soft skills by critiquing their delivery and their hard skills by giving feedback on
their content.

**Note: Practicing case interviews is very similar to practicing a sport. After getting a feel for
the flow and structure of case interviews in your first few cases, you should make a list of the
skills that you want to improve on and share this with your interview buddy when they give you
a practice case. As you continue to practice, continually update and refine the list of skills (pick
the 3-5 most important at the time) after each case. With more repetitions, your skills are more
likely to improve.

Example Rubrics:

Here are a few rubrics to help guide your (self-) assessment at the end of a case. For your
convenience, we’ve included a separate grading system for each type of question you are likely
to encounter in your case interviews.

Structuring Question

There is no right way to answer a question - especially a structuring question. Refer to the
example case to see what factors they recommended including. Some examples of relevant
factors include:

21

• The costs of entering the market
• The revenues from entering the market
• The capabilities of the company
• The value proposition of the client’s products
• The risks of entering the market

If you had 90% or more of the “relevant” factors for your case and your answer was delivered
well, you scored a ‘3.’

If you had between 66% and 90% of the relevant factors, you scored a 2.

If you had between 50% and 66% of the relevant factors, you scored a 1.

If you didn’t reach 50% of the relevant factors, you scored a 0.

Quantitative

These questions are more objective and therefore much easier to grade. Assuming that you
can earn a maximum of 3 points on each question:

Interviewing Skills
Advanced Case
If you solved the math correctly, add 1 point.

If you correctly described the significance of that answer to the rest of the case, add 1 point.

If your answer was delivered well, add 1 point.

Brainstorming Question

Unlike quantitative questions, these questions are subjective and there may not be specific
“right” answers. We recommend following the same grading process as with structuring
questions (see above).

Overall Case

Using the grading scales above, calculate your overall performance on the case. Generally,
scores of at least 85% constitute a “passing” grade - this is a very strong performance
and is where you should strive to be. Scores between 70% and 85% can be considered a
“passable” grade. This means that your case interview performance alone won’t get you the
offer, but gives you a chance if paired with a strong behavioral interview and compelling prior
experience. Scores below 70% will most likely remove you from consideration barring special
circumstances.

While the grading methods outlined above are open to interpretation, they provide a solid
baseline of how interviewers are likely to gauge your performance and make hiring decisions
based on that information.

22
Interviewee-Led Cases
Everything we covered in the last section follows the format of an interviewer-led case.
These cases are exactly what they sound like - the interviewer asks you questions and you
answer them. This happens - in a back-and-forth, conversational manner - until the end
of the case. An interviewee-led case is the opposite. Once you have gone through the
beginning of the case and completed your framework, you are going to direct the case
where you think you need to go in order to find the solution for the issue presented. You
will use your framework to get different pieces of data that will help you create the final
recommendation.

Some people can find this more difficult because it requires you to have a greater level of
business acumen than an interviewer-led case would. To be successful in an interviewee-
led case, you must employ hypothesis-driven thinking. This type of approach refers to how
you should go about explaining your thought process and gathering information to reach a
conclusion at the end of the case.

Let’s look at an example of an interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee in an

interviewee-led case to better understand hypothesis-driven thinking.

Interviewing Skills
Advanced Case
Interviewer: Our client is VitaminCo, a producer of vitamin pills. They sell their products to
health stores and pharmacies, and are now considering entering into the health foods and
beverages market. They want to know whether this is a good idea and what to do.4

Interviewee: To make sure I have all the right information, our client is a vitamin pill
producer looking to enter the health foods/beverages market. They’ve approached us to
identify whether this is a good opportunity. Are there any key objectives, such as increasing
revenues or profits?

Interviewer: Not at the moment.

Interviewee: Ok, can I take a moment to write down my thoughts?

Interviewer: Sure.

*After 1 minute passes.

Interviewee: There are three things I want to look at in order to identify whether VitaminCo
should enter the new market. First, I’d like to look at why VitaminCo wants to move into the
new product lines. To understand that, I’d want to look at its profitability and growth rates of
the segments it currently operates in. Second, I’d like to look at the market size of the health
foods and beverages space to see if there is space for a new market entrant. And finally, if
there is space in the marketplace, I’d like to identify the best strategy to move into the space
(i.e. M&A or joint venture). Does that sound good to you?

Interviewer: Yes, what would you like to look at first?

Interviewee: I’d like to start off by understanding why VitaminCo wants to enter a new
market. To do so, I think it’d be most beneficial to look at their profitability over the last
couple of years to understand what has been an issue within the company.

4 VitaminCo. Case. (2010). The University of Michigan Ross School of Business MBA Consulting Club. [PDF
File].

23
Let’s stop right here. Notice what the interviewee did in the last dialogue. The interviewee
started off by stating what he wanted to look at, and then gave a reason for why he thinks that
is the right first step. This is what hypothesis-driven thinking is characterized as. You should
always give a reason for why you think you’d want to look at a data point, and then ask for it. If
you don’t do so, it’ll look like you don’t know how to drive the case and break down a problem
appropriately.

For the purposes of this guide, we will not go any further into solving interviewee-led cases,
as most cases you will encounter will be interviewer-led cases. The purpose of this section was
to introduce hypothesis-driven thinking, which will be an important notion in the remaining
sections. If you’d like to learn more about solving interviewee-led cases, go on Bain’s website
to understand the finer intricacies. 

Drawing Advanced Insights

Hypothesis-driven thinking is crucial in getting to that next level of mastering case interviews,
and hence, this notion is extremely important for drawing advanced insights in brainstorming
questions and analyzing charts & graphs.

Interviewing Skills
Advanced Case
Brainstorming Questions
Demonstrating higher-level thinking for brainstorming questions is derived from being
hypothesis-driven. Let’s take a look at how to practice this from an earlier example.

Interviewer: Identify ways that our client can increase sales through internal changes within
the next four years.

Interviewee: Can I take a moment to collect my ideas?

Interviewer: Sure.

Interviewee: *After about 45 seconds*

There are a couple of ways to increase sales through internal changes:

1. Conduct R&D to invest in products such as tissues or bathroom cleaning supplies that we
don’t currently sell
2. Strategically sell products in regions with high demand for paper or cleaning products,
which would mostly be in the developing and developed countries
3. Advertise our products more aggressively if we there is a lack of brand recognition with
our company
4. Optimize pricing to sell more volume/increase sales through competitor pricing analysis

I’d first like to look at R&D because it allows us to control what products we need to invest
in. With proper due diligence, we can identify which items Grime Co. should invest in to
increase their sales the most. We can do so by analyzing customer trends and aligning those
with what our competencies are within paper and cleaning (hypothesis).

Notice that although this is not an interviewee-led case, the interviewee concluded the answer

24
with a hypothesis. Whether that hypothesis is right or wrong is not as important as the fact that
the interviewee demonstrated that they were forward-thinking in their response. As long as you
can show reasonable higher-level thinking, you will show the interviewer that you have strong
critical thinking. It is also important to be flexible. If your hypothesis is proven incorrect, you
must adapt and change accordingly.

In addition to being hypothesis-driven, you should tie things back to information you already
know. Usually, each question will lead into the next. So, by referencing information that you
already know and leveraging that to find appropriate solutions, you will demonstrate your
ability to balance considerations to come to the best strategy available.

By combining these two tactics, you’ll be able to demonstrate strong analytical and
interpersonal skills.

Charts & Graphs

Charts & graphs are another medium through which the interviewer will test your qualitative or
quantitative abilities.

Interviewing Skills
There is a simple structure you can follow to analyze these visual mediums. All you need to do

Advanced Case
is answer three questions while looking at a chart/graph: what, why, and how.

1. What information are you looking at?

2. Why could these patterns be emerging?
3. How will this information help you move forward with the case?

Similar to other questions, you are drawing insights and then using a hypothesis to drive the
case forward or demonstrate higher-level thinking. The hypothesis, in this situation, comes from
answering the how question.

Charts & Graphs are the final advanced topic in case interviewing. Once you’ve mastered all
of the topics we’ve discussed throughout this guide, you can consider yourself familiar with all
aspects of a case interview. Practicing each type of topic will allow you to feel comfortable and
prepared for your case interview. At the end of the day, you never want to be surprised by a
question or format in an interview, and practicing will help you avoid any day-of surprises.

25
Conclusion
You now have the fundamental tools to be successful at case interviews. Remember that like
anything, practice makes perfect. Every time you do a case, write down your feedback. And
the next time, pick a couple of things to improve upon and focus on them. Repeat. Follow
these steps, and you will be on your way to mastering the case interview.

In addition, in this guide, we discussed the consulting industry and recruiting best practices.
You learned that because there are many different specialities and firms within the consulting
industry, it is paramount to prepare for the case interview, behavioral interview, and the
recruiting timeline in general. Moreover, it is even more important to network early and often
with each firm you’re interested in, so that you understand their unique market position,
service offerings, and job opportunities for Penn State students.

We understand that this is a lot. But each of us can confidently say - it’s worth it. The selection
criterion for incoming consultants is extremely well-thought out and meritorious. There is
a direct correlation between your effort now, and your ability to effectively, quickly, and
accurately solve business problems. Moreover, you’ll be doing work that makes a difference
- you’ll be solving the most difficult challenges companies are facing on a daily basis. We
strongly encourage you to use this guide as a stepping stone, and utilize the resources
around you to build a strong platform that will allow you to succeed and land the offer you
want. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and connect via LinkedIn -
we are more than happy to help you achieve your goals.

Good luck!

Conclusion

26
Appendix
Appendix 1: Consulting Checklist

Get involved, learn about consulting, and the opportunities

Freshman Year that exist.

□□ Sign up and join relevant clubs or opportunities (i.e.

consulting orgs, business fraternities, research labs, etc.)
□□ Create a LinkedIn profile and a college-level resume (utilize
Fall Semester
your peers and career offices for help)
□□ Sign up for Nittany Lion Careers to search for internship
opportunities and career events
□□ Participate in case competitions (this will help you develop a
relationship with firms sponsoring the competition)
□□ Speak with older students about their experiences
Spring Semester
□□ Seek leadership positions within organizations you’re in
□□ Look for internships, study abroad programs, externships,
conferences, or other ways to get involved in the summer
□□ Start building a “strategic plan” for your next two years, and
what steps you need to take to accomplish your goals
□□ Identify mentors and students at Penn State and
Summer elsewhere who can help you achieve those goals and have
conversations with them
□□ Enjoy what you’re doing in the summer!

Expand your consulting network and prepare for

Sophomore Year sophomore leadership programs.

□□ Perform well in your leadership positions and establish on-

campus accomplishments
□□ Maintain a high GPA
Fall Semester
□□ Recruit for the best internships available to sophomores
□□ Compete in the PwC case competition (Challenge)
□□ Attend any firm visits/networking sessions you can

□□ Compete in the Deloitte case competition

□□ Network with consulting firms for leadership programs

Appendix
Spring Semester □□ Apply to leadership programs for Big 3 and Big 4
□□ Begin practicing case interviews and behaviorals
□□ Keep going for leadership positions

□□ Identify the firms you’d ideally like to work for and order
them by preference
□□ Schedule private networking calls with consultants at those
Summer
companies
□□ Work with multiple advisors/mentors to perfect your resume
□□ Follow the guide below for case preparation

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Appendix 1: Consulting Checklist

Work hard to get the offer you want by preparing until

Junior Year interviews begin.

□□ Attend every event you can and network (keep scheduling

networking calls)
Fall Semester □□ Continue to practice case and behavioral interviews
□□ Apply and interview with each firm you are interested in
□□ If you don’t get a consulting offer, go for something else!

□□ Continue to excel in the organizations you’re a part of

Spring Semester
□□ If you didn’t get the offer you’d hoped for, relax! You have time.

□□ Focus on doing well and having impact during your internship

Summer □□ Network and prepare for case and behavioral interviews like the
previous summer

Senior Year Get the full-time offer and then relax!

□□ Recruit for full-time positions similarly to the strategies

Fall Semester suggested above
□□ Beware of expiring full-time offers
□□ Speak to and mentor younger students seeking consulting
Spring Semester opportunities
□□ Just enjoy your remaining time in college!

Appendix

28
Appendix 2: Case Preparation Timeline

Sophomore Year Get a basic understand of case interviews and start practicing!

□□ Learn about what case interviews are

Fall Semester □□ Read Case In Point by Marc Cosentino
□□ Do around 2-3 cases to familiarize yourself with the format

□□ If you get interviews for leadership conferences: practice

around 1-2 cases per week starting 2-3 weeks prior to
interviews (depending on how intensively you like to prepare)
Spring Semester
□□ Watch Victor Cheng videos and follow the case prep portion of
this guide
□□ If you don’t, you can relax until the summer
□□ Around end of May, you want to start case prepping
□□ Conduct interviews with friends, peers, or consultants you’ve
networked with
□□ Do around 1 case a week or every other week from June to mid
August
Summer □□ Be sure to learn from these cases, improve upon the feedback
that you’ve received as mentioned in the guide earlier
□□ After doing a case, wait 2-3 days and go back and review the
feedback and the entire case. Try to approach the issue in a
different manner (this is where you should see your greatest
improvement)

Junior Year Keep prepping until interviews and then relax!

□□ Take some time off between mid August to early September

depending on timeline of interviews
Fall Semester □□ Instead of case prepping, go back and review older cases
□□ Start doing 2 cases a week 2-3 weeks prior to interviews
(depending on how intensively you like to prepare)

□□ If you didn’t get the offer you’d hoped for, relax! You have time.
Spring Semester
□□ No need to prep until the summer

□□ Repeat the same steps from the previous summer

Summer □□ However, this time you don’t have to start case prepping until

Appendix
July because you already know what to expect

Senior Year Get the full-time offer and then relax!

□□ Follow similar steps as the fall semester before (adapt case prep
Fall Semester
habits according to your preferences as needed)

29
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks

Appendix

30
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks

Appendix
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks

Appendix

32
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks

Appendix

33
Appendix 3: Victor Cheng Frameworks

Appendix

34
 Appendix 4: Paper Layout

Appendix

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified
applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veter-
an status. U Ed: BUS 20-77

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