The Interview

What is a Case Interview

Typically a case interview lasts 30-45 minutes long. The first 10-15 minutes is devoted to the standard interview process of resume review and personal questions. Your job is to come up with be great answers to these three questions: walk me through your resume, why do you want to go into consulting, and why should we hire you. That's the easy part. After that you'll be asked a case question which is an analytic business problem which you'll work through with your interviewer. Once you've finished the case, you'll then be given 5-10 minutes to try to again differentiate yourself by asking meaningful and significant questions. Shake hands, collect their business card, and then you're done.

Types of Cases

There are pretty much two types of cases you'll receive. They'll mostly be the business variety, but if an interviewer wants to test your basic logic and math skills he may ask you what is known as a back of the envelope, numbers/market sizing case. Below are some examples I've made up.

1. Estimate how many drug stores there are in the US?

2. How many burritos does Chipotle sell a year?

3. Estimate the average distance a Northwestern student walks in a day?

4. Estimate the economics behind a 10 cent increase for each download off of iTunes

Business Cases are longer and require more fact based analysis and presentation. They come in all shapes and forms but some examples I've made up include:

A. Entering a new market - Your client manufactures cosmetics and fragrances. It's thinking about entering the hair products and shampoo industry. Is this a good idea?

B. Mergers and Acquisitions - Your client is a leading shoe manufacturer and is thinking about buying a rival competitor. Does this make sense and what should they be thinking about?

C. Developing a new product or service - Google is thinking about starting its own online games and fantasy sports department. What are the key business issues they should be thinking about?

D. Growth Strategies - Your client is a European beer producer with a strong presence in the New England area. How can we successfully expand operations throughout the east coast to gain market share, build brand awareness all while factoring in costs.

E. Starting a New Business - Your friend has asked you to help him build the business case around starting a jet ski rental company in Chicago. Please provide economic reasons as to why he should or shouldn't take on this venture.

F. Increasing Profit/Increasing Sales/Increasing Revenues/Reducing Cost s- Your client is a mid size cable/internet service provider. Sales are up but profits are down. What strategy can be implemented to increase profitability?