Do you want to get access to over 280 free case interview examples (with answers)?
If you have interviews planned at McKinsey, The Boston Consulting Group, or any other consulting firm, you are probably looking for case interview examples.
So, to help you prepare, I have compiled a list of 280 free case interview examples:
- Over 30 free case interview examples (+ interview prep tips) from the websites of top consulting firms
- More than 250 free case interview examples from top business school case books
Moreover, you’ll get my take on which case studies you will likely have in interviews.
In short, the resources listed hereafter will be very helpful if you are starting out or have already made good progress in preparing for your case interviews.
One last word: check out this free case-cracking course to learn how to crack the most recent types of case questions consulting firms use in actual interviews.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
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McKinsey: Tips And Case Interview Examples
McKinsey & Company’s website is definitely one of my favorites.
Because this gives so much insightful information about the role of a consultant and what the hiring process looks like.
Therefore, I highly recommend spending time on their website, even if you are not targeting McKinsey.
In the meantime, here are 8 McKinsey case interview examples
Check out the McKinsey Hub: A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at McKinsey.
Besides, here is another McKinsey case interview example.
This case interview question has been recently asked in a real interview:
𝘦𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘊𝘰, 𝘢 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉2𝘉 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉2𝘊 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘊𝘰’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵.
How would you approach this business problem?
When ready, check this video below where I present how to approach this problem.
BCG: Tips And Case Interview Examples
The Boston Consulting Group website states something very important: the goal of the hiring process is to get to know you better, which means, in the context of Consulting interviews, understanding how you solve problems.
Remember this: in case interviews, to show how you think is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than to find an answer to the case.
As a result, you will have case study questions to showcase your problem-solving skills. Likewise, fit interviews have the same purpose: to show what problems you faced and how you resolved them.
- BCG interview prep tips
- BCG’s interactive case tool
- BCG case interview example: climate change challenge
- BCG case interview example: GenCo
- BCG case interview example: FoodCo
Check out the BCG Hub: A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at BCG.
Bain: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Bain & Company’s website highlights something very important: successful applicants manage to turn a case interview into a conversation between two consultants.
In other words, you don’t want to appear as a candidate but as a consultant!
To do this, you need to master the main problem-solving techniques that consulting firms want to see.
- Bain interview prep tips here and here
- Bain case interview examples: coffee, fashioco
- Bain case interview sample videos: a first video, a second video
Check out the Bain Hub: A library of 20+ free resources that cover everything you need to secure a job offer at Bain & Company.
Deloitte: Tips And Case Interview Examples
As for the BCG’s section above, the Deloitte website clearly states that in case interviews, it is much more important to show how you think and interact with your interviewer than to find the right answer to the case.
- Deloitte interview prep tips
- Deloitte case interview examples: here (more than 15 case interview examples)
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal Agency
- Deloitte case interview example: Recreation Unlimited
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal benefits Provider
- Deloitte case interview example: Federal Civil Cargo protection Bureau
Get 4 Complete Case Interview Courses For Free
You need 4 skills to be successful in all case interviews: Case Structuring, Case Leadership, Case Analytics, and Communication. Join this free training and learn how to ace ANY case questions.
Oliver Wyman: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Like the Deloitte website, Oliver Wyman’s website points out that, above all, you must demonstrate your ability to think in a structured, analytical, and creative way.
In other words, there are no right or wrong answers, but only showing how you solve problems matters.
Kearney: Tips And Case Interview Examples
Now it’s time to tell you something you could have heard a hundred times.
Yet too many candidates do it.
Do NOT force your solution to adapt to a standard framework. As a result, this will only take you to a place you don’t want to go: the pool of rejected candidates.
To learn more about this, check the “What Not To Do” section on the AT Kearney website.
Strategy&: Interview Prep Tips
Roland Berger: Tips And Case Interview Examples
I like the examples of case studies presented on the Roland Berger website.
Because the two examples of case studies are very detailed and illustrate the kind of solutions your interviewers expect during case discussions.
Alix Partners: Interview Prep Tips
Like Strategy&, Alix Partners doesn’t provide case study examples on its website.
However, they give an overview of what they are looking for: they want entrepreneurial, self-starter, and analytical candidates, which are skills that all consulting firms highly appreciate.
- Alix Partners interview prep tips
OC&C: Interview Prep Tips
Here are two case study examples from OC&C:
253 Case Studies From Business School Case Books
Most of these 253 case study examples are based on case interviews used by consulting firms in real job interviews.
As a result, you can have a good idea of the case study questions you can have when interviewing at these firms.
The Full List Of 253 Free Case Study Examples
Do you want to practice a specific type of case study? Now you can…
I have sorted this list of 253 case studies by type: profitability, market expansion, industry analysis, pricing, investment or acquisition, and guesstimates (also known as market sizing questions).
Bonus #1: Know The Types Of Cases You Are Likely To have During Your Interviews
- Profitability cases (29% of cases from that list)
- Investment cases (19% of cases from that list)
- Market sizing questions (15% of cases from that list)
As a result, assuming you’ll have 6 interviews (and therefore 6 case interviews) during the recruitment process:
- “Profitability cases are 29%” means that chances to have 2 profitability case studies during your recruitment process are very high
- “Investment cases are 19%” means that chances to have 1 investment case study during your recruitment process are very high.
- “Guesstimates are 15%” means that chances of having 1 market sizing question during your recruitment process are high.
Bonus #2: The 10 Cases I Recommend You Doing Now
Over 250 examples of case interviews are a great list, and you may not know where to start.
So, I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorite case studies.
The 5 case studies I recommend doing if you are a BEGINNER
1. Stern case book: Drinks Gone Flat (starting at page 24)
This is a good introduction to a common type of case (declining sales here). I liked the solution presented for this case, particularly how it started by isolating declining sales (what range of products? Volumes or prices, or both?).
2. Stern case book: Sport bar (starting at page 46)
This is an investment case (should you invest in a new bar). Even if the solution presented in this case book is not MECE, it covers the most common quantitative questions you might have in such a case. I recommend doing this case.
3. Stern case book: MJ Wineries (starting at page 85)
This is a profitability case. I liked the solution presented in this case because it illustrates how specific good candidates should be. The case concerns wine, so a good candidate should mention the quality of lands and grapes as important factors.
4. AGSM case book: Piano tuners (starting at page 57)
This is a typical market sizing question. How to answer this type of question is a must-know before going to your interviews.
5. Darden case book: National Logistics (starting at page 49)
Again, this is a very common case (how to reduce costs). I liked the broad range of questions asked in this case, covering key skills assessed by consulting firms during case interviews: brainstorming skills (or creativity), quantitative skills, and business sense.
The 5 case studies I recommend if you are more ADVANCED in your preparation
1. Stern: The pricing games (starting at page 55)
This case study asks you to help your client assess different business models. I liked this case because the range of issues to tackle is quite broad.
2. Wharton 2017: Engineer attrition at SLS Oil & Gas Services (starting at page 55)
I liked this case study because the case prompt is uncommon: your client has been facing a very high attrition rate among its population of Engineers. As a result, it’s very unlikely that your solution fits a well-known framework, and you’ll have to demonstrate your problem-solving skills by developing a specific solution.
3. Wharton 2017: Pharma Company Goes International, Outsources Benefits, Integrates New Technology (starting at page 95)
This case is about a client considering outsourcing a part of their activity. Even though I don’t know if this type of case study is very common, I had many case studies like this when I passed my interviews a few years ago. And I always found them difficult!
4. Insead: Gas retail case (starting at page 73)
The question in the problem statement is very broad, making this case difficult. So, only good candidates can have a structured case discussion here.
5. Darden: Fire Proof (starting at page 84)
This is a market entry case. Try to solve it by developing a structure as MECE as possible.
CareerInConsulting.com's Free Resources
Access my exclusive free training to help you prepare for your case interviews.
Besides, you can learn my step-by-step guide to answering market sizing questions.
You’ll get my formula to solve all market sizing questions.
Moreover, if you are a beginner, you can read my article on how to solve business cases (+ a 4-week prep plan to get case interview ready).
Also, check these 11 must-know frameworks to ace your case interviews.
Finally, you can read the articles in the blog section of my website.
Conclusion
That’s quite a list.
To complete this list, check this free case interview course, where you’ll find case questions recently asked in actual interviews.
Now, I’d like to hear from you.
Which key insights were new to you?
Or maybe I have missed something.
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below.
Get 4 Complete Case Interview Courses For Free
You need 4 skills to be successful in all case interviews: Case Structuring, Case Leadership, Case Analytics, and Communication. Join this free training and learn how to ace ANY case questions.
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