graduate job case study tips

7 Case Interview Tips To Help You Land a Consulting Offer

• Last Updated October, 2020

Rebecca Smith-Allen

Former McKinsey Engagement Manager

Does it feel like there’s too much you need to do to prepare for your case study interview?

If you’re taking case study interview preparation seriously, it can feel like you’re drinking from a firehose of information!

But taking your case interview preparation seriously will set you apart from many candidates.

In this article we’ll cover:

• The Key to Acing Your Case Interviews
• Our 7 Case Interview Tips
• Links to Articles that Provide Further Consulting Interview Tips

The Key to Acing Your Case Interviews: Structured Problem-Solving

The most important thing to remember as you prepare for case interviews is that the answer to the case problem is not the most important thing.

If your interviewer asks you about a problem you read about in the Wall Street Journal that morning or one you have a perfect textbook answer for, these textbook answers will not get you a second round interview unless you also show the structured problem solving used to arrive at that answer .

Every consulting client is different and every business situation is unique, so a profitability problem could be driven by pricing or unit volume sold, fixed costs or variable costs. 

This is why you need to break the problem down and consider each of the possible components, and only once you’ve considered each, move on how you’d address the problem.

With that in mind, here are our 7 case study interview tips:

views allow you to get a good sense of what types of problems consultants solve and what a consulting case looks like from beginning to end. 

You’ll also get a good sense of the skills you need to succeed in consulting and learn how to exhibit your skills and experience in the best light possible in your resume and cover letter and during your interviews.

7 Case Interview Tips

1. start early.

You can learn to case in as little as 2 weeks, but don’t put that pressure on yourself if you don’t have to. Get an early start so you’ll have plenty of time to practice.

See our video, How to Pass the Case Interview without Spending 100+ Hours Preparing to jump-start your case interview prep.

2. Focus on the Most Common Cases Types First

If you were studying for English exam would you (1) go to Dictionary.com and learn all the words in the English language or would you (2) figure out what the most common questions on the exam would be?

Similar to how you wouldn’t prepare for an English exam by cramming everything there is to know, there is no reason to cram everything there is to know about business ahead of your case interviews.

Focus on what is most important and what comes up the most often. 

To find those common types, you can find them here on the Common Case Interview Question Types page.

3. Master the 4-Part Approach to Answering Case Interview Questions

The 4 parts to answering a consulting case interview are:

• Opening – Make sure you understand the client’s problem.
• Structure – Brainstorm all factors relevant to the problem and organize them to ensure you address them in a complete and logical manner.
• Analysis – Gather data to identify which of the factors related to the business case are the most important. You’ll use this data to create a recommendation for your client.
• Conclusion – Present your recommendation to “the client” (your interviewer), in a well-structured and persuasive manner.

Breaking a case question into its 4 parts will make it feel less overwhelming and ensure you don’t jump ahead to an answer without showing your problem-solving skills.

See our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep for more on the 4-part approach to answering case study questions.

Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 89.6% of our clients pass the case interview.

4. Take Good Notes on Case Facts During the Interview

It’s important to be clear on the facts of the case.

Jot down any financial figures and other key facts. Also, make note of key aspects of the case you outlined in the structure part of the interview.

Case interviews can be long and involved—twenty-five minutes or longer.

You don’t want to forget to analyze an important aspect of the problem or fail to address key conclusions you reached when you get to the recommendation phase.

During a case interview, you’re allowed to use paper. Use as many sheets as you need to stay organized.

Watch Video 2 on our Consulting 2020 Bootcamp series for more on why taking good notes is important.

5. Pause Before You Launch into Your Analysis

When you are asked a question in an interview, it’s natural to want to start talking about your answer right away.

Take a second to think through the things you want to address to make sure you don’t forget a major issue.

It can feel awkward to have silence during an interview, but during this part of a management consulting interview, it’s totally expected.  

6. Practice with a Case Interview Partner

It can be tempting to read through all the examples of case interview questions and answers you can find as you rush to be as prepared as possible for your consulting interview.

Don’t!  Remember, it’s not about the answer, it’s about how you structure the problem.

You need to practice coming up with a structured way of breaking down a business problem, going step-by-step through the analysis, and then summing up your findings in a recommendation.

You won’t learn to do this by reading case questions and answers, you’ll only do this by practicing case interviews live with a partner or coach and getting feedback.

Case Interview Practice: Tips on How to Be Efficient & Effective has more on what to look for in case partners and where to find them.  

7. Practice Case Interview Math

You are not allowed to take a calculator into consulting interviews, but math frequently comes up in business cases and market-sizing problems.

You can use a pen and paper or just do the math in your head.

Even people who are normally comfortable doing math in their head may not be comfortable doing this during an interview under time pressure.

Practicing case interview math will help. See our article on Case Interview Math for more on what to practice.

Other Articles that Will Make Your Case Interview Prep Efficient & Effective

• Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep is the place to start your preparation. We discuss why management consulting companies use case interviews and break down the 4-part approach to answering a consulting case in even more detail.
• Case Interview Examples. We have links to dozens of consulting firm and consulting club casebooks you can use to practice.
• The McKinsey Case Interview . Find out what’s different about a McKinsey case and how to ace it.

Still have questions?

If you still have questions on our case interview tips, leave them in the comments below. We’ll ask our My Consulting Offer coaches and get back to you with answers.

Help with Case Study Interview Prep

Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on case interview prep. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 85% of the people we’ve worked with get a job in management consulting. For example, here is how Ella was able to improve her casing and get offers from all the firms she interviewed with…

© My CONSULTING Offer

3 Top Strategies to Master the Case Interview in Under a Week

No thanks, i don't want free strategies to get into consulting..

We are sharing our powerful strategies to pass the case interview even if you have no business background, zero casing experience, or only have a week to prepare.

We are excited to invite you to the online event.

Where should we send you the calendar invite and login information.

• Master’s Students
• Asian American
• First Generation
• International
• Native Americans
• Students With Disabilities
• Faculty & Staff
• Business and Finance
• Consulting and Entrepreneurship
• Data Science and Analytics
• Engineering and Technology
• Government, Politics and Law
• Healthcare and Health Sciences
• Humanities, Language and Social Sciences
• Natural Resources, Sustainability, and Environmental Science
• Non-profit, National Service, and Human Service
• Pharma, BioTech, and Life Sciences
• Career Exploration
• Build Relationships
• Resume / Cover Letter
• Offers and Negotiation
• Interview Prep
• Professional Development Fund
• Job / Internship
• Online Presence

How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview

• Share This: Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on Facebook Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on LinkedIn Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on X

Instructor: Jena Viviano

You’ve nailed the first few rounds of interviews, and now you’ve been invited to participate in a case study interview. Curious about what this next stage of the process looks like? In this course, Jena Viviano breaks it down for you, explaining the basic components of a case study interview, how to prepare, and what to do to project confidence and engage your interviewer. Learn how case study interview questions are used and why employers find them beneficial. Discover the key elements that interviewers use to evaluate your answers. Plus, learn how to formulate key questions to dig deeper into the case, develop your own framework for every case study answer, and craft a conclusion with supporting rationale that’s concise and clear. Jena also provides tips for quelling your performance anxiety, as well as sample case study questions that give you a better understanding of what to expect.

Get 25% off all test packages.

Get 25% off all test packages!

Click below to get 25% off all test packages.

Case Study Exercise At Assessment Centres

A case study exercise is a practical assessment commonly used in the latter stages of recruitment for graduate jobs. One of several activities undertaken at an assessment centre , this particular type of exercise allows employers to see your skills in action in a work-based context.

What is a case study exercise?

A case study exercise consists of a hypothetical scenario, similar to something you’d expect to encounter in daily working life. You’ll be tasked with examining information, drawing conclusions, and proposing business-based solutions for the situation at hand.

Information is typically presented in the form of fictional documentation: for example, market research findings, company reports, or details on a potential new venture. In some cases, it will be verbally communicated by the assessor.

You may also have additional or updated information drip-fed to you throughout the exercise.

You could be asked to work as an individual, but it’s more common to tackle a case study exercise as part of a group, since this shows a wider array of skills like teamwork and joint decision-making.

In both cases you’ll have a set amount of time to analyse the scenario and supporting information before presenting your findings, either through a written report or a presentation to an assessment panel. Here, you’ll need to explain your process and justify all decisions made.

Historically, assessment centres have been attended in person, but as more companies look to adopt virtual techniques, you may take part in a remote case study exercise. Depending on the employer and their platform of choice, this could be via pre-recorded content or a video conferencing tool that allows you to work alongside other candidates.

What competencies does a case study exercise assess?

There are multiple skills under assessment throughout a case study exercise. The most common are:

Problem solving

In itself, this involves various skills, like analytical thinking , creativity and innovation. How you approach your case study exercise will show employers how you’re likely to implement problem-solving skills in the work environment.

Show these at every stage of the process. If working in a group, be sure to make a contribution and be active in discussions, since assessors will be watching how you interact.

If working solo, explain your process to show problem solving in action.

Communication

How you present findings and communicate ideas is a major part of a case study exercise, as are other communication skills like effective listening.

Regardless of whether you present as an individual or a group, make sure you explain how you came to your conclusions, the evidence they’re based on and why you see them as effective.

Commercial awareness and business acumen

Assessors will be looking for a broader understanding of the industry in which the company operates and knowledge of best practice for growth.

Standout candidates will approach their case study with a business-first perspective, able to demonstrate how every decision made is rooted in organisational goals.

Decision making

At the heart of every case study exercise, there are key decisions to be made. Typically, there’s no right or wrong answer here, provided you can justify your decisions and back them up evidentially.

Along with problem solving, this is one of the top skills assessors are looking for, so don’t be hesitant. Make your decisions and stick to them.

Group exercises show assessors how well you work as part of a team, so make sure you’re actively involved, attentive and fair. Never dominate a discussion or press for your own agenda.

Approach all ideas equally and assess their pros and cons to arrive at the best solution.

What are the different types of case study exercise?

Depending on the role for which you’ve applied, you’ll either be presented with a general case study exercise or one related to a specific subject.

Subject-related case studies are used for roles where industry-specific knowledge is a prerequisite, and will be very much akin to the type of responsibilities you’ll be given if hired by the organisation.

For example, if applying for a role in mergers and acquisitions, you may be asked to assess the feasibility of a buy-out based on financial performance and market conditions.

General case studies are used to assess a wider pool of applicants for different positions. They do not require specific expertise, but rather rely on common sense and key competencies. All the information needed to complete the exercise will be made available to you.

Common topics covered in case study exercises include:

• The creation of new marketing campaigns
• Expansion through company or product acquisition
• Organisational change in terms of business structure
• Product or service diversification and entering new markets
• Strategic decision-making based on hypothetical influencing factors

Tips for performing well in case study exercises

1. process all the information.

Take time to fully understand the scenario and the objectives of the exercise, identify relevant information and highlight key points for analysis, or discussion if working as part of a team. This will help structure your approach in a logical manner.

2. Work collaboratively

In a group exercise , teamwork is vital. Assign roles based on individual skill sets. For example, if you’re a confident leader you may head up the exercise.

If you’re more of a listener, you may volunteer to keep notes. Avoid conflict by ensuring all points of view are heard and decisions made together.

3. Manage your time

Organisational skills and your ability to prioritise are both being evaluated, and since you have a set duration in which to complete the exercise, good time management is key.

Remember you also need to prepare a strong presentation, so allow plenty of scope for this.

Make an assertive decision

There’s no right answer to a case study exercise, but any conclusions you do draw should be evidenced-based and justifiable. Put forward solutions that you firmly believe in and can back up with solid reasoning.

5. Present your findings clearly

A case study exercise isn’t just about the decisions you make, but also how you articulate them. State your recommendations and then provide the background to your findings with clear, concise language and a confident presentation style.

If presenting as a group, assign specific sections to each person to avoid confusion.

How to prepare for a case study exercise

It’s unlikely you’ll know the nature of your case study exercise before your assessment day, but there are ways to prepare in advance. For a guide on the type of scenario you may face, review the job description or recruitment pack and look for key responsibilities.

You should also research the hiring organisation in full. Look into its company culture, read any recent press releases and refer to its social media to get a feel for both its day-to-day activities and wider achievements. Reading business news will also give you a good understanding of current issues relevant to the industry.

To improve your skills, carry out some practice case study exercises and present your findings to family or friends. This will get you used to the process and give you greater confidence on assessment centre day.

Choose a plan and start practising

Immediate access. Cancel anytime.

• 30 Numerical reasoning tests
• 30 Verbal reasoning tests
• 30 Diagrammatic reasoning tests
• 30 Situational judgement tests
• 34 Publisher packages e.g. Watson Glaser
• 252 Employer packages e.g. HSBC
• 29 Extra packages e.g Mechanical
• Dashboard performance tracking
• Full solutions and explanations
• Tips, tricks, guides and resources
• Access to free tests
• Basic performance tracking
• Solutions & explanations
• Tips and resources

By using our website you agree with our Cookie Policy.

How to Deal with Case Studies

In a typical case study, you’ll be asked to analyse a business-related scenario and to come up with a proposed solution to it within a set period of time. These are usually based on actual situations or cases that the business has dealt with in the past.

This not only gives candidates greater insight into the industry before they decide to join, it also gives recruiters an accurate estimate of how you would perform on the job.

Depending on what the recruiter is looking for, case studies could be fashioned as either a group or individual task. If you’re asked to complete the task as a group, then you can expect teamwork skills and emotional intelligence to be part of the criteria that recruiters are looking for.

Alternatively, if the case study is fashioned as an individual assignment, then recruiters most likely just want to assess your technical skills and ability to work independently.

What do case studies involve?

Recruiters will give you a scenario, along with an information pack which may include emails, charts, reports, letters, memos, or news article excerpts.

Your job is to sift through these documents to draw out the chief problems that need to be solved, and then come up with and present a solution.

Take note that not all of the information given may be important. Some of it may be relevant or irrelevant, depending on your approach to the problem. Recruiters expect you to be selective and cautious about what you use to justify your final decision.

In some cases, recruiters may even withhold certain bits of information from you on purpose. This is to test your attentiveness, observation skills, and ability to handle a continuous flow of data.

Will you notice the missing information? If you do, will you speak up to ask for it, or will you fill in the gaps with your own assumptions? More importantly, how do you deal with incomplete information that may only come in bits and pieces?

Here is an example of an actual case study so you have some idea of what to expect:

The scenario: A large publishing company is looking to acquire a former competitor and absorb their products into its portfolio. It has approached a number of investment banks for recommendations on this potential deal as well as a target price. Based on these recommendations, the publisher will decide whether to proceed with a bid and, if so, which bank to select as their advisor.

The task: Your team represents one of the investment banks bidding for this mandate. You need to analyse the relevant figures, review the marketplace, your potential client (the publisher), and the target company. You must then prepare a five-minute presentation giving your recommendations.

How to prepare for case studies in advance

Start by familiarising yourself with the organisation. You’ll be playing the part of a company representative, after all, so you’ll need to know what the company stands for.

Begin with the organisation’s resources. Start by browsing their recruitment materials, press releases, newsletters, or past client case studies. Use these to get a feel for the types of skills the organisation might look for in hires, as well as its broader direction and approach in doing business.

Next, read up on the latest movements that are taking place in your industry to gain a general knowledge of what’s happening out in the marketplace. While you’ll be given most of the required information when you’re doing your case study, having updated industry knowledge will help you process and contextualise information better.

Plus, the ability to relate a case study to recent real-world scenarios will definitely impress recruiters.

Your university careers services should also organise workshops and presentations that can help you prepare for case studies. Why not sign up for a few? You can also try asking university alumni working at your targeted employer about how they handled their own case studies back in the day!

How to approach the case studies on the day

Before you go charging into the task, make sure you fully understand what is being asked of you. Start by reading through the information provided to you, and then pinpoint the problem(s), your role, and your objective(s).

As you scan through the provided documents, highlight or underline the relevant information to keep yourself focused on the task. It’s not uncommon for recruiters to plant unrelated or misleading information to test your awareness, so make sure you consciously evaluate everything as you go along.

Keep an eye on the time as you work, though. Many applicants make the mistake of spending too much time discussing and planning, especially when they are allowed to work in groups.

Consider the tasks that you will need to perform. Do you need to prepare slides to present to the “management”? What are the most important issues that your solution must address even if you have to miss out on others?

Assign or volunteer a timekeeper if you’re in a group, and be realistic about what you can and cannot achieve.

If you’re assigned to this exercise in groups, then your ability to work and communicate with people is also one of the criteria being tested.

Rather than treating this as a competition, work together with your group to achieve the best results possible. Divide up the tasks to make the most efficient use of everyone’s time, and make sure everyone gets to play a part.

Balance contributing and listening during group discussions. Make sure both your group mates and recruiters can clearly understand your approach to the problems. Some candidates will be more outspoken than others, but do your best to include the quieter ones in the discussion as well.  

Ultimately, make sure that you stay focused on the task! It’s easier to lose sight of the main points of the exercise than you may think after being immersed in it for a couple of hours.

Tips for great presentations at graduate assessment centres

Depending on the requirements of the exercise, you may have to present your findings to assessors either formally or informally. A formal presentation may call for slides and a panel presentation, whereas a less formal one may be more discussion or meeting-like – where recruiters will join you at the table to discuss your findings.

Either way, you’ll have to structure your presentation in a coherent manner, with a proper opening, body, and conclusion. Organise your points according to importance. For instance, if your task is to make a recommendation or to provide an opinion on a situation, then start with that before you present the logic or analysis behind it.

Again, time is an important factor. Most recruiters will spend no more than five to ten minutes on this, so be sure to distribute your time accordingly. If you have three to five points, then that leaves you approximately one minute for each point. Make sure you get straight to the point as fast as you can.

Most recruiters rate a presentation based on its organisation, how thorough your points are, and your confidence and conviction during the presentation. It isn’t going to be easy, considering that you may not have time to practise beforehand.

However, as long as you are clear about the steps taken to reach your solution and have confidence in those methods, you should do just fine.

What skills do you need to show during a case study?

Some of the skills that are most commonly evaluated during a case study include:

1) Analysis: Your ability to assess and make sense of unfamiliar information.

2) Problem solving: Using the information provided to respond appropriately to a crisis or to make an informed judgement about a situation.

3) Flexibility: How you accommodate uncertainty and/or constant changes in a situation.

4) Time management: How well you make use of the given time to complete your task.

5) Teamwork and leadership: Your ability to work effectively and efficiently with others, as well as motivate them.

6) Commercial awareness: Being aware of the latest trends, principles, and developments in your chosen sector, and knowing how to use that knowledge to make educated decisions.

7) Communication: Being able to present your findings clearly in an organised and confident manner.

8) Numerical ability: Showcasing your ability to work with numbers, with high levels of accuracy.

More Related Advice

• Crimson Careers
• For Employers
• Harvard College
• Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
• Harvard Extension School
• Premed / Pre-Health
• Families & Supporters
• Faculty & Staff
• Prospective Students
• First Generation / Low Income
• International Students
• Students of Color
• Students with Disabilities
• Undocumented Students
• Explore Interests & Make Career Decisions
• Create a Resume/CV or Cover Letter
• Expand Your Network
• Engage with Employers
• Search for a Job
• Find an Internship
• January Experiences (College)
• Find & Apply for Summer Opportunities Funding
• Prepare for an Interview
• Negotiate an Offer
• Apply to Graduate or Professional School
• Access Resources
• AI for Professional Development and Exploration
• Arts & Entertainment
• Business & Entrepreneurship
• Climate, Sustainability, Environment, Energy
• Government, Int’l Relations, Education, Law, Nonprofits
• Life Sciences & Health
• Technology & Engineering
• Still Exploring
• Talk to an Advisor
• Share This: Share Learn About Consulting Case Interviews on Facebook Share Learn About Consulting Case Interviews on LinkedIn Share Learn About Consulting Case Interviews on X

Learn About Consulting Case Interviews

If you are interested in pursuing consulting opportunities, take advantage of these workshops and resources to learn about and prepare for the case interview.

Upcoming Events: 

• Bain & Company 2024 Harvard Case Prep Workshop Thurs, April 4, 7pm-8pm @ Emerson 210
• Liberty Mutual Internal Consulting Case Workshop Thurs, April 18, 5pm-6pm @ MCS
• Case in Point Workshop with Marc Cosentino Mon, April 29, 3pm-5pm Virtual

Initial Case Interview Prep Resources:  

• Case Questions Interactive  (free through MCS) – Marc Cosentino, author of  Case in Point ,  has compiled resources and practice cases for students to access online.   
• Utilize   MCS Firsthand Advisors  to request a mock interview from an alum with consulting or related experience, and to access the  Vault Guide to Case Interviews .
• Management Consulted Free Case Interview Prep Course   – “This course will give you insight into what you need to know to ace the case interview, and it will give you a solid foundation on which to build the rest of your preparation.”
• Fast Math Resources   – Access free tools like a Quantitative Assessment Quiz and Mental Math Exercises put together by Matthew Tambiah  
• Case Questions Exchange Platform   – “Exchange was developed for students from around the world to practice cases with their peers from other schools.   When you register , your personal information will be protected.   Members will be able to sign up to give or receive cases with students from other schools.   You can request to be removed from the list at any time.”
• Consulting Case Practice Sign-Up Sheet   – Add your contact information to the sign-up sheet and reach out to others to start practicing.  

Partner Sites

Inspiring and informing your business school journey

Case study interview | tips from bain, bcg & mckinsey.

Bain, BCG, or McKinsey, the case study interview is a key part of the consulting interview process ©Philip McMaster

If you want to work in consulting, you’ll have to sit a case study interview. Here’s everything you need to know about the case study interview with tips from experts at Bain, BCG, and McKinsey

Mon Oct 11 2021

The consulting case study interview might just be one part of the application process, but it’s where you can stand out to your prospective employer and show you’ve got what it takes to crack cases day in day out.

Whether you have your eyes set on Bain, BCG, or McKinsey, or a smaller boutique consulting firm , here’s everything you need to know about the case study interview: 

What is the consulting case study interview?

The consulting case study interview requires you to solve a simulated problem for a client. There are two types of case interview: The interviewer-led approach and the candidate-led approach.

“We use a client-like problem such as how to reduce a carbon footprint, how to make a workforce more diverse, how to leverage technology, or how to grow a customer base, and ask you three questions that simulate the kind of problem-solving our teams do in a client engagement,” says Amy Ross ( pictured) , senior expert in McKinsey’s global assessment team based in New York.

The three questions aren’t in a set order, but you can expect to focus on identifying the issues, then doing analysis based on information the team collects (that McKinsey provide), then coming up with insights and developing a conclusion. The McKinsey case study interview is consistent across global offices.

The interviewer-led approach of the McKinsey case interview means you’ll be guided through the process by your interviewer. However, there’s a caveat, explains Eugene Goh, the cofounder of HR tech startup, HireQuotient, who worked as a principal for BCG for more than eight years.

“They’re expecting a lot more detail and depth,” says Eugene, who’s recently cowritten From the Interviewer’s Seat: The Insider’s Guide for Aspiring Consultants , a book on the consulting interview.

Candidate-led approach

The candidate-led BCG case study interview will similarly present you with a real BCG case from previous client work. You’ll then be presented with the client’s challenges and have 45 minutes to walk your interviewer through your solution, rather than being led question by question. The BCG case study requires you to build your solution step by step. 

“They’re looking for people who can structure their approach from end to end,” Eugene explains.

How can you stand out in your case study interview?

The case interview is supposed to simulate the problem-solving approach of the firm you’re interviewing with, which at McKinsey involves a lot of back-and-forth between team members, says Amy. You'll need to tackle case study interview questions that mimic a real consulting case. 

“Candidates should listen to the client context and think about what it means, rather than repeat back everything the interviewer says.

“If the case covers an industry that is unfamiliar, candidates might consider whether there is an analogous industry they are familiar with and see if that helps them think of good ideas.

You should ask questions to clarify your understanding of the data and the issues at hand. Amy advises that you take a moment before speaking to collect your thoughts. 

“Listen carefully, making sure you consider the information provided and the meaning behind the specific questions. You’ll stand out by putting the client front-and-center and by sharing interesting insights.”

The Bain case study, like the BCG case study, is often  candidate-led. To stand out, your interviewers are looking for your analytical skills; the ability to break down challenging problems into parts you can tackle in a sequence; strong communication skills; the ability to simplify complex concepts; teamwork; and the ability to work successfully among others. That's according to Keith Bevans, head of global consultant recruitment at Bain & Company. 

He explains that tackling a Bain case study is akin to playing in a jazz quartet. There’s no script, so you’re going to play a bit, and improvise. Improvisation is a key thing interviewers are looking for when you're solving a Bain case study. 

“I think some students want to be perfect and play classical music and don’t want to share their insight or preliminary analysis until it’s right," says Keith. "The truth is I need them to share because what they share may not be perfect, but it’ll spark something in somebody else. I need students who are comfortable in that sort of environment.”  

That's why MBA and business master's graduates are so well placed to enter consulting. They develop the skills that the Big Three consulting firms are looking for through live consulting projects, and constant group work that tests their ability to manage and lead diverse teams of peers to solve complex business problems. 

Skills that will help you stand out

How to prepare for your case study interview?

The best thing you can do ahead of your consulting case study interview is prepare. Make sure you work with real case study interview examples. 

Your business school will likely have a consulting club that offers consulting case study prep sessions, which will give you ample opportunity to work through mock case study interview questions. You may also have on hand a network of business school alumni who likely work in consulting, as well as professors—use them.

Amy from McKinsey recommends going to the website of the firm you’re applying to—McKinsey have case interview examples you can use to brush up on your casing. That way, you’ll know what to expect when you face your case study interview questions in real time.

She adds that there are many coaches and preparation services available to candidates, but the firm doesn’t expect you to use them. 

“Frankly, we are worried there’s a lot of misleading advice out there so, again, we advise to consult our website, and feel free to ask your recruiter to arrange for you to meet one of our consultants who can be your interview coach,” she asserts.

Approach the case study interview like a McKinsey consultant

→ Make sure you understand the information provided.  

→ Ask questions.

→ Collect yourself before diving into your answer.

→ Alongside logical ideas, challenge yourself to provide a few that are more ‘out there’, things you and a client team would want to test first. Sometimes, those bolder ideas are the best ones and often they really show McKinsey how you think.

Beware though, as you can see too many case study interview examples and overprepare. Angela Michalik, MBA recruiter at BCG, says that to avoid being overprepared focus on the quality not quantity of your prep.

Do one case, then get feedback, she says. At the end you should know where you were weak, and then in your next case go hard on the areas in which you’re weakest. 

“I feel by doing that, students really improve,” she says. “You have to reflect on what you need to work on and practice.” 

If you notice that you’re going straight into applying a framework to a case before you take the time to think, you might be overpreparing. 

“Each client problem is different and deserves an initial approach that meets their needs. We realize interviews are filled with uncertainty, but the link between preparation and success in our process is not so strong,” Amy from McKinsey notes. 

“Practice enough so you know what to expect, stay current with what’s new in the business world, and then bring curiosity and an open mind to your case interview.”

READ:  Bain, BCG, McKinsey: How To Get Hired By The Big Three Consulting Firms

Granted, you need to be ready for ambiguity, something that can be hard to prepare for. But there’s a step-by-step approach Eugene says can help break away from the fixed framework approach:

- Define the objectives. What are you trying to do? Understand a bit about the client’s constraints. What’s the timeframe for the project, their budget, for example.

- Dive into the diagnosis. Why does the client have a problem? 

- Option generation. What approaches could the client take?

- Option evaluation before coming to a decision

“It sounds generic but almost every problem, even in the real world, requires you to roughly go through those steps,” Eugene ( pictured ) says.

“That is a more helpful approach as it applies to all problems, therefore all cases.”

Case study interview prep is a key component of your overall application. But don’t stress. Focus on the quality of your preparation and lean on your business school network of MBA alumni in the consulting sector, as well as the resources available from your school’s consulting club.

Run through case interview examples from the firm’s you’re interested in and breathe before you approach a problem. That way, you’ll be best placed to ace your interview and launch your post-business school career as a consultant.

Where Do McKinsey, Bain, BCG Hire The Most MBAs?

Main image in this article is credited to Philip McMaster and used under this  license  

• MBB Consulting

You might like:

Consulting Recruiting Timeline | What Are The Application Deadlines For 2024?

Colombia to Dubai: How This Asia School of Business Graduate Landed A Job At Kraft

Careers In Finance: How I Used My MBA To Land A Role At S&P Global

• Hospitality and Tourism Management
• Operations and Information Management
• Sport Management
• Prospective Undergraduate Students
• Master of Finance
• MS Accounting/Forensics Certificate
• MSBA/Analytics Certificate Students
• MS Sport/MBA Dual
• On-Campus MBAs
• Online MBAs
• MBA/MSBA Duals
• MPPA/MBA Duals
• Graduate Prospective Students
• BIPoC Students
• First Generation Students
• International
• LGBTQIA+ Students
• Students with Disabilities
• Cover Letters
• Interview Prep
• Job/Internship Search
• Professionalism
• Career Coaching for Undergrads
• Executive Coaching for Grad Students
• Career Peers for Undergrads
• Make an Appointment
• Featured Jobs & Internships
• All Handshake Jobs & Internships
• Gain Insights Into Your Career & Industry
• Internship & Co-op Process
• Campus Recruiting Policies
• Employer Recruitment & Offer Acceptance
• Undergraduate Student Organizations
• Graduate Student Organizations
• Student Organizations Hub

How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview

• Share This: Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on Facebook Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on LinkedIn Share How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview on X

Instructor: Jena Viviano

You’ve nailed the first few rounds of interviews, and now you’ve been invited to participate in a case study interview. Curious about what this next stage of the process looks like? In this course, Jena Viviano breaks it down for you, explaining the basic components of a case study interview, how to prepare, and what to do to project confidence and engage your interviewer. Learn how case study interview questions are used and why employers find them beneficial. Discover the key elements that interviewers use to evaluate your answers. Plus, learn how to formulate key questions to dig deeper into the case, develop your own framework for every case study answer, and craft a conclusion with supporting rationale that’s concise and clear. Jena also provides tips for quelling your performance anxiety, as well as sample case study questions that give you a better understanding of what to expect.

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts
• Currently reading: ‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs
• What are the difficulties facing new graduates? We asked, you answered
• How the class of 2021 is making up for lost internships
• Graduates jostle in an overcrowded jobs market
• Graduates seek coaching to prepare for job tests and interviews
• How do I get my first graduate job in a tough economic climate?
• How to present like a professional

‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs

• ‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs on x (opens in a new window)
• ‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs on facebook (opens in a new window)
• ‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs on linkedin (opens in a new window)
• ‘I feel left behind’: graduates struggle to secure good jobs on whatsapp (opens in a new window)

Janina Conboye and Lucy Warwick-Ching

Simply sign up to the Work & Careers myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.

For Felix, trying to find a job is a “complete grind”. The London-based graduate, who prefers to give only his first name, says he is neglecting university work in order to write cover letters and complete assessments. The “lack of feedback from the (many) rejections leads to a pretty vicious cycle. Often companies simply blank you instead of a rejection email.” 

After he found conventional routes proved stressful and unsuccessful, he focused on cold-emailing and eventually received an offer. “[It] appears a game of luck and numbers,” he says. “The graduate job market is absolutely flooded, as is that of postgrad applications.”

Like other 2021 graduates, Felix is entering a global jobs market where there are fewer opportunities and increased competition. He was one of more than 70 who provided detailed responses to a Financial Times survey about graduating in the pandemic.

Many respondents, including those who have graduated from top institutions such as the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge and University College Dublin, described their struggles in securing entry-level positions. They also highlighted that they are competing with 2020 graduates who lost out when graduate programmes were suspended .

A vast majority of respondents felt there were fewer job opportunities available for graduates. Many of their personal experiences highlighted a hyper-competitive jobs market, which can be demoralising and demotivating.

Many also felt they had not found a job that met their career aspirations, and had to take a position with a lower salary than expected. About half felt that the pandemic has set back their early career prospects.

However, while more than a third felt they had been forced to change the direction of their career as a result of the pandemic, they thought the outcome was not necessarily a negative one.

Competitive jobs market

A graduate from the LSE, who preferred not to be named, said that finding a job was “a struggle”. “Despite being highly qualified, you are competing against people that graduated a few years ago but still apply to [do] the same jobs as you because they could not find better. And you cannot really compete because they have experience which you don’t have as a young graduate.”

In the UK, of those that graduated during the pandemic 29 per cent of final year students lost their jobs, 26 per cent lost their internships and 28 per cent had their graduate job offer deferred or rescinded, according to research from Prospects , a specialist graduate careers organisation.

Meanwhile, those who run substantial graduate schemes have reported significant increases in the number of applicants for this year’s intake.

Hywel Ball, UK chair of EY, the professional services firm, says graduate applications were up by 60 per cent compared with 2019, and 12 per cent compared with 2020. Allen & Overy, the international law firm, says applications for its UK graduate scheme grew by 38 per cent this year, with year on year growth for the past three application cycles.

Unilever, the consumer goods company, recruits graduates across 53 countries and saw a 27 per cent increase in applications from 2019 to 2020.

Compounding the problem further is the increasing number of entry-level jobs that require work experience. Even before the pandemic, 61 per cent of entry level positions in the US required three or more years of work experience, according to a 2018 analysis by TalentWorks , a job-matching software company.

My academic achievements are something I pride myself on, yet the job market seems to disregard them completely

Some students feel the application process for some companies is becoming increasingly arduous. James Bevington, who has recently finished a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, says: “When the power dynamics are so skewed against you with hundreds of applications per role, the recruitment process can become abusive.” 

He describes how on submitting an application he was given two days to undertake a 24-hour assessment for which he had to drop everything. He had no opportunity to ask basic questions about the company and only received an automated rejection after getting a perfect score on the assessment. “Why bother?” he says. 

A London-based engineering graduate, who preferred not to be named, says: “Up until now I have 230+ failed applications for entry-level jobs. Having graduated [in] computer science, I now add income to my family as a delivery driver in between applying for different jobs and trying to muster the motivation to keep going. I feel left behind, not only by the job market, but by the institutions that offered my education — my academic achievements are something I pride myself on, yet the job market seems to disregard them completely.”

Security versus curiosity

Another recurrent theme was that some who have secured employment are in fact curious about exploring other opportunities, but the uncertainty means they are reluctant to leave their current employer and try a different role at another company. Finding secure work was more important than finding fulfilling work.

Another London-based graduate, who preferred not to be named, had secured a job in an investment bank but had quickly decided it was not for them and would like to switch career. But “it’s hard finding different opportunities . . . And it’s easier to stick to the safer, well-paid path than take a risk and end up redundant,” they said.

A law graduate from University College Dublin, currently based in Leuven, Belgium, following a masters at KU Leuven, who did not want to give his name, says: “The pandemic has impacted all of our anxiety levels but its disproportionate effects on workers has really made job security a priority for me, above finding work that is fulfilling and enjoyable.”

Elliot Keen, a graduate in civil engineering from Birmingham university who is now based in London, said that new entrants to the labour market may default back to a “job for life” rather than moving around: “I reckon people will stay in their roles for five, maybe 10 years or longer.”

Unexpected success 

Among those graduates who felt forced to take another direction, some outcomes have been positive.

Alex Morgan, who did a political economy MA at King’s College London following his undergraduate degree at Leeds, says the pandemic has “perversely helped me”. He decided to pursue postgraduate education “because the graduate jobs market felt so dysfunctional” last year. Following his MA, he secured a job with the civil service. He had not planned to do an MA and adds: “I don’t think I would have been able to secure this sort of job without it.”

It seems many other students have also opted for postgraduate options. An analysis of the FT’s business school rankings, for example, shows how applications to postgraduate programmes, such as an MBA or masters in finance, have increased.

He also thinks that the forced shift in working habits could level the playing field and enable quicker progression — especially for those not based in London.

Nathaniel Fried, a geography graduate from King’s College London, was working part-time on setting up an information security company. Anticipating the lack of job opportunities, he decided to pursue it full time. “We have been doing well,” he says. While he feels he was forced by circumstances, exploring opportunities outside the traditional job market “has boosted my early career prospects by forcing me to innovate”, he says. 

Similarly, PhD student Bevington — who drew on the lessons of finishing his undergraduate course during a recession in 2011 — also decided to start his own company, a non-profit in the area of space research. “When I approach would-be employers about my company’s offering, they can’t partner quick enough.”

Brian Massaro, an applied economics masters graduate from Marquette University in Milwaukee in the US, has accepted a full-time position following an internship during his studies, but he and a friend have been applying to start-up incubators and accelerators to grow an online publishing company he has been working on for the past few years.

While students felt the pandemic has had a knock-on effect on their immediate career prospects, many respondents’ sentiment was cautiously optimistic for the long term. But some felt that governments and companies should be providing more support and investing in graduates.  

Morgan adds that businesses may need further incentives to provide high-quality graduate roles. “We heavily encourage young people to go to good universities, taking on a lot of debt to do so,” he says. “It seems, in my peer group, that there is a raft of graduates (from top universities) who are unable to find roles which challenge them. That is not to say they are entitled to one, but I think there is a clear gap between the promise of university and the reality on the other side.”

Fried adds: “I believe both businesses and government should be taking steps to invest in graduates. Social mobility is very low and those impacted most by lack of opportunities are marginalised groups.”

Rahul, an India-based MBA graduate who did not want to give his last name, says companies need to improve the recruitment process and pay graduates based on skills: “Do not reduce pay just because people are in need.” He also says that time taken to hire needs to be reduced to 30 days. “[Some] are taking almost 100 days for one recruitment process. It’s inefficient.”

Despite the challenges, some respondents are upbeat. “It is tough for us graduates,” adds a Brighton university graduate. “We’ll be all the stronger for it though!”

Graphics by Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart

Women at the start

Highlights from the FT’s latest Women at the Start report

What recruiters want — and how to provide it: From short-term temping to gaining professional qualifications, there is more than one way to land a job you want

Find grit to ace the early stages of your career: How to build resilience in the face of setbacks

Promoted Content

Explore the series.

Follow the topics in this article

• Corporate culture Add to myFT
• Business education Add to myFT
• Work & Careers Add to myFT
• UK universities Add to myFT
• Education Add to myFT

International Edition

• Skip to content

Group exercises: what to expect

Abigail Lewis

Last updated: 21 Jun 2023, 15:38

The group exercise is a key part of an assessment centre day and helps graduate recruiters assess how you'd perform in the job. Find out how to impress them.

Supported by:

The assessment centre group exercise is used to see your communication and problem-solving skills in action, and to ensure that you can work effectively in a team. You need to support the group in completing the task that has been set, whether that involves discussing a particular issue, constructing something from bits of stationery, or analysing a complex business case study and presenting your findings. The best way to impress the assessors is to show yourself as a good team player – flexible, full of ideas but willing to listen to and help expand the ideas of others.

In recent years, some recruiters have switched to running virtual or digital assessment centres and, by and large, have continued with group exercises. However, a few have chosen not to. Instead, they have found other ways to assess the skills they would have through group exercises that better suit the platform they use – for instance, by adding questions to interviews. It's a good idea to be prepared to carry out a group exercise either way, whether as preparation to undertake one or so you know the kinds of skills the recruiter might assess elsewhere.

• Find out more about what to expect during virtual assessment centres, along with tips for how best to approach them

How to impress recruiters during a group exercise

• You need to contribute, but not to dominate. Be assertive, but not aggressive. If you are aware that you are usually a shy person who does not speak up, do your best to participate. If you know that you can sometimes be overbearing in groups, hold that tendency in check.
• Speak clearly and confidently. Listen and don't interrupt. If undertaking a virtual group exercise, you could suggest using the 'raise a hand' function or similar so you can all take it in turn to speak. Be aware of what others in the group are contributing. Try to draw out quieter members and seek their views.
• Be diplomatic. If one person is behaving in a dominant way, don't shout them down, but try to make sure that everybody gets a chance to share their thoughts. You can say things such as: 'That's a really good point [name], but [name] hasn't had a chance to contribute yet' or 'You've made some good points, but we haven't yet considered X, Y and Z and I think we should before coming to a decision'. Be prepared to compromise.
• Make use of the resources available to you. If you are in the room together, use the flipchart and pens provided; if you are communicating digitally, use the virtual whiteboard if there is one.
• Volunteering to be notetaker or timekeeper can be a good way to impress, as it shows that you are a considerate team player who takes responsibility. The flip side of this, however, is that you need to perform those functions well and make sure that you also contribute to the overarching discussions.
• Keep an eye on the time and stay focused on the overall objective. From time to time, summarise the group's progress, even if you aren't notetaker or timekeeper.
• Remember that you are not being primarily assessed on whether you reach the 'right' answer (often there isn't one), but on how you work with others. Take a look at our in-depth features on demonstrating communication and teamworking skills for more insights.

Example group exercise 1: the case study

This is probably the most common group exercise you will face at an assessment centre. In this type of exercise the group is given a set period of time to work together to respond to a case study brief, often a set of documents based on a real-life business situation. At some assessment centres the candidates may have already been interviewed about the case study brief on an individual basis. The group may be invited to present its findings as part of the exercise.

The case study scenario is likely to present the sort of challenges that you would encounter on the job and gives the assessors a chance to see how you would perform. Sometimes each candidate is given a different briefing document or role to play, and the group has to reach a conclusion despite the conflicting views of its members.

• Example case studies and how to approach them

Example group exercise 2: the discussion group

A discussion group involves group members being given a topic or topics to discuss. The nature of the topics can vary but usually they involve an issue of current importance to students or something that's been in the news recently. Sometimes they are related to the industry that the employer works in: candidates applying for construction graduate programmes may be asked how the industry could address skills shortages, for example.

You are not usually given time to prepare so it's a good idea to read a quality newspaper or current affairs magazines/websites (such as The Economist ) in the weeks before the assessment centre.

At the end of the discussion each candidate may be invited to comment briefly in turn on one of the group's conclusions, so it's vital to listen as well as to speak up.

Get the insights and skills you need to shape your career journey with Pathways. Gain a strong grounding in the various ways you can prepare for an assessment centre, so you can give yourself the best chance of success.

Example group exercise 3: the leaderless task

This group exercise is similar to a case study exercise in that each group member will be given an individual briefing document. However, it is often different from other people’s in the group. Typically, the task will involve making a business decision and each member of the group will represent different business functions, such as marketing, sales or operations. As a group you must come up with a decision acceptable to all within the time limit. No one in the group is designated leader and so the group has to find a compromise solution.

Example group exercise 4: the leadership task

Occasionally, when the organisation is particularly interested in testing your leadership skills, you will be asked to chair a meeting or act as leader of your group. Once again there will be a set task but this time you will be expected to be in charge and to lead the others to success. This is what the assessors will be looking for:

• A good leader delegates. The task cannot be done by you alone. You must divide up the work between the others.
• A good leader uses the strengths of others. You must identify the strengths of the individuals in your group and use them in appropriate ways.
• A good leader knows what's going on. Don’t get too involved in doing things. It's better to monitor what's going on and make changes if things don't work out

Example group exercise 5: the ‘build a…’ challenge

This is a classic way of seeing your teamworking skills in action, but for obvious reasons will only be undertaken at an in-person assessment centre. You might be asked to build a bridge or a tower from straw, paper and pins; you might be asked to put up a tent (tent poles and all); or you might be given another building task. Make sure the group doesn’t spend too much time discussing and designing and too little time building.

Example group exercise 6: the ice-breaker

Organisations use ice-breakers to help you relax and to help the group to gel. Sometimes ice-breakers can be a ‘build a…’ challenge, but sometimes they can be more discussion-led. You could be asked to introduce yourself to the group and share an interesting fact about yourself. Alternatively, you could be asked to introduce yourself to your neighbour and ask them questions, before summarising what you’ve heard to the rest of the group, for example: ‘This is James. He once ran a marathon for charity dressed as a Minion from the Despicable Me films’.

Another typical ice-breaker is to decide as a group what you’d save from a shipwreck to help you survive on a desert island.

Make sure that you throw yourself into the task, that you actively contribute, share information and listen to others. Although the ice-breaker’s primary purpose is to make you feel at ease, assessors will still be interested in how you express yourself and interact with others.

People reading this also searched for roles in these areas:

• Graduate Jobs
• Graduate Schemes
• Internships

Related careers advice

We've got you

Graduate Job Classification Case Study

Clavié et al., 2023 (opens in a new tab) provide a case-study on prompt-engineering applied to a medium-scale text classification use-case in a production system. Using the task of classifying whether a job is a true "entry-level job", suitable for a recent graduate, or not, they evaluated a series of prompt engineering techniques and report their results using GPT-3.5 ( gpt-3.5-turbo ).

The work shows that LLMs outperforms all other models tested, including an extremely strong baseline in DeBERTa-V3. gpt-3.5-turbo also noticeably outperforms older GPT3 variants in all key metrics, but requires additional output parsing as its ability to stick to a template appears to be worse than the other variants.

The key findings of their prompt engineering approach are:

• For tasks such as this one, where no expert knowledge is required, Few-shot CoT prompting performed worse than Zero-shot prompting in all experiments.
• The impact of the prompt on eliciting the correct reasoning is massive. Simply asking the model to classify a given job results in an F1 score of 65.6, whereas the post-prompt engineering model achieves an F1 score of 91.7.
• Attempting to force the model to stick to a template lowers performance in all cases (this behaviour disappears in early testing with GPT-4, which are posterior to the paper).
• The tables below show the full modifications tested.
• Properly giving instructions and repeating the key points appears to be the biggest performance driver.
• Something as simple as giving the model a (human) name and referring to it as such increased F1 score by 0.6pts.

Prompt Modifications Tested

Performance impact of all prompt modifications.

Template stickiness refers to how frequently the model answers in the desired format.