The classic case interview

The vast majority of case interviews follow the same steps that management consultants encounter on real client projects.

1. Brief: The interviewer gives the candidate a brief for the case. They explain the context in which the client is operating, and outline the challenge they’re facing.
2. Clarification: The candidate then has the chance to ask clarifying questions. They might do this to ensure they’ve understood the context of the problem correctly or to confirm the client’s goals.
3. Reflection: The candidate takes 60 to 90 seconds or so to reflect and lay out a structured approach to solving the case.
4. Analysis: The candidate and interviewer then work through the case together, carrying out analyses and moving toward a recommendation. This is the part of the case where you’ll be handling numerical questions, reviewing exhibits, coming up with creative ideas, and so on. It comprises the vast majority of the time you’ll spend on the case.
5. Synthesis: The case concludes with the candidate synthesizing their findings and making an overall recommendation to the client.

So what does this unique interview format look and feel like? In reality, a consulting case interview is a little like a role-play. The interviewer plays the role of a manager or client, and the candidate plays the part of the consultant hired to solve the problem. However, a case interview shouldn’t feel like a performance. The most successful candidates treat it as a natural conversation between two professional people.

In the video below you can see an example of exceptional case interview performance in action. The candidate and interviewer in the video are both former McKinsey interviewers.

Interviewer-led vs candidate-led cases

Although the classic case interview has an established format and assesses a specific set of skills, cases can be delivered in different ways. Some are more candidate-led, while others are more interviewer-led

In a candidate-led case, the candidate is in the driver’s seat and is free to explore different aspects of the problem. Interviewers don’t tell candidates what to focus on next. Instead, they provide additional information – like an exhibit or a new fact – when asked. The candidate then analyzes the information and suggests next steps to get to the answer.

In an interviewer-led case, the interviewer may interrupt the candidate and ask them to either perform a specific investigation or focus on a different aspect of the problem. This doesn’t mean the interview is going badly; the interviewer is simply following a script. As a result, in an interviewer-led case, candidates are less likely to take the wrong path.

It’s difficult to predict which style of case you’ll receive. Some firms are known for using one style of interview more frequently than another. However, in practice, most interviews fall somewhere between the two extremes, depending on the style of the interviewer and the case material they’re using. You should therefore always be ready to suggest next steps and have a view about how to get to the answer.

Other case interview formats

While the classic case interview is most common, there are a couple of other interview formats that top consulting firms use from time to time:

The written case study

Some management consulting firms use written case studies to simulate the experience of carrying out consulting work even more accurately than the classic, verbal case interview. In some locations, BCG and Bain have been known to adopt this approach for a small minority of candidates.

In written cases, candidates review a series of paper documents and then structure the problem, run some numbers, generate ideas and, finally, deliver a short presentation. You can learn more in our article on how to crack written case studies.

Market sizing case interviews

Management consulting firms and other employers sometimes use market sizing questions – also known as estimation questions – as a standalone interview format to assess candidates on a wide range of problem-solving dimensions.

In a market sizing interview, you’ll be asked to estimate a number. This might be something like the revenue of a sandwich store or how many ATMs there are in a certain city. The ability to size a market is also a skill required for solving many case interview questions. You can learn more in our article on how to nail market sizing case interviews.

Some key differences to expect

While case interviews are highly codified, it’s important to remember that every interview is unique.

In the final round of interviews, for example, cases may feel less scripted than they did in the first stage. Partners – who are part of the interviewing group in the final round – often use the same case for years at a time. This means they can deliver it without a script and, as a result, tend to give candidates more room to take the lead. You can learn more in our article on the differences between a first and final-round interview at McKinsey, BCG and Bain.

In addition, each firm or office might bring their own nuance or style to the classic case interview format. It’s important to do your research and find out what you can expect from the interview experience at your target firm or office. You can learn more in our article on how the interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain differ.

The skills assessed in case interviews

Case interviews are primarily about testing a set of problem-solving skills. The interviewer uses a scorecard to assess a candidate’s performance in the following dimensions:

• Structuring: This is the ability to break problems down into logical drivers. It’s most obviously required at the beginning of a case, where you can pause and take a moment to come up with an approach. But it’s also tested each time you have to consider a new aspect of the problem.
• Math: Most cases contain a quantitative component, such as estimation questions, break-even questions, or other calculations. To do well in this dimension, you need to lay out a clear and efficient approach, run calculations quickly and accurately, and then state their implications for the case.
• Judgment and insights: This dimension is about extracting insights from data, usually by interpreting information in a chart. Performing well in this area involves processing new information quickly, prioritizing what’s important, and connecting your findings to develop sound recommendations.
• Creativity: Cases often have a creative thinking component. Sharing numerous, varied and sound ideas – ideally in a structured way – can help you succeed here.
• Synthesis: This is all about wrapping up the case with a clear and practical recommendation, and delivering it convincingly.
• Case leadership: This dimension is about progressing through the case efficiently and staying focused on its objectives. Case leadership involves gathering facts effectively and building on new findings to develop a recommendation. It’s a particularly important dimension in candidate-led cases.

Questions to expect

If you’re preparing to interview at a top management consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain, you’re probably curious about the kind of case interview questions you can expect to receive.

To identify the most common case interview questions, we surveyed CaseCoach users who interviewed at either McKinsey, BCG or Bain for a generalist role in 2023. We found that of the 260+ case interviews reported by respondents:

• 20% focused on profit improvement
• 15% focused on revenue growth
• 12% focused on market entry
• 10% focused on cost cutting
• 9% focused on process optimization

These topics align with the typical challenges and opportunities faced by CEOs. Because the job of a management consultant is to help CEOs find solutions to these problems, it’s vital for candidates to demonstrate that they understand the issues behind these questions.

However, while there are some recurring topics, the context and nuances of each individual case mean that no two case questions are the same. Increasingly, firms are testing candidates on questions that fall outside of these recurring topics. One way they’re doing this is by focusing on non-traditional areas, like the public sector. If you’re interviewing for a generalist management consulting role, it’s therefore important to be ready for almost any type of case question.

If you’re interviewing for a role that’s focused on a specific industry or function, like financial services, you’ll likely be given a case focused on that particular area.

How to ace the case

Case interviews require you to think on your feet to solve a complex problem that you’ve never seen before, while being assessed against a number of problem-solving dimensions. Here’s what you need to do to rise to the challenge and ace the case:

1. Create case interview structures that meet the AIM test

Of all the case interview assessment dimensions, structuring is perhaps the most challenging, particularly for those who are just starting out. It requires candidates to propose a prioritized and insightful approach to the case that’s composed of a comprehensive set of independent drivers. Structuring plays a foundational role in the interview, setting the course for the entire conversation.

So, what does good case structuring look like? An effective structure should meet the conditions of the ‘AIM’ test. ‘AIM’ stands for:

• Answer-focused: The structure should identify the client’s goal and the question to solve. It should also provide an approach to answering that question.
• Insightful: The structure should be tailored to the specifics of the client or to the problem in question. You shouldn’t be able to apply it to another case of the same type.
• MECE: This is a well-known acronym among consultants. It stands for ‘mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive’. In plain English, if a structure is ‘MECE’ it has been broken down into an exhaustive set of independent drivers.

2. Know key case interview frameworks

In a case interview, you’ll be asked to structure a variety of problems. There are a number of frameworks that can help you do this, whether the problem you’re structuring corresponds to a common case question or a different topic entirely:

Business frameworks

You can use established business frameworks to craft custom structures for the most common types of case questions. These include frameworks for mastering profitability questions, answering revenue growth questions and nailing market sizing questions.

Academic frameworks

For unusual case questions that don’t relate to an obvious business framework, it can be helpful to draw on an academic framework like supply and demand, ‘the three Cs’, or Porter’s Five Forces. You can learn more about all of these in our ultimate guide to case interview frameworks. The article includes other business and academic frameworks that you can use to craft custom structures for case questions.

Logical frameworks

Finally, logical frameworks can help you look at the big picture in order to structure your approach. These options can be particularly useful when you’re faced with an unusual case question that doesn’t lend itself to a business or academic framework. Some examples of logical frameworks include:

• Structuring with equations: This approach is most helpful for quantitative case questions. Listen out for introductions that focus on a number. These cases can often be broken down into an equation and then structured along its variables.
• Structuring based on hypotheses: This approach is most helpful for structuring qualitative cases. It involves laying out what you most need to believe in order to validate a specific recommendation. These beliefs form your set of key hypotheses, which you then test as you progress through the case.
• Structuring with root causes: This approach works well for structuring cases that require identifying the reasons for a problem. It involves laying out its potential causes in a way that is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (i.e. MECE).

How to apply these frameworks

While business, academic, and logical frameworks can be helpful when it comes to structuring a problem, learning how to use them correctly is a skill in itself. Simply applying a framework to a case interview question in a ‘cookie-cutter’ fashion is not enough. To impress your interviewer and pass the AIM test, your structure will need to be heavily tailored to the situation at hand. In fact, many case questions can be best answered by combining different frameworks.

Ultimately, interviewers want to understand how your mind works and see you think on your feet. You’ll therefore need to demonstrate that you can propose a custom case interview structure to any question.

3. Be comfortable with simple math

Management consulting firms expect you to navigate mathematical problems confidently and reliably in case interviews. Regardless of your academic background or past experience, you’ll need to be able to set an approach to solve the problem, perform calculations quickly and accurately, and state the implications of your solution.

The good news is that you’ll only be required to demonstrate a high-school level of math skills in case interviews. However, with no calculators allowed and an interviewer looking over your shoulder, it’s natural to find this aspect of the experience a little intimidating.

So, what can you expect from case math? The problems you’ll be asked to solve may take the form of straight calculations, exhibits that require calculations, word problems, and estimation questions.

To do well in this part of the case interview, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of:

• The four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• Key math concepts such as fractions, percentages, and weighted averages
• Business math concepts such as income statements, investments, and valuations

To stand out to your interviewer, you’ll also need to work through math problems confidently and efficiently. Here are our top tips for doing this:

• Keep track of zeros: Case questions often involve large numbers, sometimes in the millions or even billions. Keeping close track of your zeros is therefore crucial. We recommend either counting the zeros in your calculation, using scientific notation, or assigning letter units to zeros.
• Simplify your calculations: This will help you work through problems quickly and efficiently while reducing the potential for mistakes. One way of simplifying calculations is by rounding numbers up or down to make them more ‘friendly’.
• Memorize frequently-used fractions: Some fraction values are used so frequently in case math that knowing them – along with their percentage value and decimal conversions – can save you significant time. We recommend memorizing the fraction and corresponding percentage and decimal values of 1/2, 1/3, all the way through to 1/10.

You can learn more in our guide to mastering case interview math.

4. Summarize your findings

Synthesis is a key skill assessed by interviewers, predominantly at the end of a case interview. You need to provide a clear and sound recommendation that answers the overall question convincingly. You must also describe the key supporting points that informed your recommendation and then outline any further steps you would advise the client to take.

When it comes to concluding cases effectively, this four-step framework can be extremely helpful:

1. Quickly play the case question back to your interviewer.
2. Answer the question directly and briefly by distilling your response into a single sentence, if possible.
3. List the points that support your conclusion.
4. Outline the next steps that you recommend to the client.

You can learn more in our article on how to conclude a case study interview.

5. Bring it all together with strong case leadership

Case leadership, more than any other dimension, will give your interviewer an indication of how independently you could handle your workstream as a consultant. It’s a particularly important skill in candidate-led cases, where you’ll set the course of the discussion without the interviewer steering you in a particular direction.

Demonstrating strong case leadership means progressing the case efficiently and staying focused on its overarching objectives. Using a ‘tracker page’ to capture your structure and organize your notes throughout the case will help you in this regard.

Another aspect of case leadership is gathering facts effectively. This includes making reasonable assumptions, requesting missing information, and asking probing questions.

Finally, you’ll be expected to build on new findings to develop your recommendation, adapt your approach, and suggest next steps.

Effective case leadership is all about showing your interviewer that you have a strong command of the problem-solving process. After investigating each key driver in your structure, you need to be able to articulate where you are in your overall approach to solving the problem, and what the next steps should be.

To do this, we recommend using a five-step process to handle every kind of analysis you conduct during the case, whether you’re responding to a numerical question, the data in an exhibit, or something else.

Here’s what that five-step process looks like:

1. Set your approach. Define what you’re going to do upfront. It’s particularly important to be explicit here, especially if the analysis is in any way complex or ambiguous.
2. Conduct your analysis. Your approach here will vary according to the kind of question you’re working through.
3. State your findings. You may also want to make a note of your findings on your tracker page.
4. State the implications of your findings. Explain how they impact both your answer to the question and the client’s broader goal.
5. Suggest next steps. Your findings will sometimes change how you want to approach the rest of the case. This may mean altering your initial structure and editing it on your tracker page.

6. Be your best on the day

When the day of your interview comes around, you’ll want to be at your very best. But what exactly does this mean?

First, you should present yourself in a professional manner. It goes without saying that you should arrive on time but, ideally, you should plan to arrive early. You should also come equipped with the right material: a pen, squared A4 or letter-size paper pad, and copies of your resume. It’s also vital to dress appropriately for the occasion. Usually, this means wearing formal business dress, but this means different attires in different locations. We recommend doing some research to find out what consultants wear at your target firm and office.

To be at your best on the day of your interview, you must be well rested. Sadly, tiredness is one of the most common reasons for underperformance in consulting interviews. The day before is not the time to cram in further preparation. Instead, aim to have a quiet day and to get plenty of sleep at night.

Ultimately, consulting firms want to hire people who can represent the firm and interact with clients at every level, from the shop floor to the C-suite. Successful candidates treat the case interview as an opportunity to play the role of a management consultant advising a client (i.e. the interviewer). This means exhibiting a great deal of confidence and credibility, together with effective communication and an engaging attitude. It’s vital to stay focused on the overall problem and to drive the resolution of the case while being receptive to the interviewer’s input.

There are a lot of balls to juggle in a case interview, with the added pressure of a potentially life-changing outcome, but successful candidates don’t let their nerves get the better of them. We’ve provided some helpful hints and tips in our article on handling the stress of consulting interviews.

Being your best on the day of your interview requires extensive preparation. It means mastering each dimension of the case interview scorecard to the extent that the skills become second nature to you. It also means completing sufficient case practice to be able to focus on the big picture of the case you’re solving, rather than on simply demonstrating a set of skills.

To see all this in action, take a look at these two examples of strong case interview performance.

How to prepare for case interview success

Delivering a standard of performance worthy of an offer from a top firm requires extensive case interview prep. In our experience, most successful candidates invest around 60 hours – or 10 hours each week over a six-week period – in their preparation. Failing to put this effort in is among the most common reasons why many candidates are unsuccessful.

Here’s what effective case interview preparation involves:

Learning the skills

In a case interview, your performance is assessed against a set of common problem-solving dimensions. To recap, these are structuring, math, judgment and insights, creativity, synthesis, and case leadership. It’s important to:

• gain a precise understanding of the expectations on each of these skills
• learn the techniques that will allow you to meet these expectations
• practice until your performance meets the required standard

We teach all these skills in our Interview Prep Course. In our bite-sized video lectures, we map out each of the key skills assessed in a case, and explain what you need to know to demonstrate each skill. We also share our tips on how to improve in each dimension, going above and beyond the advice we’ve included in this article.

In addition, our Interview Prep Course includes many more sample interviews that show real candidates – who went on to join top consulting firms – solving cases. Former consulting interviewers explain what the candidates did well on each dimension and where they could have improved.

Math is a critical prerequisite to handling cases and is something you should be comfortable with before you begin practicing. Our Case Math Course – provided as part of the Interview Prep Course – will help you brush up your skills. It contains 21 video lectures that cover everything you need to know, including the four operations, key math concepts, our pro tips, and business math.

After watching all our Interview Prep and Case Math video lectures, we recommend heading to the ‘Drills’ area of CaseCoach, where you can start practicing specific skills. Drills are interactive exercises that pose rapid-fire questions and provide instant feedback. They help you build your skills and confidence in specific case dimensions quickly, allowing you to make the most of your live case practice with partners. Our Interview Prep Course includes a comprehensive set of drills in four key areas: structuring, calculation, case math and chart interpretation.

Practicing

When it comes to succeeding in a case interview, nothing beats live practice with a partner. Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions before their interview.

To practice live cases with a partner, you’ll need access to both case material and practice partners. In our Case Library, you’ll find over 100 cases – complete with solutions – developed by former management consultants. You can download eight of these cases right away by creating a free CaseCoach account. You’ll find a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room, where we facilitate over 3,000 practice sessions a week.

You can learn more in our article on how to practice case interviews.

Working with a coach

Some candidates choose to supplement their preparations by working with a consulting interview coach who has been an interviewer at a top firm.

These coaches have the skills and experience to gauge your level of performance and help you identify your areas of strength and weakness. They can also provide you with accurate and helpful feedback on your case-solving skills. This insight can help you accelerate your preparation and improve your performance. Getting used to interviewing with a professional should also help to reduce the stress of the consulting interview experience.

Here at CaseCoach, our coaches are all former consultants and interviewers who have been handpicked from the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain.

Do your research

Although employers who use case interviews all test candidates using similar methods, none of them approach the interview process in exactly the same way.

For instance, if you expect to interview with McKinsey, Bain or BCG, it’s helpful to know that these firms all give cases of similar complexity. However, there are some key differences. For example:

• Bain has been known to use estimation questions, such as market sizing, in interviews for its most junior (i.e. Associate Consultant level) roles.
• BCG and Bain occasionally use written cases.
• When it comes to the ‘fit’ interview, McKinsey uses its Personal Experience Interview format, while most Bain offices now use a ‘behavioral interview’. Only BCG consistently uses the classic fit interview format.

Other differences include the number of rounds of interviews each firm conducts, and their preference for using interviewer-led or candidate-led cases. Wherever you interview, it’s vital to do your research and find out what you might be able to expect.

When it comes to getting ready for the case interview, knowing what you will be assessed on, learning how to succeed, and having access to the best practice resources can all go a long way. Now, you need to put in the hard work and prepare! Good luck.

1. Differences in the interview process

McKinsey, BCG and Bain each take a slightly different approach to how many rounds of interviews they hold for each role and how many interviews they conduct before making a decision. These factors can even differ within the firms, based on office, practice area, and recruitment channel.

In other words, the recruitment process that BCG London uses for undergraduate applications is likely to be different from the process that BCG San Francisco uses for advanced degree hiring.

2. Differences in each firm’s approach to pre-interview testing

McKinsey, BCG and Bain all use online assessments to help determine whether to invite candidates to face-to-face interviews. These assessments take slightly different forms:

• McKinsey uses a 60-minute interactive game called ‘Solve’, which takes candidates through a series of tasks.
• Bain uses three different types of online tests across its offices.
• BCG uses a chatbot-based online case assessment tool.

3. Differences in each firm’s approach to the case interview format

Case interviews are an integral part of the interview process at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. All three firms use it as their main method for assessing candidates’ problem-solving skills, and all three use cases of similar complexity.

However, as well as traditional cases, Bain has also been known to use estimation questions, such as market sizing, in interviews for its most junior (i.e. Associate Consultant level) roles.

BCG and Bain occasionally use written cases, which require candidates to structure a problem, run some numbers, and generate ideas based on information provided in a series of paper documents. Candidates are then asked to deliver their responses in the form of a short presentation.

4. Differences in each firm’s approach to interviewer-led vs candidate-led cases

Another key difference among the firms is their preference for conducting either interviewer-led cases – in which the interviewer asks the candidate to explore specific aspects of the problem – or candidate-led cases, in which the candidate can decide what to investigate. You can learn more about the difference between interviewer-led and candidate-led cases in our case interview preparation guide.

Because McKinsey’s cases are developed by a central team, they tend to be interviewer-led, with a set script for interviewers to follow to test specific competencies. This can make McKinsey’s case interviews feel quite formulaic, particularly in first-round interviews, where interviewers are less experienced and tend to follow the script very closely.

BCG’s cases, on the other hand, are developed by interviewing consultants based on their own work. This means that the cases tend to be candidate-led, as the interviewers know all the aspects of the case and are comfortable with letting candidates choose which areas to explore.

As part of recent changes to Bain’s interview process, Bain is moving away from candidate-led cases – for which it was once well known – towards interviewer-led cases. To ensure that candidates have a fair and uniform experience.

It’s important to be aware, however, that the style of case you are given will depend largely on the preference of your interviewer. If a BCG interviewer favors a more structured approach, your case is likely to be interviewer-led. If a McKinsey interviewer prefers cases to have a more natural flow they will favor candidate-led questions.

5. Differences in each firm’s approach to the fit interview

The interview processes at McKinsey, BCG and Bain all involve a set of questions about the candidate’s experiences and capabilities. This is broadly known as the ‘fit’ interview, but the firms all use different formats to uncover this information.

The Personal Experience Interview (PEI) at McKinsey

In the Personal Experience Interview (PEI) at McKinsey, interviewers want to hear about the actions that candidates took at a specific time in their life or career. They do this to assess whether candidates have the abilities required for success in consulting. They’re therefore unlikely to say: “Walk me through your resume” or ask questions like “Why McKinsey?” or even “Why consulting?”.

The fit interview at BCG

BCG’s ‘fit’ interviews focus on a candidate’s background, ambitions, achievements, and their motivations for becoming a consultant. While there is typically no fixed format, interviewers often ask about an experience or period in the candidate’s background to determine whether they have what it takes to succeed in a consulting career.

The behavioral interview at Bain

Instead of conducting a short fit interview, Bain now takes most candidates through a 45-minute ‘behavioral interview’. This is another recent change that Bain has introduced in many of its offices.

The behavioral interview is a one-on-one discussion in which a manager, senior consultant, or senior member of the HR team asks the candidate scripted questions to assess dimensions like listening, empathy, and teamwork.

These questions consist of backward-looking scenarios, which are about past experiences, and forward-focused scenarios, in which the candidate is asked to consider a hypothetical situation.

How to use this information as part of your preparations

If you’re preparing to interview at one or more of the top-three management consulting firms, we recommend that you begin by contacting the office (or offices) where you’re planning to interview. Ask recruiters to explain what you can expect from each interview process, particularly in relation to the format of each interview. From there, you should focus on preparing thoroughly for the case interview and getting ready for the fit interview.

In our Interview Prep Course we teach you how to tackle the case and fit interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. The course contains all the video lectures, sample interviews, case material, and practice tools you’ll need to ace these interviews.

The Bain case interview

Interviewer-led cases

Historically, Bain interviewers developed their own case material, and interviews were typically candidate-led. This meant that the candidate suggested different aspects of the problem to explore, analyzed additional information provided by the interviewer, and suggested next steps to reach the answer.

Bain now uses a set of standardized, interviewer-led cases that have been developed by a central team. While the candidate suggests different aspects of the problem to explore in interviewer-led cases, the interviewer may interrupt and ask the candidate to focus on a specific question or aspect of the case. The candidate then explores this particular area and suggests the next steps to get to the answer.

Bain’s ultimate goal in making these changes is to make better hiring decisions by assessing candidates in a consistent and calibrated fashion. That being said, some offices and many senior interviewers (who most often conduct final-round interviews) continue to use their own material and the legacy candidate-led approach.

Multi-pronged questions

Bain’s standardized, interviewer-led cases may include a main question and several sub-questions, which the interviewer shares upfront as part of the case prompt.

The first part of the case is inevitably about structuring the main question. Candidates should identify either how the interviewer’s sub-questions fit into their overall structure, or how they would tackle each sub-question separately.

The interviewer then guides the candidate through the case and asks them to conduct specific analyses or investigate new questions. However, this doesn’t mean they should take a back seat! It’s essential for candidates to demonstrate case leadership by showing initiative, putting forward hypotheses to test, and suggesting next steps – even when the interviewer is following a pre-set plan. You can see examples of strong case leadership in these case interview videos.

Digital and sustainability content

To reflect the work that Bain does today, most offices’ cases include both a digital and sustainability angle. It’s therefore a good idea for candidates to familiarize themselves with these topics.

Additionally, Bain includes an ethical challenge in every candidate’s first or second-round case interview. The firm does this to test each candidate’s ability to identify ethical issues and respond with integrity.

The Bain behavioral interview

The elimination of the fit interview

To reduce unconscious bias, foster diversity, and give everyone the same fair shot at joining Bain, the firm has asked its offices to eliminate the fit interview from their process. This means that case interviews at Bain – at just 45 minutes in length – are now shorter than they are at other top consulting firms. They only include the case and time for the candidate to ask questions.

In the spirit of reducing unconscious bias, some of Bain’s offices have stopped sharing candidates’ resumes with interviewers. However, some interviewers might look candidates up on LinkedIn ahead of their interviews. Candidates should therefore ensure that their profile on the platform is both up to date and reflective of their key achievements.

A full behavioral interview

Instead of conducting a short fit interview, Bain now takes candidates through a separate ‘behavioral interview’. This is a 45-minute one-on-one discussion between the candidate and either a manager, senior consultant, or senior member of the HR team.

In this interview, candidates are asked a total of eight scripted questions across the following four dimensions:

• Listening and empathy
• Humility and teamwork
• Drive
• Growth orientation

Two questions are asked to assess each dimension. These questions consist of backward-looking scenarios, which are about past experiences, and forward-focused scenarios, in which the candidate is asked to consider a hypothetical situation.

Because the questions are scripted, with no link between them, the behavioral interview at Bain can feel a little transactional or mechanical at times. Candidates should also be prepared for the possibility of their interviewer interrupting them to ensure that all eight questions are covered.

How Bain assesses candidates’ performance

Bain bases its hiring decisions on how candidates perform in both the case interview and the behavioral interview.

Like other top consulting firms, Bain assesses candidates’ case interview performance against problem-solving dimensions such as structuring, case math, and synthesis. It places an emphasis on recommendations that are both practical and commercially sound.

Bain assesses candidates in an additional dimension called ‘Maintaining Ethical True North’ through its inclusion of an ethical challenge in at least one case interview.

How to prepare for an interview at Bain

If you’re getting ready to interview at Bain, be sure to ask your recruiter at the firm what kind of interviews to expect for your target office and role.

Then, use CaseCoach to prepare. Our Interview Prep Course contains all the video lectures, sample interviews, case material, and practice tools you’ll need to ace Bain’s case interviews.

In our experience, most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm practice at least 25 live cases with a partner before their interview. We can connect you with a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room.

Finally, you might want to consider supplementing your practice further by practicing cases with a coach who has previously been an interviewer at Bain. Consulting interview coaches can help accelerate your preparation by gauging your level of performance and helping you identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can book a coaching session with a Bain alum on CaseCoach.

How to get started with live case practice

To practice live cases with a partner, you’ll need access to both case material and practice partners.

Download high-quality practice cases

For a case interview practice session to be effective, you and your partner need to have access to professionally-developed case material.

While there are a great deal of cases available online, the vast majority of them have been created by fellow candidates from notes they took during their interviews. These cases don’t usually include a best-in-class solution. As a result, they are not always reliable or good practice material.

To make it easy for candidates to access high-quality cases, we’ve created a Case Library, which includes over 100 cases – with solutions – developed by former management consultants. You can download eight of these cases right away by creating a free CaseCoach account.

The full library includes cases that are focused on a wide range of sectors, functions, and question types, including written cases and questions on market sizing, profit improvement, and revenue growth. You can access all of the material in the Case Library by signing up for our Interview Prep Course.

Find practice partners

If you don’t know anyone else who is preparing to interview at a top consulting firm, you might be wondering where to find practice partners. You’ll find a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room, where we facilitate over 3,000 practice sessions a week.

To help you find a great match, we’ve invited candidates to share some information about their background and what they want to get out of their practice sessions in their profiles. Once you’ve found the right partner, you can book a 90-minute practice session with them easily through our platform.

In each session, you and your partner will take it in turns to play the role of interviewer and interviewee, each giving the other a 30-minute case and then providing feedback for around 15 minutes.

You can book up to 10 sessions in the Practice Room by creating a free CaseCoach account. Signing up for our Interview Prep Course will allow you to book an unlimited number of practice sessions.

How to make the most of your case interview practice

Here are our top tips for making the most of your case interview practice with other candidates:

Use an objective framework to capture and track your feedback

When you practice live cases with a partner, you need an objective framework that will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and pinpoint where you need to improve.

The assessment scorecard in our Interview Prep Course is the ideal tool for capturing this feedback. Based on the dimensions that top consulting firms use to assess candidate performance, it’s designed to help candidates progress in the areas that top-tier firms like McKinsey, BCG and Bain really care about.

After each session, keep a record of the feedback you received from your practice partners. This will help you to progress your preparation, and judge which areas to focus on in your solo practice between live sessions. If you need to work on structuring, numeracy, case math, or interpreting charts or exhibits, for example, you might choose to spend some time working through the drills in our Interview Prep Course.

If you practice with partners in our Practice Room, the feedback you receive after each session will be recorded and made available for you to review privately in your CaseCoach account at any time.

Choose good practice partners

You’ll learn much more quickly if you practice with someone who knows the case they’re giving you inside out, and can provide insightful feedback.

A good practice partner is also someone who can be trusted to be prepared, to turn up on time, and to have as much enthusiasm for giving cases as receiving them.

To make it easier for you to find good practice partners, we’ve developed a star rating system for the candidates in our Practice Room. It’s based on the scores that candidates receive from their partners on both their reliability and their skills as an interviewer.

We’ve included a few other indicators to help you choose a good partner in the Practice Room. You’ll see the number of practice sessions that each candidate has completed on their profile. The more sessions a candidate has completed, the more developed their interviewing skills are likely to be.

You’ll also see a ‘Top Interviewer’ badge displayed on the profiles of candidates who have achieved a high star rating after completing at least five sessions in our Practice Room.

Be a top-notch interviewer

The best practice partners are in high demand. You need to be a top-notch interviewer for these candidates to want to practice with you.

Here’s what being a good interviewer means:

1. Choosing interesting cases

First, choose a case that you will enjoy giving. A good case should present a fun problem, with some challenging questions. It should include an exhibit and a numerical question, with a clear script to follow and a comprehensive solution. There’s plenty of material like this to choose from in our Case Library.

Once you’ve found an enjoyable and interesting case, we recommend using it several times with different candidates. Once you’ve given a case four or five times, you’ll be able to really focus on the conversation and the candidate’s performance, rather than on your own delivery.

2. Being conversational and open-minded

Great interviewers aren’t script-reading robots! They engage in a conversation with candidates and endeavor to make them feel comfortable.

They’re also open to answers that aren’t an exact match to the case’s answer key. If the candidate provides a structure that’s different from the one given in the case solution, ask yourself if their structure could answer the question. If the answer is yes, roll with it. If the answer is no, push them to come up with an alternative approach.

3. Being honest and specific with your feedback

When it comes to providing your partner with feedback, be sure to both celebrate what they did well and highlight the areas that they need to work on. Use an objective framework – like our assessment scorecard – to do this in a structured way. Draw on what you observed during the practice case, providing specific examples to support your feedback.

Supplement your practice by learning about each assessment dimension

To be effective, your case interview practice should be underpinned by a firm grasp of all the case interview assessment dimensions, including structuring, case math, and synthesis.

To develop a truly comprehensive understanding of these dimensions, we recommend subscribing to our Interview Prep Course, which includes video lectures that cover all of these dimensions. These lectures provide a detailed description of the standard of performance that top firms expect to see, concepts and frameworks that are important to know, and our tips for standing out.

Consider practicing with a coach and getting some expert feedback

Some candidates choose to support their preparations further by practicing cases with a coach who has previously been an interviewer at a top firm.

Consulting interview coaches can help accelerate your preparation by gauging your level of performance and helping you identify your areas of strength and weakness. They can also provide you with accurate and helpful feedback, and share their advice for managing the stress of the interview process.

If you’re preparing for a consulting interview, you might want to consider booking a session with one of our coaches. They have all been handpicked from among the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG, and Bain.

Why is math an important component of case interviews?

You might be wondering why, in an age where you can access a calculator or Microsoft Excel on your phone or laptop in seconds, interviewers still judge applicants on the strength of their mental arithmetic.

The rise of Excel and other mathematical modeling software has certainly saved consultants a lot of time and effort in recent years. However, when it comes to interacting with senior executives – where the perception of competence is paramount – mental math is unlikely to ever go out of style.

Consultants are often required to calculate values at a moment’s notice. Typical scenarios include being asked to:

• assess the impact of a proposed cost-saving measure
• estimate the revenue that a potential new product will generate
• using orders of magnitude to determine what a set of numbers could mean for the client and the problem at hand

How is consulting math tested in a case interview?

In this section, we’re going to address the types of math problems you’re likely to encounter in a case interview.

Straight calculations

It’s possible that an interviewer will give you a (relatively) straightforward math problem to solve as a standalone question.

Usually, however, these calculations take the form of follow-up questions in a larger case study.

Consulting charts and exhibits that require calculations

There are several types of calculations that your interviewer might propose or ask you to perform based on data in a chart or exhibit.

Here’s an example of an exhibit that you might be given in a market entry case:

In this example, your interviewer might ask you to identify which city offers the greatest potential market for customers aged 20 to 40.

You might then be asked to calculate the percentage difference between the largest and second-largest markets.

You could eliminate Hillwood and Bedrock immediately, simply by eyeballing the surface areas of the ‘20 to 30 years’ and ‘30 to 40 years’ segments and noticing that they are the smallest.

Then it would be worth computing the values for the remaining three cities, which are more difficult to differentiate visually.

You would do this by multiplying the share of their population in the 20-40 age range by their total population, as follows:

• King’s Landing: (26% + 18%) x 11.4 mn ≈ 5.0 mn
• Citadel: (60% + 11%) x 5.5 mn ≈ 3.9 mn
• Metropolis: (20% + 20%) x 13.5 mn ≈ 5.4 mn

Metropolis has the largest potential market, with 5.4 million customers aged 20 to 40. This is 8% larger than the potential market of King’s Landing (5.4 / 5.0 = 1.08).

Word problems

Word problems are another staple of case interviews. They’re likely to be fairly familiar, as you’ll almost certainly have encountered them at some point in your schooling.

In the context of a case interview, word problems usually require algebraic calculations. Candidates are expected to extract the most important facts and figures from the word problem, present them in the form of an equation, and then perform the calculations.

One common type of word problem that often crops up in case interviews is the ‘breakeven analysis’. This requires candidates to calculate the amount of sales that a company needs to make to recover its costs (i.e. to make neither a profit nor a loss).

Estimation questions

The last type of quantitative question you’re likely to encounter in a case interview is the estimation question (also known as the ‘market sizing’ question).

In estimation questions, candidates are required to arrive at a value based on very little upfront data – or sometimes none at all. Here are some examples:

• How many petrol pumps are there in the UK?
• What is the annual revenue of a global sandwich chain?
• What is the size of the market for lattes in the US?
• How many newspapers are sold in Spain?

Estimation questions provide candidates with a good opportunity to demonstrate their ability to make common-sense assumptions and extrapolate a small amount of data using a structured approach. You can learn more about how to do this in our article on nailing market sizing case questions.

Our tips for succeeding case interview math

Follow a four-step process

As with many other aspects of case interviews, there’s a process you can use to structure your thoughts and analysis in case math:

1. Set your approach and describe it

Before you begin to solve the problem, tell your interviewer the approach you plan to take. This will both help you to structure your thoughts and allow your interviewer to correct any mistakes or incorrect assumptions you might have made.

If your interviewer agrees with your approach, they might indicate that they’re happy to ‘sign off’ on it, either verbally or non-verbally.

2. Calculate

The second step is to work through the required calculations correctly, confidently, and quickly. Be sure to write everything down and tell the interviewer what you’re doing, as this will help them to follow along.

3. Sense-check

After you’ve completed your calculations, pause for a moment to take a bird’s-eye view of your approach. Does your solution make sense?

4. Interpret

Finally, you need to demonstrate to your interviewer that you can glean meaningful and – wherever possible – actionable insights from calculations. Ask yourself whether your solution supports your initial hypothesis.

Keep your work tidy and simple

Throughout this process, you should write everything down and ensure that your calculations are tidy and simple. Otherwise, you could easily become confused and you’ll be unlikely to impress your interviewer, who will be expecting you to take a professional approach to the exercise.

Here are some simple measures that can help you keep your case math work neat and organized:

• Use a fresh sheet of paper for every problem and non-trivial calculation
• Write neatly and give yourself ample space on the page
• Align your ‘equal signs’ on the page to keep your calculations tidy
• Compute one operation at a time
• Avoid multiplying percentages together, as this can often lead to errors
• Look out for when it might be wise to use a table to synthesize different units or types of data

Here’s an example of an effective page of case math calculations:

Work with your interviewer

While it might be tempting to stay silent and then impress your interviewer with the correct answer after performing your calculations, the most successful candidates involve their interviewer in the process.

This means you should:

• get upfront feedback on the approach you plan to take
• state your assumptions out loud
• ask the interviewer to provide additional information about certain data sets (although this won’t be appropriate for estimation questions)
• describe everything you’re doing as you perform your calculations

There are many benefits to working with your interviewer in this way. It allows you to react to their verbal or non-verbal feedback in real time. They may even point out errors that you’ll then have the opportunity to correct. It also demonstrates that you have the confidence to collaborate with others on these kinds of problems, and work well in a team.

You can see all of this in action in the following video, which shows a candidate working with their interviewer to solve a math problem in a case interview:

What kind of math do I need to know to ace my case interview?

To do well in case math, there’s no need for you to learn advanced math or complex corporate finance. Instead, you simply need to master the following types of calculations:

Basic operations

You learned the four basic operations at school, and they’re pivotal in case interview math.

To recap, the basic operations are:

• addition
• subtraction
• multiplication
• division

You might already feel confident that you’ve got the four operations down. However, it’s still an excellent idea to brush up on performing these kinds of calculations – especially with a pen and paper.

This video, taken from our Case Math Course, walks you through everything you need to know about division for case interviews.

Key math concepts

Along with the four basic operations, you’ll also be required to employ many of the following key math concepts in your case math calculations:

• Fractions
• Percentages
• Compounding
• Weighted averages
• Probability
• Algebra

Business math

As consulting roles focus on improving business performance, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that you’ll probably be tested on business math in a case interview. You’ll need to know how to:

• interpret financial statements (i.e. income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports)
• make an investment decision
• value a business
• optimize operations

This video, which is also from our Case Math Course, walks you through everything you need to know about income statements:

How to stand out in case interview math

The more proficiency and confidence you can demonstrate with math, the more you’ll impress your interviewer. Being able to work through these problems efficiently will also give you more time to work on other aspects of the case.

Here are three pro tips that can help you stand out from the crowd:

1) Keeping track of zeros

The number-one math mistake we see candidates make in case interviews is miscounting zeros. Case questions often involve large numbers, sometimes in the millions or even billions.

Because of this, it’s easy to misplace or inadvertently leave out a zero and render your entire calculation incorrect as a result. Keeping close track of your zeros is therefore crucial. We recommend using one of the following methods to do this:

• Counting the zeros in your calculation
• Using scientific notation
• Assigning letter units to zeros

2) Simplifying your calculations

Simplifying your calculations in case interview math will help you to work through the problem with greater speed and efficiency. It will also demonstrate a level of confidence to your interviewer and show that you’re more interested in the essence of the problem than in getting caught up in trivial details.

One way of simplifying calculations is by rounding numbers up or down to make them more ‘friendly’. There are typically two opportunities to do this in a case interview:

• When making assumptions about figures like population numbers
• When performing calculations, rounding numbers as you go

There are a few important points to note when it comes to rounding figures in case interviews. First, check that your interviewer is happy for you to do this. Then, as you progress through the problem, communicate any rounding assumptions you make. Finally, bear in mind that as a rule of thumb, effective rounding shouldn’t change the answer by more than 10%.

3) Memorizing frequently-used fractions

Some fraction values are used so frequently in case math that knowing them – along with their percentage value and decimal conversions – can save you significant time. We recommend memorizing the fraction and corresponding percentage and decimal values of 1/2, 1/3, all the way through to 1/10.

How to prepare for case interview math

While case interviews require candidates to demonstrate only a high-school level of math proficiency, you’ll likely need to refresh your skills in this area. Remember that you’ll be performing calculations with a pen and paper, with an interviewer looking over your shoulder.

The good news is that we’ve got everything you need to brush up on math theory and then put it to the test.

Understanding the theory

The dedicated Case Math Course in our Interview Prep Course includes 21 video lectures that cover the following areas in detail:

• The four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• All the key math concepts you’ll need to master, including fractions, percentages and weighted averages
• ‘Pro-tips’ for doing well in case math, including keeping track of zeros and simplifying calculations
• Business math concepts you’ll need to know, including cash flow, investments, and valuations

Putting the theory into practice

Once you’ve developed a firm grasp of the theory, you can put it into practice with the other resources in the Interview Prep Course.

As mental arithmetic is one of the case interview skills you can practice alone as part of your preparation, we’ve included a comprehensive set of calculation drills in the course. Drills are interactive exercises that pose rapid-fire questions and then provide instant feedback.

When you feel confident with your calculation skills, you can move on to our case math drills. These allow you to practice all the elements of case math, including requesting missing data, setting an approach to calculating the solution, and interpreting the results.

The final – and most important – stage of case math preparation is practicing live cases with a partner. Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions before their interview. At CaseCoach, we can connect you with a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room.