How to crack the case study interview when looking for a job in management consulting

Case studies are business-related scenarios that form part of many management consulting firm’s recruitment process. If you want to impress recruiters, read on to find out how you should approach this task.

Case studies test you in all manner of ways so it’s one of the best – and fairest – methods of seeing a candidate ‘in action’. They are designed to evaluate how you process information, solve problems and react to new and surprising situations, as well as showing how you work within a team. Individuals or a small group of candidates are presented with a business problem and then given time to evaluate the information and brainstorm a solution.

What to do in advance

Read the firm’s graduate recruitment literature and check its website to see if it has sample case studies. Have a look at recent press releases to get a feel for the type of work it’s involved with as well as what industries it works across. Read the business pages of newspapers and imagine one of the businesses to be your client. How would you advise them? What would you base your recommendations on? What factors would you and your client need to consider before proceeding to the next step? Also check with your careers service as many run workshops and presentations on how to successfully prepare for case studies and assessment centres.

How to approach a case study on the day

Clarify what you’re being asked to do. Understand what the problem is, what your role is and what the objectives are. This will make the process easier to get a handle on. Confirm how much time you have and if you have to feedback or make a presentation at the end of the session. If so, allow some time to prepare for this.
If you’re working in a small group divide the tasks – you’ll get through them far quicker. There may be different personalities in your group and recruiters will be watching to see how you interact. They will also be looking for evidence of leadership and teamwork. Don’t dominate proceedings but do pitch in and contribute where appropriate. It’s important to be yourself rather than play to a type.
Additional information may be sprung on you so be prepared. Interviewers will be looking to see how you deal with the unexpected as well as how flexible you are with processing last-minute information.
Ask if you’re unsure about something. Asking clarifying questions such as ‘Does that make sense?’ to the interviewer, will ensure you’re on the right track and shows self-awareness.
Articulate what you’re thinking. That way interviewers can follow your thought processes and see exactly how you break problems down, analyse information and structure conclusions. There are no right or wrong solutions when it comes to case studies; don’t be afraid of contributing to discussions and giving your opinion.
Keep your argument structured. Be aware of the objectives and keep these in mind when addressing the issues, as well as considering how you will present your conclusions.

Example case studies

We can’t tell you exactly which case study you’ll face, but we can give you a couple of examples of what it might be like:

Your client is a global organisation that manufactures and distributes a wide range of chocolate products. They have two ideas to expand the business: either to introduce a new range through existing distribution channels or move into a completely new business, which will involve building a set of retail stores.
To approach this, you will need to compare the returns of each of the different investments and decide which will be the better solution for the business. Make sure you can explain the reasoning behind your decision.

A supermarket chain has noticed a decline in its profitability. They have hired you to find out why this is and to recommend and implement a solution.
You’ll need to work out why there is a decline in profitability – for example, is it specific sites or the entire chain’s performance that is suffering? Once you have identified the problems, work out a cost-effective solution that will allow the supermarket to address each in turn.

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