Idea in short

Consulting is intense. You will work long hours, travel a lot and be under stress. When they hire you, consulting firms want to make sure you have thought about what you are getting into. Hence, consulting firms, such as McKinsey, BCG & Bain use case interviews to assess candidates in their recruiting process. It’s very hard to succeed at case interviews without preparing for them properly. One of the best ways to prepare for case interviews at firms like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain, is by studying case interview examples. There are a lot of free case interview examples on the Internet & it’s hard to know where to start. In this article, you shall find the best case interview resources for your practice. These cover interactive case interview samples provided by consulting firms.

Practice makes perfect

Use the resources available in this blog to prepare for your case interviews. The case collection includes cases which have been used in actual case interviews in the past. Solving cases on your own can give you a first feeling for them. The best way to improve your case interview skills is to put yourself in a case interview situation. If you’re in a graduate school or an MBA program, practice cases on a regular basis, say 1 case per day. The more perspectives you can get, the better. Experience solving as many cases will help you improve your case interview skills.

You can practice with as many cases as you like, but if you do not learn from them, you will not improve your case performance. At the end of each case that you solve, note down your mistakes & what you learned. After a few days, redo the case & apply your learning to ensure that you are making progress. Keeping track of your improvements will keep you motivated & make sure that you don’t repeat the same mistakes. The more you practice, the more confident you will automatically feel.

McKinsey Case Interview Examples

BCG Case Interview Examples

Bain case interview examples

Deloitte case interview examples

OC&C case interview examples

Oliver Wyman case example

AT Kearney case interview examples

Consulting clubs case interview examples

Most of these case study examples are based on case interviews used by consulting firms in real job interviews. As a result, you can have a good idea of the case study questions you can have when interviewing at these firms. Please download the complete archive here (password: thinkinsights.net)

  • Australian Graduate School of Management (2002)
  • Chicago business school (2004)
  • Columbia case book (2006)
  • Darden case book (2013)
  • Darden case book (2019)
  • Duke case book (2011)
  • Duke case book (2017)
  • ESADE case book (2011)
  • Haas case book (2006)
  • Harvard case book (2002)
  • INSEAD case book (2011)
  • Kellogg case book (2012)
  • LBS case book (2006)
  • MIT case book (2002)
  • MIT case book (2015)
  • NYC Stern case book (2018)
  • NYU Stern case book (2007)
  • Ross case book (2010)
  • Wharton case book (2010)
  • Wharton case book (2017)

Practice tips (Beginner level)

Stern case book: Drinks Gone Flat (starting at page 24)

This is a good introduction to a very common type of case (profitability, or more specifically declining sales here). I liked the solution presented for this case, in particular how it started first by isolating the problem of declining sales (what range of products? Volumes or prices or both?).

Stern case book: Sport bar (starting at page 46)

This is an investment case (should you invest in a new bar). Even if the solution presented in this case book is not MECE, it covers the most common quantitative questions you might have in such a case. I recommend doing this case.

NYU Stern case book: MJ Wineries (starting at page 85)

This is a profitability case. I liked the solution presented in this case because it illustrates how specific good candidates should be. The case is talking about wine, so a good candidate should mention the quality of lands & grapes as important factors.

AGSM case book: Piano tuners (starting at page 57)

This is a typical market sizing question. How to answer this type of questions is a must-know before going to your interviews.

Darden case book: National Logistics (starting at page 49)

Again, this is a very common type of case (how to reduce costs). I liked the broad range of questions asked in this case, covering key skills assessed by consulting firms during case interviews: brainstorming skill (or creativity), quantitative skill & business sense.

Practice tips (Advanced level)

Stern: The pricing games (starting at page 55)

This case study asks you to help your client assess different business models. I liked this case because the range of issues to tackle is quite broad.

Wharton 2017: Engineer attrition at SLS Oil & Gas Services (starting at page 55)

I liked this case study because the case prompt is uncommon: your client has been facing a very high attrition rate among its population of Engineers. As a result, it’s very unlikely that your solution fits a well-known framework, & you’ll have to demonstrate your problem-solving skills by developing a specific solution.

Wharton 2017: Pharma Company Goes International, Outsources Benefits, Integrates New Technology (starting at page 95)

This case is about a client considering outsourcing a part of their activity. Even though I don’t know if this type of case study is very common, I had many case studies like this when I passed my interviews a few years ago. And I always found them difficult!

INSEAD: Gas retail case (starting at page 73)

The question asked in the problem statement is very broad, which makes this case difficult. So, only good candidates will be able to have a structured case discussion here.

Darden: Fire Proof (starting at page 84)

This is a market entry case. Try to solve it by developing a structure as MECE as possible.

Summary
Think Insights (March 24, 2024) Practice Case Studies. Retrieved from https://thinkinsights.net/consulting/practice-case-studies/.
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