Roadmap Into Consulting - Tom Spencer PDF

Roadmap Into
Consulting
A primer on how to achieve success in your applications and
interviews for management consulting
Mike Ni
AGSM Consulting Club President 2018
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By Mike Ni. Tom Spencer © 2018. Website: https://www.spencertom.com
Table of Contents
About the Author ...................................................................................................... 3
1. A Roadmap into the Consulting Industry ........................................................... 4
2. Understanding the Recruitment Process ........................................................... 7
2.1 Recruitment Funnel .................................................................................................. 7
2.2 Selection Criteria....................................................................................................... 8
3. Preparing Your Consulting Application............................................................ 11
3.1 Understanding what the firm is looking for in a candidate .................................. 11
3.2 Crafting exceptional application materials............................................................ 12
3.3 Finalizing and perfecting your application ............................................................ 13
4. All you need to know about the interview ........................................................ 14
4.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 14
4.2 Fit Interview ............................................................................................................. 15
4.3 Case Interview ......................................................................................................... 17
4.4 Case Interview Formats .......................................................................................... 18
5. Frameworks for the Case Interview .................................................................. 21
5.1 Market Study Framework........................................................................................ 21
5.2 Mergers and Acquisitions Framework................................................................... 24
5.3 Value Chain Framework.......................................................................................... 27
5.4 Extra Framework Tools........................................................................................... 30
Marketing Tool: Segmenting – Targeting – Positioning ...................................................... 30
Strategy Tool: Play to Win .................................................................................................... 31
6. Getting the Rest Right for Interviews................................................................ 34
6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 34
6.2 Q&A.......................................................................................................................... 35
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About the Author
Mike Ni was President of the Consulting Club at the Australian Graduate School of
Management (AGSM) from 2017 to 2018. Prior to his MBA, he had over 3-years of
in-house consulting experience at a multinational technology company working in
USA, China and Sweden. During his MBA, Mike worked for a boutique management
consulting firm focusing on providing corporate innovation strategy to Fortune 500
companies cross Australia and China. Post MBA, he was offered roles with BCG
Digital Ventures and A.T. Kearney.
This guidebook distils Mike’s insights on how to achieve success in your journey
towards a career in management consulting.
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1. A Roadmap into the Consulting Industry
When I was talking to graduates, MBAs, or experienced professionals, as a
consulting club president at one of Australia’s leading business schools, I was
frequently asked the same question, “What is the most efficient way to break into the
consulting industry?”
Honestly, this could be one of the toughest questions one can ever answer.
First, let me be clear, the word ‘Consultant’ has such a broad meaning that it
includes hundreds of roles from outsourcing technician, personal coach, freelancer,
technical consultant, and business consultant. The type of consulting that most
people asked me about is actually business consulting, or being more specific,
management consulting.
Simply put, management consulting is a profession that requires practitioners to

possess solid business common sense, deep professional knowledge in 1-2
domains (such as Marketing, Retail, Operations), and most importantly, intellectual
capability to solve complicated business problems for clients.
As the frequency of answering this question increased, I felt that there was an urgent
need to be fulfilled, so I decided to start blogging with Tom Spencer to answer this
question in a most efficient and insightful way. This guidebook is a compilation of
insights developed over a six-month period, and which were originally published on
Tom’s blog.
What is the most efficient way to break into the consulting industry?
As is a consultant’s usual practice, let’s first clarify what this question is about. The
question is asking for a way to become a ‘management consultant’ in the
shortest time and with the least amount of irrelevant effort. However, it is
obvious that there won’t be a ‘correct answer’ that fits every aspiring consultant
perfectly. Four factors need to be considered before you can answer this question:
1. Which segment of the management consulting value chain do you want to put
yourself into?
2. Which firms are you interested in?
3. In which country would you like to live?
4. Which position will you apply for?
These four factors shape the answer to your question by clarifying its four critical
dimensions.
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1. Which segment?
The management consulting industry is far from being a monolith. A whole value
chain exists in this industry. To make it easier to understand, see Figure 1 below.
Figure 1 – The management consulting value chain
While the consulting industry includes a wide spectrum of businesses, management

consulting firms focus mainly on the higher levels of the value chain advising clients
on big picture strategy, business transformation, operation enhancement, market
entry, or business growth strategy. Other so-called consulting firms, at the edge of
management consulting, are doing more implementation projects. And on the very
right of Figure 1 are those consulting firms who provide outsourcing. So, the answer
will be different if you aim to do strategy consulting rather than implementation
consulting or outsourcing.
2. Which firm?
The second factor is, which firm? The figure above is just a drop in the ocean of the
thousands of consulting firms in the market. That being said, the number of firms in
each segment tends to increase as you move from the left side to the right side of
the figure, meaning there are a very limited number of firms doing strategy
consulting, a few more doing business transformation, many more doing
implementation, and a huge number of firms providing outsourcing and professional
services.
Within management consulting, there are tier one firms like M.B.B (McKinsey, Bain,
BCG), and tier two firms like Strategy&, AT Kearney, L.E.K, Oliver Wyman, Port
Jackson Partners, and Arthur D. Little. More importantly, each firm has a very
different culture, industry focus, as well as ways of recruiting talent.
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3. Which country?
The third factor is, which country? Many firms are multinationals, so you may
wonder, does it really matter? Unfortunately, YES, it matters. For instance, Bain is
much bigger than McKinsey and BCG in Australia. It covers most critical industries
such as mining, telco, retailing, and financial services. While in China, McKinsey
seems to have enjoyed the first mover advantage for years by tapping into SOEs
(state owned enterprises) in insurance, manufacturing, and government advisory.
You should think about which country you are applying for and how the firms you are
targeting differ in that market.
4. Which position?
Finally, which position? Career ladders vary from firm to firm. But there are some
similarities. In McKinsey, the entry level position is BA (business analyst) followed by
Junior/Senior Associate, Engagement Manager, Associate Principal, and Partner
(some countries may have slightly different versions). So, think about your
background and age. Which position you target is critical to your success since
consulting firms usually have an ideal candidate for each position. For example, if
you are around 27-30 years old with an MBA or master degree and 2-3 years
working experience, your application will be placed under the Junior/Senior
Associate position in McKinsey. That means, even if you are qualified to be a BA,
firms will not usually consider you as a suitable candidate.
These four factors will be different for each individual. Make sure that you assess
these four dimensions before you start applying to be a consultant. This will save you
tons of time, and give you a SMART goal to aim for.
Now, you may wonder how to apply for consulting positions? Just stay chill, I will
unfold all the details in this guidebook. The intention is to give you a road map to
guide you through the mysterious journey towards a career in management
consulting.
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2. Understanding the Recruitment
Process
Before starting your application journey, the very first thing is to understand the
recruitment process and selection criteria of your target firms. Make sure you
carefully consider the four critical factors outlined in Section 1 and really commit to
the management consulting position that you are targeting, since the consulting
application process is probably one of the most time consuming and complicated job
hunting experiences you will encounter. Without deep commitment, you are much
less likely to succeed.
2.1 Recruitment Funnel

Firstly, let me explain what the process will look like. Although the exact steps may
vary from country to country and firm to firm, the overall approach has four (4) steps.
Step 1 – Online application
Offline applications are very rare and mostly for high level positions, such as
partners who will usually not follow the standard application process at all. During
this first step, you will need to provide materials like your Cover Letter, Resume and
Transcripts/Test scores (GMAT, GRE, etc.).
Step 2 – First round interview
With some tier one firms like M.B.B, candidates will be required to do a computer
based test before commencing Step 2. This computer based test is very much like
an advanced version of Integrated Reasoning and Quantitative in GMAT.
In Step 2 and 3, you will usually receive 2-3 rounds of management consulting
interview modules. Each module consists of an Introduction, Fit interview, Case
Interview and Q&A.
Step 3 – Second round interview
Although the interview modules in Step 2 and 3 are the same, the interviewers are
usually more senior in Step 3, such as Principals and Partners. And the difficulty of
both Fit and Case Interviews is much higher in Step 3.
Step 4 – Receive, negotiate, and accept your offer
The interval between each step can vary from 1 day to 2 weeks. In most cases, the
outcome of the online application will be revealed in 2-3 days. And firms will give
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candidates 1-2 weeks to prepare for their first and second round interviews.
Remember, as a candidate, you are usually allowed to pick a day to interview that
suits you best. So, be strategic! If you think you need more time, ask for the interview
in 1-2 weeks’ time.
The four steps of the application process form a funnel where only the best
candidates are kept in after each stage, as illustrated in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2 – Management consultant recruitment funnel
2.2 Selection Criteria

Keeping the recruitment funnel in mind, let’s talk about the management consulting
selection criteria. While the business landscape can be very different across
countries, and each firm may have a different industry and functional focus, could
there be one set of selection criteria for all firms?
The answer is NO at a tactical level, but luckily YES on a strategic level!
On a tactical level, consulting firm candidate selection practices have thousands of

shapes around the world. For example, McKinsey usually only accept candidates
from China who graduate from Tsinghua, Beijing, Fudan and Jiaotong Universities.
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BCG Australia prefers Ph.D. candidates from hard science majors, such as maths
and physics. Bain in Europe likes experienced hires more than graduates. However,
all these differences are on a tactical level.
On a strategic level, all the management consulting firms are looking for candidates
who are consistent achievers, with demonstrated leadership skills, and natural
problem solving ability.
Alright, this is super important! Let me repeat. Management consulting firms are all
looking for three qualities:
1. High Achiever,
2. Strong Leader, and
3. Natural Problem Solver.
Regardless of the firm’s preference of candidate background, interview methods, or

industry focus, they always, always, always use these three criteria when recruiting.
So, when you are preparing your application or having an interview, your overarching
attitude should be: how can I demonstrate these three dimensions in the most
efficient and effective way?
For instance, when you are preparing your resume, think about which of your
experiences best shows your extraordinary achievement, leadership skills, what
problem you solved, and how the outcome made an impact. Or, when you are
having a fit interview, think about how to articulate your experience in a way that can
highlight your leadership, achievement or problem solving capabilities in the most
logical and convincing way. During the fit interview, always follow the STAR
structure when describing your experience: Situation-Task-Action-Result. This
structure is preferred by many consultants and recruiters in the management
consulting industry.
Now, you may ask, why do all firms look at these three dimensions?
The answer lies in the nature of being a successful consultant: to always fulfil the
changing requirements of clients, to take initiative and lead project teams, and most
importantly to be a true lover of solving all kinds of challenging business problems. If
you don’t have these qualities, it will impose a huge hardship on your firm,
colleagues, and yourself.
Now, you are already 50% ready to succeed in the management consulting
recruiting process. You have learned about the recruitment journey, and the ultimate
strategy of all the firms. Using fishing as a metaphor, once you have learned how to
fish, it is just about time for you to catch the big fish by yourself.
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In the next section, you will learn how to prepare your application so that you stand
out from thousands of applications under the scrutiny of application scanners. The
astonishing fact is that, on average, 80% of applications will not be put through to the
first-round interview. Hence, you have only one shot, probably less than 3 minutes,
to impressed HR.
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3. Preparing Your Consulting Application
Well, let’s embark on the journey.
Your consulting application is the most important part of the recruitment process for
two reasons. Firstly, it is your very first touch point with the firm. The HR person will
look at your Resume, Cover Letter, and Transcript and decide whether you are
qualified to attend a first round interview. Remember that only 20% of applicants will
pass this filter. Secondly, it is your chance to thoroughly review and assess your
willingness, ability, and suitability to be a management consultant.
There are thousands of articles telling you, as an aspiring consultant, how to prepare
your application. However, most of them are very tactical, except several paid ones
by Victor Cheng and Prep Lounge.
So, let’s start from the big picture, strategic level. Before submitting your
applications, you need to make sure you have worked through three crucial steps:
1. Understand what the firm is looking for in a candidate

2. Craft exceptional application materials (cover letter and resume)
3. Finalize and perfect your application
Now let’s have a look at these one by one.
3.1 Understanding what the firm is looking for in a candidate

Firstly, to understand what a firm is looking for in a candidate, you need to find out
who is involved in the selection. Big consulting firms receive hundreds of applications
every week. To identify the best candidates, they review and filter candidates using
three gates.
Gate One – Application Scanners
Applications are scanned and must meet certain minimum requirements. For
example, M.B.B set GPA requirements (usually top 5% in class), undergrad school
must be on the preferred list (such as top 3 in the country), and GMAT score must be
higher than 700 for MBA candidates. If the candidate fails to meet those hard
numbers, their application will be automatically eliminated. I have even heard of
some firms using software to scan applications, so that applications receive no
human consideration at this stage at all!
As a candidate, it is crucial to make sure you meet the numbers of your target firms.
The way you can know them is by asking HR or talking to a consultant at that firm.
They are usually happy to share with you. However, they may tell you that these
selection criteria are “good to have”. Here I want to be very honest. It is true that
these numbers are not mandatory, but only under the condition that you have an
extraordinary reputation or are an industry expert. Otherwise, as a fresh graduate,
these hard numbers are the only thing that reflects your distinction objectively.
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Gate Two – Review by HR
If your application makes it past the application scanners, HR will read through your
Cover Letter and Resume to understand your motivation to be a consultant, previous
study, and work experience. As mentioned before, they are looking for a candidate
who is a High Achiever, Leader, and Problem Solver.
Gate Three – Confirmation by a Consultant
Once HR is satisfied with your profile, your application will be handed over to a real
consultant who probably has a similar working background to you for confirmation.
3.2 Crafting exceptional application materials

Keeping the firm’s requirements in mind, the next step is to craft your application
materials: Cover Letter and Resume.
Building an exceptional Resume and Cover Letter requires a good framework and
templates. What consulting firms appreciate is candidates who can show them why
they are High Achievers, Leaders and Problem Solvers in a logical, convincing, and
inspiring way. There are hundreds of ways to do that, and many of them work
equally well. But, let me give you a framework that worked for me when I applied for
McKinsey and AT Kearny, and many of my friends who have received offers from
M.B.B firms.
Cover Letter
The Cover Letter is all about two things:
1. Why You Choose This Firm, and

2. Why Should This Firm Choose You.
Try to think about your cover letter following the structure in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3 – Structure for an exceptional cover letter
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The most important part of this framework is “Why should the firm choose you”?
Think carefully about the two most impressive experiences that showcase your
ability to be an excellent consultant, and articulate them by getting straight to the
point. Finally, make sure that your cover letter is less than one page. No HR person
in the consulting industry has the patience to read a longwinded letter.
You can download a free template cover letter from the website:
https://www.spencertom.com/hub/files/file/54-template-cover-letter/
Resume
The next application document is your Resume. Remember that HR will usually read
your cover letter first. If he or she is interested in your cover letter, then your resume
will be scrutinized carefully. So, when it comes to your resume, it must be a further
proof of what you mentioned in your cover letter. For instance, if you say that you are
passionate about using technology to change the financial industry, then your
resume should provide evidence to demonstrate details of your achievement,
thought leadership, and problem solving in related projects.
The way to articulate your experience on your resume for consulting positions is
quite different from other industries. My best advice is to use a strong verb to start
the sentence and R-O-A format to structure the sentence. R-O-A stands for
Result, Objective, and Action. For instance, if you want to say “I planned and
executed a strategic project to improve heat recovery efficiency”. Using R-O-A
format, you should instead say “Improved national heat recovery system efficiency
by 40% through planning and execution of xxx project.” The difference between the
two is that the latter articulation better demonstrates your achievement and problem
solving skills.
You can download a free template resume from the website:
https://www.spencertom.com/hub/files/file/52-template-résumé/
3.3 Finalizing and perfecting your application

Finally, when you think you are ready with your cover letter and resume, don’t trust
yourself. Ask people to review your application documents. You should find someone
with strong English writing skills to review your grammar, spelling, and turn of
phrase. You should also ask friends or colleagues who work in HR or, even better,
as a CV scanner. You should try to find as many consultants as you can to look at
the content of your cover letter and resume. Ask them, “if you were required to
review my application, would you pass me through to a first round interview?”
The key message is that one review of your application materials is not enough. Do
as much as you can. Choose every word as carefully as you can. The reason is
simple. You have only 3 minutes at most to impressed HR. If you fail at this stage,
then your other efforts and achievements are all in vain.
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4. All you need to know about the
interview
4.1 Overview
This is the most challenging part of the journey. Let’s take it really seriously. Firstly, I
would like to say congratulations if you have made it to this step. It is an
extraordinary achievement already. Now, to move forward, you have to understand
and prepare extremely well for the interviews.
This section will give you a helicopter view of the interview process and dive into the
fit interview before considering the fine details of all you need to know about the case
interview.
Starting with a high-level view. The structure of the interview process is surprisingly
similar across firms. As a candidate at this stage, you can expect two types of
interview. One is called the ‘Fit Interview’. The other is notoriously known as the
‘Case Interview’. So, in one phrase, what are the characteristics of these two types
of interview?
Fit Interviews are all about showing your compatibility with a firm’s working
environment and culture.
Case Interviews are all about showing your problem-solving skills in a real
business context.
The content of these interviews will bear little resemblance to any other interviews in
any other role or industry.
The Fit Interview will include deceptively simple questions such as:
• “Why did you choose consulting?”

• “Why did you choose our firm?”, or
• “What achievement are you most proud of?”
These questions sound straightforward but keep in mind that the interviewer’s goal in
asking these questions is to decide whether you will enjoy the work, the people, and
the pace of career progression within the firm.
In contrast, the Case Interview will put you in the position of a real consultant. You
will run through a real business case, such as “how can we increase the top line for a
toy manufacturing company in Thailand?” Or perhaps an extremely strange question
like, “what is the rough number of smart phones sold in Hong Kong last year?”. The
case interviewer will act like a client, waiting for you to probe for information, and for
you to tell him or her your solution to the problem. You can expect questions about
any aspects of a business. In short, the Case Interview process in management
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consulting firms is designed to measure your real capability and potential to be a
consultant from day one.
Alright, I hope I have not scared you too much. Though management consulting
interviews are extremely competitive, there is definitely something you can do to
prepare.
Let’s start with the Fit Interview.
4.2 Fit Interview

Question types
Breaking down the Fit Interview, there are two categories of questions: behavioural
and situational.
The behavioural part of the Fit Interview is designed to understand your knowledge
and motivation for both the role and the firm. You could be given questions like:
• “Why you are interested in consulting?”

• “Why are you interested in our firm?”
• “Walk me through your resume.”
The situational part of the Fit Interview is designed to see how you think and behave
in different situations based on your past experiences. You could get questions such
as:
• “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated strategic thinking to lead your
organization or project.”
• “What is the most unforgettable failure in your career experience and how did
you handle it?”
• “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership.”
• “Describe a time when you made a substantial impact to the outcome of a
team project.”
• “Tell me about a time when you were on a team and had to persuade them of
your point of view.”
What firms are looking for
Knowing the two categories of Fit Interview questions, you should also remember
what management consulting firms are looking for: your ability to be a consultant.
Consultants always always and always approach tasks with clear structure and logic.
Needless to say, you will need to structure your answers. Although I cannot walk you
through all the possible answers to all Fit Interview questions, I do want to guide you
through setting up a structure. Recall what I have mentioned many times,
management consulting firms are assessing candidates for their Leadership,
Achievement, and Problem Solving skills. So, first you need to be clear how to
demonstrate these qualities in a Fit Interview.
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To make thing easier, the table below shows you the three key traits on which you
will be assessed and what you need to demonstrate.
Key Trait What is the Firm Assessing?

That the candidate will enjoy overcoming challenges, and pushing
Achiever
themselves to improve.
That the candidate will bring out the best in others and the best in
Leader
themselves in everything they do.
Problem That the candidate will have a passion and capacity for solving
Solver problems, the more complex the better.
How to structure your response
With that in mind, your answer to a behavioural question could follow a simple
structure: Framing, Support and Wrap-up. Framing is to set up the answer that you
are about to give. Support is to provide details and evidence to each of the points
mentioned in the Framing, such as an event or experience in your life or career.
Wrap-up is to repeat the most important part of your answer in another way. To
remember this structure more easily, you can just take is as:
1. Tell them what you are going to say

2. Say it
3. Repeat what you have said
To answer a situational question, the STAR structure can be used. STAR stands
for Situation-Task-Action-Results. With this structure, you start by describing the
big picture. Then specify the task YOU were responsible for. Describe the actions
YOU took and explain why you took those actions. Finally, articulate the results and
what you learned from the situation.
To be very honest, even reading a hundred articles about how to answer Fit
Interview questions will not assure your success in the interview. The magic formula
is that practise makes perfect. So, start by finding a peer who is also on the journey
to become a management consultant and practise with him or her. Find a real
consultant and try to ask for a mock interview. One caveat is that you need to do
your homework before meeting to practise. No one wants to waste time explaining
the format of the interview and why the Fit Interview is important. And you should
start even before you submit the application since your interview skills definitely
cannot be built overnight.
Next, let’s crack the secret of the Case Interview.
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4.3 Case Interview
What firms are looking for
To start with, a short definition of the Case Interview is “a simulation of the beginning
of a consulting project”. Its purpose is to test candidates for three capabilities:
Structured Thinking, Analytical Ability, and Communication Skills. Each of these
three capabilities are mainly associated with Problem Solving. (Remember that the
three characteristics firms are looking for are Achiever, Leader, and Problem Solver).
The Case Interview is usually 25 to 40 minutes in length. Do not expect to solve

every detail of the case during this short time, rather focus on the most critical parts.
Also, don’t expect to find the “one right answer” to the case. There isn’t one! There
are dozens of feasible solutions which are all reasonable ways to address the
situation presented to you in the case.
The important points of the case interview are:
1. How you structure the problem,

2. How you analyse the most important parts to find the main source of the
problem and ways to address it, and
3. The way you communicate your responses and probing questions.
Next, let’s talk about the five main parts of a case interview.
Five main parts of a case interview
Just for the record, this is a normal standard flow of a case, which means there could
be exceptions.
1. Define the problem. The beginning of a case interview is where candidates

are prompted with a business or sometimes a non-business
problem/issue/question. For example, the interviewer might tell you ‘Corporate
A faced a 20% decline in profit last year. And they want you to find out the
reasons.’ At this stage, your goal is to ask probing questions to define the
scope of the problem related to When, Where, Who, How many/much. It is
also the right time to ask questions to understand the broader business
situation such as the industry, the macro-economy, and whether there are any
other concerns/goals from the client.
2. Structure the approach. This is usually called ‘setting up a framework’. In
short, this part is where candidates should think very logically and break down
the problem defined in the first step. I will share some useful frameworks with
you in Section 5.
3. Interpret exhibits. In most cases, candidates will be given at least one
exhibit such as a flow chart, histogram, or pie chart. The interviewer’s
intention is twofold. Firstly, to see how well you can derive information
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logically by comparing and analysing data from exhibits. Secondly, to see how
well you can use the data to validate or invalidate your hypothesis.
4. Perform calculations. This part is just maths, which means you should
probably review some simple algebra before the interview. Importantly, you
should practice oral math. Oral math means that you should say the formula
before you do the calculation so that the interviewer can follow your steps
clearly. When you finish the calculation, double check whether your results
make sense or not. For example, if you come up with an annual sales volume
of bikes in the United States of 300 million then you should realize it does not
make sense as it almost equals America’s total population. Finally, round your
answer only after getting permission from the interviewer. You can simply ask,
‘Do you mind if I round it to the nearest 10 here?’
5. Synthesise key takeaways. At the final stage of the case interview, it is
crucial to synthesise all the information, validate your hypothesis, and suggest
next steps. Synthesis is imperative as it focuses the client’s attention on the
most important information. Usually, candidates are expected to synthesise in
a concise way such as summarise all findings in three bullet points. Another
part of your synthesis is to suggest next steps. Although not many case
interview trainers will say so, it is a big differentiator. If a candidate can
suggest the next step based on the synthesis, it makes him or her look like a
real consultant in daily work, as the usual consulting project ends by starting a
new engagement with clients for the next project. For example, you may say
“Well, based on our three key findings, I would suggest to look into how we
can increase the sales channel efficiency as a next step because it is a key
driver for sales growth.”
In most cases, the above five parts will follow in sequence. Especially the beginning
will be defining the problem and the closing will involve synthesis and giving key
takeaways. Setting up a framework, explaining exhibits, and performing calculations
can come in iterations while you dig into details during an interview.
Now you should be able to calm down a little bit because no matter how hard the
Case Interview seems, it is just these 5 parts that you need to practise and become
good at.
Next, I will introduce several different formats of Case Interview.
4.4 Case Interview Formats

There are several key formats that are typically used for the case interview. You may
wonder, shouldn’t the format always be the same? No, there are different formats for
the case interview, in other words different setups.
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Standard Format
The standard format is a one-on-one case interview.
With this format, there are two styles: interviewee-led and interviewer-led.
The interviewee-led style is the most common style where candidates are given a
case prompt and then asked to lead the whole case process. In the interviewee-led
style, the interviewer is just a virtual client who will only answer your questions and
then wait for your solution to the problem. The reason that this style is used most
often is that it simulates the real client engagement situation quite closely.
The second style is interviewer-led. The interviewer-led style is similar to the first
style where candidates are given a prompt to start the case. However, the difference
is that the interviewer will interrupt candidates from time to time to shift gears. For
instance, when a candidate has broken down the issue into 3 parts, let’s say,
customer, company and product. The interviewer would say. ‘Oh, that sounds
reasonable, why don’t we focus on customers. What can our client do to increase
customer satisfaction?’ A while later, the interviewer may ask the candidate to focus
on the cost implications of his or her suggestion. In short, interviewers in this style
act like a senior consultant in the team and want you to give some specific insights in
some of the most critical areas of the case.
Remember the 5 steps we talked about in the last section? Regardless of the style,
you should always expect those 5 steps to appear.
Non-standard Format
Although the second format is not common, you have to know how it works. It also
contains two styles: Group Case and Written Case.
As the name suggests, the Group Case is a case interview with a group of
candidates. The group acts like a consulting project team without a leader. Everyone
in the group should first seek to make a contribution using typical case skills, like
structuring the problem and synthesising key findings. In addition, everyone needs to
contribute to the group and strive to utilize each other’s skills and knowledge. It is
hard, to be honest, since this style adds another dimension into the game – team
work. As you cannot pick your team, or take time to get to know your team members,
there is a risk that your team will be dysfunctional, which will significantly impact your
performance. Two caveats: don’t try to be an aggressive leader, but also don’t just
sit back and wait for others to solve the case.
The second type of non-standard format is the Written Case. It consists of all the
normal elements of a case interview, but candidates are given case material in
advance. They are required to use the material to prepare a slide deck, which they
19
are required to present during the interview. So, all the hard work of structuring the
problem, calculation, and synthesis happens before the interview. During the
interview, candidates must act like a consultant standing in front of a client to do a
project final report. In addition to normal case interview skills, slide deck writing skills
and presentation skills are also heavily assessed in this style of interview. One good
suggestion I received to cope with the Written Case is to use story boarding
headlines for the slide deck. This simply involves summarizing every slide’s content
in the headline, so that if your client does not have time to read the details of each
slide, he or she can still get the general idea of your recommendation by simply
reading the headlines of each slide.
Regarding how to be successful in all the case interview formats, see a summary of
my tips below.
Figure 4 – Case Interview Formats
I will take you through some good case interview frameworks in the next section.
20
5. Frameworks for the Case Interview
In this section, I will walk you through three of the most frequently used frameworks
in the case interview, as well as two extra framework tools.
While you are reading those frameworks and related examples, keep in mind that no
framework is the skeleton key to all case interviews. What you need to do is absorb
the methods or concepts applied in each framework and then make your own
version.
5.1 Market Study Framework

We will begin by exploring the framework which is most widely applicable in case
interviews: the Market Study Framework.
The Market Study Framework, some others may call it the “market entry” or
“business situation” framework, is a means of understanding how attractive a new or
existing market is. You can use this framework when clients are considering entering
a new market (new industry or new country), launching a new product, or targeting a
new customer segment. A typical case prompt is “Your client is thinking of
introducing a new type of camera to Japan and wondering if this a good idea”.
The Market Study Framework has four parts starting with macro factors and then
moving on to micro factors. The four parts are Economy, Industry, Company, and
Project.
Figure 5 – Market Study Framework

21
Now, let’s have a look at each of those four parts one by one.
Starting with the macro part. The Economy focuses your attention on broad macro
factors including political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal
issues. Actually, if you have studied any type of marketing course, you will know
the P.E.S.T.E.L framework, which is just the acronym of those factors which need to
be considered in the Economy part.
Moving next to the Industry, there are three main things to consider to understand
the overall industry situation and competition dynamics. Firstly, it includes factors
like market trends, growth rate, and new emerging influences such as technology
and consumer behaviour. Secondly, it includes customer related factors such as who
are the customers, what are their characteristics, what are their needs, where are
they located, and what are their pain points. Thirdly, don’t forget the competitors:
who are they, what are their competitive advantages, what are the products they
produce, and where are they located.
The next part is the Company. It involves looking inside the client’s company. For
example, what are the capabilities of the company, what is its key product or service,
how strong are the sales channels, who are the employees. It is important to identify
key levers within the company that can support new market entry or new product
launch.
The most micro part of this framework is the Project. It mainly focuses on project
specific factors such as financing, logistics, and profits.
Figure 6 below may help you better understand the factors to consider in each part
of the framework.
22
Figure 6 – Factors to consider in the Market Study Framework
Having this framework in mind, you will be able to setup your own framework by
tailoring different parts of it. Remember, do not try to fit a framework to all cases.
When you are solving a case, you do not need to use all four parts of this framework,
rather choose the most relevant and important parts for your situation.
Case Prompts
Let me give you four examples.
Prompt I: “Company A who manufactures stylish chairs is thinking of entering the

South African market. Is it a good idea for them to do that?” With this situation, it is
probably wise to use the whole framework. However, you may not start with the
Economy but rather examine the Industry first, since you may believe that
understanding customers is the very first step.
Prompt II: “How will you assess the future of the web search engine business in
China?” This case may require you to mainly focus on the Economy and Industry
parts rather than the other two, since it is testing your market sizing and overall
business acumen.
Prompt III: “Company B has recently developed a new drug which could treat
stomach cancer, how would you suggest the company launch this product?”. With
this case, you should use the whole framework, but focus more on the Industry and
Project parts.
23
Prompt IV: “CEO of Company C wants to divest one subsidiary, how would you
advise the CEO?” Such a case will mainly require you to focus on the Industry,
Company, and Project parts.
The above four scenarios show you the importance of using this framework with
flexibility. As a matter of fact, you can even modify the framework by extracting sub-
elements out. For example, you can extract elements like Company, Customer,
Competitor, and Product to form a new framework. (OK, you may realize, this will be
exactly the same as Victor Cheng’s framework). What I’m hinting at here is that the
frameworks are linked. They are a different form of one another in essence. So, the
point I can’t emphasis enough is that you need to absorb this framework and then
use it to create your own version which fits each case you encounter.
5.2 Mergers and Acquisitions Framework

Another framework you should know is the M&A framework. The reason that this
framework is worth understanding is due to the increasing frequency of M&A cases
confronting candidates in the case interview. Needless to say, M&A deals are
notoriously complicated financial activities, which makes candidates panic when they
are prompted with an M&A case. However, you will find out in this article why you
have no need to worry, as long as you can remember just a few fundamental
principles of this type of case.
To start with, what is M&A? For those who are not familiar with this term, M&A refers
to a situation where one company buys part or all of the business of another
company. If one company takes a controlling interest in the other, it is regarded as
an acquisition. If the two companies combine their businesses and shareholders, it is
regarded as a merger. Of course, financial experts have many detailed definitions of
M&A. Here, you just need to remember this simple description.
For the sake of M&A cases, candidates are usually asked to be an advisor for the
buyer rather than the seller. So, what you should really think about are things from
the buyers’ perspective.
As M&A is a highly professional service, don’t bother trying to understand the roots
or origins of why the M&A framework stands as it is. Rather, let’s jump into the
framework and explore each component.
The M&A framework is set out in Figure 7 below.
24
Figure 7 – M&A Framework
The framework splits an M&A case into two main chunks: Financial and Non-
Financial. Yes, M&A is not all about finance! The financial part mostly involves
quantitative analysis while the non-financial part focuses on business acumen.
Financial aspects of the M&A Framework
In the financial part, the underpinning logic is that for an M&A deal to make sense
the benefits the buyer gains should be greater than the cost it pays.
The benefits come from the value of the target company and any synergies that
result from combining the two businesses together.
There are three main valuation methods you can use to estimate the value of the
company:
1. Discounted Cash Flow:

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/valuation/dcf-formula-
guide
2. Comparable Companies:
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/valuation/comparable-
company-analysis
3. Comparable Transactions:
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/valuation/precedent-
transaction-analysis
In most cases, you should expect to use any of these three methods to estimate the
target company’s value. To be efficient, I would recommend that you click the three
links above and read the articles in order to understand each valuation method.
25
These articles are written by professionals in a reader friendly language; you will
definitely appreciate them.
The second source of benefits are ‘synergies’. Synergies to the buyer in an M&A
deal come from either revenue growth or cost reduction. You should use your basic
business common sense to find out whether there are synergies and where they
come from for the specific deal you are considering. You can find a summary list of
possible synergies below. The list is not exhaustive, you may find other sources of
synergies depending on the details of the case.
Figure 8 – Sources of Synergies
Moving on now to consider Costs. There are two main costs that need to be
considered: the acquisition price and integration costs. The acquisition price is quite
straight forward, how much is the buyer willing to pay? In most cases, this will be a
number that candidates can get from the interviewer. If not, candidates can easily
assume a starting price level by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the
share price. Integration costs include costs incurred for integrating IT systems,
operational processes, and organizational structure.
Once you have analysed the Benefits and Costs of the M&A deal, review whether
the benefits are greater than the costs. If they are, then you have reason to assess
the non-financial aspects. If not, then you can make a conclusion. No M&A deal will
be made without sufficient financial incentives for the buyer.
Non-financial aspects of the M&A Framework
Next, let’s have a look at the second chunk of the M&A framework: the non-financial
part. Here is where your business acumen kicks in. Non-financial issues include
cultural and organizational fit, and regulatory fit.
Understanding cultural and organizational fit requires you to consider the culture,
leadership, and organizational structure of the two companies. There are other
26
issues you can explore, however I believe these three are the most important. You
can find a summary of the main issues below.
Figure 9 – Cultural and Organisational Fit
The final non-financial issue to consider is regulatory fit. This will vary from country to
country. But at a high level, candidates should talk about major regulatory concerns
such as antitrust law, shareholder regulation, tax law, and government supervision.
Candidates are not required to know everything about possible regulatory issues,
especially if they are interviewing in a country with which they are not familiar. But it
is important to highlight the above common areas that are worth looking into.
In summary, keeping the M&A framework in mind is not difficult for most candidates.
And once remembered, you just need to follow the steps to solve the case. Since the
M&A case is usually regarded as a difficult one, the interviewer will not push you to
use a detailed valuation method or to consider regulatory issues that are not well
known to all candidates. For management consultants, M&A does not involve the
same work as for an investment banker. The important thing is to have a logical
break down of the M&A deal and know what each part is about.
5.3 Value Chain Framework

Candidates often use the Value Chain Framework without being aware of it. It may
form part of your thinking when breaking down a problem using a MECE tree
diagram or used when drilling into upstream suppliers and downstream distributors.
However, the Value Chain Framework is indeed very useful when it comes to
breaking down a firm’s activities and processes, so it deserves our attention.
Fortunately, the structure of the Value Chain Framework is very easy to remember.
There are just three stages, and they follow in sequence: Input, Production, and
Output.
A key purpose of this framework is to analyse links between the activities of a

company or industry that generate value for the end user. For example, a link
between procurement and manufacturing, or manufacturing and marketing. So, what
27
we really need to understand is how to examine these links. The way to analyse links
in the value chain is to:
1. Compare the same link in a value chain over time to identify trends,
2. Identify and examine complementarity between one link and others in the
same value chain, and
3. Compare to the value chains of key competitors to identify opportunities for
improvement.
Before we go into more details about linkages, let’s have a look at the body of the
framework to understand what’s in each stage.
Stage 1 – Input
To begin the analysis, it is important to identify the inputs (otherwise known as

“resources”, “raw materials” or “factors of production”). For different industries the
inputs will be very different. However, candidates can normally think about three
aspects.
1. Supply: For many manufacturing cases, inputs are materials from suppliers.
This can be further broken down into different types of materials needed to
produce the finished product.
2. Origination: The initial source of the material. For example, inputs in the
mining industry are originally discovered through prospecting.
3. Design: This is the formula and plan to produce a product or service. For
example, one of Ikea’s more important inputs is the design of its furniture.
Stage 2 – Production
Production is all about turning inputs into useful output. The task here is to define all
production processes. Production processes can be manufacturing for tangible
products like cars, ships, houses, or food. Production can also involve activities that
produce intangible products such as coding software, painting pictures, or writing
reports.
Stage 3 – Output
The final stage is when the finished product or service is introduced to customers,
sold, distributed, and serviced. Candidates may want to identify sales channels (such
as online, wholesale, retail, or department store) and logistics (such as train, truck,
shipping, or air freight). It is important to address how products and services are
delivered to customers.
28
Figure 10 – Value Chain Framework
Link Analysis
The next part of this framework involves examining linkages between activities. The
criteria are limitless in real life. However, there are 4 common criteria that can be
applied to most cases (see a summary below). What candidates need to do is apply
the criteria to all three stages, assess the links in the value chain to determine
existing performance, missing links, and areas for improvement.
Figure 11 – Common Criteria for Link Analysis
Case Prompts
Finally, I want to provide three case prompts for which you can use the Value Chain
Framework.
Prompt I: “Company A has lost control of its costs. Increasing costs have
dramatically impacted profit margins. CEO of Company A has asked you to identify
the source of cost increases.” This prompt indicates that you should use the whole
29
Value Chain Framework. Candidates may initially start with the Profit Framework but
mainly focus on the cost part of that framework. When breaking down costs,
candidates should quickly realize that the Value Chain Framework fits the analysis
very well.
Prompt II: “Company B has significant challenges in its downstream value chain.
Based on market research, the company knows that there is significant demand for
its product, however few customers are buying. What is the root cause of the
problem?” This prompt is an obvious one for using the Value Chain Framework.
However, candidates should focus on the Output Stage since the main issue is sales
and distribution.
Prompt III: “Company C has recalled a large number of products in the past few
months, which almost bankrupted the company. The CEO wants you to find out how
to prevent this issue from happening again and ensure the quality of the products.”
This case prompt requires candidates to focus on the Input and Production part of
the framework. And “quality” is the main criteria when assessing linkages in the
chain.
A final caveat when using the Value Chain Framework is to be aware of the
relevance of your criteria and area of focus in each stage. There are thousands of
criteria and things to focus on in each stage. Please make sure you surface them by
asking the interviewer probing questions rather than blindly following what I have told
you.
5.4 Extra Framework Tools

Sometimes interviewees find it hard to differentiate themselves by simply using the
regular frameworks. The problem with the regular frameworks is that they are too
broad to allow you to give an insightful synthesis. And as more and more candidates
start to use them frequently, it is harder to impress the interviewers. Hence, I would
like to give you two extra tools to help you delight your interviewers. If the regular
frameworks are powerful machine guns, these tools are silver bullets.
Marketing Tool: Segmenting – Targeting – Positioning

This tool is called STP.
STP is a powerful structure to construct insightful marketing strategies. It consists of

5 steps:
1. Define the total market

2. Segment the market
3. Assess segment attractiveness
4. Identify target segments
5. Determine your value proposition
I will give you a very quick example to explain how powerful this tool can be.
30
Kogan.com, an online retailer in Australia, has enjoyed exponential sales growth in
the past 2 years and its stock price has more than doubled. Kogan.com is playing for
the retail market in Australia (step 1). This market can be segmented in many ways,
including by age of customers and product categories (step 2). Customers of
Kogan.com are mainly 16-35 years old, mostly digital natives, and have strong
buying power. Kogan.com has the capability to delivery digital products at attractive
prices and with excellent service. The fit between segment attractiveness and
Kogan’s ability to compete make Kogan target this segment (steps 3 and 4). In
Australia, there are many sellers of digital products including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey
Norman, and K-Mart. Kogan realized that doing business online while offering
supreme customer service was a strong value proposition with less competitors. You
can see this by looking at the value position map below.
Figure 12 –Value Position Map
Now, if you can walk your interviewer through those steps of analysis (after maybe
using the Market Study Framework and drilling down to identify the drivers of
business decline as being marketing position), your ability to solve business
problems will definitely stand out.
Strategy Tool: Play to Win

Strategy related cases are not very usual during interviews. But they can be very
challenging if you happen to encounter them. However, besides the Market Study
Framework, there are not many handy well-known frameworks that you can draw on.
So, I would like to introduce the Play-to-Win Framework.
The framework comes from “A Playbook for Winning Strategy” developed by A.G
Lafley (CEO of Procter & Gamble) and Roger Martin (Dean of the Rotman School of
31
Management) in 2013. The framework provides a step-wise approach of questions
that consultants can ask a client (or the client can ask itself):
1. What is your winning aspiration?

2. Where will you play?
3. How will you win?
4. What capabilities need to be in place?
5. What management systems are required?
By answering those 5 essential questions, you can examine whether a strategy is

well defined, or help an organization develop a valuable strategy from scratch.
Let’s use Kogan.com again here as an example. What is the strategy that
Kogan.com should choose?
1. Kogan’s winning aspiration is to bring consumer goods to retail customers

with lower prices and better service
2. Kogan.com plays in Australia and in the online retail market
3. Kogan.com wins by product differentiation and better customer service like
product delivery and warranty. (You can even do an STP here)
4. Key capabilities that Kogan.com needs include a user friendly online shopping
experience, fast inventory and logistics turn-around, customer service, cost
leadership, exclusive channel partners, and big data analytics.
5. Major management systems that need to be in place include CRM, package
tracking, Service Desk, Data Centre, and UX/UI.
As a matter of fact, the Play to Win Framework is quite general, however, the value
of the framework is the thinking process it forces you to adopt.
Below you can see a chart from the original article to better understand how this
framework works. The solid arrows in the chart show the sequence you should follow
when crafting strategy while the dotted arrows show the route to examine the
congruence between steps of an existing strategy.
32
Figure 13 – Play to Win Framework. Adapted from “A Play Book for
Winning”, Harvard business review, Strategy, April 2013
This is my concluding section on case interview frameworks. I hope that you have
learned something and sincerely wish you enjoy your case interview experience.
My final word of advice regarding frameworks is: don’t stop at learning from other
people’s frameworks, create your own ones! That is the best way to master them
and distinguish yourself in the interview!
33
6. Getting the Rest Right for Interviews
After mastering both fit and case interviews, the remaining parts of your consulting
interview are the Intro and Q&A. They are not as critical as the fit or case interview
parts, but still can make a big difference regarding leaving a good impression on the
interviewers and giving you the little push you need to progress to the next round.
6.1 Introduction
The Introduction really starts from when you arrive at the consulting firm’s office. And
it is all about making a great impression. So, candidates generally need to achieve
two goals during the Introduction:
1. Generate buy-in from the interviewers, and

2. Do the right things to positively influence results.
To generate buy-in, you have to make the interviewers feel that you are naturally one
of the consultants in the firm. Candidates should:
• Remain calm and confident so that all their actions, comments, and
mannerisms look sincere and genuine,
• Understand the firm’s culture and way of doing things, and
• Make good first impressions and build rapport with as many people as
possible including the receptionist, the HR person who guides you to the
interview rooms, the interviewers, and those who you meet while you are
waiting.
To influence the results positively, you need to behave as though you are already a
trustworthy consultant. This is important because real world consulting engagements
are often won and lost based on the clients’ feelings and emotions which are
influenced by the soft skills and body language of consultants. Candidates should:
• Introduce themselves with a warm smile and firm handshake,

• Dress professionally but not over the top (no shining objects which could
distract the interviewer),
• Show open body language and a relaxed attitude, and
• Show excitement about the opportunity to meet the interviewers.
In addition to the above suggestions for making a good first impression, below I list a
table of Do’s and Don’ts for your reference. This list is of course not exhaustive but
includes the most valuable points.
34
Figure 14 – First Impression Tips
6.2 Q&A
Q&A comes at the end of the interview, and is really your final chance to leave a
positive impression with the interviewers. To jump this last hurdle, you have to ask
the right questions. I would recommend candidates mainly focus on the following
three aspects:
1. Connecting with your interviewer on a deeper level,

2. Demonstrating your commitment to and interest in the firm, and
3. Generating critical insights about the firm’s culture.
To connect with the interviewers on a deeper level, it would be good if you can
research a little bit about their background before the interview. Although, this will
only be possible if you are told their names before the interview. If not, ask some
probing questions to try and understand his or her interests, hobbies, professional
background, etc. Based on what you find out, formulate some questions. For
example, “David, I know that you have been a professional basketball player for
years and even now. I wonder how you find the time to play regularly? And where
you find the motivation?”
To demonstrate your commitment to the firm, you need to be well-informed about the
job role and the firm’s business. This is the most credible way to persuade the
interviewers that you are fully committed to the firm and genuinely interested in the
job. For example, a candidate might ask “Tom, I heard from David that he took 2
months to become an insurance expert on a project last year, and from that project
he discovered a brand-new way of learning knowledge quickly. I wonder whether you
have had a similar experience as your department builds capabilities in the new field
of blockchain technology?”
35
To generate insights about the firm’s culture, candidates need to ask questions
about what really interests the interviewer the most about the firm. There are many
types of questions you can choose from. The reason that these types of questions
add value is that they demonstrate your passion to be the one who gets selected.
In order to make a good impression during the Q&A, I suggest candidates do four
things beforehand:
1. Create open-ended questions. Questions that involve a story or provoke

discussion are much more powerful than those that simply have a “yes” or
“no” answer,
2. Focus on topics that both you and the interviewer are interested in. Asking
questions that you are not passionate about will make you appear
disingenuous. And asking questions that the interviewers are not interested in
may not leave a good impression,
3. Answer basic questions by searching online rather than asking the
interviewers, and
4. Prepare your questions before the interview!
Once your questions have been answered and the interview draws to a close, you
should not let down your guard. Remember, the interview is over only when you walk
out of the building or, to be on the safe side, when you are 100 meters away from it.
Candidates should keep in mind the do’s and don’ts listed above when walking with
interviewer out of the room or building. Be confident, and appreciate their time with
you at the entrance of the elevator or building. Shake hands firmly again! And walk
away with your head held high as though you have already secured an offer!
36

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Roadmap Into

1. A Roadmap into the Consulting Industry ........................................................... 4

2. Understanding the Recruitment Process ........................................................... 7

2.1 Recruitment Funnel .................................................................................................. 7

2.2 Selection Criteria....................................................................................................... 8

3. Preparing Your Consulting Application............................................................ 11

3.1 Understanding what the firm is looking for in a candidate .................................. 11

3.2 Crafting exceptional application materials............................................................ 12

3.3 Finalizing and perfecting your application ............................................................ 13

4. All you need to know about the interview ........................................................ 14

4.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 14

4.2 Fit Interview ............................................................................................................. 15

4.3 Case Interview ......................................................................................................... 17

4.4 Case Interview Formats .......................................................................................... 18

5. Frameworks for the Case Interview .................................................................. 21

5.1 Market Study Framework........................................................................................ 21

5.2 Mergers and Acquisitions Framework................................................................... 24

5.3 Value Chain Framework.......................................................................................... 27

5.4 Extra Framework Tools........................................................................................... 30

Marketing Tool: Segmenting – Targeting – Positioning ...................................................... 30

Strategy Tool: Play to Win .................................................................................................... 31

6. Getting the Rest Right for Interviews................................................................ 34

6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 34

Simply put, management consulting is a profession that requires practitioners to

Figure 1 – The management consulting value chain

While the consulting industry includes a wide spectrum of businesses, management

2.1 Recruitment Funnel

Step 1 – Online application

Step 2 – First round interview

Step 3 – Second round interview

Step 4 – Receive, negotiate, and accept your offer

Figure 2 – Management consultant recruitment funnel

2.2 Selection Criteria

The answer is NO at a tactical level, but luckily YES on a strategic level!

On a tactical level, consulting firm candidate selection practices have thousands of

Regardless of the firm’s preference of candidate background, interview methods, or

1. Understand what the firm is looking for in a candidate

Now let’s have a look at these one by one.

3.1 Understanding what the firm is looking for in a candidate

Gate One – Application Scanners

Gate Three – Confirmation by a Consultant

3.2 Crafting exceptional application materials

The Cover Letter is all about two things:

1. Why You Choose This Firm, and

Figure 3 – Structure for an exceptional cover letter

You can download a free template resume from the website:

3.3 Finalizing and perfecting your application

• “Why did you choose consulting?”

Let’s start with the Fit Interview.

4.2 Fit Interview

• “Why you are interested in consulting?”

What firms are looking for

Key Trait What is the Firm Assessing?

How to structure your response

1. Tell them what you are going to say

Next, let’s crack the secret of the Case Interview.

The Case Interview is usually 25 to 40 minutes in length. Do not expect to solve

The important points of the case interview are:

1. How you structure the problem,

Five main parts of a case interview

1. Define the problem. The beginning of a case interview is where candidates

Next, I will introduce several different formats of Case Interview.

4.4 Case Interview Formats