subject: The Case Interviews At Management Consulting Firms [print this page] Case interviews are a key part of every recruitment process at management consulting firms. Most of the applicants fail on the interviews because of a bad performance solving the business case. Read this article to learn more about case interviews.The case interview is a classic in management consulting. The purpose is to test the candidates ability to perform problem-solving and effectively communicate and present findings. Problem solving skills include business judgment, quantitative skills, creativity, logical reasoning, and the ability to structure an analysis. These are all skills that are highly useful as a management consultant.
In real life consulting, the client often puts you on the spot by asking a question that requires problem-solving skills. The case interview form is a great way to test how a person performs under pressure, i.e. if he/she easily gets frustrated when challenged. Management consulting firms are very diligent in their recruiting, so expect two to three interview rounds equivalent to five or six separate interviews.
There are three types of case interviews:
Business case
Estimation case
Brain teaser
During a case interview, the interviewer may use any or all three of the available case interview types. The business case is by far the most common of the three, since the case is as close as you can get to real life management consulting.
In a business case interview, you will be presented to a business situation on either industry level or at firm level. A business case can cover all practice areas within a management consulting firm. Take a look at ConsultingFact.com for further ideas on how to solve case interviews for management consulting firms.
