Specific reasons tied to the work: variety of problems, learning fast, impact. Connects to their own experience. Shows they understand the lifestyle and travel. Mentions a firm-specific reason.

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Consulting case interviews: structure, math and recommendations

Q: A company's profits fell this year. How would you structure the problem?

Profit = revenue − costs. Revenue = price × volume; costs = fixed + variable. Compare over time and against competitors. Plans to dig into the biggest driver first.

Q: A coffee chain's profits are down 20% while revenue is flat. Walk me through how you'd find out why.

Revenue flat, so costs must be rising. Splits costs into fixed (rent, labor) and variable (beans, cups). Asks for data over time and versus peers. Forms a hypothesis, like bean prices or wages, and tests it.

Q: Our client makes electric scooters and wants to enter Europe. What would you want to know?

Market size and growth in Europe. Competitors and their share; regulations. Client's capabilities, costs and how it would enter (build, partner, buy). Financials: investment, break-even, expected return.

Q: Fixed costs are $2M a year, price is $40 and variable cost is $15 per unit. How many units to break even? What would you do if we can only sell 60,000?

Break-even = $2M ÷ ($40 − $15) = 80,000 units. 60,000 units means a loss of about $500K. Options: raise price, cut variable cost, cut fixed cost, or sell more. Recommends the most realistic lever with reasoning.

Q: A grocery chain's market share is falling. How would you figure out why?

Define the market and compare with competitors. Split by region, store format and customer segment. Look at price, assortment, convenience and online. Form and test hypotheses with data.

Q: Our client, a hotel chain, wants to raise revenue per room. What would you look at?

Revenue per available room = occupancy × average daily rate. Pricing strategy and demand by season. Channel mix and booking fees. Ancillary revenue like food, parking and upgrades.

Q: An airline wants to raise profits by 10% in two years. Lay out your plan.

Revenue levers: pricing, fees, routes, load factor. Cost levers: fuel hedging, fleet, labor productivity. Prioritizes by size of impact and feasibility. Gives a clear recommendation with risks.

Consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG and Bain use case interviews to see how you think. You get a business problem, ask clarifying questions, lay out a structure, work through data and math, then give a recommendation.

Strong candidates use structures that are MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive), talk through their math out loud, and finish with the answer first, followed by reasons, risks and next steps.

Case and fit questions

Basic

Why consulting?

A strong answer covers

Specific reasons tied to the work: variety of problems, learning fast, impact
Connects to their own experience
Shows they understand the lifestyle and travel
Mentions a firm-specific reason

Basic

A company's profits fell this year. How would you structure the problem?

A strong answer covers

Profit = revenue − costs
Revenue = price × volume; costs = fixed + variable
Compare over time and against competitors
Plans to dig into the biggest driver first

Intermediate

A coffee chain's profits are down 20% while revenue is flat. Walk me through how you'd find out why.

A strong answer covers

Revenue flat, so costs must be rising
Splits costs into fixed (rent, labor) and variable (beans, cups)
Asks for data over time and versus peers
Forms a hypothesis, like bean prices or wages, and tests it

Intermediate

Our client makes electric scooters and wants to enter Europe. What would you want to know?

A strong answer covers

Market size and growth in Europe
Competitors and their share; regulations
Client's capabilities, costs and how it would enter (build, partner, buy)
Financials: investment, break-even, expected return

Intermediate

Fixed costs are $2M a year, price is $40 and variable cost is $15 per unit. How many units to break even? What would you do if we can only sell 60,000?

A strong answer covers

Break-even = $2M ÷ ($40 − $15) = 80,000 units
60,000 units means a loss of about $500K
Options: raise price, cut variable cost, cut fixed cost, or sell more
Recommends the most realistic lever with reasoning

Intermediate

A grocery chain's market share is falling. How would you figure out why?

A strong answer covers

Define the market and compare with competitors
Split by region, store format and customer segment
Look at price, assortment, convenience and online
Form and test hypotheses with data

Intermediate

Our client, a hotel chain, wants to raise revenue per room. What would you look at?

A strong answer covers

Revenue per available room = occupancy × average daily rate
Pricing strategy and demand by season
Channel mix and booking fees
Ancillary revenue like food, parking and upgrades

Advanced

A private equity firm asks whether it should buy a regional gym chain. How would you approach it?

A strong answer covers

Market attractiveness: size, growth, competition (budget gyms, boutiques)
Target's position: membership trends, churn, pricing, margins
Value creation plan and exit options
Risks: economic slowdown, rising rent, at-home fitness

Advanced

An airline wants to raise profits by 10% in two years. Lay out your plan.

A strong answer covers

Revenue levers: pricing, fees, routes, load factor
Cost levers: fuel hedging, fleet, labor productivity
Prioritizes by size of impact and feasibility
Gives a clear recommendation with risks

Advanced

Our client, a hospital, has rising wait times in its emergency room. What would you look at?

A strong answer covers

Maps the patient flow: arrival, triage, treatment, discharge
Finds the bottleneck with data (staffing, beds, tests)
Compares demand by hour with staffing
Recommends targeted fixes and how to measure success

Advanced

A pharma company is deciding whether to launch a new drug. How would you structure it?

A strong answer covers

Market size: patients, diagnosis rate, price
Competition and expected share
Costs: production, marketing, remaining trials
Profitability, risks and a clear recommendation

Advanced

Give me three ways to cut costs at a manufacturing plant by 10%, and how you'd prioritize them.

A strong answer covers

Splits costs into materials, labor and overhead
Specific levers: procurement, automation, scheduling, energy
Prioritizes by size, speed and risk
Mentions how to measure results

Quick quiz (12 questions)

MECE stands for:

Most efficient, cheapest estimate
Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive ✓
Mutually efficient, cost-effective estimates
Margin, equity, cash, earnings

A MECE structure has no overlaps and no gaps.

What should you do first in a case interview?

Give your final answer right away
Clarify the question and goal ✓
Start running calculations immediately
Ask what the salary is for the role

Make sure you're solving the right problem before you structure it.

In an interviewer-led case, the interviewer:

Stays silent the whole time
Guides you through specific questions ✓
Only asks behavioral questions
Lets you pick the industry

Interviewer-led cases follow a set path of questions.

What does 'mutually exclusive' mean in MECE?

No overlap between buckets ✓
Nothing is missing from the buckets
All buckets are the same size
There are only two buckets

Each item fits in one bucket.

What does 'collectively exhaustive' mean in MECE?

Each bucket is worn out from overuse
Together the buckets cover everything ✓
The buckets overlap with each other
Only one bucket is needed

Nothing is left out, so there are no gaps.

Which split of 'customers' is MECE?

Happy and online customers
Young and loyal customers
Big and returning customers
New and existing customers ✓

Every customer is either new or existing, never both.

Revenue is equal to:

Price × volume ✓
Profit − costs
Fixed + variable costs
Volume − price

Revenue is how many units you sell times the price.

Rent for a factory is usually a:

Variable cost
Fixed cost ✓
Revenue driver
Tax

Rent doesn't change with how many units you make.

Fixed costs $100K, price $50, variable cost $30 per unit. Break-even volume?

2,000 units
5,000 units ✓
3,333 units
10,000 units

$100K ÷ ($50 − $30) = 5,000 units.

Profit equals:

Revenue + costs
Price × costs
Revenue − costs ✓
Volume − price

The core profitability equation.

Which is usually a variable cost?

Office rent
CEO salary
Raw materials per unit ✓
Annual software license fees

Variable costs change with production.

Price $20, variable cost $12. Contribution margin per unit:

$12
$20
$32
$8 ✓

20 − 12 = $8.

Reading isn't practice. Answer these out loud, get scored, and track your progress for free.

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Consulting case interviews: structure, math and recommendations

Case and fit questions

Why consulting?

A company's profits fell this year. How would you structure the problem?

A coffee chain's profits are down 20% while revenue is flat. Walk me through how you'd find out why.

Our client makes electric scooters and wants to enter Europe. What would you want to know?

Fixed costs are $2M a year, price is $40 and variable cost is $15 per unit. How many units to break even? What would you do if we can only sell 60,000?

A grocery chain's market share is falling. How would you figure out why?

Our client, a hotel chain, wants to raise revenue per room. What would you look at?

A private equity firm asks whether it should buy a regional gym chain. How would you approach it?

An airline wants to raise profits by 10% in two years. Lay out your plan.

Our client, a hospital, has rising wait times in its emergency room. What would you look at?

A pharma company is deciding whether to launch a new drug. How would you structure it?

Give me three ways to cut costs at a manufacturing plant by 10%, and how you'd prioritize them.

Quick quiz (12 questions)

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