Conversational interview
Your chance to tell Oliver Wyman about your background, interests and career objectives.
- It wants
- Your interest in business and your goals
- Also
- Your accomplishments and experiences
- Your turn
- Ask questions about Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman interview questions, fit and case
Oliver Wyman uses a mix of conversational and case interviews. The conversational interview is your chance to tell it about your background, interests and career objectives, and to ask your own questions. The case is what it calls an interactive exercise in analytical thinking. Its six published sample cases show the exact questions and the criteria it grades them on. To rehearse both out loud, Soreno, an AI voice interview practice app for consulting, investment banking and other finance candidates, runs Oliver Wyman-style cases and fit questions with follow-ups and scored feedback.
Updated
- Two kinds of interview. A conversation about you, and a case about a client's problem.
- The conversation is about you. Your interest in business, your goals and your accomplishments, in Oliver Wyman's words.
- Its sample cases are real practice. Six on its own site, with the questions, hints and grading criteria.
- The interviewer is your client. Oliver Wyman says they want you to solve the problem and can help.
- Life outside your studies counts. Oliver Wyman says it appreciates evidence of an interesting and impactful one.
How Oliver Wyman interviews
Oliver Wyman's interview preparation page describes two kinds of interview. The third card is from its Brazil and Mexico page and applies to those offices.
Case interview
An interactive exercise in analytical thinking, often based on real-world challenges.
- It shows
- How you approach and evaluate a problem
- The interviewer
- Plays your client and can help
- Practice
- Six sample cases on its site
Brazil and Mexico
Its Brazil and Mexico page lists its steps, all virtual.
- Online test
- 26 questions in 50 minutes
- Fit interview
- 15 minutes in English, no case
- Cases
- Two rounds, four interviews
How its sample cases grade each questionFrom four of its samples
Most sample questions come with Oliver Wyman's own evaluation criteria. These are the ones that repeat.
Opening
Find the key question, then structure it
The criteria: the key question and pertinent information, a clear structure, and saying it in a succinct format.
Its Urban Grocers sampleBrainstorm
Many ideas, still structured
The criteria: brainstorm and be creative, and come up with multiple innovative ideas. The hint: think outside the box while keeping your ideas structured.
Its Supermarket Pharmacy sampleData
Adapt as the numbers come in
The criteria include being flexible and adapting ideas as data is presented.
Its Dairy Farm sampleClose
A clear answer in 30 to 60 seconds
Start with a clear answer, then the supporting details, and synthesize the whole case. The hint says keep it concise.
Its digital therapy sample
From Oliver Wyman: interview preparation, Oliver Wyman: entry level and Oliver Wyman: Latin America.
What Oliver Wyman looks for
No rubric for the conversational interview is public. Oliver Wyman's own pages name these:
Four traits
Initiative, intuition, creativity and a strong problem-solving mindset, from its entry-level page.
A life outside your studies
It welcomes all majors and says it appreciates evidence of an interesting and impactful life outside of your studies.
Six things a case shows
Unstructured challenges, using data, thinking outside the box, common sense, asking the right questions and communicating your ideas.
Clear to every level
Oliver Wyman says solutions need to be clear to clients at every level.
From Oliver Wyman's entry-level page and its interview preparation page.
14 Oliver Wyman interview questions
The first seven are our wording, built on what Oliver Wyman says the conversational interview covers. The last seven are Oliver Wyman's own, word for word from its sample cases. Each note says what a strong answer does.
The conversational interview7 questions
Our wording, on the topics Oliver Wyman names: your background, interests, goals and accomplishments.
Walk me through your background.
What a strong answer does
Two minutes, in order, with the choices you made and why. End on what brought you to Oliver Wyman. Practice it, see a model answer
What interests you about business?
What a strong answer does
Oliver Wyman says it wants to understand your interest in business. Name one problem you have followed and what you think about it.
- “What would you do about it if it were your company?”
- “What have you read on it lately?”
Where do you want to be in five years?
What a strong answer does
Your goals for the future, in its words. One honest direction and what you want to learn on the way. Practice it, see a model answer
Tell me about the accomplishment you are proudest of.
What a strong answer does
Pick one with a real obstacle. Say what you did, not the team, and what changed because of it. Practice it, see a model answer
- “What nearly stopped you?”
- “Who else made it work?”
Tell me about a time you took the initiative without being asked.
What a strong answer does
Initiative is first on Oliver Wyman's list. Show why no one else moved and what you did first. Practice it, see a model answer
What do you do outside your studies?
What a strong answer does
Oliver Wyman says it appreciates an interesting life outside your studies. Pick one thing and say what it taught you.
Why Oliver Wyman?
What a strong answer does
Something you learned from an Oliver Wyman person or its own pages, tied to the work you want to do. Then ask your own questions. Practice it, see a model answer
- “Who have you spoken to here?”
- “What would make you choose another firm?”
Oliver Wyman's own sample case questions7 questions
Word for word from its sample cases, which it calls practice samples. Each note uses that sample's own criteria. Follow-ups are ours.
Should Urban Grocers switch truck sizes?
Oliver Wyman's Urban Grocers sample case (easy level)
What a strong answer does
Its criteria: find the key question and the pertinent information, then a clear structure you can say in a few sentences.
- “What would you need to believe for the answer to be yes?”
- “Which costs would you check first?”
What additional costs would Urban Grocers incur by making this transition?
Oliver Wyman's Urban Grocers sample case (easy level)
What a strong answer does
The sample says costs won't rise in a 1:1 proportion. Take each cost line on its own and say which ones change and which don't.
Should your client open the pharmacy? Develop an approach and structure to solve the problem.
Oliver Wyman's Supermarket Pharmacy sample case
What a strong answer does
The client needs a payback of two years or less. Build that test into your structure from the first minute.
- “What would make you say no even if it pays back?”
What strategies would you use when pricing the product?
Oliver Wyman's digital therapy device sample case
What a strong answer does
Its next two questions cover cost-based and value-based pricing, then rivals' prices. Cover the cost, the value to the buyer and the competition before you pick.
How would you estimate the number of visitors to Poseidon Water Park on a peak day?
Oliver Wyman's Poseidon Water Park sample case
What a strong answer does
Its hint: the number of slides, ride throughput and operating hours. Size it from capacity, say each assumption and check the result. Practice it, see a model answer
What are the key execution challenges and risks that our client should be aware of?
Oliver Wyman's Dairy Farm sample case
What a strong answer does
Its criteria: brainstorm, come up with multiple ideas and adapt them. Group the risks first, then go deep on the one that matters most.
The CEO of Urban Grocers walks into your meeting. What is your recommendation, should Urban Grocers take the deal?
Oliver Wyman's Urban Grocers sample case (easy level)
What a strong answer does
Its hint: a clear answer first, then the supporting details, in about 30 seconds to a minute. Practice it, see a model answer
Mistakes and how to prepare
Where Oliver Wyman candidates slip
Treating the conversation as small talk
Oliver Wyman says it is how it learns your interest in business and your goals. Prepare it like the case.
Working the case alone
Its advice is to treat the interviewer as your client and work together. Ask for the data you need.
A long recommendation
Its samples ask for a clear answer first and about 30 seconds to a minute in total.
Only practicing structure
Its samples also grade brainstorming, math and adapting to new data. Practice every part.
How to prepare for Oliver Wyman's questions
Oliver Wyman's own advice first. The last step is our suggestion.
Its advice
Work all six sample cases
Each has the questions, hints and criteria. Answer out loud before you reveal the sample answer.
Oliver Wyman case interview guideFree Oliver Wyman-style case
Its advice
Follow its six case steps
Pinpoint the issue, break it down, pick an approach, analyze the issues, use numbers and make a recommendation.
Its advice
Prepare questions for them
Oliver Wyman says the conversational interview is also your opportunity to ask questions about the firm.
Our suggestion
Say every answer out loud
With a partner or an AI interviewer that follows up, so your stories and your structure hold up under a second question.
Rehearse Oliver Wyman's questions, out loud
Soreno's AI interviewer asks fit questions and runs Oliver Wyman-style cases one question at a time, follows up like a real interviewer and scores every answer.
Questions people ask
What questions does Oliver Wyman ask in interviews?
Conversational questions about your background, interests, career objectives and accomplishments, and case questions. Its six sample cases on its own site show case questions word for word.
Does Oliver Wyman have a fit interview?
Its global page calls it a conversational interview. Its Brazil and Mexico page lists a 15-minute fit interview in English with no case.
Does Oliver Wyman publish sample cases?
Yes, six, on its interview preparation page. Each has the questions and hints, and most questions list the criteria it grades on.
How many interviews does Oliver Wyman have?
Its global page does not say. For Brazil and Mexico it lists an online test, a fit interview and two rounds of two case interviews.
How long should my case recommendation be?
Oliver Wyman's samples say to keep it concise, about 30 seconds to a minute, with a clear answer first.