Roland Berger case interview, from test to recruiting day
Roland Berger's global pages put the case interviews on a recruiting day, with cases based on its real consulting work. Its case page says interviewers want to support you, often leave out details on purpose to see how you handle missing information, and would rather hear a good question than a poor answer.
Updated
- A test for permanent roles. One of its online analytics tests comes before the recruiting day. Interns go straight to the day.
- Fit and cases in one day. A company presentation, then personal fit and case interviews.
- Gaps on purpose. Interviewers often leave details out to see how you handle missing information.
- About six to eight weeks. From application to signed contract, its FAQ says. Internships usually move faster.
What Roland Berger says it looks for
Roland Berger's FAQ, Junior Consultant page, team Q&A and selection process page are specific:
Structure and a head for numbers
The selection day shows how you structure and analyze tasks, how creative you are and whether you have a head for numbers, its FAQ says.
Handling uncertainty
The Junior Consultant page says it cares how you structure problems, develop hypotheses, deal with uncertainty and explain your thinking, not only the final answer.
Approach, openness, drive
A Senior Consultant in its team Q&A says they don't look for perfect solutions. A Principal there names curiosity, being a team player and not being afraid of data.
Why consulting, why Roland Berger
Interviews also probe motivation, numbers, communication, how you take criticism, and your strengths and weaknesses. There is not just one correct way to work a case.
From its FAQ, the Junior Consultant page, its team Q&A and the selection process page.
From application to offer at Roland Berger
The global steps first, then what single offices add. Each country recruits for its own offices. Checked against its pages on October 19, 2026.
See all 8 steps
Apply
CV and cover letter
A detailed CV and a cover letter, without a photo. Some countries also ask for diplomas, certificates and references. The hints page says you hear back in about two to four weeks, the FAQ within three.
Permanent roles
An online analytics test
If your profile matches, you take one of its online analytics tests, and experienced recruiters evaluate the results. The format and length aren't published.
Roland Berger: hints and tipsRoland Berger: recruiting privacy notice
Recruiting day
Fit and case interviews
A company presentation with time for questions, then personal fit and case interviews. Junior Consultant candidates should prepare a two to three minute presentation about themselves. Interns get feedback at the end of the day.
Final
One more interview
For permanent roles, a good recruiting day leads to a final interview with someone from management in your future area before an offer.
Amsterdam
A written case on Final Day
Interviews with two partners and a written case covering a whole project, with a time limit and limited data that forces assumptions. You present your findings to a panel of four consultants.
Amsterdam, interns
Assessment before interviews
A personality test at home and an analytical assessment at the office, then one case and one personal interview, then a Final Day with partners or principals.
Germany, interns
One selection day
A personality interview and two case interviews, then detailed feedback and a decision. The current deadline is January 15, 2027, with selection days from mid-February. The posting is in German.
London
Graduate window, now closed
Graduate applications for the September 2027 intake ran from September 1 to October 18, 2026, with a CV and cover letter. Check the page for the next round.
Not covered on the pages we read: a US process, who drives the case and the scoring.
13 Roland Berger-style questions
Soreno wrote these to match what Roland Berger's pages describe: estimates from basic data, cases with deliberate gaps, Amsterdam's written case and a fit interview. They are not Roland Berger's own.
Estimates4 questions
Roland Berger suggests knowing basic data such as population sizes. Learn a handful by heart.
How many gas stations are there in the United States?
What a strong answer does
Cars, fill-ups per car each week and fill-ups one station can handle. Say each number aloud so the interviewer can steer you. Practice it, see a model answer
How many diapers are used in the United States each year?
What a strong answer does
Births a year give babies by age. Multiply by diapers a day for each age and by 365. Check whether the number per family feels right. Practice it, see a model answer
How many public charging points will Germany need for electric cars by 2030?
What a strong answer does
Electric cars on the road, the share that can't charge at home and cars per charger. Name the assumption you trust least.
You have an estimate. How do you know it's reasonable?
What a strong answer does
Reach it a second way, compare it with a figure you know and say what would make it wrong. Practice it, see a model answer
Cases with missing pieces5 questions
Interviewers leave details out on purpose. Ask for them, or assume and say so.
A German machine tool maker's orders from China fell 25% in a year. What would you look at?
What a strong answer does
Ask what's missing first: which products, which customers, which rivals. Then split market, share and price before you guess.
Your client's main competitor just cut prices by 20%. How should it respond?
What a strong answer does
Find out why they cut and what it costs them before matching. Use realistic numbers for the customers at risk. Practice it, see a model answer
A carmaker is deciding whether to keep making a key part in-house or buy it. How would you approach it?
What a strong answer does
Cost, quality, control and supply risk on both sides, then whether the part is something that sets the car apart. Practice it, see a model answer
Should a manufacturer build a second factory?
What a strong answer does
The demand that needs it, the cost to build and run it, and payback against outsourcing. Concentrate on the two numbers that decide it. Practice it, see a model answer
Branch visits at a mid-size European bank have halved in five years. What should it do with its branches?
What a strong answer does
Group the options: close, shrink or change what a branch is for. Size the savings roughly and say what customers would lose.
A written case, Amsterdam style2 questions
Amsterdam gives several questions, a set time and too little data, then a panel. The timings below are ours.
In one hour, turn a short case pack into three slides and present them in five minutes.
What a strong answer does
Your answer on slide one, the numbers behind it next, risks and next steps last. Say plainly where you had to assume.
Your answer depends on market growth, and the case pack has no figure for it. How do you handle that on paper?
What a strong answer does
Pick a number you can defend, work the answer at a low and a high value and say whether the decision flips. Mark it so the panel can test it.
The fit interview2 questions
Junior Consultant candidates prepare a short presentation about themselves.
Present yourself in two to three minutes.
What a strong answer does
Who you are, two things you've done that show how you work and why strategy consulting. Time it. Practice it, see a model answer
Tell me about a time you got tough feedback. What did you do with it?
What a strong answer does
Roland Berger asks how you take criticism. Show what you changed, not only that you listened. Practice it, see a model answer
More to prepare with
What Roland Berger asks you to avoid
Guessing instead of asking
Roland Berger would rather hear a good question than a poor answer. Ask when data is missing.
Missing the hints
Its interviewers may give hints and want to support you. Listen for them and note the key data.
Far-fetched assumptions
Its tips ask for common sense and realistic assumptions. Know basic figures like population sizes.
No view on the economy
Its team Q&A tells candidates to look again at current economic issues before interviewing.
A photo on your CV
Its FAQ asks applicants not to include one.
How to prepare for Roland Berger
Four of these come from Roland Berger's own pages. The last is our suggestion.
Its case page
Rehearse with a friend
Ask a friend to make up a case on a current topic and work through it as a dialogue. Build a structure first, concentrate on what matters and share your thinking aloud.
Junior Consultant page
Make assumptions visible
Practice complex questions in a structured way, make assumptions transparent, ask clarifying questions and explain your approach.
Its team Q&A
Review yourself and the news
Take a critical look at your CV, experiences and motivation for consulting, prepare hard for cases and read up on current economic issues.
Its FAQ
Apply early
Four to six months before your ideal start, its FAQ says. Amsterdam suggests about six months.
Ours
One estimate a day
A sizing question each day from the basic figures you've memorized, out loud and in under five minutes.
Roland Berger's case videos and chatbot
Its case preparation page walks through two cases on video, each in two parts, next to a video of dos and don'ts. Pause before each answer and try it yourself first. Casey, its recruiting chatbot, is the last row.
Transit-oriented developmentCase 1, part 1
A case about development around public transit, opening on this video.
Roland Berger: case 1, part 1Transit-oriented development, continuedCase 1, part 2
The second half of the same case, on its own page.
Roland Berger: case 1, part 23D printed hip implantsCase 2, part 1
A case about hip implants made by 3D printing.
Roland Berger: case 2, part 13D printed hip implants, continuedCase 2, part 2
Where the second case ends. Compare it with how you would have finished.
Roland Berger: case 2, part 2Dos and don'tsVideo and tips
The case preparation page itself, with the dos and don'ts video and the written tips this guide quotes.
Roland Berger: case preparationCaseyRecruiting chatbot
Roland Berger's recruiting privacy notice describes a chatbot called Casey that answers questions about applying and offers an interactive live case study.
Roland Berger: recruiting privacy noticeAsk the good question, then solve the case
Soreno's AI interviewer answers your clarifying questions, shows exhibits, checks your math and scores how you structured the case. It has no Roland Berger mode. In Settings, choose who leads the case, and pick the Coach interviewer if you want hints. Free for 7 days.
Questions people ask
Will I take a test before the recruiting day?
Only for a permanent role: one of its online analytics tests before the recruiting day. It doesn't publish the format or length, and interns skip it.
What happens on a Roland Berger recruiting day?
A company presentation and time for questions, then personal fit and case interviews. Interns hear back at the end of the day.
How long does the Roland Berger process take?
In general about six to eight weeks from application to signed contract, its FAQ says. Internships are usually quicker.
Does any Roland Berger office use a written case?
Amsterdam does. Its Final Day adds a written case that you present to four consultants. The global pages describe spoken case interviews only.
What is Casey at Roland Berger?
A recruiting chatbot that answers questions about applying and offers an interactive live case study, according to its privacy notice.
Should I send a photo with my application?
No. Roland Berger asks you not to include one. Send a detailed CV and a cover letter.