Consulting interview questions
26 questions. In the order a consulting interview usually runs: the case, market sizing, fit and your stories, then the firm-specific rounds and your own questions. Each page takes one spoken answer from weak to strong.
Case interview questions
Most of the interview is a business problem. Ask what the client wants, build a structure for this client, say where you would look first, then do the math out loud and end with a recommendation.
- Your client is a regional grocery chain. Profits are down 20% over two years. How would you structure the problem?
- A European e-bike maker is thinking about entering the US market. How would you structure the decision?
- A software company is launching a new analytics add-on for its existing customers. How would you set the price?
- Your client's main competitor has just cut prices by 20%. How should the client respond?
- A large food company wants to acquire a plant-based snack startup. Should it?
- A hospital's emergency room wait times have doubled in a year. How would you structure the problem?
- A coffee chain is opening a new store. How many cups a day does it need to sell to break even?
- You have finished the analysis on a market entry case and the CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?
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Market sizing
Often a few minutes inside a case, sometimes its own question. State the approach, break the number into parts you can estimate, round as you go and check the answer against something you know.
- Would you size a market top-down or bottom-up, and how do you choose?
- How many gas stations are there in the United States?
- Estimate the annual market for electric scooters in the United States.
- How many cups of coffee are sold in New York City each day?
- How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?
- You have reached a number for your market size. How do you check that it is reasonable?
Fit: why consulting and why this firm
Expect these at the start of every round. Tie your reasons to work you have done and name something about the firm you checked yourself.
Behavioral stories
One story in depth, with follow-ups on what you did and why. Have a story ready for leading a group, working with someone who disagreed, a failure and a hard call with incomplete data.
- Tell me about a time you led a group to a result that mattered.
- Tell me about a time you had to work closely with someone who saw a problem very differently from you.
- Tell me about a time you failed.
- Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without all the information you wanted.
- What is your biggest weakness?
Firm rounds and your questions
Each firm adds its own round: McKinsey's Personal Experience Interview and Solve game, BCG's Casey chatbot case, Bain's case and fit pairs. Read the guide for each firm you apply to, and end every interview with one question you could not have answered from the website.
- Tell me about a time you achieved something difficult against real obstacles.
- Do you have any questions for me?
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What these questions test
- Case: whether you can take an unclear business problem, structure it for this client and move it to a recommendation with numbers.
- Fit: whether your reasons for consulting come from work you have done, and whether you know why this firm.
- Stories: whether you can tell one story in about two minutes with your own decision at the center and take follow-ups on it.
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