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What a case interview is, and how to prepare
Start from zero. What a consultant does, the five moves that crack any case in any industry, what is being judged, how a case runs from the first sentence to the last, and how to practice with another person.
Key takeaways
- A case interview is a short simulation of a consultant's job. The interviewer plays the client with a problem.
- We do not teach frameworks to memorize. The structure comes from the maths of the goal in this exact question, and what you know about the business tells you where to look first.
- Behind all five abilities, the interviewer wants to see a real problem solver: someone who understands the actual problem, keeps it simple, focuses on what needs solving, and reasons clearly to an answer.
- Every case follows the same eight moves. Know them, and you always know what to do next, even on a problem you have never seen before.
- Reading about cases is not enough. You get good by doing cases out loud, with another person, and getting honest feedback.
- Explain in one sentence what a management consultant does
- Crack a case in five moves: build the structure from the maths of the goal, not from a memorized list
- Name the five things an interviewer scores
- Run a case from the opening to the close, step by step
- Practice with a partner and give useful feedback
Lessons
The job, and the small simulation of it
What consultants do, and how a case interview is a short version of that work.
Crack any case in five moves
The one method this site teaches: build the structure from the goal and the business, not from a memorized list. Two full examples: a hospital in India and a food delivery launch in Riyadh.
What is really being judged
The five things every interviewer scores, and why thinking about the problem in front of you beats any memorized framework.
The case, start to finish
The eight moves of a case: the opening, the summary, clarifying questions, asking for time, the structure, driving, mid-case summaries, and the close.
How to practice: running cases with a partner
Finding partners, being the interviewer with the worked cases on this site, a feedback scorecard, and how many cases to do in what order.
Pacing your prep and recovering from a bad week
How much to practise, how to prepare alongside a job or a degree, the signs you are overdoing it, and a five-step reset after a bad week.
Look it up
Key terms
Start with lesson 1
6 lessons, about 43 minutes in all. Each one builds on the one before.