If you are applying for a position as a management consultant or a related job, you will likely be required to participate in a case interview. A case interview is used to test a candidate’s analytical and soft skills as they relate to business. Preparing for a case interview is the best way to ensure that you make a good impression and demonstrate that you are an ideal candidate for a consulting or related position.
A case interview is a type of interview in which the candidate is presented with a business situation and asked to provide a solution for managing the situation. Case interviews are most commonly used for investment banking or management consulting interviews. These types of interviews are used to determine a candidate’s analytical ability and problem-solving capabilities. While preparing for a job interview is often an important step in the job search process, case interviews often require extra preparation time to be successfully completed.
Case interview question examples
The following are 10 examples of case interview questions. You can use these examples to get a better understanding of how case interview questions will be presented and the topics that they may cover.
- A client of a company is a hotel located in New York City, New York. Their primary customer base is made up of mostly foreign tourists. What are some factors that these customers would seek out in a hotel? What influences may affect their decision to stay at the client’s hotel?
This type of question is called a “market-sizing/guesstimate” question and is used to determine a candidate’s ability to assess the attributes or characteristics that an entity or client would value most in a given situation. - What is the market capitalization of Amazon today?
This case interview question is classified as a business valuation question and seeks to identify a person’s ability to analyze and determine the value of a business line or company. - How many automobiles are sold in New York each year?
This is a market estimation question that is very popular in case interviews. The question may include anything along these lines and is used to determine a candidate’s ability to figure out a market estimate by asking educated questions. - XYZ Firm is considering purchasing a competitor’s company. Would this be a wise business decision for XYZ Firm?
This case interview question can be classified as a business case question. Questions like this can help an interviewer assess a candidate’s decision-making skills as they relate to business. This type of question will require you to ask several questions that help you determine whether the business decision is a good idea or not. - What factors do you believe have driven the consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry over the last decade?
This type of business case question is used to determine how you would go about analyzing information and using that information to come up with a viable answer related to a business trend. - A business owner has recently opened their offices to the public and is currently making a decision as to what type of product to put in the restroom for customers to dry their hands with. Three options have been presented: hot air dryers, paper towels and roller towels. If the owner has to make a decision this week, what questions should she consider during the decision-making process?
This is a solution-finding question that may be used during a case interview to see if the candidate can use a hypothesis-driven analysis to come up with a solution to a problem. In this instance, the problem would be what type of product to use for hand drying. - How would you redesign the Bank of America mobile app to make it more user-friendly?
This is another business case question. In this particular instance, the question is requiring the candidate to analyze a current product (a mobile app) and determine what marketing tactics can be used to make it more user-friendly and thus more successful for the client (Bank of America). - Why are the covers of manholes round?
This is a question known as a brainteaser. While it may seem irrelevant to the company you are interviewing with, brainteasers allow the interviewer to gauge your problem-solving and creativity skills. - A company that produces various flavors of soda has found that it is operating at a loss despite its revenues being high. What are the possible reasons for this situation?
This is a business case question that may be used to assess your general business knowledge and how you can logically use your business knowledge to solve common organization-related questions. - How many grocery stores are there in the United States?
This is another guesstimate or market-sizing question. Answering this question will require you to answer questions to determine statistical information and use this information to estimate a number that most closely answers the question.
