Business case interview questions

What would you do if you went into an interview and were asked this question: how many meat pies were eaten in Sydney last week?

Dmitriy Shironosov | Dreamstime.com

Some of us might be at a total loss if faced with such a question, but these ‘case interview’ questions are often used in interviews with management consultancies, investment banks and other sorts of organisations when recruiting for executive or strategic positions.

In a case interview, you are presented with a problem or asked to analyse a situation and you have to identify the key issues, address the problems involved and come up with a conclusion or recommendation.

The purpose of case interview questions is to see how you think – the logic and structure of your thought, your ability to quickly analyse and think through a complex problem, to prioritise and exercise common sense, and reach a sound conclusion with limited information within a short space of time. The interviewer also wants to see how you behave and communicate under pressure, whether you like problem solving and demonstrate creativity, flexibility and confidence. It’s not about your specific business knowledge or coming up with a ‘correct’ answer, even though there is often a quantitative component.

See an example of a case interview question and answer.

‘The key to these is not so much the actual answer, but the logic of how you go about arriving at the answer (without the use of any outside information – including Google!) and the clarity with which you arrive at certain assumptions about what is known versus what is unknown,’ says ex-management consultant Stephen Scheeler. ‘However, if your logic is strong, the answer is often pretty accurate as well.’

The key to dealing with case interviews is to stay focused and level-headed and break the question down into its component parts. If you manage this, you may just come out of the interview with flying colours – and maybe even a job offer.

How to prepare for case interview questions

If you’re heading into a case interview, it’s absolutely essential that you research and prepare. Use books and websites (for example, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Harvard Business School have practice questions on their sites, and Marc Cosentino’s Case In Point is considered a great reference book), talk to people who have been through the process, read business magazines and periodicals, and attend a workshop if you can. The company you’re interviewing with may even have sample questions and advice for approaching such questions on their website.

It’s also important that you practise – the more the better. Practise not only going through the mental exercises, but also articulating your answers in a confident manner. Your ability to logically and persuasively talk through your thought processes is more important than the actual answer you come up with.