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Case / Structured Interviews
Case interviews are not just designed to "get to know" the applicant as in a traditional interview, but
rather to allow employers to make projections on how candidates will function within the job itself.
Such interviews put candidates in hypothetical situations, have them solve complex business
problems and test candidates' ability to function under pressure.
Case Questions
Many organizations, especially consulting firms, make use of cases. Case questions allow employers
to gauge candidates' ability to: think, reason, & apply logic; communicate ideas; and handle pressure.
There are three basic categories of case questions:
1. Market-Sizing Questions: Your ability to be resourceful and work with broad numbers is tested
in market-sizing questions. You should know general numbers such as U.S. population or
number of households (+/- 300 MM & 100 MM), and be prepared to make a "best guess"
estimate for an answer based on your projections.
a. Ex: How many contact lenses are sold in the U.S. each year?
b. Ex: How many ping-pong balls would fit on a regular school-bus?
2. Industry-Based Cases: Questions can be strategy- or operations-based, and will test your
knowledge of general business terms and concepts, as well as your ability to apply them to a
given situation.
a. Ex: Disney is considering buying Blockbuster Video. Should they?
3. Quantitative Questions and Brain Teasers: These serve to see how well you think on your feet,
and may or may not have a definite answer. Ex: Twelve is what percentage of 144? How much
money does the Tooth Fairy leave per tooth? Why are manhole covers round?
Ten Keys for Acing the Case Interview
• Understand the Question: Before jumping into your answer make sure you understand the
entire question. Restate the question and make sure that all of the information you heard was
correct and clarify any questions about the prompt itself. It does not make sense to ask a
clarifying question about the prompt halfway through the case. For example, if the prompt
states that you should estimate the demand for haircuts in the United States you should clarify
if the interviewer would like the information in number of haircuts, the monetary value, or both.
• Take Time to Think: After receiving the prompt and asking some clarifying questions, take a
few minutes and think about what approach you are going to take for each section. Jot down
notes for each part of the question and consider which framework you are going to use (more
on this later). A few minutes of silence may seem awkward, but interviewers understand that
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