Photo by Axel Heuting

Kearney, Düsseldorf
Cracking the
consulting
interview
Select experiences
of Kearney hires
Photo by Pietro Alves
Kearney, São Paulo
1
Tips on how to
succeed in a
case interview

The interviewer’s side of the story
In general, the best way to approach a case interview
is to enter the interview as a consultant would enter
a client’s office or board room—ready to use your
imagination, gather and analyze information, arrive at
solid conclusions, and communicate persuasively.
Kearney consultants who have conducted case
interviews offered the following tips:
— Know your limits. If things aren’t going well, don’t
try to tough it out. Acknowledge that you are stuck,
seek more information, or pursue a different logical
path. Remember, the simulation is designed to
reflect the reality of consulting, including the fact
that it can be complex and ambiguous.
Think creatively. In the consulting profession,
it is not enough to be logical. You will also need
to be creative.

— Challenge conventions. Be willing to be different.

Approach the case logically. Rely on what your
Step outside the proverbial box. Resist the
education has taught you to do: use your logic and
temptation to rely on frameworks. Instead, engage
knowledge to identify the essence of the problem
in free association.
and shape a solution that will produce tangible,
measurable, and lasting results. — Adopt the CEO or shareholder perspective.
Remember, you are not simply solving a problem;
— Listen and clarify. The interviewer, like a real you are solving it for someone else’s benefit.
client, will offer you an initial set of facts. Be sure
Send the right signals. The success of an
you understand those facts. Also be sure you help
engagement often rests on the strength of the
the client clearly express the objectives his or her
working partnership that develops between the
hypothetical company expects to accomplish as a
consultant and the client. The same is true during
result of your recommendations.
the case interview. With this in mind, approach
— Think “top down.” As you analyze the information your interview not only as an audition but also as
you receive, begin with the big picture. an opportunity to build a relationship. Maintain eye
Understand the overriding issues, and use them contact. Engage in dialogue, not a monologue.
to prioritize and organize issues that have lesser Express your ideas in ways that speak directly to
consequences. the interviewer’s concerns or objectives. And be
sure that your demeanor sends the right signals,
— Hypothesize. While you listen and ask questions,
demonstrating the following:
begin developing alternative solutions. Continue
probing until you are confident which solution
— A passion for learning
offers the greatest potential for impact.
— A collaborative nature
— Frame. Test your hypothesis with more questions,
and fine-tune your solution based on the answers. — Good business acumen
— Communicate. Present your solution in a way — Confidence but not arrogance
that is precise, clear, and concise. State your
— Poise under pressure
assumptions, and revisit them when the need
arises. Be coachable, soliciting feedback and
integrating it quickly. At the same time, be
firm about the things you believe in. And most
importantly, be yourself.

Cracking the consulting interview 2

2
What not to do

Those are some of the “do’s” that will help you during
your interview. Here are some “don’ts” that will also
help you:

— Do not force your solution to fit a standard

framework. The only things it needs to fit are the
problem, the business, and the objectives.

— Do not speak before thinking carefully.

— Do not search for a silver bullet. Complex problems

rarely have simple solutions.

— Do not use buzz words. Be simple and direct.

Cracking the consulting interview 3

 Joined: August 2016 full time; interned summer of 2015

Office: Chicago

Education: Bachelor of Arts, Occidental College; Master

of Business Administration, University of Chicago Booth
School of Business; Master of Public Policy, University of
Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Interview experience: I had first-round interviews with

five firms and second-round interviews with four firms.
The overall experience was a bit nerve-racking, but it was
also fun, as I had enjoyable conversations with most of
my interviewers. I had a three-part second-round inter-
Laura Bowen, Manager view. The first part was the written case, where I had to
present to two interviewers (manager and principal level).
This was the most stressful part of the interview process,
but I felt like I had sufficient time to prepare for the
questions the interviewers asked. The second part was
the behavioral portion with a principal, which ended up
being a great conversation, instead of just a question and
answer. The final part of my interview was a more casual
conversation with the head of the Chicago office. Had I
known how important he was then this might have been
the most stressful part, but I ended up having a fun and
interesting dialogue with him.

Myth busted
I never got a case that was based on my background.
The interviewers tended to have one or two cases
that they used, instead of personalizing them to each
interview candidate.

Case interview tip

Reading through cases on my own and building
frameworks for them helped me try a lot of different
cases in a short period of time.

Personal interview tip

I went into the process without any expectations. I
knew I was coming from an unusual background and
consulting wasn’t a lifelong goal of mine, so I went into
the process thinking I would try my best and see what
happened. I think this helped me relax a bit during the
interviews which, in turn, helped me develop a stronger
rapport with my interviewers.

Favorite or best interview question

“What’s the best trip you’ve taken recently?”

Cracking the consulting interview 4

Case example
Summary: An airline is losing money in comparison
to competitors. How can it improve profits
and understand the underlying cause of falling
profitability?

Case type: Profitability

Background: This was a standard case, not tailored

to my background.

Approach: I broke it down between the streams

of revenue and the costs (fixed and variable), then
further divided it to isolate the problem. I started by
looking at the revenues, assuming that costs were
pretty similar regardless of how many passengers fly
on a given flight.

What went well: There were a lot of calculations

involved, and I could do them quickly and without
mistakes. This was one of my case strong suits.

Even better if: I had recognized that certain

components of costs and revenue can’t easily
be adjusted in the airline industry. I could have
contextualized the case more.

“I went into the process

thinking I would try my
best and see what
happened. This helped
me relax during the
interviews, which
helped me develop a
stronger rapport with
my interviewers.”

Cracking the consulting interview 5

 Joined: September 2015

Office: Toronto

Education: Master of Science (business economics),

Ghent University; Master of International Business,
Queen’s University

Interview experience: I interviewed with multiple top

management consulting firms, and all my interviews
took place within a time span of three to four weeks.
My interview process at Kearney was somewhat different
from the standard process, and a great example of
how our firm can create unexpected, individualized
Charlotte De Moor, opportunities.
Manager I started my interview process while I was completing
my master’s degree in Canada. My first-round interviews
were held over Skype with the Kearney office in Brussels
(back home for me), and I had my second- and third-
round interviews in person in Belgium. Given my interest
in staying in Canada, I was offered the opportunity to
join our Canadian office. I came back to Toronto to meet
with a couple of senior managers and partners, and
received an offer after my office visit. I was amazed by
the flexibility and support offered by the firm during the
recruiting process, especially given the international
angle. It’s a great example of Kearney’s global
connectedness.

Myth busted
I expected the cases to be about industries everybody
knows. The dredging case threw me off for a few
seconds, for sure. I realized, however, that I didn’t need
to know the industry to understand the case and the
underlying dynamics. I find you also get less distracted
by specific industry knowledge you have when you don’t
know the industry. Industry-specific knowledge you
haven’t been given by the interviewer can easily lead you
down the wrong path.

Case interview tip

Keeping things simple is key. Make sure your interviewer
can follow your thought process and calculations.
Developing an elegant yet simple structure and making
reasonable assumptions in your calculations will
definitely help you perform better in the case interview.

Personal interview tip

Having a few stories prepared in which you exhibit key
skills (such as teamworking skills or project management
skills) will help you in the non-case part of the interview.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask your interviewer questions
about his or her experience. This is another opportunity
to get to know the firm and assess whether the fit is right
for you.

Cracking the consulting interview 6

Case example
Summary: The client is a construction company that
operates in the Middle East. The client is considering
whether to divest one of its dredging pumps (at this
point I had no clue what these were). We are called in
to help it make a sound business decision.
Case type: Investment analysis (divestiture, in
this case)
Background: I had no background at all in
construction or dredging. I learned that day that
dredging pumps are pumps used for bringing viscous
material such as sand to the surface, to construct, for
example, artificial islands.
Approach: To answer whether the divestiture was
a good business decision, I had to identify the net
benefit of the dredging pump, so I structured my
case on expected benefits and costs generated by
the sand pump for the remainder of its economic
life. I started off by detailing the different types of
benefits and then continued with costs. Collecting
data from my interviewer, I was able to identify that
even though the company was currently operating
at a loss, divesting would be an even worse
economic decision.
Favorite or best interview question
The top part of my résumé consists of three or four
bullets with my key skills and accomplishments.
I remember one of those being about empathy.
My interviewer asked me about why I chose to list
that particular skill and we ended up having a long
conversation about the importance of empathy and
more generally about emotional intelligence in the
workplace. It wasn’t a standard question, but a
great dialogue.
What went well: Communicating with my interviewer was
by far the biggest success factor in this case for me. I
had little to no knowledge about the industry, and I didn’t
know what dredging was. Clarifying those elements up
front helped me ask better questions down the road,
when I was collecting data to build my recommendation.
By no means should your interviewer be solving the
case for you, but the interview should absolutely be a
dialogue between you and the interviewer. It will give
you the opportunity to get crucial pieces of information
while also conveying you have business acumen and
communication skills.
Even better if: In any case interview, you are encouraged
to make reasonable assumptions. I think I unnecessarily
overcomplicated my case (for example, by discounting
future benefits). I would probably have come across as
smoother if I hadn’t tried to solve those complex divisions.
What went well: The clear structure with the customer
segments really helped me personally to stay focused.
Sure, this case demands assumptions, but showing
structure is far more important.
Even better if: I could have practiced even more to
be less nervous. Practicing cases gives you more
confidence and helps you to cope more with unexpected
questions or cases.
“I was amazed by the
flexibility and support
offered by the firm
during the recruiting
process, especially
given the international
angle. It’s a great
example of our firm’s
global connectedness.”
Cracking the consulting interview 7
 Joined: September 2019

Office: New York

Education: Bachelor of Science (mechanical

engineering), Rutgers University; Master of Science
(engineering management), University of Southern
California

Interview experience: I wasn’t originally seeking a career

in consulting, so Kearney is the only consulting firm that I
interviewed with.

Interviewing with Kearney: I interviewed with Kearney

Tania Crafton, after being contacted by a recruiter because of my
experience in the aerospace industry. I had two one-hour
Associate phone interviews: one a behavioral fit and one a short
case. After passing those two rounds, I had a half-day
in-person interview in the Washington, D.C. office that
consisted of a short case, presentation case, and two
behavioral interviews conducted by principals and
managers. After passing that round, I had a behavioral
fit phone interview with a partner as the final step.

The interview process was well organized and I had a

practice case interview with an associate so I could get
more case experience and ask questions outside of a
formal interview. Every person I met during the process
was friendly, helpful, and very honest when answering
my questions. Since joining the firm, I have seen or
emailed with almost everyone that I interviewed with
and their support has helped make the transition into
consulting much easier.

Myth busted
I thought that cases were all about knowing frameworks
and that since I hadn’t been to business school that
I wouldn’t be successful with case interviews, but
there is actually more focus on the way you think and
problem solve rather than doing things a certain way.
The interviewers were interested in my thought process
to get to a solution as well as how well I could explain
that process and use data to explain my answer. I didn’t
have a traditional background before interviewing with
Kearney, but my experiences were still valued and helped
me throughout the process.

Case interview tip

Engaging with the interviewer so they can follow along
with your thought process is very important. Even if you
make a mistake along the way or become stuck, if the
interviewer knows that you’re on the right path because
your logic is correct, they might help you. They won’t be
able to guide you or understand your final answer if you
haven’t summarized your overall plan and talked them
through each step you perform.

Cracking the consulting interview 8

Case example
Summary: A food and beverage company
recently acquired another company and wanted
recommendations for which facilities to consolidate.
Case type: Facility consolidation/operations
improvement
Background: Since I came from industry and
was interviewing for the Manufacturing Center of
Excellence, the case was manufacturing focused so
I understood what factors would be important when
trying to optimize operations.
What went well: Taking the time to read through all of
the objectives up front was helpful because I knew what
information I wanted to gather and that helped me take
better notes while reading the background information
for the case. If I hadn’t understood what the problems
were that I was trying to solve, I would have wasted a lot
of time searching for information later on.
Even better if: Since I didn’t come from a traditional
background, my experience with cases was limited and
I had never done a presentation case before. I could
have done better with time management if I had more
experience with cases and knew how to pace myself.

Approach: There were multiple questions within the

case so I started by reading all of them to understand
the entire problem that I was trying to solve. I read
through the background information and highlighted
key information that would help me solve the case
objective. I reviewed the provided tables and figures
to identify which facilities were redundant, not
profitable, or poorly located and thus would make
good candidates for closure and used the data to
defend my decision.

Personal interview tip

Being myself and allowing my personality to “Every person I met
come through during the behavioral interviews
helped the recruitment team connect with during the process
me and determine if I would be a good fit for
the team. The behavioral interviews felt like a was friendly, helpful,
conversation between me and the interviewer
rather than a question and answer session. I also and very honest
had questions prepared to learn more about the
position and their experiences as consultants, when answering
which helped to show that I had put thought into
the experience and reflected my genuine interest my questions.”
in joining the firm.

Selected personal interview question

When was a time that you took initiative to learn
something outside of school?

Cracking the consulting interview 9

 Joined: July 2015

Office: Chicago

Education: Bachelor of Arts (economics), Northwestern

University

Interview experience: I interviewed with seven other

firms in total. Overall, I had a very positive experience
with Kearney, as the interviewers were very friendly
and easy to talk with. There were two main interviews.
The first interview lasted about an hour and a half
and was split between one behavioral and one case
portion. The second interview was about two and a
Abimbola Osunsanya, half hours with two behavioral and one case portion.
All my interviewers were at principal and partner level.
Associate
Myth busted
I was worried that my interviewers would be
unfriendly and difficult to talk to, but I found that
most times, interviewers are down-to-earth and quite
conversational. Once I realized this, it was easier to
relax and be myself during the interviews. Most of the
interviewers are people you might end up working with
and they need to feel that you will be a good fit to any
team they are on. This includes being able to hold a
good conversation!

Case interview tip

There were two things that helped me in the case
interview. The first was that I was not afraid to ask
clarifying questions on an industry I was unfamiliar
with. The second was that I took notes at the beginning
and end of the interview. These notes helped me to
identify the key risk in producing a new alcoholic
beverage, which was the length of time from
production to consumption.

Personal interview tip

I was very structured in my responses to the questions.
I achieved this by thinking about specific examples in
my life that highlighted the skills my interviewer asked
about. Before my interviews, I practiced by writing
down about five instances that I felt highlighted a
variety of skills. Writing them down allowed me to
internalize them, making it easy for me to structure my
responses during the interview.

Favorite or best interview question

“Tell me about a time you had to improvise to be
successful,” and “Tell me about a time you dealt with
communication problems within a team.”

Cracking the consulting interview 10

Case example
Summary: The client in the case was an alcoholic-
beverage producer contemplating the introduction
of a new rum drink to the market to boost sales in a
growing segment. The question was: “Should they
enter the market and, if so, when?”
Case type: New product launch/market entry
Background: I don’t believe there was anything in my
background that led the interviewer to choose this
case.
Approach: As the interviewer provided the initial
information, I took detailed notes. I wasn’t familiar
with the industry, so I asked for some background
information on the production of alcoholic
beverages, such as rum and vodka. Once I got that,
I took a couple of minutes to develop a framework
for the information that I might need to provide a
recommendation on. I considered costs, customers’
needs, and production capacity. I asked questions
about each of these and received numbers to
calculate the cost of production, the needed
capacity, and estimated profit. The numbers were
positive and were accurate per the interviewer.
“Most of the interviewers
are people you might
end up working with and
they need to feel that
you will be a good fit to
any team they are on.”
I did a final quick qualitative check and realized that given
the extended time it takes for alcoholic beverages to be
produced, due to the fermentation process, it would take
years for the client to get the estimated profit from the
new product. I recommended that if the growth in the
segment was expected to continue for years, the client
should make the investment in producing the rum drink
now and be prepared to wait a couple of years before
seeing the profit.
What went well: I performed the quantitative analysis but
made sure to not lose sight of the qualitative factors that
might have affected my final recommendations. Always
consider the risks your recommendations will be faced
with and think of mitigating actions. This is usually a good
way to round up the case.
Even better if: While I wouldn’t necessarily change
anything during the interview, I would have liked to
hear more about the interviewer’s experience with the
case. This is especially useful if the case is based on
a real client project. Asking about the case afterward
allows you to identify things you might have missed
during the interview, while giving you more information
on consulting.
Cracking the consulting interview 11
 Joined: February 2015

Office: Chicago

Education: Bachelor of Arts (international relations),

Haverford College. Currently a scholar at University of
Chicago Booth.

Interview experience: I interviewed out of cycle

after working at a start-up post-graduation for six
months. I went through the interview process with
several strategy and management consulting firms,
but dropped out of the other interviews after I got my
Kearney offer because I was so excited about the firm.
Paul Weichselbaum, I had two rounds of interviews, which covered a mix of
cases and behavioral with partners and principals in
Associate the Chicago office. Each interview lasted 45 minutes.
The interviews were the primary reason I picked
Kearney. I felt such a positive connection in each of
the conversations that I couldn’t imagine working
anywhere else.

Myth busted
A lot of people focus on mastering specific structures
or approaches for solving each case type. While this is
helpful to get under way (particularly as a nontraditional
candidate with less content knowledge), success in a
case interview is ultimately about your ability to connect
with your interviewer and come up with a compelling
answer for the client problem; generic frameworks are
easy to spot and will only get you so far.

Case interview tip

Connecting successfully with your interviewer is key.
A case interview shouldn’t be adversarial; ideally, your
interviewer should be your greatest asset in solving
the case. Consulting projects at Kearney are highly
collaborative and almost always happen with a team,
not in silos.

Personal interview tip

This is a cliché, but being yourself is vital for behavioral
interviews. Consulting by nature is about working long
hours in close proximity to your team. Embrace the
opportunity to get a sense of culture and working
style in your interviews; the evaluation should be
a two-way street.

Cracking the consulting interview 12

Case example
Summary: I had to help a US-based transportation
manufacturer select a foreign market for expansion
of selected products.
Case type: Market entry
Background: My background wasn’t particularly
relevant to the case, and I had no knowledge of
the industry. Thankfully, my undergraduate studies
gave me a frame of reference for considering
some of the cultural and structural implications of
entering a new international market, along with a
scenario-planning mindset.
Approach: I followed a traditional case structure
for market entry in terms of understanding the
economics, strategic implications, and risk profile
of each potential new market.
Favorite or best interview question
I remember being challenged by one of my
interviewers on a key assertion from my
undergraduate thesis, which was on resource
scarcity and conflict potential (I had mentioned
my thesis in an answer to a previous question).
My interviewer and I had a lot fun arguing
the respective merits of which states faced
the greatest pressure on water scarcity in
the next five to 10 years, which was definitely
unexpected, but a refreshing break from the
traditional behavioral questions.
What went well: I focused a lot of my interview on
understanding the internal context for the client’s
decision to expand; by understanding the political
and strategic context of the project, I was better
able to prioritize and assess opportunities relative to
our client’s agenda, which was something that my
interviewer commented on as a key strength in the
execution of the case.
Even better if: Coming in from a nontraditional
background, I don’t think I had the level of business
knowledge and rigor that many of my peers did; while
it wasn’t an issue, I think there was opportunity to drill
down deeper into the financial implications of each
potential scenario and further refine the analysis to
support the decision.
“Your interviewer
should be your
greatest asset in
solving the case.”
Cracking the consulting interview 13
 Joined: February 2018

Office: Mexico City

Education: Bachelor of Arts (economics), Instituto

Tecnológico Autónomo de México

Interview experience: I had first- and second-round

interviews with four top management consulting firms.

The interview process at Kearney was very personal. I

had a buddy that provided me tips and advice before
the interviews. The structure of the interviews had
three rounds, each one with two interviews. First
Víctor Cruz, Senior associates, next managers and principals, and in the
final round, partners. Each interview has the same
Business Analyst structure: 10–15 minutes for fit and 30–40 minutes for
the case.

Myth busted
I expected the cases to be more focused on market
sizing and assessing the market. I realized that you can
be tested in multiple client scenarios and industries. The
process is designed to reflect real clients’ challenges and
sometimes you will be pushed to think out of the box to
bring innovative solutions.

Case interview tip

Practicing is always the best way to prepare for the
case interview. Find different partners with diverse
backgrounds and conduct multiple mock interviews
about different topics and industry. From my personal
point of view, the most important thing is to practice
how to customize standard frameworks to different
client situations.

Personal interview tip

Doing your homework on the firm is essential—you
have to be aware of the main challenges the firm is
facing and the vision it has to improve its position. Also,
take the opportunity to ask personal questions of your
interviewer. Consulting is about building relationships
and this is an opportunity to create an impact and start
building your network.

Favorite or best interview question

“Tell me about a time you had to be a leader and change
the mind of a group of people.” “Tell me about a time you
were under pressure and how you dealt with it.” “What is
your favorite soccer team? Real Madrid or Barcelona?”

Cracking the consulting interview 14

Case example Even better if: I had shared my thoughts as I considered
the calculation and logic process, to show how I
Summary: The government identifies mobility/ structured the problem and performed the math. This
transportation challenges in terms of population is especially useful if the case is very quantitative.
growth and public transport availability. Assess
mobility solutions and specifically evaluate the
adaptive signal control technology.

Case type: Public policy and operations improvement

Background: I had no background in this type

of case.

Approach: I developed a framework to identify

transportation problems and solutions. Then, I
evaluated the benefits of implementing the adaptive
signal control technology and assessed different
ways to fund the project.

What went well: First, I focused on being

comprehensive in presenting all possible solutions
the government should consider, along with the
advantages and disadvantages of each. Before
making my final recommendation I took a pause
to analyze all the calculations and logic process
to synthesize in three or four key messages an
implementation process for consideration, and a
couple of ways to fund the project.

“The process is
designed to reflect real
clients’ challenges and
sometimes you will be
pushed to think out
of the box to bring
innovative solutions.”

Cracking the consulting interview 15

 Joined: September 2019

Office: New York

Education: Master of Applied Science (supply chain

management), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Interview experience: I interviewed with five other

companies, and four of them were consulting firms.
There were two rounds of interviews with Kearney. First
round was on campus and after that I got an interview
buddy to guide me to prepare for the final round. The
buddy system at Kearney was super helpful, allowing me
to have a better understanding about the organization,
Hao Wang, Senior culture, and working style. Although the recruiting day
was intensive (Excel test, three interviews, and one case
Analyst presentation), the interviewers were friendly, and they
were willing to listen and share. We had very interactive
discussion on some problems. Overall, I had a very
positive interview experience with Kearney.

Myth busted
I was always told about the importance of case
interviews. However, in consulting interviews, behavioral
interviews are equally important. The case interview can
be trained and practiced but the behavioral interview is
unique for each interviewee. The behavioral questions
are the key for the interviewers to see whether the
candidate has a culture fit with the team. So, don’t forget
to prepare and polish your personal stories.

Case interview tip

There is no right or wrong answer for the case questions.
The purpose of case interviews is to test the logic,
approach, and problem-solving skills. A case can be
conquered with zero industry experience. Effective
communication is very important during the case
interview; it is more likely to solve the problem together
with the interviewer rather than take an exam by yourself.

Personal interview tips

Be confident and relaxed. In my opinion, an interview is a
two-directional selection progress. During the interview,
you can also get a feeling for whether or not you want
to work with those people 8 hours (normally consultants
will work more than that) every day. Share with the
interviewers just like you are already colleagues, be
respectful, collaborative, and positive. Last but not the
least, be yourself.

Selected personal interview question

What is your greatest accomplishment? What can you
contribute to the team?

Cracking the consulting interview 16

Case example What went well: I made simple assumptions when I had
little information and I did a couple of number checks
Summary: Estimate the revenue for a start-up before I presented my answers.
cosmetic company.
Even better if: I would not change the approach in this
Case type: Market sizing case interview. However, for more complex cases, I
would always keep the question and objective in mind
Background: It is a typical revenue-sizing case and not overcomplicate the numbers.
problem, but I have little experience in the cosmetic/
personal care industry.

Approach: First of all, I asked specific questions about

the company/industry background and repeated the
case question to make sure I fully understood. Then I
took a few minutes to develop a framework, product,
price, and volume. After that, I walked through
my approach as well as the calculations with the
interviewers, starting with the products and prices.
I made some assumptions based on my personal
experience. For the volume, I broke down the US
population, segmented the customers, identified the
target group, and estimated the annual consumption.
According to the background information of the
company, I assumed a certain percentage for the
market share and calculated the volume. Finally, the
revenue would be price multiplied by the volume. At
the end, the interviewers and I discussed about the
risk factors in my approach.

Most unique question I was asked

When I was practicing the case with my buddy, “There are always some
I told her that I love jogging and that I ran a
half-marathon before. She asked me a case interview questions
question: “Can you do a revenue sizing for the
marathon committee in the US?” It led to a you never prepared for.
great conversation.
Be calm, open-minded,
and positive, just like
you are going to solve
a real-life problem.”

Cracking the consulting interview 17

 Joined: September 2018

Office: San Francisco

Education: Bachelor of Science (business administration,

management, and operations), University of California,
Berkeley, Haas School of Business

Interview experience: I interviewed with multiple top

management consulting firms and all my interviews were
scheduled within a time frame of approximately two
months (September–November in my case). Interestingly,
Kearney was one of the few firms where the first round
was a digital video interview.
Joy Chow, Business
I applied to and interviewed with management consulting
Analyst firms early on in the last year of my undergrad degree at
UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. My first-round
interviews were all digital with a mixture of case and
behavioral. My final-round interviews took place in the
Chicago office where I went through a series of cases
and non-case sessions with different partners/principals.
I was notified about my full-time offer the same day.

Myth busted
There seems to be a misconception that during the
case, you should be quick on your feet, responding
immediately after your interviewer finishes introducing
the case, but this isn’t always the case. In fact, doing so
may signal that you aren’t thoroughly synthesizing the
bucketload of information before speaking. During my
case interviews, I would ask my interviewer for a moment
and take around 30 seconds to compartmentalize
the problem and draw my issue tree to share with my
interviewer. Taking the extra bit of time to visualize the
problem makes it more efficient and clearer not only
in your mind but also for your interviewer when you’re
discussing it with him/her.

Case interview tip

My mindset going into the interviews was to try and keep
things real and authentic. A major reason I joined Kearney
can be pinpointed back to the natural and authentic
interactions I had with my interviewers. By maintaining
this frame of mind when I went into my interviews, the
45-minute sessions felt like interesting conversations
rather than something stressful. That’s when I knew I had
found my people!

Personal interview tip

It’s helpful to remember that part of the interviewer’s
job is to make sure you’d be a good person to work with
(in other words, the classic airport test: If we were stuck
at the airport for hours, would you be a pleasant person
to stick it through with?). That said, having come out of

Cracking the consulting interview 18

Case example What went well: My case involved quite a few data
tables/graphs, and I found it helpful to express my
Summary: A telecommunications company was immediate thoughts aloud to my interviewer (for
experiencing declining profits. example, pronounced trends, abnormal outliers).
Doing so gave my interviewer a better sense of how
Case type: Profitability/process improvement I synthesized new information and made the case-
cracking process feel more collaborative.
Background: I had no background in any sort of
telco work, but having worked on a few projects in
different fields, I now know that my interview case
was a prime example of how solving tough problems
in an unfamiliar industry and subsequently learning at
a fast pace is an integral part of consulting.

Approach: I drew an issue tree with branches leading

to a breakdown of revenue and cost components.
Using general info from the case introduction, I
hypothesized a few ideas that could be affecting
each of these components before asking targeted
questions to drill down to the root cause.

the recruiting experience, I think the non-case

part of the interview is just as important as your
“The behavioral interview
case problem-solving. The behavioral interview
is the time not only to show your interviewer who
is the time not only to
you are in a way that cannot be understood show your interviewer
merely by scanning words on a résumé/cover
letter, but also to learn about your interviewer’s who you are in a way that
experience at the firm and evaluate for yourself if
it’s a good fit. It’s easy to forget, but recruiting is cannot be understood
a two-way street!
merely by scanning words
Favorite or best interview questions
“If you weren’t recruiting for consulting, what
on a résumé/cover letter,
would you be doing instead?” but also to learn about
“What is the most important achievement on your your interviewer’s
résumé?”
experience at the firm
and evaluate for yourself
if it’s a good fit. It’s easy
to forget, but recruiting
is a two-way street!”

Cracking the consulting interview 19

 Joined: September 2019

Office: New York

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration (supply

chain management), Howard University

Interview experience: I had first-round interviews

with seven firms and second-round interviews with six
firms. My Kearney interview was the final company I
interviewed with during the recruitment season.

I did enjoy the Kearney interview process and it did stand

out as unique in comparison to other firms in quite a few
Grant Edwards, ways. My first-round interview featured two interviewers
interviewing me at once whereas every other firm I
Business Analyst interviewed with only featured one-on-one interviews.
In the second round, the interviews were one-on-one,
however, the interview day did include unique features
outside of the interviews. I was first asked to take a
timed Microsoft Excel test. Later on in the day, I was
given a detailed, written case and asked to prepare a
slide deck with my solution and present this solution to
three consultants. These unique aspects of the Kearney
interview process offered some unique challenges, but I
did truly enjoy them and they did factor in to my decision
to ultimately join the firm.

Myth busted
I expected case interviews to be a bit of a hostile
environment where the interviewer did not want you to
succeed. The exact opposite was true. Although the case
was not simple and it did take some time to solve, the
interviewer wanted me to arrive at the solution and had
no interest in seeing me fall short.

Case interview tip

Practice, practice, and practice. There is no better
way to improve your case interview skills than to do as
many practice cases as possible. I practiced with cases
available online as well as with consultants from multiple
firms. I was also fortune enough to participate in the
Kearney Student Lab. In the Student Lab, I was able to
participate in a 10-week consulting project, interact
with a team of clients and consultants, and deliver an
actionable solution. This was an incredibly valuable
experience that truly improved the way I view case
interviews. My recommendation to anyone hoping to
work in consulting would be to practice as many cases
as possible and, if your university offers it, participate in
the Kearney Student Lab.

Cracking the consulting interview 20

Case example
Summary: One of the cases I received was a question
focused in the food retail space. I was asked to
answer the question of how many pounds of kale are
sold in the US every year.
Case type: This was a market sizing case.
Background: Although I did have some limited
experience in the food retail space, this was not
listed on my résumé, so I am unsure of what led the
interviewer to choose this case.
Approach: I approached it as a straightforward
market sizing case. I walked my interviewer through
my structural thinking of what factors play in to
working our way down from the total US population
to the portion of the population that purchases a
particular product on a recurring basis. Beyond
that I walked through the exact frequency and
quantity of purchase. Once the structure was well
established, I applied numbers and was able to
arrive at a final answer and recommendation for
potential new entrants.
What went well: I was able to ask my interviewer the
right question in order to leverage him as a resource
for insights into a product that was unfamiliar to me.
Once that foundation was established, I was able to
communicate my intended path forward to a solution. In
addition. I was able to complete the calculations relatively
quickly. Most of the numbers were straightforward so I
was able to generate expected values as a sort of sanity
check to my exact calculations. In the end, I was able
to offer my interviewer a comprehensive and accurate
solution to the question posed in the case.
Even better if: This case directly involved an industry I
had work experience in yet I failed to mention this to my
interviewer or factor any of the insights I gained during
my time in this industry into my recommendations. I
made this decision based on the fact that this was a low-
level job I had during high school. I have come to realize
that this is still relevant work experience that could have
offered unique insights into this case.

Personal interview tip

It is known as a best practice to use the portion “I expected case
at the end of behavioral interviews to ask
questions of your interviewer that will showcase interviews to be
your familiarity with the firm and the fact that
you did extensive research. While this is very a bit of a hostile
important, I found success in asking more
personalized questions about my interviewer’s environment where
own experiences. In this way, I was able to learn
about both the person and the firm as a whole. the interviewer did
Selected personal interview question not want you to
“Tell me about a time you led a team to overcome
a major challenge or obstacle.” succeed. The exact
Favorite or best interview question opposite was true.”
“What are your thoughts on self-driving cars?
Outside of any technological or legislative
limitations, what do you think about the
willingness of consumers to adopt to this new
status quo? In your opinion, do you think it will
ever become commonplace for the average
American to not know how to drive a car?”

Cracking the consulting interview 21

 Joined: July 2018

Office: Chicago

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration

(finance), University of Georgia

Interview experience: I interviewed with three firms

during my interview period and completed about
10 case interviews.

Overall, I enjoyed my interview experience with Kearney.

I had two rounds of interviews. The first was held at a
recruitment conference and consisted of a 25-minute
Earwin Tape, Business case interview followed by a 25-minute behavioral
interview. My case interviewer was a manager in
Analyst management consultancy and my behavioral interviewer
was a manager in management services. After
completing that round, I was invited to the New York
office for a final-round interview. That interview consisted
of one 45-minute case, conducted by a manager,
followed by two 30-minute behavioral interviews, one
by a manager and the other by a partner. Throughout
the entire process I felt engaged and had candid
conversations with my interviewers. Contrary to my
expectations, all my interviewers were nice and wanted
to know more about me. I even remember chatting about
the European Champions League during the partner
interview as he was an avid German football fan.

Myth busted
That there’s one method that solves all cases. While it’s
important to have a structured approach for looking at
a problem, I don’t recommend memorizing different
frameworks. As in real business problems, there’s no
simple way to solve a problem.

Case interview tip

Is there something that you think made you successful?
Be yourself! Of course, this comes with practice, but
when you’re confident in your skills, you show more of
your personality which I believe interviewers like to see.

Personal interview tip

Spend time building your stories. I think people often
undervalue the importance of the behavioral interview.
It’s equally important that you prepare and demonstrate
more of your soft skills.

Favorite or best interview moment

My interviewer noticed that I had French listed on my
résumé and coincidentally they also spoke French.
We then spent a portion of the interview speaking
French. It was very memorable since it had been a
while since I last spoke conversationally and was not
something I expected!

Cracking the consulting interview 22

Case example
Summary: I was asked to assess if it was financially
feasible for a US-based CPG client to enter a
foreign market.
Case type: Market entry
Background: Given my background in finance, I
was familiar with market analysis and break-even
analysis. This gave me confidence during my case,
as I had no prior exposure to the industry.
Approach: I broke the problem down into mutually
exclusive and completely exhaustive sub-
components that would guide my recommendation.
I then thought of other considerations that would
affect my decision outside of the main decision
drivers. Doing this allowed me to conceptualize the
problem and identify the key decision drivers.
“Throughout the
entire process I felt
engaged and had
candid conversations
with my interviewers.”
What went well: Taking the time to structure my
thought process was essential to my success. By
clearly laying out my approach to my interviewer I
was able to demonstrate that I was thinking in the
correct direction. It also reduced my chances of
doing unnecessary work as I was asked to explain any
analysis that did not seem conducive to solving the
problem. That, alongside clear communication, made
my case fun and helped me confidently recommend
solutions to the problem.
Even better if: While I didn’t have much industry
knowledge, I would like to have spent a bit more time
thinking of creative add-ons to my recommendation. I
think I was a bit too excited to come to an answer and
didn’t stop to develop more out-of-the-box ideas that
could have supplemented my conclusion.
Cracking the consulting interview 23
Tips and tricks to get
to the top

1. Ask questions to make sure

you have data to support your
responses
2. State any assumptions and/or
hypotheses
3. Don’t lose sight of the objective
or the question to be answered
(prioritize!)
4. At turning points, or before
moving to new topics, summarize
and test that you both have the
same understanding
5. Take time to explain your logic—
be thorough
6. Use diagrams to explain your
thinking w
 here appropriate
7. Take suggestions if offered
8. Make it your own
9. Be confident and breathe!
10. Be prepared to give an
elevator pitch about your
recommendation and the main
reasons behind it
11. If all else fails, make sure you’ve
ironed your shirt

Cracking the consulting interview 24

Kearney sees big ideas through
to working realities, helping you
move from keeping up to breaking
through. A global consulting
partnership in over 40 countries,
our people make us who we are.

We bring the honest advice and

practical guidance you need to
make real progress.

kearney.com

For more information, permission to reprint or translate this work,

and all other correspondence, please email insight@kearney.com.
A.T. Kearney Korea LLC is a separate and independent legal entity
operating under the Kearney name in Korea. A.T. Kearney operates
in India as A.T. Kearney Limited (Branch Office), a branch office of
A.T. Kearney Limited, a company organized under the laws of
England and Wales. © 2020, A.T. Kearney, Inc. All rights reserved.
kearney.com