Case interview
A consulting round where you work through a business problem out loud with the interviewer.
You are given a situation, usually a client with a problem, and asked to structure an approach, ask for the data you need, do some arithmetic, and reach a recommendation. It runs as a conversation, not a presentation.
McKinsey, Bain and BCG all publish practice cases and describe the format on their own careers sites.
What it means for you
The answer matters less than the audible reasoning. Interviewers are assessing how you decompose an unfamiliar problem, and a silent candidate who arrives at the right number scores worse than one who thinks out loud and adjusts.
Mental arithmetic under observation is its own skill and it degrades badly when you are nervous. So does asking for information you need without sounding lost.
This is a round you cannot rehearse by reading, for the same reason you cannot learn to drive by reading. It only converts to competence out loud.
Where you will meet it
Related
Sources
Built from what McKinsey publishes about its own process. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.
Sources last checked . Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.
Reading about it is not the same as saying it.
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