The Ultimate Case

Interview Cheat Sheet

and Study Guide

Looking for a case interview cheat sheet or study guide to

help you prepare for your upcoming consulting
interviews?

Download our Case Interview Cheat Sheet and Study

Guide , which covers all of the most important things
you need to know. If you are looking to read the case
interview cheat sheet in plain text, we’ve included all of
the text below.

This case interview cheat sheet covers:

What is a case interview?

 What do case interviews assess?

What is the structure of a case interview?

What are the common types of cases?

What formulas do you need to know for case

interviews?

What numbers do you need to know for case

interviews?

What are some case interview tips?

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What is a case interview?

A case interview is a 30- to 45-minute exercise that places

you in a hypothetical business situation in which you and
the interviewer work together to develop a
recommendation or answer to a business problem.

Examples:

How can Walmart increase its profitability?

 How can Nike increase customer retention?

How should Apple price its new smartphone?

What do case interviews assess?

A case interview assesses five criteria:

1. Logical, structured thinking: Can you structure

complex problems and ideas in a clear and organized
way?

2. Analytical problem solving: Can you analyze and

interpret data to draw the right conclusions?

3. Business acumen: Do you have a strong

understanding of business fundamentals and good
business judgment?

4. Communication skills: Can you communicate clearly,

concisely, and articulately?

5. Personality and cultural fit: Are you a good fit for the
work culture of the firm you are interviewing with?

What is the structure of a case

interview?
All case interviews follow seven major steps:

1. Understand the case background: Take notes while

the interviewer reads you the case information. Pay
particularly close attention to the context, company, and
objective.

2. Ask clarifying questions: If necessary, ask 1 – 3

questions to clarify the objective of the case, understand
the company better, or understand an unfamiliar term.

3. Structure a framework: Structure a framework to

break down the complex business problem into simpler,
smaller components. A framework is a tool that organizes
di"erent ideas into major categories. Present your
framework to the interviewer. Make sure that your
framework is MECE.

Mutually Exclusive: None of the parts of your framework

overlap with each other

Collectively Exhaustive: All of the parts of the framework

account for everything you need to know to solve the case
with no major areas missing.

4. Start the case: How the case will start depends on

whether the case is an interviewer-led case or a
candidate-led case.
Interviewer-led case: The interviewer will be steering
and controlling the direction of the case. They will
explicitly point you to which questions to answer.

Candidate-led case: You will be driving the direction of

the case. You will propose what area of your framework
to start in, what questions you want to answer, what
analyses you want to do, and what the next step of the
case is.

5. Solve quantitative problems: There are three major

types of quantitative problems you could be asked in case
interviews.

Market sizing or estimation questions: You will be

asked to calculate the size of a particular market or
estimate a particular figure. You may need to make your
own assumptions on what number to use or the
interviewer may provide you with the data.

Profitability or breakeven questions: You will be asked

to calculate the expected profitability of a company or
investment decision. You could also be asked to calculate
the conditions necessary for a company to break even.

Charts and graphs questions: You will be asked to

interpret data from various charts or graphs. These can
include bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, scatterplots,
bubble charts, and waterfall charts.

6. Answer qualitative questions: There are two major

types of qualitative questions you could be asked in case
interviews.

Brainstorming questions: You will be asked to

brainstorm a list of ideas for a particular problem or
question.

Business judgment questions: You will be asked for your

opinion on a business issue or a strategic decision.

7. Deliver a recommendation: Present your

recommendation and provide the major reasons that
support it. Then, propose potential next steps that you
would take if you had more time.

What are the common types of

cases?

Profitability case: A company is experiencing a decline in

profits or profitability and is trying to identify what is
causing the decline and what they should do about it.

How to solve:

Identify the driver behind the decline in

profitability, whether it is from a decline in
revenue, increase in costs, or both

Understand what is causing this by looking at

customer needs, competitor moves, and market
trends
 Identify ways to improve profitability

Growth strategy case: A company is trying to decide how

to best grow its business.

How to solve:

Determine whether the company is looking to

grow organically or inorganically

For organic growth, consider growth through

existing revenue sources and new revenue
sources

For inorganic growth, consider potential

acquisitions and partnerships

Market entry case: A company is trying to decide

whether they should enter a particular new market.

How to solve:

Determine whether the market is attractive

Assess the competitive landscape

Determine if the company has the capabilities to

enter

Estimate the expected profitability from

 entering

Merger & acquisition case: A company is trying to decide

whether or not they should acquire or merge with a
particular company.

How to solve:

Determine whether the market is attractive

Determine whether the company is attractive

Assess potential synergies and risks

Estimate the financial implications

New product case: A company is trying to decide

whether or not they should develop and launch a
particular new product.

How to solve:

Determine whether the market that the product

targets is attractive

Assess whether the product meets customer

needs and is superior to competitor products

Determine whether the company has the

capabilities to successfully develop and launch
the product
 Estimate the expected profitability from
launching the product

Pricing case: A company is trying to decide the best way

to price a particular product or service.

How to solve:

Determine the cost to produce the product. This

is your minimum price.

Estimate the customer’s maximum willingness

to pay by quantifying the value the product
provides. This is your maximum price.

Investigate the price that competitors are

setting for similar products. This will help you
determine the optimal price between your
minimum and maximum price.

What formulas do you need to

know for case interviews?

Profit Formulas

Profit = Revenue – Costs

Revenue = Quantity * Price

Costs = Total Variable Costs + Total Fixed Costs

 Total Variable Costs = Quantity * Variable Costs

Profit = (Price – Variable Costs) * Quantity – Total

Fixed Costs

Investment Formulas

Return on Investment = Profit / Investment Cost

Payback Period = Investment Cost / Profit per

Year

Operations Formulas

Output = Rate * Time

Utilization = Output / Maximum Output

Market Share Formulas

Market Share = Company Revenue in the Market

/ Total Market Revenue

Relative Market Share = Company Market Share

/ Largest Competitor’s Market Share

What numbers do you need to know

for case interviews?
General Statistics

Global population: 8 billion

Average household size: 2.5 people per

household

Average life expectancy: 80 years

Country Population Statistics

United States: 320 million

Canada: 40 million

Mexico: 125 million

Brazil: 200 million

United Kingdom: 60 million

Germany: 80 million

France: 60 million

China: 1.4 billion

India: 1.4 billion

Russia: 150 million

 Japan: 125 million

Australia: 25 million

What are some case interview tips?

Tip #1 - Make sure you understand the business

problem and objective: Answering or addressing the
wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a case
interview.

Tip #2 - Don’t rely on using memorized frameworks:

Interviewers can tell when you are regurgitating
memorized information and not thinking critically.

Tip #3 - Structure your approach before doing any

math calculations: This helps you avoid making
unnecessary calculations or reaching a dead-end.

Tip #4 - Talk through your calculations out loud: This

decreases the likelihood of making a mistake and helps
the interviewer follow what you are doing

Tip #5 - Structure your answer to qualitative

questions: Use a simple two-part framework such as
internal/external, short-term/long-term, or
economic/non-economic.

Tip #6 - Answer “so what?” after every question:

Throughout the case, connect each of your answers back
to the case objective. What implications does your answer
have on the overall business problem?

Tip #7 - Have a firm recommendation: Do not have a

flimsy recommendation that switches back and forth
between two di"erent recommendations. Pick one and
provide support.

Tip #8 - Be 80/20: You will not have time to answer every

single question. Focus on the most important questions
that have the greatest impact on your answer. This is the
80/20 principle which states that 80% of the outcome
comes from 20% of your e"ort.

Tip #9 - Be coachable and easy to work with:

Interviewers look for people that they would personally
want to have on their team. Demonstrate that you would
be a great teammate.

Tip #10 - Be enthusiastic: Interviewers want to hire

candidates that love their job and will work hard.
Displaying enthusiasm shows you are passionate about
consulting and working at the firm.

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