consulting case structure

--- title: "How to structure a consulting case interview" slug: "consulting-case-structure" type: "interview" excerpt: "A simple, repeatable structure for tackling interviewer-led cases with clear hypotheses and data-driven branches." difficulty: "intro" readingTime: 6 topics: ["case-interview", "structuring", "hypothesis"] categories: ["interviews"] publishedAt: "2024-03-15" updatedAt: "2024-03-30" ---

A strong case structure is your map. It shows the interviewer how you think, and it keeps you from wandering when new data arrives.

Start with the objective

Restate the goal and define what success looks like. Align on metrics before you build the tree.

Build a hypothesis-driven tree

Use 2 to 4 mutually exclusive branches that cover the objective. Example: revenue growth by segment, channel, or region.

Use data to prune

As you get information, close branches quickly. Say what data you need and what decision it unlocks.

Land the recommendation

Summarize the answer, the two key reasons, and one risk with a mitigation.