Case interviews are the gateway to a consulting career, especially at top firms like Bain & Company. But Bain does things a bit differently—they zero in on a unique approach called the “Answer-First” principle. This isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about showing you can get straight to the point with a confident, well-structured hypothesis-backed…
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The Bain Hypothesis Planning Case Interview is a specific case interview format. This type of interview is not always part of the assessment yet we are receiving occasional reports from our clients having to go through it. All of them have reported feeling clueless about this format, but with a better understanding of what it…
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A case interview is a type of interview that is commonly used by management consulting to assess a candidate’s problem-solving and analytical skills. It involves presenting a candidate with a business problem or scenario and asking them to solve it in real time. The interview is designed to simulate the types of problems that consultants…
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Updated May 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The 80/20 rule in consulting means roughly 80% of business impact comes from 20% of the available actions, so consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain deliberately concentrate their analysis, recommendations, and client effort on the highest-impact 20% rather than analyzing everything. In practice, this…
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Brainstorming is where I see many candidates lose their consulting offers. In moments where the interviewer asks question such as, “What are all the reasons this plant might be underperforming?” and the candidate starts rattling off disconnected ideas without structure. That one moment decides a lot. After 5 years at McKinsey and 700+ candidates coached…
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Florian spent five years at McKinsey as a Senior Consultant and is a highly experienced consulting interviewer and problem-solving coach. Having conducted interviews with hundreds of candidates, he understands exactly what top-tier firms look for in successful applicants.
He founded StrategyCase.com to make top consulting careers more accessible by providing tailored, up-to-date insights into the recruiting process. Recognized as the most successful case and fit interview coach, Florian has helped his clients secure 700+ offers at MBB, Tier-2 firms, Big 4 consulting divisions, in-house consultancies, and boutique firms over the past four years.
He is the author of “The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview,” “The 1%: Case Interview Workbook,” and “Consulting Career Secrets”, all available on Amazon.
