London Business School

Interview process

• After your application, you will be called and invited if you made it to the first interview round
• On your interview day you will have two 45-minute first round interviews
  
• If successful, final rounds of interviews will be conducted by Senior Directors and Partners of the local Strategy& office
• Both interviews involve some general discussion, in order to get to know each other, as well as a case discussion to understand how you analyze real-world business problems. The last 5 minutes are scheduled for any final questions you may have
• If invited for multiple offices, please ensure that you communicate your no. 1 preferred office location to the interviewer before commencing each interview. If you successfully pass the first rounds, you can only be advanced for final rounds to the office which has your highest preference
  

Case interview preparations

We all have been there… that moment during an interview when you are asked to solve a case. Even when you are completely unfamiliar with the subject matter, you can still “crack the case”.

Each business case is modelled after a real business situation or management problem. This portion of the interview is your opportunity to show us how you go about solving complex business problems, and how you structure your thoughts on the issues.

The business case discussion makes up about half of the interview time. Prepare by practicing as many case scenarios as possible, talking aloud with a partner and generating hypotheses and solutions you can confidently defend.

• Listen carefully; ask questions if there are any points you do not understand
• Once the interviewer gives you the case parameters, summarize the case for the interviewer in your own words to be sure you understand the problem
• Then take a minute to think; do not be afraid of the silence
• Find a way to structure the problem; this will guide your discussion with the interviewer. Briefly explain the framework you plan to use, giving the interviewer a chance to comment. In general, the simpler the framework, the better. Once the interviewer endorses your framework, stick to it
• Start with the first element of your framework and work through the answer out loud so the interviewer can evaluate your analytical structure and help you along
• Be aware of the time you have, moving through your framework at a pace that allows you to touch on all the elements you described at the beginning
• Pause every so often so your interviewer has a chance to course correct. If your interviewer gives you advice, take it – assume it’s intended to be helpful
• Towards the end of the case discussion, be prepared to take a stand and make some sort of recommendation. You might feel uncomfortable making a call with so little data and so little time to discuss all the issues. But respect the exercise and make your recommendation based on the conclusions you were able to reach from your discussion
• Be confident and – perhaps most importantly – relax and try to have some fun. You will feel more relaxed if you practise, practise, practise before the interview
  
• You can get sample cases to practise with from your school’s consulting club. Do not read the cases ahead of practising – find a partner (ideally a student who has a background in strategy consulting) to test you, and do not be embarrassed if you do not do well. No one performs well on all cases, especially in the beginning
  
• Remember there is no single right way of answering a case. If you have shown your thought process and come to logical and reasonable conclusions, you will have successfully "cracked the case!"