Author: Taylor Warfield, Former Bain Manager and Interviewer

The fastest way to get better at case interviews is to use a comprehensive case interview checklist and rubric to assess how well you are doing.

 

There is nothing worse than doing mock case interviews and feeling that you are not getting any better. The key to improving your case interview skills quickly is to be thorough and methodical in analyzing everything you are saying and doing in a case interview.

 

To help you make your case interview practice more efficient, download our Case Interview Checklist and Rubric. Print this document out and use a copy for every practice case interview that you do.

 

• Case interview checklist: covers 50 different things you need to do in a case interview. Use this checklist to build good case interview habits that will help you impress your interviewer and solve the case more efficiently and effectively.

• Case interview rubric: shows what qualities separate outstanding candidates from average candidates across every step of the case interview. Use this rubric to identify which areas of the case interview you are performing below average or just average on.

 

But first, a quick heads up:

 

McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other top firms accept less than 1% of applicants every year. If you want to triple your chances of landing interviews and 8x your chances of passing them, watch my free 40-minute training.

 

Case Interview Checklist

 

Delivering an outstanding synthesis

• Did you include all of the important pieces of background information?

• Did you concisely summarize the information?

• Did you state just the facts, without inserting assumptions or unstated information?

• Did you correctly capture the objective(s) of the case?

Asking clarifying questions

 

• Did you ask appropriate, relevant clarifying questions?

• Did you keep the number of questions asked to a reasonable number?

Structuring a framework

 

• Did you spend no more than 3-4 minutes in silence creating your framework?

• Did your framework include 3-5 different buckets?

• Were all buckets in your framework relevant to the case?

• Were all buckets in your framework MECE?

• Did you have 2-3 sub-bullets under each bucket?

• Were all sub-bullets relevant to the case and belong within the bucket?

• Were all sub-bullets within each bucket MECE?

• Were your bucket names tailored to the case and not generic?

• Did your framework include all of the major areas relevant to the case?
  
  

Presenting your framework

 

• Did you turn your paper around to the interviewer when presenting your framework?

• Was the presentation of your framework structured and concise?

• Did you vet your framework with the interviewer?
  
  

Kicking off the investigation

 

• Did you proactively propose an area to start without the interviewer prompting you?

• Did you provide a reason for why you chose that bucket to investigate first?

• Did you vet starting with that bucket with the interviewer?
  
  

Solving quantitative problems

 

• Did you structure your approach and walk the interviewer through it?

• Did you make appropriate assumptions and justify your rationale for them?

• Did you perform math calculations without making mistakes?

• Did you complete math calculations in a reasonable amount of time?

• Did you walk the interviewer through each step of your math calculation?

• Did you sense check numbers along the way?

• Did you draw correct insights and conclusions from charts and graphs?

• Did you tie the answer back to the case objective?
  
  

Answering qualitative business questions

 

• Did you structure your answer?

• Did you present your answer in a concise way?

• Did you correctly apply knowledge of business principles?

• Does your answer reflect a sound business judgment?

• Did you tie your answer back to the case objective?
  
  

Delivering a recommendation

 

• Did you start with a confident, assertive recommendation?

• Did you include 2-3 reasons supporting your recommendation?

• Did you include next steps?

• Did you present your recommendation in a structured, concise way?

• Did you include all of the important key takeaways from the case?
  
  

Overall communication

 

• Did you speak with a good pace, not too fast, and not too slow?

• Did you speak at the appropriate volume level, not too soft, and not too loud?

• Was your English coherent and easy to understand?

• Did you avoid using filler words, such as “um”?

• Did you maintain eye contact with the interviewer while speaking?

• Did you use appropriate hand gestures?
  
  

Overall presence

 

• Did you appear confident and assertive throughout the case?

• Did you appear calm and collected throughout the case?

• Were you coachable and adaptive to the interviewer’s input?

• Did you display enthusiasm throughout the case?

• Were you able to show off parts of your personality?