Interview Prep
Consulting interview questions — beyond 'how many golf balls fit in a school bus.'
Good news: brain teasers are mostly dead. Bad news: what replaced them is harder.
May 2026 · 9 min read
Partners don't staff people they don't want to sit next to on a 6am flight to Düsseldorf. Your case skills get you to the final round. Your fit answers get you the offer.
Case Interview
Case Interview
Our client is a regional airline whose profits dropped 20% last year. What's going on?
What they're really asking: Do you structure before you guess? Profit = revenue − cost. Start there or you're cooked.
Case Interview
A snack brand wants to enter the European market. Should they?
What they're really asking: They want a real recommendation at the end, not a list of considerations. Pick a side.
Case Interview
Estimate the annual revenue of all coffee shops in [city].
What they're really asking: Market sizing isn't dead — it's just a tool. They want clean assumptions and quick math, not a perfect answer.
Fit / PEI
Fit / PEI
Tell me about a time you led a team through a difficult situation.
What they're really asking: Specifics. What you did, not what 'we' did. Consultants get hired on individual contribution stories.
Fit / PEI
Describe a time you had to convince someone senior to change their mind.
What they're really asking: Influence without authority is the entire job. They want to see your playbook.
Fit / PEI
Tell me about a time you failed.
What they're really asking: If you can't pick a real one, they assume you've never owned anything risky.
Fit / PEI
When have you had to manage conflict on a team?
What they're really asking: How you handle a difficult colleague matters more than the outcome — they're staffing you, not solving your conflict.
Why Consulting / About You
Why Consulting / About You
Why consulting?
What they're really asking: 'Variety and learning' is the answer everyone gives. Find a more specific reason or you blend in.
Why Consulting / About You
Why our firm?
What they're really asking: Name a practice, a partner, a recent piece of thought leadership — anything that proves you've done more than read the homepage.
Why Consulting / About You
Tell me about yourself.
What they're really asking: Three beats: where you're from, what shaped how you think, why you're sitting here today. Keep it tight.
Frequently asked questions
What questions are asked in a consulting interview?
Consulting interviews are split between case interviews (profitability, market entry, market sizing, M&A) and fit / PEI rounds (leadership, influence, conflict, why consulting, why this firm). Both rounds are weighted heavily — strong cases alone won't get you an offer.
How do I prepare for a consulting case interview?
Practice 30–50 cases with a partner, focusing on structure first and math second. Master profitability, market sizing, and market entry frameworks, but don't memorize them — interviewers can tell. Always end with a clear recommendation, not a list of considerations.
What is the PEI in a consulting interview?
PEI stands for Personal Experience Interview, used heavily by McKinsey. It's a structured fit round where you'll be asked to give detailed examples of leadership, personal impact, and entrepreneurial drive — usually with deep follow-up questions about your specific actions and results.
How do I answer 'why consulting?'
Avoid the generic 'variety and learning' answer. Anchor it to a specific moment — a project, a problem, a person — that made you want to do this kind of work, and connect it to what this firm does that others don't.
Cases are a filter. Fit is the decision. Spend the time accordingly.
Want answers that actually sound like you?
Bar Raiser drafts your interview answers from your real resume and experience — so they come out in your voice, not a template.