Case interviews: think out loud, structure the problem, and reach a recommendation.

1. Clarify the goal. Restate the problem and ask what success looks like: more revenue, lower cost, a yes-or-no decision, a launch plan.
2. Ask about constraints. Time frame, budget, geography, anything already ruled out.
3. Lay out a structure. Break the problem into a few parts that do not overlap, and tell the interviewer your plan before you start.
4. Work through each part. Ask for data where you need it, say your reasoning aloud and note what each finding means for the goal.
5. Do the maths carefully. Write numbers down, round sensibly and say your calculation as you go so the interviewer can follow.
6. Recommend. Give a clear answer, the two or three reasons behind it, the main risks and what you would check next.

• Practise out loud with a partner. Cases are spoken. Practising alone in your head misses the most important skill.
• Practise mental arithmetic. Percentages, growth, simple multiplication and division, written down neatly.
• Read about businesses. How companies make money, what drives costs and what affects demand. Short news articles are useful practice material.
• Use a few simple structures. Revenue and cost, customers and competitors, options and criteria. Adapt them to each case rather than forcing a memorised framework.
• Review each practice case. What did you miss? Where did you get stuck? Fix one habit at a time.

Illustrative: these answers were written by TryHired to show structure. They are not real candidates' answers and were not given in any real interview. Every name, employer, number and result is fictional or a bracketed placeholder: replace each bracket with your own true details, and never claim an achievement you did not have.

Case opening template

When to use: What to say in the first minute of a case.

Let me make sure I understand: [restate the problem in one sentence]. The goal is [the objective], within [any constraint]. Before I start, could I ask [one or two clarifying questions]? I'd like to look at this in [number] parts: [part one], [part two] and [part three].

Case answer (weak)

What it shows: Jumps to an answer with no structure.

I think they should just lower their prices, because cheaper products always sell more. That should fix the profit problem quickly.

Case answer (stronger)

What it shows: Structured, checks the data, ends with a recommendation.

To find why profits fell, I'd look at revenue and costs separately. On revenue, could you tell me whether prices or sales volumes changed? You've said volume is flat and prices are steady, so I'll look at costs. Of the cost lines you've shared, [the cost line] grew fastest. My recommendation is to look first at [that cost], because it explains most of the drop; the main risk is [a risk], so I'd check [what you would verify] next.

Summing up

When to use: A clear close at the end of the case.

To summarise: the main driver is [your finding], supported by [the evidence from the case]. I'd recommend [your recommendation]. The biggest risk is [the risk], and the next thing I'd want to know is [the open question].

Why the stronger answer works: The weak answer guesses without looking at any information and treats a complex problem as having one obvious fix. The stronger answer lays out a structure, uses the interviewer's data to rule options in and out, and ends with a recommendation and a risk. All answers are illustrative and use no real figures.

Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Every sample on this page is free to use without buying anything.

• Diving into numbers before you understand the goal.
• Using a memorised framework that does not fit the problem.
• Doing the maths silently in your head.
• Ignoring hints from the interviewer.
• Ending without a recommendation.
• Pretending to know industry facts you do not.