Ask questions
Don’t underestimate this, it’s cruical. Ask questions. Many questions.
Buckets
So in almost all cases you will want to devide the thing (company, market, revenue, …) into buckets. That means just categories, for example cost is very commonly divided into two main buckets: fix costs and variable costs. See below for more info about what exactly that means. You can then go ahead and divide a single bucket into “subbuckets”, to analyze the situation in greater detail. The point being, use buckets.
These buckets will then be used to go through them and dig deeper, meaning, think about what influences them, what they influence, etc. The goal is to narrow down to one (or multiple) buckets that “are the problem” or “are the solution”. When you figured that out, you can brainstorm what actions to take to fix the issue of your client. So the point here being, use buckets to narrow down the scope of your analysis and try to find the cause. Once you found the “cause-bucket(s)”, you have done half of the job already.
MECE
Your buckets should be MECE.
MECE stands for “Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive.” This is a principle for organizing information:
- Mutually Exclusive: No overlap between categories
- Collectively Exhaustive: All possibilities are covered
Example: When analyzing a company’s revenue, you could break it down by product lines (Product A, B, C) where each sale belongs to exactly one product (mutually exclusive) and all sales are captured (collectively exhaustive).
Why? Well, if your buckets are not MECE, that means you will either count something more than once, or not count something at all. Both would lead to an incorrect analysis.
Frameworks
Frameworks are just like manuals. There are frameworks for specific cases, e.g. typical frameworks for a profitability case (see below). They tell you beforehand which buckets you should use, how you should then analyze each bucket, and also generally what questions to ask, what points to keep in mind etc. I will give a very brief overview of some frameworks. Note that there is not the framework, there is generally no right or wrong in case interviews. And also note that I don’t present the frameworks in depth, I only cover them very roughly, more as an overview or guidance.
Profitability Cases
Typically there is a company with a profit problem. You need to figure out and the issue is propose a fix.
- Profit = Revenue - Costs
- Revenue = Price x Quantity
So we have a tree:
PROFIT
/ \
REVENUE COSTS
/ \ / \
PRICE QUANTITY FIXED VARIABLE
You need datapoints on how things were and how things are now. You need to spot the change.
Fixed vs Variable Costs (the most common bucket division for costs):
- Fixed Costs: Expenses that remain constant regardless of production volume or business activity
- Variable Costs: Expenses that change proportionally with production volume or business activity
Fixed Costs Examples:
- Rent and utilities for office/factory space
- Salaries (not commission-based)
- Insurance premiums
- Software licenses and subscriptions
- Equipment depreciation
- Administrative overhead
Variable Costs Examples:
- Raw materials and components
- Shipping and logistics costs
- Sales commissions and bonuses
- Production utilities (electricity for machines)
- Packaging materials
- Credit card processing fees
- Temporary labor costs
Go through the tree and see the change / problem.
For example, if you have a rise in variable costs, you will need to find something to reduce that again. Maybe renegotiate contracts, change suppliers, or improve operational efficiency. If fixed costs increased dramatically, you might look at office consolidation, renegotiating leases, or automating processes to reduce headcount.
Interview Dialog Example (5-7 minutes):
Interviewer: “A premium coffee shop chain has seen profits drop 20% over the past year. What would you investigate?”
You: Ask for clarification: “When you say profits dropped 20%, is this across all locations or specific regions? And what timeframe are we comparing to?”
Interviewer provides context: Then you structure using the profit tree, hypothesize it’s likely cost-related (since premium coffee shops usually have stable pricing), ask for revenue vs. cost breakdown data, discover variable costs increased due to coffee bean price surge, and recommend supplier diversification or strategic partnerships with farms.
Market Entry Cases
A company wants to expand into a new market typically. For example, Pepsi never sold in Germany, now they want to.
------- MARKET ENTRY --------
/ | | \
MARKET MARKET POTENTIAL INVESTMENT
SIZE GROWTH SHARE REQUIRED
For example, you have market size 30B, and market growth 10%. However, the potential share we might get is, after analyzing competition and other analysis, 10%: That is potential revenue of 3B. But if it would cost 100B to enter that market (new factory, hiring and employing people, legal issues, regulatory compliance, distribution network setup, marketing campaigns). Then it seems not good to do it, the payback period is taking very long.
Think of synergies too, cultural considerations, brand perception, regulatory environment, local partnerships, and competitive response. These factors help determine if the market entry aligns with company capabilities and if the investment will generate sustainable returns above the cost of capital.
In investments required, you can use the buckets One-Time Costs and Ongoing Costs.
1. Upfront Costs (One-Time Costs) These are non-recurring, initial investments required to establish a presence in the new market. They align with the initial setup phase and often include:
Capital Expenditures (CapEx): Building or leasing facilities (e.g., bottling plants, warehouses), purchasing equipment, or setting up IT systems. Market Entry Setup: Costs for market research, feasibility studies, or product localization (e.g., adapting Pepsi’s formula or packaging for German preferences).
- Regulatory and Legal: Fees for licenses, permits, or legal compliance to meet local regulations (e.g., EU food safety standards).
- Initial Marketing: Launch campaigns, brand introduction events, or promotional discounts to build awareness.
- Partnership Setup: Costs for negotiating and establishing local partnerships or joint ventures (e.g., with German distributors or retailers).
- Initial Working Capital: Funding for initial inventory, raw materials, or credit terms for distributors.
Example: For Pepsi, upfront costs might include building a production facility, securing regulatory approvals, and running a nationwide ad campaign to introduce the brand in Germany.
2. Recurring Costs (Ongoing Costs) These are the ongoing operational expenses required to sustain the business in the new market. They typically include:
- Operational Expenditures (OpEx): Salaries for local employees, utilities, rent, and maintenance of facilities.
- Distribution and Logistics: Ongoing costs for transportation, warehousing, and supply chain management.
- Marketing and Branding: Continuous advertising, promotions, and sponsorships to maintain brand presence and compete with rivals (e.g., Coca-Cola in Germany).
- Regulatory Compliance: Ongoing costs for audits, renewals, or adherence to local laws (e.g., environmental or labor regulations).
- R&D and Product Maintenance: Continuous innovation or product tweaks to stay relevant to local tastes.
- Working Capital Needs: Ongoing inventory restocking, accounts receivable management, or operational cash flow.
Example: For Pepsi, recurring costs might include employee salaries, distribution to retailers, and regular marketing campaigns to maintain market share.
How to estimate the key market entry factors:
Market Size: Use top-down (total beverage market → soft drinks → cola segment) or bottom-up (population × consumption per capita × price) approaches. Always cross-check with industry reports.
Market Growth: Look at historical trends (3-5 years), economic indicators (GDP growth, disposable income), and demographic shifts (population growth, urbanization).
Potential Market Share: Analyze competitors’ current shares, your competitive advantages, barriers to entry, and time to reach target share. Start conservative (1-3% in year 1) and build up based on comparable market entries. Also note that if the market is very fragmented, it’s easier to gain a market share as opposed to when it’s dominated by a few big players.
Investment Required: Break down into one-time costs (facilities, regulatory, initial marketing) and ongoing costs (operations, marketing, distribution). Don’t forget working capital needs and contingency funds (typically 10-20% buffer).
Interview Dialog Example (6-8 minutes):
Interviewer: “Netflix wants to enter the Indian streaming market. Should they do it?”
You: Ask about objectives: “Are we looking at this as a growth opportunity or defending against competitors? What’s the timeline?” Then structure using the market entry framework, ask for market size data, inquire about local competition (like Hotstar), discuss content localization needs, estimate investment requirements for local content and partnerships, and conclude with ROI analysis considering subscriber acquisition costs vs. potential revenue.
Market Sizing Cases
“How many golf balls could you fit in the Empire State Building?”
“How many people are in LA going into gyms?”
Top down approach: large market > medium market > small market > market of interest
rough ball park. Example: “How many people in Germany go to gyms?”
- German population: ~83 million
- Adults (18-65): ~55 million
- Health-conscious adults: ~60% = 33 million
- Those who can afford gym memberships: ~70% = 23 million
- Actually go to gyms regularly: ~40% = 9.2 million people
Bottom-up approach: Start small and build up to the total.
For example, how many gyms are in Germany? You first think how many in your hometown? That would be 100 in Cologne for example as a guess. Cologne has 1.5 million people, so for 83 million in Germany, that would be about 5,500 gyms in Germany.
Pro tip: Always sanity-check your numbers. Does 5,500 gyms for 83 million people seem reasonable? That’s about 1 gym per 15,000 people, which seems plausible for a developed country.
Interview Dialog Example (5-6 minutes):
Interviewer: “How many coffee shops are there in Berlin?”
You: Clarify scope: “Are we including all types - from Starbucks to small cafes?” Then choose bottom-up approach: start with your neighborhood (maybe 3 coffee shops per 1000 people), Berlin population 3.7 million, so roughly 11,000 coffee shops. Cross-check with top-down: Germans drink lots of coffee, tourist city, high density, seems reasonable. Discuss assumptions and validate with interviewer.
Merger & Acquisition Cases
Typically about 1 company thinking about buying another company.
--------- MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS ----------
/ | \
COMPANY VALUE SYNERGIES CONSIDERATIONS
/ \ / \
COST REVENUE FINANCIAL QUALITATIVE
SYNERGIES SYNERGIES
Financial considerations can be: cost to acquire, do we have the money, are we going to use debt or equity? What are the financial instruments?
Qualitative considerations include: cultural fit, management team quality, brand reputation, market position, operational capabilities.
Consider for example marketing: same people? same forms of marketing? Can we leverage existing channels?
Synergies means just the total additional value that you can get as a combined company.
You can do things like only having 1 marketing director instead of one for each company, saving costs of one marketing director. Or cross-selling products to each other’s customer base to increase revenue.
Interview Dialog Example (7-9 minutes):
Interviewer: “Amazon is considering acquiring a regional grocery chain. Should they proceed?”
You: Ask about strategic objectives: “Is this about expanding grocery delivery or entering new markets?” Structure using M&A framework, inquire about the target’s valuation and current performance, analyze cost synergies (shared logistics, technology integration), revenue synergies (cross-selling Prime to grocery customers), discuss integration challenges and cultural fit, and calculate whether synergies justify the acquisition price.
Business Situation Case
This case is about diagnosing and solving operational or strategic challenges a company faces. Use a structured approach to identify root causes and develop actionable solutions.
-
Customer / \ / \
Segments Preferences
-
Competition / \ / \
Market size & Competitors growth
-
Company / \ / \
Sales & Marketing Supply chain
- ----------------- Product ----------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cost to Pricing Product produce positioning
Interview Dialog Example (6-8 minutes):
Interviewer: “A tech startup’s employee turnover has increased 300% in 6 months. What would you do?”
You: Ask clarifying questions: “Which departments? What was the previous turnover rate? Any recent changes?” Structure the problem into potential causes (compensation, management, culture, workload, market conditions), gather data on each, discover it’s mainly engineering due to competing offers, and recommend retention strategies like equity adjustments, career development programs, and improved management training.
Other Cases
Non-profit cases, education-specific cases, government cases, etc.
The key principle is to do a structured analysis. First figure out what the problem is, then offer solutions.
Break the organization (for example, the non-profit museum) into logical parts using MECE principles. Common buckets for non-profits include:
- Mission & Impact: Are we achieving our core objectives?
- Operations: How efficiently are we running day-to-day activities?
- Funding: Revenue sources, sustainability, donor relations
- Stakeholders: Community, beneficiaries, volunteers, board members
The approach is similar to business cases, but consider different success metrics (impact rather than just profit) and unique constraints (regulatory requirements, donor expectations, social mission).
Interview Dialog Example (5-7 minutes):
Interviewer: “A local museum is losing visitors. How would you help them?”
You: Ask about the situation: “What type of museum? How much has attendance dropped? Over what period?” Structure the problem using MECE: visitor experience (exhibits, facilities, accessibility), marketing (awareness, targeting), competition (new attractions, digital alternatives), and external factors (economic conditions, demographics). Investigate each area, identify root causes, and propose solutions like digital integration, community partnerships, or exhibition refreshes.
Steps
Step 1: Listen actively and take notes. Write down every piece of information, especially numerical data.
Step 2: Restate the question. Pause, paraphrase, and make sure you understand the problem statement by confirming with the interviewer.
Step 3: Clarify the objectives and identify the problem. Ask specific questions and double-check on objectives. Make sure you completely understand the problem.
Step 4: Write out your structure. Ask your interviewer for a minute to prepare your structure and organize your notes. Identify your case type and use an issue tree to customize your structure. The branches of your issue tree should be MECE.
Step 5: State your hypothesis. Now that you have set up the issue tree, your task is to test each branch to see if it is the root cause of the problem. Where to begin? A hypothesis based on an educated guess helps here. (e.g. “Since you have mentioned that revenues are more or less flat, my hypothesis is that the problem is mostly driven by the cost side of the business. If it is okay with you, I will start by […]”)
Step 6: Think out loud. Sharing your thoughts allows the interviewer to interact. Refine or rebuild your hypothesis as you find out more.
Step 7: Gather more data in order to test your hypothesis. Proactively ask for relevant data and always segment it (e.g. using the ABC analysis). Try to evaluate whether trends have been company-specific or industry-wide.
Step 8: Dig deeper while staying structured (MECE!) throughout the case. Always refer to the structure you have set up at the beginning of the case, but be flexible as the case evolves. If you conclude that your hypothesis is false, eliminate that branch and go to the next one. Summarize findings when switching major branches. If your test confirms your hypothesis, go deeper into that branch, and drill down to the lower levels until you identify all proven root-causes.
Step 9: Choose a recommendation and use the Pyramid Principle to structure your conclusion. Ask for a minute to gather your thoughts and then state your recommendation. You need to deliver a one minute, top-down, concise, structured, clear, and fact-based summary of your findings.
Step 10: Stand by your conclusion. Your interviewer will likely challenge your recommendation (either to see if you can handle pressure or to assess if you really believe in what you are saying).
Common Interview Questions
Behavioral Questions
Why consulting?
Simple answer.
- I love the variety. Different clients, industries, business pain points, teams, locations, background, tech stacks etc. You really see a lot over time and I love that.
- It’s challenging. You often have frequently changing requirements and expectations from the client, you need adapt. You work with people from the clients team too, which sometimes can be challening. You must always perform, clients dont have understanding for when you have a bad day. You must perform, and I love this.
- Building trust with the client. When do a good job and communicate well and clear, you will build trust to the client. And that’s probably my favorite thing about consulting.
Why should we hire you?
Again simple. I’m very good, I have a lot of experience and know my stuff. But what really makes me stand out, is that I sat at every side of the table, meaning, I was a dev, native, front end and back end, I was an architect, I was a consultant, I was a team leader, I was a founder and CEO. So I understand both sides, business and strategical side, and the technical side, and I understand them very well, because I did them. This gives me very broad view.
Give me an example of when you led a group to achieve a difficult goal!
- Use STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result
- Emphasize your leadership style and how you motivated others
- Quantify the results when possible
What questions to ask the interviewer?
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Ich habe gesehen, du warst bereits einige Jahre in der Beratung bevor du bei Capgemini angefangen hast. Kannst du mir vlt sagen, was dich an Capgemini begeistert und was Capgemini unterscheidet?
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Ich habe gesehen, dass Invent im Jahr 2023 mit Kunden GenAI-Themen exploriert haben. In den offiziellen Case Studies von Invent habe ich nur ein paar vereinzelte zu GenAI gefunden – könntest du mir vlt einen Einblick geben, in welche Art von Projekten mit AI und GenAI zZ so existieren und wie die GenAI-Strategie von Capgemini für die nächsten Jahre aussieht?
MATHE-GAG-VERSION:
- Mich interessiert noch deine Perspektive: Nach welchen Kriterien misst du persönlich, dass jemand in einer (Senior) Manager-Rolle bei Invent wirklich erfolgreich ist, was sind hier die “Basisvektoren”? ;)
Terms
Cross-selling
What it is: Cross-selling is the practice of selling a client an additional, complementary service that is different from but related to the service they are already purchasing. It’s about providing a more complete solution to a client’s broader needs.
Upselling
What it is: Upselling is the practice of encouraging a client to purchase a more expensive, upgraded, or enhanced version of the service they are already buying or considering. It’s about getting the client to invest more in a “better” version of the same solution.
Break-even Point
The point where total revenue equals total costs, meaning the business neither makes a profit nor a loss. Critical for understanding when an investment will start generating returns.
Market Penetration
The percentage of potential customers in a market who have purchased a company’s product or service. Used to assess market share and growth potential.
Cannibalization
When a new product or service reduces sales of the company’s existing products. Important to consider in product launch and market expansion cases.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing, sales, and onboarding expenses. Must be compared to Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
The total revenue a customer generates over their entire relationship with the company. Key metric for understanding profitability and marketing spend efficiency.
Economies of Scale
Cost advantages that result from increased production or operation size. Larger volumes typically reduce per-unit costs.
Porter’s Five Forces
Framework analyzing industry competitiveness: supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, threat of substitutes, and threat of new entrants.
TCO
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is the complete cost of owning something over its entire lifecycle. Not just the purchase price, but everything that comes after.
For a software system, TCO includes initial licensing, implementation, training, ongoing maintenance, upgrades, infrastructure costs, staff time, and downtime costs.
TCO helps answer: “What will this really cost us over 3-5 years?” It’s useful in technology decisions where the upfront cost is just the beginning.
ROI
Return on Investment (ROI) measures how much value you get from an investment.
ROI = (Gain from Investment - Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment × 100
Unlike break-even point (which tells you when you’ll recover your investment), ROI tells you how much value you’re getting. Break-even is binary. ROI is continuous.
Example: If you invest $100,000 in automation and save $150,000 in labor costs over two years, your ROI is 50%. Your break-even point was around 16 months, but ROI shows the full value picture.
The 5 C’s Framework
A general framework that can be applied to many business situations:
Product: What are we selling? Quality, features, differentiation, lifecycle stage Price: Pricing strategy, cost structure, value proposition, competitive pricing Customer: Target segments, needs, behavior, satisfaction, acquisition/retention Competition: Direct/indirect competitors, market share, competitive advantages Company: Internal capabilities, resources, culture, strategic position
This framework is particularly useful when you’re not sure which specific case type you’re dealing with, or when the case involves multiple business aspects.