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Have an interview with Deloitte Consulting coming up? If so, you’ll want to know what to expect and how to prepare.
We’ve got you covered, including our 6 tips on how to ace your Deloitte case interview!
In this article, we’ll discuss:
Let’s get started!
The Deloitte Consulting interview process has 4 steps:
If you’re a student, make sure you know if you need to apply directly to Deloitte Consulting or through your career center.
As part of your application, you’ll need to submit your resume and, for campus hires, your academic transcript. Research which office you want to apply for as you’ll need to state that at this stage.
Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 85% of our clients pass the case interview.
The second stage of the Deloitte Consulting recruitment process is an online assessment. This assessment tests numerical reasoning and your situational judgment.
Information from recent candidates suggests there are 35 questions split over 5 distinct sections. We’ve got all you need to know about this part of the process in our article, Deloitte Online Assessment: What It Is & How To Pass.
If you’re selected for a Deloitte interview you’ll be contacted via your campus career center or direct by the Deloitte recruiting team.
For campus hires, first-round interviews often take place on campus and include one or 2 interviews. These interviews include both case and behavioral interview questions. We’ve heard the cases include market-sizing as well as the non-profit sector.
The same types of interviews are used for non-campus hires.
Final round interviews may take place virtually, on campus, or in a Deloitte office. While the exact format depends on the position you’re applying to, expect both behavioral and case interviews at this stage. Candidates may also have a group case interview.
Deloitte will let you know the outcome of your application within a week of the final round interview.
Case interviews can feel daunting for many candidates. In this section, we’ll cover what type of cases Deloitte uses and how to approach them so you can feel confident in tackling them.
A case interview is an interview conducted within a business context.
The interviewer will present information about a company and a business problem it faces. These 2 elements together are known as a case.
Case interviews can either be candidate-led or interviewer-led depending on who is expected to steer the order in which different aspects of the case are analyzed.
Deloitte case interviews are predominantly candidate-led which means they’ll be looking to you to take control of solving the case — breaking down the problem, choosing a suitable business framework, and asking for appropriate data to fill in the gaps.
The branch of Deloitte Consulting you are applying for can influence the business context you receive in the case. There are 3 parts to Deloitte Consulting:
So, if you were applying for a Human Capital role you might get an organizational transformation case or, if you were applying to S&O you might get an organizational strategy case
Whichever branch you’re applying to, there are going to be certain skills Deloitte Consulting is looking to test through the case interview process.
Deloitte uses case interviews as a way to assess skills it values in its consultants.
The ability to carefully think through a problem in a structured and logical way, is a key skillset for consultants. You’ll need to be able to break down a business problem to identify and analyze root causes and potential solutions.
Case interviews test this skill by providing lots of data for you to manage within an unfamiliar business context. Your ability to sort through information to pull out what’s most relevant to the issue will be assessed.
Deloitte Consulting will assess your numerical ability during the case interview. Make sure you brush up on your math skills in advance of the interview. Our article on Case Math tells you what to expect.
Case interviews give Deloitte recruiters a chance to see how creative you are when searching for an answer to a thorny problem. Clients hire consultants to solve complex, multi-factor problems, not for mundane issues they can solve themselves.
However, innovative thinking needs to be balanced with good business sense. Suggesting solutions that aren’t viable or attractive to the client shows you lack practical business judgment.
Whatever your recommendation, make sure you highlight the risks associated with it and how those could be managed.
Case interviews can feel challenging — very like tackling a real-life client problem! They’re the perfect environment for interviewers to see how comfortable you are with ambiguity and how resilient you are when things get tough.
Whether that’s grappling with a tricky calculation, or struggling to see how the pieces fit together, make sure you don’t give up. Take a breath and give yourself a moment to clear your head. Then jump back in and keep going.
There are 4 key stages to tackling any case interview:
For more information on using these 4 steps to tackle case interviews see Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep.
Once you’ve got the 4 stages nailed, it’s time to practice! Doing the thinking is only half the battle in a case interview, you’ve also got to effectively communicate your thoughts.
Practicing with friends, people in your network who are also going through the process, or with former consultants who can coach you through it, is critical to your confidence and success.
You can find links to several Deloitte case interviews in our Case Interview Examples article, as well as dozens of cases from other major consulting firms. The Footloose example has a lot of data exhibits so it’s a good one for practicing how to effectively manage information.
In addition, Deloitte has a very helpful tool on their site that helps you practice case interviews. Each of these cases is 15–20 minutes long and presents you with a real-life business problem and a number of questions.
You can prepare your answers to these cases then compare your thoughts to the Deloitte model answers provided.
Deloitte case interviews can last up to an hour and have a lot of information to review. Make sure you take organized notes throughout so you don’t forget anything important or miss something in your analysis.
Neat and logical notes also show you can manage large amounts of data effectively.
It’s important to fully understand the problem you’re trying to solve. Don’t be afraid to ask clarification questions or for more data to fill in any gaps in your analysis. Asking questions gives the interviewer insight into how you’re approaching the problem.
Make sure you take your time during the interview to compose yourself and structure your thoughts. It’s tempting to launch into responding straight away but give yourself space to think through your answer first to make sure you don’t miss something or forget an important point.
Using a business framework or an issue tree helps you drill down into the heart of the problem. This means you’re more likely to develop a hypothesis that solves the key issue the client is facing.
Keep referring back to your issue tree and hypothesis during your Deloitte interview to make sure your analysis is logical and hasn’t gone down a rabbit hole!
Present your analysis in a clear and structured way. Start with the main takeaway — your recommendation. Then walk your Deloitte interviewer through your analysis in a logical way, highlighting the most important points and explaining how they led you to draw the conclusion you have.
Share any assumptions you’ve made to reach your recommendation and also any associated risks. This shows you’ve thought more broadly about the problem in the context of the business as a whole.
While case interviews can feel daunting, try not to panic. Viewing the case as a business conversation that showcases your ability to think through a problem, rather than as something that must be solved, can ease the pressure.
As part of the final round assessment, Deloitte Consulting uses group case interviews.
As many of the top consulting firms don’t use group case interviews, candidates can be unsure of what to expect. But, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
In Deloitte group case interviews you’ll be organized into a group with 3-6 other candidates. The group will be presented with information about a case that they’ll need to work together to solve.
Group case interviews are your opportunity to stand out against other candidates. Interviewers will be observing the group dynamics and looking for great communication skills, strong analysis, and leadership.
Here are our top tips:
This is important as it shows good communication skills and the ability to synthesize large amounts of data. It also makes sure that everyone’s on the same page and clear about the next steps, which is critical when dealing with real-life clients.
For more information on how to ace the group case interview, check out our article.
The Deloitte behavioral interview has 2 types of questions: fit questions and personal experience questions.
Fit questions help interviewers judge whether you’d fit into the Deloitte culture. Personal experience questions help them judge whether your skills and personal qualities match those they’re looking for in a consultant.
1. Why Do You Want To Work For Deloitte Consulting?
This is the top fit question and for good reason. Deloitte Consulting cares about recruiting people who really want to work there and value its specific culture and approach.
Consulting firms invest heavily in developing their new recruits and they need you to stay long enough to make that investment worth it. So they’re expecting you to join the firm with eyes wide open.
Tackle this question by having a few good reasons why Deloitte is the company for you. The best answers are personal to you.
Maybe you’ve been inspired by someone you’ve met from the firm. Or there’s something about Deloitte core values that really matters to you. That’s what recruiters want to hear about.
Deloitte Consulting’s core values are:
Consulting can be intense, so consulting firms are genuinely concerned that you understand what’s required of you and have the potential to meet the challenge. This question is your chance to explain why consulting is the career for you.
Whether that’s because you get to work with senior management early in your career or you’re excited about the opportunity to make a difference, make sure you’re clear on your motivation.
It’s easy to curate a polished, professional profile on paper. But interviewers are interested in who you are outside of work too.
This question provides an opportunity for you to talk about something you’re passionate about, and show a more human side. Bear in mind the Deloitte Consulting core values when you’re considering how you’d tackle this question.
For example, maybe you organize a community garden to provide food to local families. Or you spend time as a reading volunteer at your local care home.
Contributions you make as a volunteer can demonstrate your leadership capability as well as other ways you create a positive impact in your daily life.
A typical personal experience question starts with “Tell me about a time when…”
They help the interviewer see how your experience has helped you build the skills that make you suitable for consulting.
Examples include:
The best approach to tackling a personal experience question is to tell stories. Stories are engaging and stick in the interviewer’s mind even after a long day.
However, like everything else in the case interview, your answer should be well-thought-through and structured. Don’t just launch into your story without thinking.
We recommend using the A STAR(E) framework to make sure your story is impactful and covers all the main points.
The A STAR(E) framework covers the following points:
The (E) is in parentheses because this won’t be relevant to every story.
Remember the behavioral interview is also an important opportunity to learn more about Deloitte so you can feel confident you’re making the right choice.
In fact, that’s one of 6 key things Deloitte Consulting encourages candidates to bear in mind when tackling the behavioral interview:
Learn more about the A STAR(E) framework or about tackling the Fit/Behavioral Interview in our article on Consulting Behavioral Interviews.
In this article, we’ve covered:
If you have more questions about Deloitte case interview prep, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s case coaches will answer them.
Other people prepping for the Deloitte case interview found the following pages helpful:
Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on Deloitte case interview prep. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 85% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how Lindsay was able to get her offer from Deloitte.
Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 85% of our clients pass the case interview.
We are sharing our powerful strategies to pass the case interview even if you have no business background, zero casing experience, or only have a week to prepare.