Reading a case example with the solution visible trains recognition. Scoring the same case with the answer covered trains transfer. Most candidates do the first, then wonder why the next interviewer-led prompt feels new.
This hub maps CoachNed's worked examples by format and industry. Pick the shape of case for the week you are in, then run the four-step method so the page becomes a rep rather than a PDF you have already seen.
How to work an example so it transfers
An example that stops at the prompt teaches the part nobody fails. The interviewer is listening for structure under time, arithmetic you can narrate, and a close that answers the question asked. Peeking at the key trains none of those.
Run every worked page the same way:
- Cover the solution. Fold the answer, close the second half of the PDF, or scroll only to the prompt and exhibits.
- Time-box. Two minutes for clarifying questions and a tree. Eight to twelve minutes for analysis and math. Sixty seconds for a spoken close: answer, number, risk, next step.
- Self-score on seven dimensions. Structuring, hypothesis, math, charts/exhibits, synthesis, communication, business judgment — the same seven CoachNed uses after a live voice case. One sentence per weak row; no vanity average. See how the seven-score debrief works.
- Redo the arithmetic cold. Close the page. Recreate the key calculation from the exhibit alone. If the number moves more than about ten percent, the first pass was luck.
Then sit a new case of the same type. Typed warm-up: /start. Scored voice case: /interview. Skill leaks map to /drills/structure, /drills/math, /drills/charts, /drills/market-sizing, /drills/synthesis.
Ned's rule. If you cannot name which of the seven dimensions improved after working an example, you did not practice — you read.
Start with the firms' own published cases
Before CoachNed banks, sit what the firms publish. Those pages show the pacing, exhibit style, and "good vs better" answers the firms chose to put in public.
| Firm | What they publish | Why sit it first |
|---|---|---|
| McKinsey | Sample problem-solving cases on the Interviewing at McKinsey page (Beautify, Diconsa, Electro-Light, Talbot Trucks, National Education, and others), each with logic and suggested answers | Interviewer-led pacing: they hand you the next question; you do not invent the agenda |
| BCG | Interactive case challenges linked from BCG case interview preparation | Candidate-led habits: structure, questions, data, quick math, prioritization |
| Bain | Written practice cases such as Coffee Shop Co. and FashionCo., plus mock-interview videos on Bain's case interview hub | Good vs better recommendation language Bain labels in public |
CoachNed's firm libraries walk those same shapes with worked paths: McKinsey practice cases, BCG case practice, Bain practice cases. For format differences at the sheet level, read interviewer vs candidate-led and the firm guides for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain.
Examples by format — what each page trains
Pick by the interview you will sit, not by the industry on the cover.
Interviewer-led (McKinsey-style)
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| McKinsey practice cases | Ten interviewer-led paths: structure under a handed question, exhibit, math, synthesis |
| McKinsey case interview guide | Stage-by-stage scoring when the interviewer owns the agenda |
| Case interview opening statement | Three-minute open that still works when the next question is not yours |
| Case interview data interpretation | Reading the insight that is not printed on the chart |
| Case interview synthesis | Closing on the question you were asked, not the tree you built |
| Case interview pushback | Moving only as far as the evidence when challenged |
| HBS case book | Interviewer-led pacing from school scripts |
| Case interview video examples | Watching the interviewer, not performing the candidate |
Candidate-led (BCG / Bain-style)
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| BCG case interview practice | Next-move handoff every few minutes without waiting to be asked |
| BCG case interview guide | Driving the next five minutes under candidate-led scoring |
| Bain practice cases | Grading yourself on Bain's public good vs better closes |
| Bain case interview guide | Owning the next move so silence does not cost you the case |
| Case interview hypothesis-driven | Betting on a number early, then testing it |
| Unstructured case interview | Inventing the next exhibit when nobody hands you one |
| Oliver Wyman practice cases | Collaborating through quant while still hitting a recommendation |
| L.E.K. practice cases | Diligence loops: estimate, tip, revise |
Written cases
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Written case interview guide | BCG/Bain slide pack: structure a partner can act on under a hard clock |
| Written case and presentation playbook | Slides to a panel: prioritize, cut, defend |
| Assessment center written case playbook | One slide that survives a partner skim |
| Compass Lexecon guide | Written case as audit, not debate |
| Cornerstone Research guide | Firm-published answer key habits for research cases |
| Strategy& practice cases | Unstructured and slide-pack flavors with a worked sample |
Group cases
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Group case interview guide | Giving the observer something concrete to write down |
| Group case and inbox playbook | Two clocks on assessment day: group and inbox |
| Deloitte case interview guide | Format mix where group cases often show up |
| Deloitte practice cases | Official library plus a worked path before assessment center |
| Consulting case competition guide | What judges score and what actually transfers to interviews |
| Accenture practice cases | Drilling the shape of Accenture cases, not the label |
Market sizing
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Market sizing step by step | Two independent paths that must reconcile |
| Market sizing questions | Twenty-five prompts by structure type |
| Guesstimate interview questions | Six worked chains you can retime |
| Best market sizing practice resources | Anchors, firm cases, and drills ranked by source |
| Case interview types | Naming the closing number before you build the tree |
| Mental math for cases | Eight moves that beat raw speed on sizing math |
For a mixed bank, use case interview examples and case interview questions. Practice method: how to practice case interviews.
Examples by industry — the prompt changes; the sheet does not
Industry color changes the vocabulary. It does not change whether you isolate a driver, narrate math, or close with a decision. Use these when your target office's diet is heavy in one sector.
Retail and consumer
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Retail case interview | Comps, sales per square foot, four-wall math |
| Consumer goods case interview | Volume, price, mix, and trade spend |
| Customer profitability | Cost-to-serve that flips who looks profitable |
| Marketing case interview | Funnel math, CAC, and payback |
| Pricing strategy cases | Elasticity math under three lenses |
Healthcare and life sciences
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Healthcare case interview | Payer mix beats bed count |
| Pharma case interview | Funnel math over list price |
| Life sciences consulting cases | Devices inside someone else's DRG |
| IQVIA case interview | Why prevalence is not revenue |
| Huron case interview | Scoring institutional constraints first |
Financial services
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Financial services case interview | Cost of goods that arrives later than in CPG |
| Banking case interview | Ratios, deposit beta, branch math |
| Fintech case interview | Who pays, what is netted, who eats the loss |
| Insurance case interview | Combined ratio, float, and leakage |
| Private equity case interview | Bid risk scored harder than market essays |
| Capital One case interview | Break-even math without losing the numbers |
Tech and digital
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Technology case interview | Unit economics before strategy theatre |
| TMT case interview | ARPU, churn, and step costs |
| Digital transformation cases | Cash flows with adoption risk |
| BCG digital and AI cases | Killing weak use cases before building |
| Data science case interviews | Business question, model choice, and code bar |
Industrials, energy, and ops
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Operations case interview | Bottleneck decision, not a framework tour |
| Supply chain case interview | Flow math over slogans |
| Energy case interview | LCOE, capacity factor, PPA vs merchant |
| Automotive case interview | Unit economics interviewers actually score |
| Restructuring case interview | Cash and time, not a turnaround essay |
| Alvarez & Marsal guide | Cash, margin, or balance sheet — pick first |
Public sector and nonprofit
| Example | What it trains in one line |
|---|---|
| Public sector case interview | Denominator and the four clocks |
| Nonprofit case interview | Cost per outcome, not profit clones |
| Guidehouse case interview | Appropriations beat clever frameworks |
| Bridgespan consulting | What nonprofit interviews actually reward |
| Booz Allen case interview | Hired to a contract, not a generalist cohort |
More industry color: airline, real estate, ESG. Firm libraries beyond MBB: Roland Berger practice cases, EY-Parthenon practice cases, Accenture practice cases.
A worked transfer check (reproduce the arithmetic)
Suppose a retail chain's four-wall contribution is under pressure. An exhibit shows average store revenue $4.2M, contribution margin 18%, and delivery fees that just rose from 2% to 4% of revenue.
Cover any solution key. Then compute:
- Old contribution dollars: $4.2M × 0.18 = $756k
- Extra delivery drag: $4.2M × 0.02 = $84k
- New contribution if fees are incremental and nothing else moves: $756k − $84k = $672k, or about 16% margin
The transfer test is not remembering "$672k." It is restating the formula (contribution dollars minus fee drag), staging the steps out loud, and naming the next question (is the fee fully incremental, or shared with a platform?). Same move McKinsey coaches on its public samples when it asks you to talk through calculations; same prioritization BCG describes on its case-prep page.
If your redo drifts more than ~$80k without a reason, mark math weak and run /drills/math before another full case. Retail vocabulary after the number is clean: retail case interview.
Practice this week
Do not collect ten titles. Work three examples with the four-step method, then sit one new case.
- Sit one firm-published case from McKinsey, BCG, or Bain (links above).
- Work one CoachNed page from the format table that matches your next interview (interviewer-led, candidate-led, written, group, or sizing).
- Work one page from the industry table that matches your target office.
- Self-score seven dimensions. Drill only the weakest row.
- Sit a fresh scored case on /interview or a five-minute typed rep on /start. Everything is open for seven days, no card; then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month — details on /pricing.
If you only have an evening, protect score not volume: last-minute case prep.
Frequently asked questions
How many case examples should I work before my first interview?
Enough to cover every format you will sit (interviewer-led, candidate-led, and any written or group piece your invite mentions), not enough to memorize industries. In a typical six-week plan I want firm-published samples first, then format rotation — roughly a dozen scored reps, not fifty unread PDFs. Volume without the four-step method is theatre.
Should I start with McKinsey, BCG, or Bain practice cases?
Start with the firm you interview first, using that firm's own published set. Across MBB, do McKinsey's interviewer-led samples before BCG/Bain candidate-led pages so you do not invent agenda habits that fight an interviewer-led room. Reverse the order when the next invite is candidate-led.
Are industry-specific examples worth it if the scoring is the same?
Yes, late — after format is stable. Industry pages teach vocabulary and typical exhibits (payer mix, ARPU, four-wall math). They do not replace structuring and synthesis. If your structure still collapses under a handed McKinsey question, another pharma PDF will not fix it.
Can I use MBA case books as examples?
Yes, as scripts — with the solution covered. Prefer books that force pacing and exhibits over ones that are title lists. CoachNed's school pages (Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, INSEAD) explain how to score a run before you chase another PDF. Free firm stacks still outrank random casebook chapters: start at free case interview tools.
What if I keep recognizing the answer from a page I already read?
That is the failure mode this hub exists to prevent. Pick a new slug from a different format row, cover the solution, and time-box. Recognition without a cold arithmetic redo does not move the seven scores.
Sources
- Interviewing at McKinsey — official sample problem-solving cases with logic and suggested answers; primary interviewer-led practice set. Checked 2026-09-24.
- McKinsey sample case: Transforming a national education system — public coaching on organizing thoughts, reading charts, and talking through calculations. Checked 2026-09-24.
- BCG Case Interview Preparation — firm guidance on structure, questions, data, calculations, prioritization, and communication; links to interactive practice. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Preparing for the Case Interview | Bain & Company — Bain's case-prep hub and pointers to firm practice materials. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Bain Coffee Shop Co. practice case — public market-sizing and break-even walkthrough with recommendation language. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Bain FashionCo. practice case — public revenue-decline case with quantitative option comparison and good vs better close. Checked 2026-09-24.
CoachNed is not affiliated with McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, or any firm named above.