Strategy& is PwC's strategy arm, built from Booz & Company. An Advisory invitation is a different process and a different case.
If the posting or recruiter says PwC Advisory, Consulting, or Deals but not Strategy&, use the PwC case interview guide. Strategy& recruits against MBB on corporate strategy, deals, and, in some offices, government and public-sector work. Interviewers screen out people who treat the firm as an MBB backup or who cannot explain why Strategy& rather than core PwC. Fit and case run in the same ~45-minute interview, so a hedged "Why Strategy&" colours the case. Pay is a separate curve: StrategyCase cites a 15–40 percent premium over Advisory; Levels.fyi medians sit near $195K for PwC management consulting versus $239K for Strategy&. Details are on the PwC consulting salary page. CoachNed is independent and not affiliated with PwC or Strategy&.
What Strategy& actually runs
CoachNed's Strategy& behavioral guide describes round one as two interviews of about 45 minutes, each pairing 10–15 minutes of fit, a candidate-led strategy case (market entry, profitability, M&A), and a few minutes of your questions. Finals are two to three interviews with directors and partners: one fit-heavy slot plus harder cases. Some offices compress both rounds into a Super Day. Finals sometimes add a written or group case; Hacking the Case Interview notes office variability, including packets sent one to two days ahead. StrategyCase maps first-round content to three streams: deals, defence / public, and corporate strategy. Confirm which stream your office staffs.
| Stage | Format | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruiter / CV | Screen | Recruiting | Entity must say Strategy& |
| Round 1 | 2 × ~45 min, fit + candidate-led case | Managers / senior associates | Same interviewer scores both |
| Final | 2–3 × ~45 min | Directors / partners | One slot often fit-heavy |
| Written case | 45–60 min to 3–5 slides, then 20–30 min Q&A (reported) | Some offices | Not universal |
| Group case | Reported in some undergraduate finals | Some offices | Less central than PwC Advisory assessment centres |
| Online test | Often none for Strategy& campus | Contrast with Advisory SHL / work-styles | Invitation still wins |
PwC values still appear in write-ups. Do not paste the values page. Pick one behaviour you can prove.
How Strategy& differs from McKinsey interviewer-led and BCG candidate-led
Strategy& cases are candidate-led like BCG: you open the structure and request data. They are not McKinsey interviewer-led. The process difference is packaging. McKinsey PEI is a separate structured interview. Strategy& folds motivation into the same 45 minutes as the case, so "I applied to every strategy firm" is heard by the person grading your tree. BCG Super Days also mix fit and case, but BCG does not need you to explain a Big 4 parent. Strategy& does. The capable-company idea (strategy that the client can execute with PwC's implementation machine behind it) is a legitimate angle if you can attach a real example. It is a failed angle if it becomes "I like PwC's resources" without naming Strategy& work.
Public-sector and government cases show up more in some Strategy& markets (defence, national infrastructure, public services) than in a typical BCG consumer round. If your office is known for that work, a profitability tree with no stakeholder or mandate constraint is the wrong opening. You still need a number. "Improve citizen outcomes" without a cost or service metric is not a recommendation.
Worked snippet: public-service throughput (Strategy& public-sector flavour)
Prompt. A national permits agency must cut average time-to-decision from 19 weeks to 12 weeks in 18 months without a net headcount increase. A private concessionaire has bid to take 30% of volume. Should the ministry accept?
Clarify. The SLA is statutory. Headcount is frozen. Ask whether complex (environmental) permits can be outsourced and what the concessionaire's error rate was in a peer country.
Structure. (1) Volume mix simple vs complex, (2) internal productivity levers, (3) concession economics and control, (4) political / accountability risk. Test mix first.
Math. 80,000 permits a year. 70% simple (56,000) at 8 weeks; 30% complex (24,000) at a much longer tail that pulls the average to 19 weeks. If simple cases can move to 6 weeks with a digital checklist, the average falls even if complex stays put: a rough weighted check shows the 12-week target is mostly a complex-case problem. Outsourcing 30% of total volume, if it is the simple block, does not fix the average. If the concessionaire takes half of complex volume (12,000) at 10 weeks versus 28 weeks internally, the tail shrinks. Ministry retains residual risk if the vendor misses the statute.
Recommendation. Reject a bid that only skims simple volume. Negotiate a complex-case concession with an error-rate SLA and a clawback, or refuse and put the 18-month programme on internal complex triage plus overtime funded by simple-case automation. Risk: vendor failure becomes the minister's failure. Next step: two-year error-rate data from the bidder's last contract, in writing, before term sheet.
That is Strategy& in a public market: a policy constraint, a make-versus-ally call, and an implementation path PwC could actually staff.
How to prepare this week
- Confirm Strategy& on the invitation. If not, switch to the Advisory guide.
- Rehearse Why Strategy& with one deals or public-sector proof point, not prestige. Use the behavioral question set.
- Drive a candidate-led strategy case on CoachNed.
- Read Advisory versus Strategy& pay so you do not quote the wrong band: PwC consulting salary.
Sources
- CoachNed Strategy& behavioral process (45-minute paired fit and case)
- StrategyCase on deals / defence / corporate streams and Advisory versus Strategy& funnels
- Hacking the Case Interview on written-case timings (office-variable)
- PwC salary note: Strategy& premium 15–40%; Levels.fyi medians $195K vs $239K
Frequently asked questions
Is Strategy& the same as PwC Advisory?
No. Different recruiting, cases, and pay.
McKinsey or BCG format?
Candidate-led like BCG, with fit in the same slot, unlike McKinsey PEI.
Will I see a government case?
In some markets, yes. Confirm the office's book of business. CoachNed is independent practice, not affiliated with PwC or Strategy&. Cases on CoachNed are AI-simulated. Office stream changes the prompt mix.