This time, I'm going to share a participant's Roland Berger In fact, he had not paid much attention to this company before, and he was "fished" into the interview. However, under our programhelp's full coaching, he successfully completed the whole process of Case + Behavioral + Fit + Final Round.
Case Interview 1: Chemical company enters a new market
Background: A European chemical company, considering entering an emerging market, asks what it should do.
When the trainee first heard the question, he or she was actually a bit baffled and didn't know whether to give advice right away. Our usual simulation repeatedly emphasized - first Clarify the problem → take the framework → take the interviewer. So he immediately opened his mouth and asked a few key questions:
- What is the approximate size of the target market?
- Is the growth rate higher than in mainland Europe?
- Is the competitive landscape fragmented or oligopolistic?
The interviewer responded with some hypothetical data: for example, that the market was at $5 billion, with a CAGR of 8%The team has 2-3 strong local players at the moment.
With the data in hand, the trainee immediately substitutes the three-dimensional analysis that we have been practicing:
- market attraction: High growth + considerable potential in the medium to long term;
- Company's own capacity: Strong production and R&D at European headquarters, but lack of local channels;
- synergy effect: It can be complementary to existing product lines.
He further suggested that building a factory directly would be costly and slow to enter the market, while acquiring a small local company with an annual revenue of about 300 million dollars would give him quick access to customer resources and the supply chain. When the interviewer asked about the risks of acquisition, he added the challenges of "cultural integration and management costs", and the overall logic was very complete.
Behavioral Interview
Question: Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult person.
Many students tend to fall over in behavioral, either because the story is too general or the logic does not grasp the key points. We have prepared several sets of STAR Law materials for our students in advance.
What he used on the spot was an experience from a previous internship: the client was particularly fussy and often added demands on the fly.
- Situation: The project cycle is tight and the client frequently modifies requirements;
- Task: As a PM assistant, you need to balance the conflicts between the team and the client;
- Action: Proactively ask the client to do a requirements clarification session to break down the issues line by line and confirm prioritization;
- Result: The final project went live on schedule and customer satisfaction increased from 60% to 90%.
This answer not only emphasized his communication skills, but also demonstrated structured thinking. The interviewer continued to ask "what if the customer does not cooperate", and he was able to answer "emphasize the importance of delivery through the perspective of win-win", which stabilized the scene.
Fit Questions
Why consulting?
We emphasized in the simulation to avoid empty phrases such as "enjoys challenges". Participants' live answers are more realistic:
"I enjoy breaking down complex problems into actionable solutions, and have often worked in communication and solution roles on projects before. Consulting allows me to continue to learn and apply these types of skills in a variety of industries and client environments."
Why Roland Berger?
In response to this question, we helped him prepare the differentiating highlights of RB in advance. He answered by mentioning:
- Roland Berger's expertise in the automotive and industrial sectors;
- As a consulting firm with a European background, it is characterized by internationalization and independence;
- Identify yourself with teamwork and flat culture.
Overall it sounds more sincere, with no traces of platitudes.
Final Round Case: Consumer Goods Company Sales Decline
Background: A U.S. consumer goods company, whose sales have declined for three consecutive years, asks what to do.
This is a variant of the classic "profitability case", in which many people will fall into the single-point thinking of "only talking about marketing" or "price war". Participants have already familiarized themselves with the 4P framework (product, price, channel, promotion) in our many rounds of mock-ups, so they have a very clear idea of how to answer the question.
- offerings:
- The company's current main product is traditional, with middle-aged users.
- Hypothetical data: core SKU sales decline by 10%, young people under-purchase by 20%.
- suggestion: Development of a youth-oriented sideline product with a focus on packaging and health concepts.
- prices:
- The average price of major rivals was found to be 5-10% lower than the company.
- suggestion: Maintain price competitiveness by launching entry-level SKUs while retaining high-end lines to maintain margins.
- irrigation ditch:
- Online channel penetration is low, accounting for only 15% of total sales, compared to the industry average of 30%.
- suggestion: Increased investment in e-commerce and social media channels with Amazon and Jitterbug e-commerce partnerships.
- generalization:
- The company's advertising is concentrated on television, and young people are under-reached.
- suggestion: Turn to TikTok, Instagram for digital marketing.
The interviewer asked how to calculate ROI, and the trainee gave a rough calculation on the spot:
- Assuming a $2 billion youth market, a 5% market share = $100 million in new revenue;
- The e-commerce channel invests about 20 million in advertising, with an ROI of about 5x.
This kind of extrapolation with data was a clear eye opener for the interviewer and the atmosphere of the final discussion was very positive.
Summarize
Roland Berger's case is less mathematical than MBB, and more about logical integrity + business sense, which this participant was trained to do by programhelp:
- The frame is stable → as soon as it opens, there is structure;
- Data can be computed → Assumptions given ad hoc can be derived quickly;
- Expression is natural → Behavioral and Fit are not stiff.
In the end, he went from being "a little confused" at the beginning to going through the process with a high degree of professionalism.
Many students usually rely on brushing up the question bank, and their answers in the case will be very fragmented, such as saying whatever comes to their mind, or focusing on only one angle. The advantage of our programhelp is that we can help you simulate the whole process in advance, complete your business knowledge, and even remind you remotely during the formal interview to make sure you don't get stuck or go astray.
For consulting interviews, especially for case-oriented companies like Roland Berger, the real key is not just to "get it right", but to answer with structure, data, and a sense of reality. As long as you polish your thinking and language before the actual battle, you will be able to handle even the most complicated cases calmly.
No longer alone: the whole process of job search assistance program
On the way to job hunting, many students will encounter OA jam, incomplete answers to interviews, and nervousness on the spot.Programhelpprovide one-stop service from online assessment (HackerRank, NiuKe.com, Codesignal, etc.) to real-time tips and ideas for interviews to make sure that you can play steadily at the critical moment. There are also remote collaboration and simulation training to help you step on the spot and familiarize with the process in advance. For students who need more intense support, we can also provide a full follow-up program that leads to the offer, truly realizing the whole chain escort from preparation to signing.
