PwC Strategy& Case Interview: Everything You Need to Know

Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) is the dedicated strategy consulting arm of PwC and is positioned to compete with firms like Bain, BCG, and EY-Parthenon. Compared to Deloitte or Accenture Strategy, Strategy& tends to focus more heavily on high-level strategy, corporate transformation, and industry-focused engagements, especially in areas like energy, healthcare, industrials, technology, and public sector consulting. Compared to MBB, the firm’s interviews often feel slightly more business-practical and less abstract, with an emphasis on structured reasoning, financial logic, and commercially viable recommendations.

This guide walks you through Strategy&’s full recruiting process, explains how their case interviews work (including potential written formats and presentation-style assessments), and shows you how to prepare using repetition-based drills and structured resources available on case-prep.com.

Strategy& Interview Process: What to Expect

While formats vary by region and practice group, this is the most common structure used in US offices:

1. Application and Resume Screening

Academic performance, leadership, problem-solving exposure, and demonstrated interest in strategy are closely reviewed. Having a data-backed recruiting tracker (such as our application tracker with salary benchmarks and recruiting timelines by firm and region) helps you tailor your positioning and set realistic outreach and application deadlines.

2. First Round Interviews

Typically one or two interviews that include:

• A short behavioral or “fit” section.
• A 30–40 minute case interview, usually candidate-led.

These cases typically center on corporate strategy, profitability challenges, or strategic growth options rather than only market-entry scenarios.

3. Final Round / Superday

Usually two to three partner or manager-level interviews.
May include:

• A traditional case interview with more pressure and focus on executive-level clarity.
• A written or presentation-style case in certain regions or practice areas, especially corporate transformation or public sector strategy teams. In these, candidates receive a packet of data and must synthesize key insights into a recommendation in a concise, consultant-style narrative.

Success in final rounds is based as much on communication, maturity, and structured judgment as raw analytical ability.

What Makes Strategy& Case Interviews Unique

Strategy& interviews often blend classical strategy reasoning with operational and financial realism. Expect interviewers to push you on:

• Strategic direction: growth, market entry, repositioning, product strategy, transformation.
• Profitability under competitive constraints.
• Industry dynamics and differentiation (energy, healthcare, technology, industrials are common).
• Financial feasibility: whether the client can execute and justify a recommendation.
• Practicality of implementation.

Unlike EY-Parthenon, which skews toward PE diligence cases, Strategy& interviews often stress long-term strategic alignment rather than purely commercial upside. Still, market sizing and ROI logic are often necessary to justify a strategic path. If you struggle with quantitative reasoning, performing frequent math drills is essential. If you hesitate during problem structuring, reviewing multiple cases in our case library can help build intuitive flow.

Strategy& Case Format: Step-by-Step Expectations

Clarify the objective clearly

Determine whether the client is seeking growth, cost optimization, repositioning, market expansion, or competitive strengthening. Asking the right clarification questions is critical.

Build a structured, logical framework

Frameworks should touch on market dynamics, competitive positioning, internal capabilities, financial considerations, risks, and execution feasibility.

Lead the analysis confidently

Strategy& interviewers expect thoughtful leadership through the case. They will not always hand you direction. Practicing with peers in a live-casing environment (via our peer network) helps improve conversational case leadership.

Solve financial portions without hesitation

Profit pools, break-even points, and ROI projections often surface. Reviewing targeted math drills helps you respond quickly and credibly.

Analyze charts with a strategic lens

Charts may highlight pricing trends, volume shifts, margin profiles, or competitive share changes. Exhibit analysis drills help train your eye to extract strategic implications, not just mechanical observations.

Deliver a structured recommendation

Your final answer must connect back to the strategic question, justify feasibility, highlight risks, and include suggested next steps or additional diligence items.

Behavioral Interview Topics at Strategy&

Fit interviews often revolve around:

• Leading teams or initiatives under ambiguity.
• Navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• Solving business or organizational problems with limited information.
• Interest in strategy consulting within PwC’s broader ecosystem.
• Long-term impact you want to drive.

If you are new to consulting, taking our free intro to consulting fundamentals course can help you speak fluently about the strategy consulting workflow and client engagement structure.

How to Prepare for Strategy& Interviews

Strategy& rewards candidates who prepare methodically through repetition and capability layering. A recommended approach:

• Build baseline understanding of strategy consulting through an intro course (such as ours for newcomers).
• Drill mental math until break-even, ROI, and CAGR calculations are automatic.
• Practice market sizing frequently because it is often early in the case.
• Use exhibit analysis drills to strengthen your ability to extract strategic meaning from data quickly.
• Work through corporate strategy and profitability cases in our case library (premium).
• Practice live with peers through a dedicated networking hub for candidates.
• Stay updated on salary trends and recruiting timelines using a firm-specific application tracker.
• Subscribe to a weekly newsletter to monitor process changes and case trends at PwC Strategy&.

Most candidates fall short at Strategy& when they deliver structured but hollow answers or provide strategies without financial or execution grounding. Structured drills help you internalize commercial reasoning so that your final recommendation is both strategic and realistic.