Guidehouse (formerly Navigant) consulting interviews consist of case interviews and behavioral or fit interview questions. There are typically two rounds of interviews that you will need to go through in order to receive a consulting job offer from Guidehouse.
 

• First round interview: 30-minute phone screen with a recruiter. Expect to be asked questions about your resume, your interest in Guidehouse, and what you are looking for in your next role.

 

• Second round interview: Expect three or four interviews with different people in the office that you are applying for. Interviews will be a mix of behavioral interview questions and case interviews.

 

If you have an upcoming interview with Guidehouse (Navigant), we have you covered. In this article, we’ll cover exactly what you need to do to crush your interviews and land the job offer. In this article, we’ll cover in detail:

• 5 steps to solve any Guidehouse (Navigant) case interview

 

• Guidehouse (Navigant) case interview examples

 

• 10 most common Guidehouse (Navigant) behavioral questions

 

• Recommended Guidehouse (Navigant) case interview resources

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course. These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

 

5 Steps to Solve Any Guidehouse (Navigant) Case Interview

 

A case interview is a special type of interview that nearly every consulting firm uses. Guidehouse places a heavy emphasis on case interviews during their interview process.

 

Guidehouse case interviews simulate the consulting job by placing you in a hypothetical business situation in which you are asked to solve a business problem. You’ll spend 30 to 40 minutes collaborating with the interviewer to reach an ultimate answer or recommendation.

 

Guidehouse case interviews are generally candidate-led. This means that you will be expected to lead the direction of the case. You’ll be responsible for asking the right questions, analyzing data, driving discussion, and proposing each next step.

 

Case interviews can cover any industry or any type of business problem. Although you cannot predict the exact case interview question that you’ll get, each case interview follows a similar flow and structure:

• Understand the case

 

• Structure the problem

 

• Kick off the case

 

• Solve quantitative problems and answer qualitative questions

 

• Deliver a recommendation

 

1. Understand the case

 

Your case interview will begin with the interviewer giving you the case background information. While the interviewer is speaking, make sure that you are taking meticulous notes on the most important pieces of information. Focus on understanding the context of the situation and the objective of the case.

 

Don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions if you do not understand something. You may want to summarize the case background information back to the interviewer to confirm your understanding of the case.

 

The most important part of this step is to verify the objective of the case. Not answering the right business question is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

 

2. Structure the problem

 

The next step is to develop a framework to help you solve the case. A framework is a tool that helps you structure and break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable components. Another way to think about frameworks is brainstorming different ideas and organizing them into different categories.

 

Before you start developing your framework, it is completely acceptable to ask the interviewer for a few minutes so that you can collect your thoughts and think about the problem.

 

Ideally, you want your framework to be as MECE as possible. MECE stands for mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. You want each element of your framework to have zero overlap with the other elements. Additionally, you want the sum of the elements of your framework to cover all of the important issues or areas of the case.

 

Once you have identified the major issues or areas that you need to explore, walk the interviewer through your framework. They may ask a few questions or provide some feedback.

For a complete guide on how to create tailored and unique frameworks for each case, check out our article on case interview frameworks.

 

3. Kick off the case

 

Once you have finished presenting your framework, you’ll start diving into different areas of your framework to begin solving the case. How this process will start depends on whether the case interview is candidate-led or interviewer-led.

 

If the case interview is a candidate-led case, you’ll be expected to propose what area of your framework to start investigating. So, propose an area and provide a reason for why you want to start with that area. There is generally no right or wrong area of your framework to pick first.

 

If the case interview is interviewer-led, the interviewer will tell you what area of the framework to start in or directly give you a question to answer.

 

4. Solve quantitative problems and answer qualitative questions

 

Your case interviews will most likely have some quantitative aspect to them. For example, you may be asked to calculate a certain profitability or financial metric. You could also be asked to estimate the size of a particular market or to estimate a particular figure.

 

The key to solving quantitative problems is to lay out a structure or approach upfront with the interviewer before doing any math calculations. If you lay out and present your structure to solve the quantitative problem and the interviewer approves of it, the rest of the problem is just simple execution of math.

 

When doing the math, make sure to talk through your thinking and calculations out loud. The interviewer should be able to easily follow what you are doing in each step of your calculations. Once you have calculated the answer, explain how your answer impacts the recommendation that you are beginning to form.

 

Your case interviews will likely also have qualitative aspects to them. You may be asked to brainstorm a list of potential ideas. You could also be asked to provide your opinion on a business issue or situation.

 

The key to answering qualitative questions is to structure your answer. When brainstorming a list of ideas, develop a structure to help you neatly categorize all of your ideas. When giving your opinion on a business issue or situation, provide a summary of your stance or position and then enumerate the reasons that support it.

 

When you finish answering a qualitative question, connect your answer back to the case objective. How does your answer impact the recommendation that you are beginning to form?

 

5. Deliver a recommendation

 

In the last step of the case interview, you’ll present your recommendation and provide the major reasons that support it. You do not need to recap everything that you have done in the case, so focus on only summarizing the facts that are most important.

 

It is also good practice to include potential next steps that you would take if you had more time or data. These can be areas of your framework that you did not have time to explore or lingering questions that you do not have great answers for.

 

Guidehouse (Navigant) Case Interview Examples

 

Below, we’ve compiled a list of case interview questions that Guidehouse (Navigant) has given to previous candidates. These case interview examples should give you a good sense of the types of industries and business situations that you could see in your upcoming interview.

For more practice, check out our article on 23 MBA consulting casebooks with 700+ free practice cases.

 

Case Example #1: Our client is an American manufacturer of high end mountain bikes that is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. They manufacture dozens of models of mountain bikes ranging from $1,500 to $10,000 in retail price. The client just hired our consulting firm to help them decrease their costs. What would you propose that they do?

 

Case Example #2: Northeast Communications is a large, regional telecommunications provider operating in the Northeast of the U.S. There has been an increase in competition recently and Northeast is exploring ways to increase revenue. What would you recommend that they do?

 

Case Example #3: Your client is a non-profit that provides volunteering abroad programs to university students and working professionals. Their offerings consist of programs that last anywhere from 1 to 12 months, whereby customers travel to a different country, live in a local community, and engage in various volunteer activities such as teaching, building houses, etc. Your client is trying to increase university student recruitment. How might they best do this?

 

Case Example #4: Starwood Properties is an international hotel chain that focuses on luxury vacations. They have over 3,000 properties worldwide, mostly concentrated in North America and Europe. In an effort to diversify its portfolio of hotels, they are considering opening 100 new properties in Costa Rica. What should Starwood Properties consider when evaluating site locations for new hotels?

 

Case Example #5: An American chemical company produces a range of synthetic materials in varying widths and lengths. Each material is used for packaging, with each material having different physical properties such as weight, flexibility, heat resistance, water resistance, etc. How would you go about optimizing the combination of products they should focus on producing to increase their plant’s profitability?

 

Case Example #6: Our client is a global pharmaceutical company that has a therapeutic division that develops drugs that treat gastrointestinal disorders. They have historically held a steady 15% market share among gastrointestinal drugs. Recently, a competitor has emerged producing their own private brands of drugs that are off patent. They already have 10% market share and are gaining 2% share each year. What should our client do in response to this competitor?

 

10 Most Common Guidehouse (Navigant) Behavioral Questions

 

In addition to case interviews, you will also be asked behavioral or fit interview questions. These types of questions are much more predictable than case interviews, making them easier to prepare for.

 

Below are the ten behavioral or fit questions that Guidehouse most commonly asks candidates.

 

1. Why are you interested in working at Guidehouse?

 

How to answer: Have at least three reasons why you’re interested in working at Guidehouse. You can talk about Guidehouse's deep expertise in the healthcare, energy, and life sciences industry. You could mention Guidehouse’s strong client mix of public and private sector clients. Finally, you can bring up their numerous awards for being one of the best places to work.

 

2. Why do you want to work in consulting?

 

How to answer: Again, have three reasons why you’re interested in consulting. You could mention the fast career growth opportunities, the opportunity to develop versatile soft and hard skills, the opportunities to make large impacts on large organizations, or the highly collaborative nature of work.

 

3. Walk me through your resume

 

How to answer: Provide a concise summary of your work experience, starting with the most recent. Focus on emphasizing your most impressive, unique, and memorable accomplishments. At the end of your answer, briefly tie your experiences to why you are interested in consulting and why you would be a great fit.

 

4. What is your proudest achievement?

 

How to answer: Choose your most impressive, unique, or memorable accomplishment. Structure your answer by providing information on the situation, the task, the actions you took, and the results of your work. Highlight what aspects or qualities of your achievement made you feel proud.

 

5. What is something that you are proud of that is not on your resume?

 

How to answer: This is an opportunity to highlight an accomplishment that is not related to your professional work experience. Perhaps there is a non-profit that you volunteer at, a side project or business that you work on, or an interesting hobby that you have won awards or recognition for. Choose something that showcases your qualities outside of a traditional work setting.

 

6. Tell me about a time when you led a team.

 

How to answer: Ideally, choose a time or experience when you directly managed a person or a team. Explain the challenge that the team faced, how you handled leading the team, and then quantify the impact and results of your leadership. Highlight the leadership skills that you exhibited and how you worked effectively with others.

 

7. Give an example of a time when you faced conflict or a disagreement.

 

How to answer: When answering this question, focus on emphasizing the steps you took to resolve the conflict or disagreement. Speak to the interpersonal skills you had to use in order to mediate the situation. Then, explain the impact that these interpersonal skills made on the situation. Interviewers want to know that you are a great mediator and that you can handle conflict in a constructive way.

 

8. Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone.

 

How to answer: Choose a time when you convincingly changed someone’s mind. Focus on emphasizing the steps that you took to persuade that person and what impact and results this had. Interviewers want to see that you are a great communicator and have great people skills.

 

9. Describe a time when you failed.

 

How to answer: Choose a time when you failed to meet a deadline or did not meet expectations. Make sure to choose an actual failure instead of an experience that was a success in disguise. Focus on emphasizing what you learned from the experience and how you used that experience to deliver better results in the next opportunity that you got. Interviewers want to see that you don’t get discouraged from failure and that you treat failures as learning opportunities.

 

10. What questions do you have for me?

 

How to answer: This is a great opportunity to get to know the interviewer on a more personal level. Ask them questions about their experience in consulting or their career. Express genuine interest and curiosity in what they have to share and ask follow-up questions. The more you can get the interviewer talking about themself, the more likely they will have a positive impression of you.

For more help, check out our complete guide on consulting behavioral interview questions.

 

Recommended Guidehouse (Navigant) Interview Resources

 

Here are the resources we recommend to land a Guidehouse (Navigant) consulting offer:

 

For help landing consulting interviews

 

• Resume Review & Editing: Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

 

For help passing case interviews

 

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.

 

• Case Interview Coaching: Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.

 

• Hacking the Case Interview Book (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

 

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

 

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course: Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.