Virtual case interview setup
How to set up a virtual case interview: one-screen layout under the camera, notes and paper, audio and camera checks, what changes on video, the test run.
Updated October 28, 2026
What do the firms say about virtual interviews?
McKinsey publishes a list of tips for virtual interviews on its careers page, quoted in the firm policies guide: a quiet private space, charger and paper within reach, camera on, a test run of the video feed, and a request to disable AI software such as note-taking tools before the interview. Bain’s page asks candidates to “let your interviewer know when you’re taking notes and clearly describe your structure” (quoted in the formats guide). Everything below follows from those two pages: be seen, be heard, and narrate what you are doing with your hands.
How should the screen be laid out?
- The call tab large, on the side of the screen under the camera. Your eyes should land near the lens when you look at the interviewer. A second monitor to the side pulls your gaze away every time you read from it; if you use one, put only notes there and glance, do not read.
- Notes on the same screen as the call. A plain text document or paper. Bain’s advice applies: say “I am writing that down” when you look down.
- Paper and pen below the keyboard for the issue tree and the arithmetic. Hold the sheet up when you walk the interviewer through it; many interviewers ask.
- Nothing else open. Close mail, chat and notifications. Disable any AI note-taker or meeting assistant, which McKinsey asks for explicitly.
How do I set up audio and video?
| Item | Do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Headphones | Wired earbuds or a headset, not laptop speakers | Speakers loop into the microphone and the interviewer hears an echo of themselves |
| Microphone | The headset mic or the laptop mic, tested once in the web client’s settings | A muffled candidate loses the math question |
| Camera | At eye height, on a stack of books if needed; light in front of you, not behind | A window behind you turns you into a silhouette |
| Connection | Wired if possible; otherwise sit next to the router and ask others off the network | A dropped call mid-case is the worst outcome and the most avoidable |
| Browser | Chrome or Edge, the web client, one tab for the call | Needed for tab audio; the Zoom and Teams guides have the clicks |
| Backup | Phone charged with the dial-in number saved | If the laptop fails, you stay in the interview on audio |
What changes about the case itself on video?
- Say your structure, do not show it. The interviewer may not see your paper. Two to four buckets, out loud, then the question.
- Narrate the math. “Ten percent of 850 is 85, two percent is 17, so 102.” On video the silence while you compute feels longer than it is.
- Exhibits arrive by screen share. Ask for thirty seconds, read the title, the axes and the biggest number out loud, then the so-what. Ask if you can keep it on screen while you work.
- Pause for lag. Leave a beat after the interviewer stops before you start; talking over a delayed line reads as interrupting.
- Camera on for the fit questions especially; the PEI is a conversation and the interviewer is reading your face.
What should the test run include, the day before?
- Join a test meeting from the web client in Chrome or Edge; check the camera framing and the eye line.
- Play a recorded case in another tab, share its audio to Casepartner, and see the first hint arrive. If it does not, the setup guide has the fix table.
- Run one full practice case on the exact setup, paper and all, and time your structure.
- Charge everything. Write the dial-in number on the paper.
On the day: whether the window is open during the real interview is your call, and the firms’ positions on live AI help are quoted in the firm policies guide. The setup above is the same either way; it is the setup for being heard clearly and seen thinking.
Questions
Should I use a second monitor for a virtual case interview?
Only for notes you glance at. Reading from a side monitor pulls your eyes off the camera every time; keep the call large and under the lens.
Can I use paper in a virtual case interview?
Yes. Keep it below the keyboard, say when you are writing (Bain asks for this), and hold the sheet up when you walk through your tree.
Do I need headphones?
Yes. Laptop speakers loop into the microphone and the interviewer hears an echo. Wired earbuds or a headset, tested the day before.
Where does Casepartner sit on the screen?
On the right third beside the call, in plain view. Whether to use it in a real interview is your call; the firm policies guide quotes what the firms say.