Case interview Vault.docx
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Case interview Vault.docx
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CaseinterviewVault
Whythecase?
Yourimpressiveresumemaygetyouaninterviewwithaconsultingfirm,butitwon'tgetyouthejob.Consultantsknowthataresume,atitsverybest,isonlyatwo-dimensionalrepresentationofamulti-faceted,dynamicperson.
Andbecauseconsultingfirmsdependonemployingthosemulti-faceted,dynamicpeople,thefirmsrelyheavilyonthecaseinterviewtoscreencandidates.Theinterviewprocessisespeciallypertinentintheconsultingindustrysinceconsultingprofessionalsspendthelion'sshareoftheirbusinessdayinteractingwithclientsandcolleagues,andmustthemselvesconstantlyinterviewclientemployeesandexecutives.
Furthermore,consultantsmusthaveaselectsetofpersonalityandleadershiptraitsinordertobesuccessful.Aconsultant?
sworkenvironmentisextremelyturbulent.Therearenonstopengagementteamchanges,hostileclientenvironments,countlesspoliticalinfluences,andnear-perpetualtravel.Thesefactorsdictatethatanindividualbecoolunderpressure,beinfluentialwithoutbeingcondescending,behighlyanalytical,havetheabilitytounderstandthegranularaspectsofaproblemwhilesimultaneouslyaggregatingthemtoseethebigpicture,andhavetheabilitytoself-policeabalancebetweenpersonalandprofessionallifestyle.
Consultantsareoftenstaffedinsmallgroupsinfar-flungareas.Asaresult,theindividualmustbeabletofunction,andfunctionwell,withoutmanyofthetraditionalworkplacestandards:
apermanentworkingspace,theabilitytoreturnhomeeachnight,easilyaccessedservicessuchasadministrativeassistance,faxing,andphotocopying,andthecamaraderiethatdevelopsamongco-workersassignedtothesamebusinessunit.
Allthesefactorsnecessitateauniqueinterviewstructurefocusedonassessingacandidate?
sabilitytomanagetheseparticularcircumstanceswithprofessionalismandexcellence.Thecaseinterviewhasevolvedasamethodforevaluatingthesecharacteristics.
Whatisacase?
Simplyput,acaseinterviewistheanalysisofabusinessquestion.Unlikemostotherinterviewquestions,itisaninteractiveprocess.Yourinterviewerwillpresentyouwithabusinessproblemandaskyouforyouropinion.Yourjobistoasktheinterviewerlogicalquestionsthatwillpermityoutomakeadetailedrecommendation.Themajorityofcaseinterviewersdon'thaveaspecificanswerthatyou,thecandidate,areexpectedtogive.Whattheinterviewerislookingforisathoughtprocessthatisatonceanalyticalandcreative(whatconsultantslovetocall"out-of-the-box"thinking).Specificknowledgeoftheindustryinquestionisabonusbutnotnecessary.Businessschoolstudentsandcandidateswithsignificantbusinessworldexperiencereceivecasequestionsthatrequireadeeperunderstandingofbusinessmodelsandprocesses.
Theinterviewwithaconsultingcompanynormallylastsabouthalfanhour.Ofthistime,about10to20minutesistakenupwithpreliminarychatandbehavioralquestionsandfiveminutesofyouraskingquestionsaboutthecompany.Thisleaves5to15minutesforyourcaseinterviewquestionorquestions.Makethemcount!
Typesofcaseinterviews
Whatcaseinterviewsarenotdesignedtodoistoexploreeducational,professional,orexperientialqualifications.Ifyou'vereachedthecaseinterviewstage,takeadeepbreath-theconsultingfirmhasalreadyweighedyourbackground,GPA,andexperienceandfoundyouworthyofadeeperskillassessment.Thismeansthatthecaseinterviewisyourstolose.Triumphoveryourcaseinterviewsandchancesarethataslotatthefirmwillopenforyou.
Caseinterviewsvarywidely,butingeneraltheyfallintothreegroups:
businesscases,guesstimates,andbrainteasers.Thesequestionsaredesignedtoassessaparticularsetofcandidatecharacteristicsthatanindividualwouldberequiredtopossessaspartofthetacticaland/orlifestyleaspectsofbeingaconsultant.
Caseinterviews
Caseinterviewsvarysomewhatintheirformat.Theclassicandmostcommontypeofcaseinterviewisthebusinesscase,inwhichyou'representedwithabusinessscenarioandaskedtoanalyzeitandmakerecommendations.Mostcasesarepresentedinoralform,thoughsomeinvolvehandouts,andafew(likeMonitorCompany's)areentirelywritten.(Thatis,theinterviewerwillnotcontributeanyotherinformationbesideswhat'sonthehandout.)Anothervariationonthecaseinterviewthatisbecomingmorepopularisthegroupcaseinterview,wherethreetosixcandidatesaregroupedtogetherandtoldtosolveacasecooperatively.Consultantsfromthefirmwatchassilentobservers.Thoughyoushouldcertainlybepreparedforthesevariationsoncaseinterviews,youaremostlikelytocomeacrossthetraditional,mano-a-manocaseinterview.
Guesstimates
Whetherfree-standingoraspartofacase,learninghowtomake"back-of-the-envelope"calculations(rough,yetbasicallyaccurate)isanessentialpartofthecaseinterview.Aspartofaguesstimate,youmightbeaskedtoestimatehowmanywatermelonsaresoldintheUnitedStateseachyear,orwhatthemarketsizeforanewcomputerprogramthatorganizesyourwardrobemightbe.(Forexample,youmightneedtofigureoutthemarketsizeforthewardrobesoftwareasafirststepindetermininghowtoentertheEuropeanmarket.)Youwillnotbeexpectedtogettheexactnumber,butyoushouldcomeclose-hencetheguesstimate.Non-businessschoolstudentsandotherswhoappeartobeweakquantitativelymaygetstand-aloneguesstimates-guesstimatesgivenindependentlyofacase.
Brainteasers
Brainteasersarenormallylogicpuzzlesorriddles.Theymaybetimed.Often,brainteasersaremeanttotestbothanalyticand"out-of-the-box"thinking,aswellasgraceunderpressure.
Followingyourcaseinterview,yourconsultinginterviewerwillcompleteawrittenevaluationform.Theevaluationformsoftenincludealistofqualities,traits,andabilities,andasktheinterviewertoassessthecandidateagainstthelist.Followingisalistofthesespecialtraitsthat,accordingtoconsultinginsiders,interviewerswillbekeepinganeyeoutforasyouworkthroughthecaseinterview:
Leadershipskills
You'llhearthisfromeveryconsultingfirmoutthere-theywantleaders.Why,youmightask,wouldaconsultingfirmneedaleader?
Afterall,manybeginningconsultantsareconsignedtoindependentnumber-crunchingandresearch.Thefactis,however,thatconsultantsareoftencalledupontoworkindependently,shapeprojectswithverylittledirection,anddirectothers.Youshoulddemonstrateyourleadershipskillsbytakingchargeofthecaseinterview.Askyourquestionsconfidently.Inquirewhetherthecaseinterviewrelatestotheinterviewer'sownexperience.Whileyourresumeandpreviousleadershipexperiencewillprobablymoststronglyconveyyourleadershipability,yourdemeanorinthecaseinterviewcanhelp.
Analyticalskills
Thecorecompetencyofconsultingisanalysis-breakingdowndata,formulatingitintoapatternthatmakessense,andderivingasensibleconclusionorrecommendation.Youshoulddisplaythisskillthroughyourefficient,on-target,andaccuratequestionswhilewrestlingyourcasetoasolution.
Presentationskills
Thecasepresentationisanessentialpartofconsulting.Onceconsultantshaveanalyzedtheircaseengagementanddecidedonthepropercourseofaction,theymustpresenttheirfindingsandrecommendationstotheircaseteamandtotheirclients.Interviewerswillbewatchingyoucloselytoseeifyoustumbleoverwords,useinadvisablefillerslike"um"or"like"frequently,orappearjitteryunderclosequestioning.Remember:
Whenyou'respeaking,slowdownandsmile.Ifaskedaquestionthattemporarilystumpsyou,takeadeepbreathandpause.It'salwaysbettertopausethanbabble.
Energy
Eventhemostqualifiedandanalyticalconsultantwon'tbemuchgoodifshequitsat5p.m.duringalongandarduousengagement.Interviewerslookforzestandenergy-firmhandshake,sincereandwarmsmile,brighteyes,andbushytail.Rememberthatconsultingfirmsexpectyoutotakea10-hourflightandshowupatworkthenextdayalert,perky,andreadytogo.
WhatkindofcasewillIget?
Whilethere'snowaytotellforsurewhatcasequestionyou'llget,therearesomethingsthatcantipyouofftothekindofcaseyou'llreceive.
Ifyou'reanundergraduateorothernon-MBAstudent,youcanprobablybesafelyassuredofgettingacreativeor"open-ended"question."Wedon'texpectourundergraduatecandidatestoknowthatmuchaboutbusiness,"confidesoneinterviewer."Whatwedoexpectistheabilitytobreakdownandarticulatecomplexconcepts."UndergraduatesarealsomuchmorelikelytogetguesstimatesandbrainteasersthanMBAs.
Areyouabusinessschoolstudentorgraduate?
Thenyourcasequestionwillprobablybelessopen-ended,anddrivetowardanactualsolution.Yourinterviewermaypositsomethingfromherownexperience-knowingwhatcourseofactiontheconsultancyactuallyendeduprecommending.Thisdoesn'tmeanyouhavetomakethesamerecommendation-butyou'dbetterbeabletobackupyourreasoning!
Alternatively,onethingcaseinterviewerslovetodoislookatyourresumeandgiveyouacasequestionthatrelatestoyourpastexperience."Forexample,"saysoneconsultant,"ifyouwereontheadvertisingstafffortheschoolnewspaper,youmightbegivenaquestionaboutinvestinginadvertisingagencies."Forthisreason,adviseconsultants,"itmakessensetofollowuponyourfieldinTheWallStreetJournalbecauseyoumaybeaskedaboutrecentdevelopmentsinit.Ifyouknowwhat'sgoingonyou'llbethatmuchmoreimpressive."Someguesstimates,forexample,
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