Case Study Interview Preparation Guide

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Describe the problem in the workplace.
What is involved in making it a problem?

Tell about how you collected information for analyzing data: the process you utilized for extracting maximum information from the facts.

Explain the factors you took for making a decision: how did you get to the root cause of the problem? How did you identify the likely causes of problem? How did you generate a number of possible solutions?

Describe the actions you took: why did you choose these actions? What were the results you expected to achieve? Describe how you organized ideas into process flow and common theme and the way you monitor result. Don't forget the risk management factors.

A case study tests you in all manner of ways so it's one of the best - and fairest - methods of seeing a candidate 'in action'. The open-ended nature of these questions is not designed to torture the candidate, although it might feel that way to the uninitiated. At interview or at an assessment centre, individuals or a small group of candidates are presented with a business problem and then given time to evaluate the information and brainstorm a solution.

Case interviews aim to evaluate how you process information, solve problems and react to new and surprising situations, as well as showing how you work within a team.

Read the firm's graduate recruitment literature and check its website to see if it has sample case studies (the vast majority of consultancies do). Have a look at recent press releases to get a feel for the type of work it's involved with as well as what industries it works across. Read the business pages of newspapers and imagine one of the businesses to be your client.

Be prepared both to set up the analytics and do the maths. We want to see your comfort with numbers.

Don't panic if the answer is not apparent.

Do not feel pressured to provide an answer immediately - take your time, work through the issues, and organize your thoughts.

☛ Listen to the introduction - Do not think ahead to your answer(s).
☛ Ask 1-2 clarifying questions, if necessary - Begin to formulate a hypothesis in your head, and test if they are reasonable. While asking these questions, you buy yourself a few moments to postulate.
☛ Do not ask for every piece of data. Some interviewers will try to overload you up front with meaningless data. If you ask for it, you may get it, but later find it irrelevant.
☛ Take notes - Some suggest this is a faux pas, others think it is a great idea. Ask the interviewer if you need to take notes. Keep in mind that every real consultant, in real life, will almost without fail takes notes in an interview. If you can keep track of all of the minutia in an hour long client interview, more power to you.
☛ Structure the problem - i.e. begin to fit the problem into one of the frameworks.

☛ Pick a branch to probe - Develop hypotheses, ask for relevant facts, defend/refine hypotheses based on new information, probe further, and describe implications you see. *Key note: if you find yourself running down a rabbit trail of random issues with no end, stop, think, and go back up to 30,000 feet to see if you are even in the right ballpark. It is better to discover this halfway into the interview and leave yourself some recovery time, than to discover this when your hour is done.
☛ Pick a second branch, and so on.
☛ Prioritize your responses - Support your arguments with your strongest points first.
☛ Put it all together - Try to answer overall questions (the big picture) with a reasonable, actionable conclusion.
❅ Review where you have been, and what you know
❅ Clarify what you do not understand, and what, with more time, you would like to know
❅ Solidify and tender your recommendation (where appropriate, as sometimes the interviewer cares less about your recommendation, and more about how you get to it).
☛ Get feedback. Sometimes this is appropriate, sometimes it is not. If the case was a real example, they may tell you what really happened. Each case is a learning experience, and it might be good to know that you missed the boat completely - next time you will do better. If you go out thinking you hit it, but really missed the boat, next time you will make the same mistakes.

If you're working in a small group divide the tasks - you'll get through them far quicker. There may be different personalities in your group and recruiters will be watching to see how you interact. They will also be looking for evidence of leadership and teamwork. Don't dominate proceedings but do pitch in and contribute where appropriate. It's important to be yourself rather than play to a type.

Whatever you do, don't force-fit frameworks. If a particular framework doesn't apply to the case, don't use it. Most frameworks incorporate universal concepts that can be applied to various business issues. Use the concepts you've learned in school or through prior work experience to support your analysis of the case. Show your interviewer that you understand these business concepts well enough that you can apply them to the specifics fo the business issue being presented in the case.

☛ Take in information quickly and remember what you hear.
☛ Identify key issues, prioritize and logically solve problems.
☛ Make quick, yet accurate, decisions.
☛ Manage time efficiently.
☛ Perform under pressure.
☛ Be aware of resource constraints.
☛ Identify customer needs.
☛ Be original and creative.

☛ Take time to think before you answer the question.
☛ If given a pen and paper, take notes and write down key information. Use the paper to make calculations, write down ideas and structure your answer.
☛ Ask additional questions if you feel you are missing information. The interviewer is often expecting you to ask to find missing information.
☛ Use lateral thinking and be creative. There isn't always just one right answer. Just make sure your answer is backed up by sound logic and numbers that make sense.
☛ Make sure you know your math. At minimum you'll need to perform some basic arithmetic or mathematical calculations.

☛ These questions are often used to test your ability to structure, as well as your ability to think laterally, make logical links and communicate clearly.
☛ Make mental calculations quickly by making sensible estimates and rounding numbers up or down.
☛ Does your answer make sense? If you're answer doesn't make sense, chances are you've made a bad assumption, estimate or calculation. Go back and carefully check your work and provide a new answer.
☛ You can use business frameworks (SWOT, Porter's Five forces, etc.) or mind mapping to support your analysis and answers, as long as it makes sense.
☛ Many market sizing questions revolve around issues being faced by an organization or industry. Commercial awareness can be very important to answering market sizing questions.

★ What would be your approach for introducing a product into a foreign market? What are the risks and benefits to consider i.e. producing in your own country vs producing in the new country, etc?
★ Company ABC is struggling, should it be restructured? Identify the three main problems it's facing. What is the most important problem the company is facing? How would you recommend the company address this problem? How would you turn this company around? Provide your reasoning for your recommendation(s)?
★ A toy company has been experiencing decline sales for the last two seasons. Research suggests that introducing several new product lines is the solution. Develop a marketing strategy for the company's largest product line, including pricing, product packing, etc?
★ A large chain of retail clothing stores is struggling with profitability. Bases on your review fo the company's financial statements, what problems can you identify? Can this company be turned arounds? How would you go about deciding?
★ A new Eddie Bauer Store is being opened up in London. Discuss all the marketing issues regarding the opening of this new location?

☛ Please provide the total weight of a fully loaded Jumbo Jet at the time of take off?
☛ How many light bulbs are there in the United States?
☛ How many photocopies are taken in the United Kingdom each year?
☛ How much beer is consumed in the city of New York on Fridays?
☛ How many people sell AMWAY products in the United States?

☛ If there are 7,492 people participating in a tournament, how many games must be played to find a winner?
☛ How many golf balls will fit in the Empire State Building?
☛ How many car tire are sold in Canada each year?
☛ Given thhe numbers 5 and 2000, what is the minimum number of guesses required to find a specific number if the only hint you're given is "higher" and "lower" for each guess made?
☛ How do you determine the weight of a blue whale without using a scale?

✰ At 3:15, how many degrees there between the two hands of a clock?
✰ A fire fighter has to get to a burning building as quickly as he can. There are three paths that he can take. He can take his fire engine over a large hill (5 miles) at 10 miles per hour. He can take his fire engine through a windy road (7 miles) at 9 miles per hour. Or he can drive his fire engine along a dirt road which is 8 miles at 12 miles per hour. Which way should he choose?
✰ You spend 21 dollars on vegetables at the store. You buy carrots, onions and celery. The celery cost half the cost of the onions. The onions cost have the cost of the carrots. How much did the onions cost?
✰ You spend a third of all the money you have on a piano. Half of your remaining money you use to buy a piano chair. A quarter of the rest of your money you use to buy piano books. What portion of you original money is remaining?
✰ Why are manhole cover always round, instead of square?

✰ In the Chicago subway system there are two escalators for going up but only one for going down to the subway. Why is that?
✰ You find three boxes at the store. One contains onions. Another contains potatoes. The third contains both onions and potatoes. However, all three of the boxes are labeled incorrectly so it's impossible to tell which box contains what. By opening just one box (but without looking in) and removing either a potato or onion, how can you immediate label the contents of all the boxes?
✰ There are 8 bags of wheat, 7 of which weigh the same amount. However, there is one that weighs less than the others. You are given a balance scale used for weighing. In less than three steps, figure out which bag weighs less than the rest?
✰ There are 23 rugby teams playing in a tournament. What is the least number of games that must be played to find a tournament winner?

✰ How would you work with a subordinate who is under-performing?
✰ You're consulting with a large pharmacy with stores in multiple states. This company has improved sales but experienced a decrease in revenue. As a result, it is contemplating store closings. Explain how you'd advise this client?
✰ You are working directly with a company's management team. It is organizing a project designed to significantly increase revenue. If you were provided with data and asked to supervise the project, what steps would you take to ensure it's successful?
✰ You have been assigned to work with a small company that manufactures a popular product. However, a competitor begins selling a very similar product which incorporates state of the art technology. What would you advise your client to do?

✰ You have been assigned to advise a company with a large Western European market. Company management wants to open the Chinese market. What advice do you have for this company?
✰ The firm has assigned you to consult a company intending to drop a product or expand into new markets in order to increase revenue. What steps would you take to help this company achieve its objective?
✰ You have been assigned to consult a shoe retailer with stores throughout the nation. Since its revenue is dropping, the company has proposed to sell food at its stores. How would you advise this client?

Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more method. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame - an object - within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates.