Case Interview Preparation & Management Consulting | Strategy | Critical Thinking

When thinking through a possible FIT / PEI or cover letter response, most candidates settle on the first idea that comes to mind. Future edits of this idea do not alter the idea, but merely rearrange the wording. That is a bad idea. We use the so-what rule when testing candidates. For their responses we constantly ask "so-what" until the candidate arrives at the core reason for their decision / answer. That core reason is what we want candidates to use.

6 Touko 20135min

That is true. It is myth interviewers do not hate frameworks in case interviews. Interviewers dislike the way the framework is introduced and used by the candidate. Most candidates memorize a framework, look at a case, see the loose link between both and gladly offer the framework without a proper explanation or even making adjustment to the framework. The best approach is to brainstorm unique structures for each case. However, where this is tough to do, candidates should take time to carefully adjust and integrate the framework into the case, using good communication skills.

30 Huhti 20134min

Your case practice partner is the most important ally you have as you prepare. The problem is that most people completely squander this advantage. They tend to be unclear about their level of preparation and commitment they are willing to make. Many arrive late to practice sessions, prepare poorly and fail to keep track of their partners performance. When a practice partners breaks contact, you are left in the position of having to transfer all that important insight about yourself to a new practice partner and that is just inefficient even if it could be done. This podcast discusses ways to manage the problem.

24 Huhti 20135min

Candidates sometimes prefer to be cautious and offer a solution earlier rather than waiting to fully flesh out the drivers and key issues in a case. The problem with this approach is that if you offer a solution before identifying the problem, it raises concerns to the interviewer about your thinking processes - how can you offer a solution before identifying the problem? This podcast describes this issue in much more detail.

18 Huhti 20135min

In brainstorming the interviewer is looking for your approach to define an objective function, understand the direct drivers of the function, prioritize the drivers and explain how to manipulate them. There is only one definition for productivity and that is formally used in all studies. Productivity is the total value of outputs over the total cost to deliver those outputs. Other definitions are derivations which assess narrow areas only. A candidate will struggle to understand operations cases unless they understand the concept of productivity.

12 Huhti 20134min

Merging the BCG and McKinsey approach, elegantly. This is a simple discussion on how to merge both approaches so you do not need to worry about learning different techniques. One caveat, as explained in latter podcasts is to assume there is just a simple BCG and simple McKinsey style. It is dangerous to make this assumption. About 50% to 60% of McKinsey cases cannot be solved with any framework at all. Most McKinsey cases require an hypotheses upfront, but not all, and they almost all interviewer led. It is crucial to understand the different ways a case can be done and listen carefully to the interviewer to figure out which is best for you.

6 Huhti 20135min

Candidates always want to show improvement on their resumes in the months leading up to their applications. For those working in industry or rival consulting firms, showing leadership and career development is crucial. This podcast explains that career rotation, a lateral move at the same pay grade, is rarely a good idea unless it takes you to a part of the business where you can show leadership in solving a major problem. Career progression, a promotion to a new pay grade, always looks good on a resume because it demonstrates you are mastering your functional domain. It is better to stay in a role and achieve results than rotating for a better title.

31 Maalis 20134min

We always teach clients estimation technique first, followed by brainstorming technique and finally full case technique. There is a simple reason for this, which is explained in this podcast. Estimations tend to be, but not always, a brainstorm with very few or just one branch. A brainstorm is therefore an estimation equation with multiple branches. A full case structure is a very large brainstorm with mini-brainstorms at each new branch. We want candidates to see this evolution so they can understand how crucial brainstorming is to the entire case interview approach.

25 Maalis 20135min