How To Crack A Case Study Interview
How To Crack A Case Study Interview
Contents 1. Introducing case study interviews - What on Earth is a case study interview?! - How many types of case study could I face? 2. Understanding the Consultant's point of view - What is the Consultant trying to achieve? - How can I use this knowledge to my advantage? 3. Developing a framework for your answer - How to buy yourself time to develop a good answer - Why structure your answer in a framework, and how? 4. Adopting a collaborative rather than combatative approach - Why is it so important to work collaboratively? - What are some techniques for turning around a confrontational situation? 5. Gaining an edge over your competitors - How to profit from our advice - Where to find further resources?
The condensed project assignment interview There are many variations on this theme, but the essentials are the same. You will be given a description of the problem your "client" faces and a set of statistics, graphs and financial information to assess the situation. Your task (unfortunately you have no choice about whether to accept it!) will be to: - identify the problem faced by the client and - define the hypotheses that you would want to test during the course of such a project and/or - draw conclusions regarding each of your hypotheses This may sound daunting, but do not worry - we return with the "answers" in Chapter 3. But for now, let's look at the second of the two types you may face: The market-sizing/ mission impossible interview This assessment may take place within the project assignment interview discussed above. Or it may be a standalone assessment. Whereas the project assignment interview looks at your ability to think through the full cycle of a consultancy assignment, the market-sizing interview places you in the realms of a day-to-day work scenario. You need a certain output by a certain deadline - how would you go about delivering on that requirement? Let's look at an example. Your project manager needs to know by the end of the week how many pairs of shoes are sold per annum in the UK. Your task is to come up with the figure. We'll leave you to ponder on this for now, but fear not, we will again return with the answers in Chapter 3.
Let's look at a quick example of each.... ************************************ The condensed project assignment interview ************************************ You will be presented with the key facts about a business scenario the consultant has faced on one of his assignments. What were the core facts known, the core statistics available and the desired outcome from the project. Once you have heard the case study question it will almost always be apparent what the main thrust of the case is, eg.: - Total revenue and Total cost - Market share and Market growth - Online vs Offline distribution channels Your first task would be to define what you see are the main parameters in the case. Let's say that the project we are tackling concerns a company's declining profitability and therefore the main parameters you identify for consideration are Total revenues and Total costs.
Alongside each we would assign a source from which we would try to establish the number of pairs of shoes purchased by each group (this could be magazine surveys, interviews with shops, statistics from online sales, etc)
Even should you find yourself in the unusual situation of knowing more about a case subject than your interviewer, it is highly unlikely that your performance will be enhanced by letting matters descend into an open debate. So please take note of the recommendations overleaf.