Consulting Club at Berkeley 1 Case Book 2012-‐2013
Case Book 2012-‐2013 January 2013, © Consulting Club @ Berkeley
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An undergraduate guide to case interview preparation
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Case-‐specific experience from Berkeley graduates in consulting industry
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A navigation tool to training resources at CCB
U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a B e r k e l e y
2 http://consulting.berkeley.edu
Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION
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1.1 WHAT TO FIND IN CCB CASE BOOK 1.2 HOW THIS BOOK COMPLEMENTS CCB TRAINING
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2. CASE INTERVIEW PREPARATION -‐ BASICS
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2.1 KNOWLEDGE +BUSINESS TERMS, BUZZWORDS AND CONCEPTS +INDUSTRY-‐SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE +FRAMEWORKS AND HOW TO USE THEM 2.2 PREPARATION +BE AN EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWER FOR YOUR CASE PARTNER +ANSWERING CASE QUESTIONS 2.3 POST-‐INTERVIEW EVALUATION
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3. CASE INTERVIEW PREPARATION-‐ADVANCE
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4. PREPARATION BY CASE TYPE
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4.1 MARKET SIZING (NUMBERS) 4.2 PROFITABILITY PROBLEM (SALES, COST ADN PROFITS) 4.3 GROWTH STRATEGIES 4.4 MARKET ENTRY 4.5 COMPETITIVE RESPONSE (INDUSTRY ANALSYSIS 4.6 NEW BUSINESS (PRICING STRATEGIES / NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)
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5. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND REFERENCES
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Consulting Club at Berkeley 3 Case Book 2012-‐2013
1. Introduction-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐
1.1 What to find in CCB Case Book A case is usually a business situation where the client is facing a difficult problem with the company, a product, competitors or a new opportunity to explore and asks you to help address some of the issues. It is an exercise for the firms to test your analytical thinking and to examine how well you can handle problem-solving questions. CCB Case Book is compiled with Cal's undergraduate interests in consulting in mind. For undergraduate students, the prospect of analyzing and presenting a case in front of an interviewer might be daunting. Worse, for a student not yet equipped with business training, it takes months for him or her to transform into an analytical business decision-maker. Starting from the most basic terminologies, concepts and analytical structures, this book shows you that problemsolving skills can be trained. Moreover, for those who merely want to know about the industry, this book is also a great read to determine whether consulting is actually right for you. If you do not enjoy problem-solving case interviews, the likelihood that you will enjoy consulting is fairly small. What makes the book unique is also its richness in first-hand experience from various alumni who had excelled in their case interviews as well as from professional consultants in the realworld arena. They are the people who you will have a chance to have in-depth discussion with during club events, who will act as your mentors. They were kind enough to share their insights on specific cases selected from a range of top-notch consulting firms as well as from a range of case types. This is to ensure a broad exposure to case questions and the diverse culture of firms. Also, their narration on personal experience surrounding case interviews and recruitment will hopefully mentally prepare you for your Big Day.
1.2 How this book complements CCB Training Consulting Club at Berkeley takes a structured approach in case interview training. Cases are divided into different case types. Each chapter is covered (extensively or briefly depending on progress of members) either by experienced upperclassmen, MBA students or alumni, followed by case practices between partners. Materials are also available to members for perusal outside of sessions. Besides that, a multitude of references to other case books and online resources are carefully selected for further information on specific topics. Thus, CCB Case Book forms the core of CCB Training as well as a starting point for you to move beyond. As an aspiring consultant, remember that competency exists not just in what you know. It is
4 http://consulting.berkeley.edu also evident by how you package your knowledge and how you present yourself both during and outside of interviews. Subtleties are critical in establishing your credibility and effectiveness with interviewers and ultimately with clients. Thus, CCB cultivates these subtleties through our mentorship program and a series of professional events such as mock interviews, case competition, and career workshops.
2. Case Interview Preparation-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Basics
2.1 Knowledge
+ Business terms, buzzwords and concepts
[ First-Person ]
+ Industry-‐specific knowledge Case interviews span a broad range of industries. You may encounter everything from Financial Services to Mining to Education to Formula 1. For those of you who have not worked as consultants before will likely not have any background in most of these industries, The following samples showcase how to prepare for a very high level view of some ‘typical’ industries that cases focus on. For further insights, you can also attend the industry primer series led by partners from various firms as they will capture key insights and latest trends in those industries that tend to be popular in cases. A very basic overview of an industry helps to more effectively tackle a case. At the very least it helps you construct a framework that is most applicable to that particular problem context. For examples, in the consumer goods sector, branding is an important driver of success. In the pharmaceutical industry, generics manufacturers pose a major competitive threat. Having said that, while spending a little time informing yourself about the basics of a few key industries should improve your problem-solving ability, it is not necessary to master industry specifics or
memorize industry data.
Consulting Club at Berkeley 5 Case Book 2012-‐2013