Introduction to Case Studies
By: James Moskowski
What if, during a job interview, an interviewer asked you “how many golf balls it in an airplane?� All of a sudden, you begin to freeze. Where do you even begin your thought process regarding a uestion which seems so bland on the surface? Enter the Case Interview, an interviewing style that re uires the interviewee to rationalize on the spot, responding to a complex, arbitrary business scenario. Here are four helpful tips to consider when tackling the troubles of your next (or potentially irst) case interview:
#1: Understand the question, begin to ask more questions:
If you don’t understand what is being asked, your thought se uence, analysis and solution to the problem will be lawed. Upon being introduced to the case, relay the uestion back to the interviewer in a paraphrased form. This will allow you to con irm already established information that is relevant to your analysis, while possibly leading you to think of more ideas. In fact, the interviewer is expecting you to ask relevant uestions, not just any uestions. For instance, uestions regarding the nature of the business model or any market limitations you are unaware of. Asking irrelevant uestions wastes time and prompts the interviewer to uestion your ability to work with limited information under pressure. Asking relevant uestions propels your thoughts forward, ultimately making you more e icient during the interview.
#2: Practice, Practice, Practice: Similar to a behavioural interview, case interviews re uire a substantial amount of preparation. 9
Preparing for a case interview may seem as the e uivalent to preparing for an exam, studying with a large amount of uncertainty regarding the types of testable uestions. Practicing may include reaching out to a contact or friend with experience in management consulting, a line of business which fre uently uses case interviews during the recruiting process. That being said, your contact does not have to practice management consulting. Reaching out to signi icant others like an experienced parent or teacher, who is willing to devote time to help you study, might offer some bene its. Furthermore, knowing previously-asked case interview uestions is important for understanding the different frameworks you can adhere to, especially for uestions which involve market sizing, strategy, or start-up ventures. These resources can be found on websites of companies like McKinsey & Company or Deloitte, and universities such as Harvard Business School.