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1CaseQuestionsCasequestionsaremostcommonlyusedinconsultinginterviews,buttheycanbeusedinothersituations,suchasininterviewsformarketingpositionswithconsumergoodscompanies.Simplyput,acaseinterviewistheanalysisofabusinessquestion.Unlikemostotherinterviewquestions,itisaninteractiveprocess.Yourinterviewerwillpresentyouwithabusinessproblemandaskyouforyouropinion.Yourjobistoasktheinterviewerlogicalquestionsthatwillpermityoutomakeadetailedrecommendation.Themajorityofcaseinterviewersdon'thaveaspecificanswerthatyou,thecandidate,areexpectedtogive.Whattheinterviewerislookingforisathoughtprocessthatisatonceanalyticalandcreative.Here'sasamplecasequestion:Youareadvisingacreditcardcompanythatwantstomarketaprepaidphonecardtoitscustomers.Isthisagoodidea?You:Whatistheroleofourcompany?Dowesimplymarketthecardormustwecreatethemourselves?Interviewer:Thiscardwillbeco-marketedwithanoutsidephonecompany.Wedon'tneedtoperformtelecommunicationsfunctions.You:Whatareourexpensesconnectedwiththecard?Interviewer:Wemustpay15centsforeveryminutewesell.Wealsohavetopay$1.00asastart-upcostforthecardandcardsystems.You:Whatareourmarketingexpenses?Interviewer:Wenormallyuseslipsofpaperthatareattachedtothebacksofourcreditcardpaymentenvelopes.Wesometimesalsosendcustomersadirectmailing-inaseparateenvelope.Orwecanhavetelemarketerscallselectedcustomers.You:What'sthecostofeachofthesemarketingtechniques,andwhatistheirresponserate?Interviewer:Telemarketershavea2percentresponserate,andcost$1.00percall.Directmailingscostus40centspermailingandhavea0.50percentrateofresponse.Ourpaymentattachmentshavea0.25rateofresponse,butonlycostus5centseach.You:I'mgoingtoassumewewillsellone-hourphonecards.Thatwillcostus$9.00fortheminutesandadollarpercard-soeachcardcostsus$10.Interviewer:Thatsoundsreasonable.You:Andwhatisourexpectedrevenueonaone-hourphonecard?Whatisthecurrentmarketratefora60-minutephonecard?Interviewer:Assumeit's50centsaminute.You:Soifwesellthecardsfor$30,wehavea$20profit,minusourexpendituresonmarketing.Interviewer:What'sourcoststructurelooklike?2You:Okay,let'sfigurethisout.Tosell1,000cardsthroughtelemarketing,wewouldneedtocontact50,000people.Thatwouldcostus$50,000.Tousedirectmail,wewouldhavetocontact200,000thousandpeople,which,at40centspermailing,costsus$80,000.Sincetheenvelopeinsertsaren'tveryreliable,wewillneedtocontact800,000peopleusingthatmethod.Butat5centseach,itcostsonly$20,000tosell1,000cards.Wemake$20profitoneachcard.Butevenatthecheapestpromotionalvehicle,at$20profit,wewouldonlybreakeven,becauseourprofitson1,000cardswouldbe$20,000.Weshouldn'tmarketthiscard,unlesswecanfurthercutourmarketingcostsorincreasethepriceofthecard.Ifwecouldslicethecostoftheenvelopeattachmentsapennyorso,orsellthecardfor$35,orconvinceourco-marketertoreduceourcosts,itmightbeworthselling.Commonly-askedQuestionsCompaniesthesedayslookformorethanwhetheryou'reawittyorespeciallycoolindividualwhenitcomestopersonality.Amongthecharacteristicshighestontheirlistareteamworkandinnovation.Theymaynotaskwhetheryouareateamplayer,orcreative--doesn'tmeanyoushouldn'tgoaheadandtellthem.Butthenagain,alotofinterviewerswillaskyououtright:tellmewhyyourpersonaltraitswillworkhere.1.Whyareyouapplyingforthisposition?Probablythemostcommonlyaskedquestionatjobinterviews.Youneedtoconvinceyourinterviewerthatyouareenthusiasticaboutthejob.2.Tellmeaboutatimewhenyouusedinitiative/Givemeanexampleofwhenyoucameupwithaninnovativesolution/Givemeanexampleofatimeyouexceededexpectations.Inthisever-changingworldinwhichwework,employeesaresupposedtobeinnovative,tobeabletothinkoutsideofthebox.Questionslikethese(suchasthewaytheinitiativequestionandexceededexpectationsquestionsareworded)canbeusedasopportunitiestotalkaboutcreativefaculties--pickaninstancewhenshowinginitiativemeantcomingupwithanout-of-the-ordinarysolution.3.Iseeonyourresumethatyouservedaschairpersonofsuch-and-suchcommittee.Whatwasthatexperiencelike?Alongwithinnovation,employersoftenlookforleadershipability.Ingeneral,interviewersarelookingforevidenceofawillingnesstolisten,anabilitytogivefeedback,andafirmnesswhenitcomestogettingthingsdone.4.Whatwouldmembersofyourbasketballteam/businessschoolcohort/butterflycatchingexpeditionsayaboutyou?Tellusaboutatimeyouhadtodealwithadifficultteammember.Teamworkisanotherhighlyvaluedtraitthesedays,companiesarelookingforemployeeswhoworkwellingroups.Ifyourinterviewerdoesn'tbringupteamwork,doityourself.Thesequestionsaresimilartotheleadershipquestions-interviewersarelookingforbothanopennesstoideasandawillingnesstonudgeteammemberstowardagoal.35.Whydidyoudecidetoswitchcareers/Whydidyoudecidetogobacktoschool/Whydidyoutaketimeoffduringcollege?Bepreparedtowalkthroughyourresumewithyourinterviewer,especiallyatcompaniesthatliketopromotefromwithin.Theywanttoknowthatyou'recommittedtotheindustryandwillbeloyaltotheircompany.6.Wheredoyouseeyourselfin5years?Youdon'tnecessarilyneedtosaythatyouwanttoworkforthecompanyforever,butyoushouldexpresshowyouthinkthepositiontowhichyouareapplyingwillhelpyougrow.7.Soyoujustgraduated.Howdidyoulikeschool?Lovedit.Learnedsom