Case interview (Vault)

Vault.comGuidetoConsultingCaseInterviews[1]Whythecase?Yourimpressiveresumemaygetyouaninterviewwithaconsultingfirm,butitwon'tgetyouthejob.Consultantsknowthataresume,atitsverybest,isonlyatwo-dimensionalrepresentationofamulti-faceted,dynamicperson.Andbecauseconsultingfirmsdependonemployingthosemulti-faceted,dynamicpeople,thefirmsrelyheavilyonthecaseinterviewtoscreencandidates.Theinterviewprocessisespeciallypertinentintheconsultingindustrysinceconsultingprofessionalsspendthelion'sshareoftheirbusinessdayinteractingwithclientsandcolleagues,andmustthemselvesconstantlyinterviewclientemployeesandexecutives.Furthermore,consultantsmusthaveaselectsetofpersonalityandleadershiptraitsinordertobesuccessful.Aconsultant?sworkenvironmentisextremelyturbulent.Therearenonstopengagementteamchanges,hostileclientenvironments,countlesspoliticalinfluences,andnear-perpetualtravel.Thesefactorsdictatethatanindividualbecoolunderpressure,beinfluentialwithoutbeingcondescending,behighlyanalytical,havetheabilitytounderstandthegranularaspectsofaproblemwhilesimultaneouslyaggregatingthemtoseethebigpicture,andhavetheabilitytoself-policeabalancebetweenpersonalandprofessionallifestyle.Consultantsareoftenstaffedinsmallgroupsinfar-flungareas.Asaresult,theindividualmustbeabletofunction,andfunctionwell,withoutmanyofthetraditionalworkplacestandards:apermanentworkingspace,theabilitytoreturnhomeeachnight,easilyaccessedservicessuchasadministrativeassistance,faxing,andphotocopying,andthecamaraderiethatdevelopsamongco-workersassignedtothesamebusinessunit.Allthesefactorsnecessitateauniqueinterviewstructurefocusedonassessingacandidate?sabilitytomanagetheseparticularcircumstanceswithprofessionalismandexcellence.Thecaseinterviewhasevolvedasamethodforevaluatingthesecharacteristics.Whatisacase?Simplyput,acaseinterviewistheanalysisofabusinessquestion.Unlikemostotherinterviewquestions,itisaninteractiveprocess.Yourinterviewerwillpresentyouwithabusinessproblemandaskyouforyouropinion.Yourjobistoasktheinterviewerlogicalquestionsthatwillpermityoutomakeadetailedrecommendation.Themajorityofcaseinterviewersdon'thaveaspecificanswerthatyou,thecandidate,areexpectedtogive.Whattheinterviewerislookingforisathoughtprocessthatisatonceanalyticalandcreative(whatconsultantslovetocallout-of-the-boxthinking).Specificknowledgeoftheindustryinquestionisabonusbutnotnecessary.Businessschoolstudentsandcandidateswithsignificantbusinessworldexperiencereceivecasequestionsthatrequireadeeperunderstandingofbusinessmodelsandprocesses.Theinterviewwithaconsultingcompanynormallylastsabouthalfanhour.Ofthistime,about10to20minutesistakenupwithpreliminarychatandbehavioralquestionsandfiveminutesofyouraskingquestionsabouttheVault.comGuidetoConsultingCaseInterviews[2]company.Thisleaves5to15minutesforyourcaseinterviewquestionorquestions.Makethemcount!TypesofcaseinterviewsWhatcaseinterviewsarenotdesignedtodoistoexploreeducational,professional,orexperientialqualifications.Ifyou'vereachedthecaseinterviewstage,takeadeepbreath-theconsultingfirmhasalreadyweighedyourbackground,GPA,andexperienceandfoundyouworthyofadeeperskillassessment.Thismeansthatthecaseinterviewisyourstolose.Triumphoveryourcaseinterviewsandchancesarethataslotatthefirmwillopenforyou.Caseinterviewsvarywidely,butingeneraltheyfallintothreegroups:businesscases,guesstimates,andbrainteasers.Thesequestionsaredesignedtoassessaparticularsetofcandidatecharacteristicsthatanindividualwouldberequiredtopossessaspartofthetacticaland/orlifestyleaspectsofbeingaconsultant.CaseinterviewsCaseinterviewsvarysomewhatintheirformat.Theclassicandmostcommontypeofcaseinterviewisthebusinesscase,inwhichyou'representedwithabusinessscenarioandaskedtoanalyzeitandmakerecommendations.Mostcasesarepresentedinoralform,thoughsomeinvolvehandouts,andafew(likeMonitorCompany's)areentirelywritten.(Thatis,theinterviewerwillnotcontributeanyotherinformationbesideswhat'sonthehandout.)Anothervariationonthecaseinterviewthatisbecomingmorepopularisthegroupcaseinterview,wherethreetosixcandidatesaregroupedtogetherandtoldtosolveacasecooperatively.Consultantsfromthefirmwatchassilentobservers.Thoughyoushouldcertainlybepreparedforthesevariationsoncaseinterviews,youaremostlikelytocomeacrossthetraditional,mano-a-manocaseinterview.GuesstimatesWhetherfree-standingoraspartofacase,learninghowtomakeback-of-the-envelopecalculations(rough,yetbasicallyaccurate)isanessentialpartofthecaseinterview.Aspartofaguesstimate,youmightbeaskedtoestimatehowmanywatermelonsaresoldintheUnitedStateseachyear,orwhatthemarketsizeforanewcomputerprogramthatorganizesyourwardrobemightbe.(Forexample,youmightneedtofigureoutthemarketsizeforthewardrobesoftwareasafirststepindetermininghowtoentertheEuropeanmarket.)Youwillnotbeexpectedtogettheexactnumber,butyoushouldcomeclose-hencetheguesstimate.Non-businessschoolstudentsandotherswhoappeartobeweakquantitativelymaygetstand-aloneguesstimates-guesstimatesgivenindependentlyofacase.BrainteasersBrainteasersarenormallylogicpuzzlesorriddles.Theymaybetimed.Often,brainteasersaremeanttotestbothanalyticando