What The Interviewer Wants
Understand what interviewers are testing.
It’s about what you can do, not about what you know
The case interview is one of the best ways to test whether a candidate is structured and has a great business sense. The goal of the case is to test one’s methodology and behavior in a real-life business setting. It is thus not meant to test one’s knowledge and expertise in one particular area.
What they are looking for
Simply put, consultants hire candidates they would like to work with. On top of this, the consulting firm is looking for candidates it can send to its clients. The case interview is therefore meant to test the way you work and the way you deal with clients.
- Work — Consultants are looking for creative candidates that have a strong business sense, presence and poise. As you are going to work long hours together, consultants also want to make sure you are fun and easy going.
- Clients — Consider the interviewer as your “client”. Your arguments should be persuasive, your work structured and your assumptions discussed.
Through the case, the interviewer wants to assess whether the candidate possesses the required skills to analytically and logically crack the business problem while being able to convey the message in a persuasive way to its client.
Be a great candidate
The case is central in the interviewing process. During the case, the consultant will test your ability to work in a structured yet creative way, how you can work with detail and ambiguity, how you communicate your thoughts and how you persuade someone. Here are 5 traits great candidates have:
- Structure and creativity — Prioritize the most important issues and design a thoughtful approach to solve the problem. On top of this, you should come up with pragmatic, realistic and creative solutions that answers the question with supporting evidence.
- Quantitative skills — You should be able to simplify complex calculations and confront your results with reality/business sense. The goal is not to crack large and complex calculus. Rather, you should make the required approximations and come up with numbers that make sense.
- Communication and teamwork — The interviewer wants you to clearly communicate your thought process, the assumptions you make and the questions you have. You should summarize your findings during the case and translate these into insight and important takeaways. Speak in a clear and persuasive way while showing empathy, energy and presence.
- Problem solving — Work your way through the case in a logical and critical manner by breaking the larger problem into smaller components. Moreover, you should be able to work with incomplete and ambiguous information by asking the right questions. On top of this, you should be able to assess the risks and consequences of your recommendations.
- Leadership and impact — You should not be let down by the complexity of the problem and rather display a “can do attitude” by staying calm, asking the right questions and managing information flows. You should build on the interviewers’ insights and be willing to follow his guidance when appropriate.
Anyone can master the case interview. It just depends on the personal effort you deploy and the depth of your practice.
Credits
This article was built on great insights and articles from Kellogg Consulting Club, Wharton Consulting Club and Stanford GSB Preparation Guide, Make sure you check these out!
