Exhibit Data

Question

Dear community,

How do you react or behave when you are presented with the exhibit during the interview? My approach is as follow which I find can use some improvement:

Step 1: I ask clarifying questions if any or if I did not understood anything.

Step 2: Upon sharing of exhibit, I request interviewer around 30 seconds to read and analyze through it. (I am not sure how to skip this or reduce since I usually need some time to analyse exhibit)

Step 3: I present my analysis in top-down communication format and try to tie it back to the main goal. Furthermore, I try to communicate how should we proceed ahead in case or answer Q&A from interviewer.

The issue is the total time taken in this approach which I would like to reduce. My overall case timing is greater than 30 minutes which I would like to reduce within 30 minutes. Thank you for your support.

Answer 1

1. I would say the only thing you need to clarify is the objective

2. Then yes, take your time to go through the exhibit and again ask questions if something is not clear to you.

3. You have this one backwards. You focus on what's relevant to the main goal and then you use top-down communicattion. This is not about finding something “interesting" and then hopefully tying it back to the goal - this is about finding how the exhibit supports (or not) the recommendation. If you focus on the objective right from the start I guarantee you will be fast!

[Another advice I have is to avoid describing the slide. That is the most time-consuming thing candidates do, and it is not necessary. You only do this when you are having trouble reading the slide and want to confirm your interpretation.]

If after doing all of this, you still think that you still take a lot of time, it may be that you just take too long to understand the exhibits, because you are not used to doing it. In this case, you have to practice.

However, let me tell you that it can just be that your own expectations are wrong. An exhibit necessarily takes a bit of time. Take your time. Better to do it right than to do the mistake of starting to talk without knowing the insight you want to communicate.

Answer 2

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

Generally speaking, your approach seems to be fine and time-efficient.
Still, I would advise you to (optionally) describe the exhibit before your interpretation, especially when the exhibit is not straight-forward. This way, you will ensure your interpretation is not off.
Another aspect though obvious is that you should tailor your interpretation on the overall goals.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare the different components of a case study, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Answer 3

Hi there,

Summarize the exhibit in a setence or 2 (do not read every line, but summarize)
Take some time
Flag key insights that relate to solving the objective
Identify next steps to drive the case forward

Answer 4

Hi!

Step 3 - I would start from the objective/hypothesis you have. This will speed up your interpretation of the exhibit.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Anto