How Long Should My Framework Take?

Question

For a standard 30 minute case interview, I've heard that you should take ~2-3 minutes to write down a framework and 3 minutes to explain it.

However, for first round interviews with 20 minute cases, this combined with the opening could be almost half the case.

How should I determine how long I can take on a framework and are there any opening questions I can ask the interviewer to get a better idea about the framework time for this individual case?

Answer 1

Hello!

In a 1-h interview, you have arround half an hour for the case, it´s standard.

Hence, the usual is to take ~2 mins to write the tree and then another 2-3 to comment it, followed by interviewer questions.

In any case, as I always tell my coachees, don´t obssess over this either -if they want you to go faster, they will let you know very clearly.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

Dear A,

1-2 min to write down your framework and 2-3 min to explain it's ok for 20-30 min case.

Best,

André

Answer 3

Hi there,

I agree with Francesco in that you should aim for the shorter side. However, 5 minutes altogether is acceptable.

All that being said, the most important is that you have 1) Quickly identified the main areas that matter 2) Can aritculate why you want to look at each one (i.e. what is the outcome/value you're looking for) and 3) Can explain what matters in each one, how you'll look at it/measure it, and include some supporting views/hypotheses.

So, you don't want to take longer than 5 minutes BUT you want to make sure you have items 1-3 covered.

Answer 4

Hi there,

5 minutes to structure and present is on the long side.

As a general benchmark, I would consider the following:

1-2 min to write down the structure
A few mins to present (also depends on the company, at McKinsey usually you have more time to present due to the interviewer-led format – you can find more on the differences here)

They are not strict rules. If you spend more than 2 min to write down the structure, you won’t lose any points. However be ready to have the interviewer ask if you are ready.

It doesn’t mean that initially you will be able to be so fast – it also comes with practice.

Also, cases are usually 30-35 minutes, not 20 minutes, with the exception of some countries (eg BCG Germany for entry-level positions).

Best,

Francesco

Answer 5

Hi, I recommend not spending more than 2 minutes to write down the framework. The explanation instead can also last longer, depending on the interviewer's feedback. If she ask clarification/deep dive questions you can spend more than 3 minutes on it

Best,
Antonello

Answer 6

I would have thought 1-2 minutes to write the framework and 2-3 minutes to explain. Cases tend to average 25-30 minutes and structuring is a very big part of the assessment

Opening questions really depend on the case and unfortunately there aren't any general guidelines here but with practice you will start to get a sense of what information is missing