How to improve on feedback

Hi Anonymous,

First of all, I am sorry to hear you didn't get to the second round. 

To answer your question about your second point: you are given one possible example of how you can build more depth in your structure. It really depends on the actual question and the case context to understand what the right structure should be. Other things you could look at are 'different types of variable cost (e.g. labor, raw materials, ...), different types of fixed cost (e.g. initial investment, maintenance, ... ), just to name a few. 

Getting better at this, requires futher practicing and further casing,... No magic trick here, other than getting more experience and seeing more examples. So I would recommend to keep on doing case interviews (with other people) and focusing especifically on further developing your case structure.

Cheers,

Pascal

Hi there,

Did you literally say R - C, FC, VC, and Volume segment?

If so, the first mistake was not making it tailored to the case.

Secondly, remember that, always, you are solving a specific/tailored question. Your framework needs to have a clear objective and flow and set of hypotheses!

So, within FC and VC, what do you think they are? How do you think they're behaving? How would you go about determining what matters and what doesn't? For volume segments, are you splitting by product, customer, geography, etc. and why? How will you parse through the information for an answer.

By 2-3 layers they really likely mean you're missing the why and the how. A framework is a project plan, not a laundry list of items/ideas.

Hope this helps, and I highly recommend coaching to help instill this mindset shift!

General Framework Guide

If there's anything to remember in this process, is that cases don't exist just because. They have come about because of a real need to simulate the world you will be in when you are hopefully hired. As such, remember that they are a simplified version of what we do, and they test you in those areas.

As such, remember that a framework is a guide, not a mandate. In the real-world, we do not go into a client and say "right, we have a framework that says we need to look at x, y, and z and that's exactly what we're going to do". Rather, we come in with a view, a hypothesis, a plan of attack. The moment this view is created, it's wrong! Same with your framework. The point is that it gives us and you a starting point. We can say "right, part 1 of framework is around this. Let's dig around and see if it helps us get to the answer". If it does, great, we go further (but specific elements of it will certainly be wrong). If it doesn't, we move on.

So, in summary, learn your frameworks, use the ones you like, add/remove to them if the specific case calls for it, and always be prepared to be wrong. Focus rather on having a view, refering back to the initial view to see what is still there and where you need to dive into next to solve the problem.

Some other Q&As on Profitability for your reference

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-structure-and-choose-framework-for-profitability-case-3957

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/profitability-case-7008

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/profitability-too-narrow-a-framework-8343

Sorry to hear about the rejection. It is good that you are looking to learn from your experience to apply it to other interviews

Going deeper here like Pascal suggested would be coming up with more examples of what goes under each bucket (e.g., Volume based discounts, fixed prices, prices for preferred retailers etc.)

All the best,

Udayan

Hi,

Several ideas here:

1. Literally add the next layer (e.g. examples of costs)
2. Revenue is not always about price and volume (think of a retail store)
3. Your structure is not just the initial structure, but structuring through the whole case. Maybe you just forgot to structure it further in order to find a root cause? Every step that you take to drill deeper should have a structure

Best

It is important to be structured throughout the case, esp. during brainstorming as well. I think your initial structure needs to be tailored to the case, using the relevant terms/metrics focused on that industry e.g. price per unit in FMCG or subscription fee in SaaS industry etc.

More important is structured brainstorming, which is what a lot of coaches here will help you with (pick anyone!). At every step of the case, you're being judged for how structured you are, while also looking at the quality of your ideas. Practice a lot more of structured brainstorming - that is a big differentiator for candidates.

Hello!

Sorry to hear about that. 

One thing that is clearly missing in that structure are factors that go beyond the economic analysis (e.g., political and social factors, risks) Going beyond the classics is what makes the difference, particularly in rather simple cases like this one. 

Cheers!