Preparation for an informal case interview

Question

Hi everyone,

I have my final round interview next week for a tech strategy firm, and they gave me feedback that I need to structure my responses faster and be more confident in my responses so that I am ready to speak with clients. The final round interview consists of 2 sets of behavioural fit interviews which may involve an "informal" case.

In the course of 4 days, I was hoping to get suggestions on
1) how I could look and showcase confidence during presentations (even during small talk at the beginning)

2) any tips on how to structure cases faster (is it simply practice or are there techniques that people have found would be helpful).

3) What is an informal case and the best way to prepare for one? (they said it will test my business acumen. the company specialises in the TMT, so I was thinking of questions like the impact of 5G, autonomous fleet implications etc..)

Answer 1

Hi!
Good to know that you got a final round!

I think that in such a short amount of time there are few tricks you can work on to improve your performance:

Practice A LOT on your introduction: most of the times you will be asked to introduce yourself or to guide the interviewer through your CV. That is the moment in which you should be ready to impress him, and at the same time to gain confidence and momentum.
Try to have 2/3 flexible frameworks easy to adapt: if you ask for time, 1 or 2 minutes of silence while drawing the structure is fair but no more. If you need more time, try to interact more (e.g., involve the interviewer with clarifying questions, explain the structure before at a high level and later more in detail)
Prepare for standard business case: there is not a category of "informal" business case. As far as you are confident with standard business cases, and you have the technical knowledge they are looking for, it will be fine.

Good luck! Feel free to reach out for additional support you may need.

Answer 2

Hi A,

1) First of all, you should be well prepared to introduce yourself fully and confident and to be able to walk through your CV. You should have an intimate knowledge of your resume and your answer.

2) Well, I would recommend to prepare a few frameworks, so that you might adapt one immedeately for a specific case.

3) If you are well prepared for standard business cases, an informal one might not completely catch you off guard. Also, work on strengthening your quick thinking ability.

Good luck!