Notes During Cases

Question

Hello, I'm having some troubles taking notes during a case, I can follow up easily with the interviewer, but my notes are sometimes messy, and if I have multiple calculations, and need to revisit some of them later during the case, I kind of struggle because everything is mixed up together! do you have any specific methods you use to take notes? do you divide the paper into sections?

Answer 1

In regards to your casing template

1) A seperate sheet for each "portion" of the case...with clear locations + methods for title/subject, notes, calculations, takeaways, etc.

2) Figuring out a location for everything and where each information type should go

3) Seperate sheet for math calculations

In regards to quickly taking notes in general

1) Decide physical vs virtual - are you a faster typer or writer?

2) If virtual, pick the best tool - try outlook draft emails (so you can store/organize with your email), try notepad, try a tablet so you can write on it, etc....find the one that works for you

3) Only write down what is important - you should know this! You don't need to capture everything. Just like in a case, figuring out what information is not needed is just as valuable as figuring out what information is needed.

4) And then, what you do write down, write it in shorthand!

I.e. If I say "Your client is Bills Bottles. They earn $800M in profits each year by manufacturing bottles to soda companies in the US and Europe. Over the past two years they've seen profits falling and have brought you in to investigate"

You should write:

Bills Bottles
Manufacture
Client = soda comp
800M P
P [down arrow] 2 yrs
US + Europe
Obj: Fix P

Answer 2

This is how I take notes on my main page (see picture). Key is to use the main page only for your initial framework and the most critical insights. That way you can easily replay the final recommendation including the 2-3 key facts to support your recommendation at the end of the case.

Answer 3

Hi,

Split the main sheet into 2 parts and then the left part into 2 quadrants:

Upper left - initial information given at the beginning of the interview and while asking clarifying questions
Lower left - Your objective. The objective should be measurable and should have a timeline
Right part - Your structure and the whole case flow

Also, a good practice is to put the key numbers near the corresponding buckets (e.g. market size next to the corresponding bullet)

! Have a separate sheet for math calculations!

Best!

Answer 4

Hello!

I honestly don´t agree with having templates for note making.

Even less in consulting interviews, when topics are very very wide and plenty of chances, hence, it´s almost impossible to have a pre-populated template that will adapt correly.

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 5

Hi, in addition to the good inputs of my colleagues I strongly suggest using a separate sheet for calculations and highlighting the most important numbers or evidences to quicker structure recommendations

Best,
Antonello

Answer 6

Hello there!

Great comments above, some small things you could also use:

There should be at least 2 sheets - for the case and for the math.
Don't write everything, only what's relevant.
Try to give numerical names to your calculations.
Keep some space for the next issue trees

Here you can also find useful pieces of advice
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-take-better-clearer-notes-during-case-interviews-673

Was it helpful?

GB

Answer 7

Hi, I would suggest to have 3 separate sheets:

First sheet is where you note the case context & question, write your structure and jot down key conclusions from your analysis
Second sheet is where you do your math formula, sub-framework (if any) and analysis
Third sheet and more as needed is your scratch paper