Tips on capturing prompt accurately

Question

Hi,

I sometimes struggle to take notes quickly and simulataneoulsly capture all the key information of a prompt. I write in bullet form and only try to jot down relevant information. I would greatly appreciate any tips on how I can improve in this area.

Many Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi there,

That's a common challenge. I had someone ask me just yesterday.

My take on this is the following: It's really hard to do both at the same time and I find that it's typically better to listen more, writing only the key points, than to try to capture everything.

The challenge is really because everyone is anxious to try and capture everything in writing and this makes it even harder to listen. Nobody is looking at your notes (even if they collect them afterward) so the point is to help you solve the case, not to create a structured write-up! I encourage you to make it easier for yourself by only writing down key points that you will not remember unless you have recorded them.

Why do I think this? A few reasons:

Even if you do successfully capture everything on paper, are you really going to be able to find the information you are looking for later with so much text on your page?
Do you really need to write down the industry or the country or the name of the client? Sure, those are important, but you will surely remember much of this within the next 2 minutes. I think that time and headspace is much better spent actively listening to (looking at) the interviewer to try an interpret what's important.
Better to write down things that you would forget like 50% market share in America, but 25% market share globally.

So, bottom line, my advice is to only write down what needs writing down and this way you'll have a much easier time capturing all the key information in your head.

One other approach to consider: I have seen some interviewees come prepared with a structured sheet for notetaking, with different pre-labeled sections that they complete during the prompt. I don't love this idea, but it's pretty neat and might work for you.

Best of luck,

Allen

Answer 2

Hi,

1) Write 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

2) Have a place for things

Especially now that we are in a virtual world, you can prepare your sheet of paper beforehand. Write down the following as labels:

Client:
Product:
Revenues:
Profits:
Costs:
Objective: (Top of sheet)
Etc.

You can find some additional helpful Q&As here

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-on-capturing-key-points-of-a-case-prompt-during-a-case-interview-7033

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-take-good-notes-during-a-case-interview-7034

Answer 3

Hi there,

For the key information, it might be useful to practice with any kind of text. Use the descriptions of the cases that you find online. The more you do it, the more you become accustomed to what’s relevant and what’s not and how to discern it.

Try these tips for more efficiency:

Use abbreviations, write in shorthand. It doesn’t matter what signs and letters you use as long as it works for you.
Divide the sheet into sections and use them for different types of information.
Try a mind-map approach.
Always write down the entire question and go back to it before solving every part of the case and before giving an answer.

Hope it was helpful. Do you have any further questions?

Best,

GB

Answer 4

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 5

Hello!

Gets better with practice, since it´s something you need to get used to.

In any case, bullet points and writting acronims and in short are the tips that help me most.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 6

Hi,

I would suggest to listen more and capture only the key points. It is very difficult to try to capture both. After the prompt, reconfirm your understanding of the context and questions to the interviewer and add into your notes things that you missed.

The most important thing is to really clear about the QUESTION and key data. Keep practicing :)

Answer 7

Hi there,

In terms of how to take notes, I would suggest to divide the first page into 4 parts as follows:

top-left: who is the client
bottom left: initial information
top right: objectives
bottom right: structure

Landscape format in general works better. Sometimes you will have to go back and forth, as you may get information, objective 1, additional information, objective 2, etc.

The vertical line should be closer to the left border and the horizontal line should be closer to the top border so that there is more space for the structure.

After the first page, you can structure as follows:

top-left: name of the first area analyzed
bottom left: structure for the first area
top right: name of the second area analyzed
bottom right: structure for the second area

The vertical line can now be in the middle so that the left and right parts have the same distance.

Besides that, you can also improve your notes and speed with the following:

Ask the interviewer to repeat in case you missed information. It is better to ask for missing information upfront rather than later
Do a recap after the prompt. This ensures you took notes correctly since the interviewer will correct you otherwise
Use abbreviations. Eg, for revenues use R, for costs use C, for increase use an arrow directed up, etc.
Write down essential information only. You do not have time to write everything, thus you should exercise in writing down only the necessary information. If you have a client that produces steel which has four plants, with a revenue problem, your notes could be something as Steel producer, R (arrow down), 4 plants
Keep a separate sheet for math if you tend to be disorganized in that part

Hope this helps,

Francesco