Is it better to keep the case structure light, or condensed?

Question

I'm currently using 2 different learning materials: Case Coach and Crafting Cases. One difficulty I have is that the case structuring styles of these 2 materials are very different. Using these case examples, could you share your thoughts please?

1) Case Coach: the structure seems very fluid. Though simplified, I can spend more time talking through my views and hypotheses. However, the downside is that the structure seems a bit too “generic” and too “light”. I feel that if the interviewer probe deeper there's a possibility I could get lost.

2) Crafting Cases:

Tend to go very deep and specific. Seems to be a good resource to practice structuring on my own, but I'm not sure whether it's the best structure for live interviews. Firstly, it's hard to come up with such a complicated structure in 1.5-2 min. Secondly, in real interviews it's hard to communicate the structure in 2 min; interviewers might think that I'm not “prioritizing” major issues for the case.

Note:

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Answer 1

Hello,

I like the Crafting Cases approach more. You might not be able to come up with something this extensive on the fly, but this is the level of detail you want to be getting down to in your frameworks, and a good amount of specificity in the questions. So, you’d target a structure like this, and if you come up with 80% of the questions they have there, you should be good. Regarding communicating this to the interviewer, you should figure out a good structure that communicates the points succinctly over time with practice. I agree with your assessment that the Case Coach framework is both a bit too generic and not detailed enough.

Answer 2

Hi there,

I much prefer crafting cases approach.

In fact, when my candidates work through all of my course, and want more frameworking practice, I point them to crafting cases.

They take the approach of truly solving the problem. Breaking it down in an objective-driven way that is logical. They focus on the why/how not just the what.

This is my personally pilosophy as well for coaching.

Case coach is a bit more rigid/generic/memorized.

Here's a bit more reading on that thinking (and how to prep properly):

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

Answer 3

I prefer case coach - because I really don't like the “bucket” approach of that Crafting Cases example.

In a good framework, you are trying to answer a question in each specific step. “Customers is not really a question”… it is just a laundry list of good questions grouped into logical topics. Moreover, it uses the overused CCCP approach

In this sense, Case Coach is the right approach (that is actually a framework, and you could keep breaking each step into another 2-3 logical components.

However, it misses something that is critical for a good case performance, i.e., it does not provide you any insights on what are the specific questions to ask. Crafting cases does not have a framework, but actually gives you insight on the specific questions to ask.

Answer 4

Hi there,

If you have to choose, go for depth and breadth.

Especially for firms such as McKinsey.

So I'd lean more for the condensed version.

Sharing with you an additional resource you might find useful:

Free Guide: Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming

Best,
Cristian