Should I tell my interviewer that I already did the case he/she is giving me?

Hi,

this scenario has a very low likelihood. If a company kept recycling the same cases over several years (recruiting cycles), it would pretty much be guaranteed that candidates knew what to expect because people talk about the cases they were given.
Therefore, there are typically new cases all the time and a lot of interviewers base them on real life projects they have been working on. Add to that the rotation of interviewers for different recruiting days/interview rounds and you have many permutations of cases a candidate could get. 

But for the off-chance of you getting the same case twice, I’d be strategic about it. 
You‘ll likely still get exposed to plenty of new stuff along the way. 

Good luck

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, unfortunately, I have seen this situation with my coachees a few times already. While I am not disclosing the company's name, strategy consulting companies seem to not always thoroughly track candidate history.
• Moreover, as you already mentioned, there are advantages and drawbacks to both options. As such, while I do not feel this is something you need to prepare mentally for, I would advise you to react in the way that feels right for you when you are in the situation.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

I would be truly truly shocked if this happens! I don't like saying “never” or “always”, but we're talking like a .00001% chance here.

Utimately, you need to weigh the “risk” that they tracked your past case with the “reward” of you doing better on the case.

The decision is yours based on your values/risk threshold etc.

Seriously though, you probably have better odds of winning the lottery.

Hi there, 

It's almost impossible for them to give you a case that you know because most interviewers come up with the case on their own. 

If you happen to know it however, do tell them. Otherwise they'll be able to tell and then it won't look good on you.

Best,
Cristian

It is extremely unlikely that this will happen, but if it does I recommend being honest. If they were to find out that you didn't own up to having done the case before it'd be an immediate rejection - honesty is so important.