A.T.Kearney individual case study exercise

Hi,

it's a 1 hour written case. I would use the following approach to prepare:

1) Prepare for a regular case interview - it helps a lot. Basically, prep lounge website is about it

2) Check if the calculator is allowed. If not - you have to train mental math. I posted the main tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-to-do-big-multiplications-in-my-mind-726#a1422

3) Practice doing slides.

• Study "Say it with Charts" book by Barbara Minto
• Check all available MBB presentations and publications. Practice deriving conclusions from the slides. You can find tons of them (https://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?lang=%2A%2A&page=1&q=mckinsey+presentation&qid=d321c385-1cbc-4dfc-8b8e-d91bf553784e&searchfrom=header&sort=relevance)
• Try to reproduce their slides in PPT / on paper. Check yourself by trying to make a slide on any given business article.

4) Practice reading cases fast and prioritizing the information. I found several useful sources:

• Written cases you'll be able to find in google or in case books. I've seen a couple in "Vault Guide to the Case Interview" and "Insead Business Admission Test"
• Harvard cases - either buy or try to find online. You can find a couple of MIT cases here for free: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/Pages/Case-Studies.aspx Unfortunately free cases don't have the prep questions.

5) Practice written cases. For example, try a BCG Wine in a Basket practice case https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0

Good luck!

Hi Anonymous,

quoting a previous post, the answer would depend on whether you have also to prepare the slides or not. The usual steps to follow in a written case are:

1. Learn how to define a plan of action and stick to that

2. Practice graph interpretation

3. Work on quick reading and quick understanding of key information

4. Practice quick math

5. Learn how to communicate your slides/answers (if required)

At the following link you can find a detailed description of each of these areas:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hi-guys-who-has-experience-with-doing-a-bcg-written-case-any-ideas-on-how-to-prepare-for-this-suggestionskey-takeawaysexamples-are-more-than-welcome-thanks-a-lot-for-your-help-569

If you have also to prepare slides I would also recommend to work on

#1: structure the slides

There are three basic components for slides:

1. Title
2. Chart or data
3. Label for chart

Many people structure the title as the mere description of what the chart is telling. A great title, instead tells the implication of the graph. Eg say the graph is showing a cost structure for a division. A bad title would be: Cost structure from 2005 to 2015. A good title would be: Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable”. A great title would be Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable due to ABC, assuming you have insides on the cause. The rule of thumb for the title is that if you read all the titles of the slides together you should get a clear idea of what is going on.

# 2: present the slides

When you present, I would suggest the following steps for each slide:

1. Introduce the slide: “Let’s move to slide 2, which will show us why we have an issue with this division”
2. Present the main message of the slide: “As you can see, we have a cost structure which makes for us not feasible to be competitive in this market”
3. Provide details: “The graph, indeed, shows how our fix cost is XYZ, while competitors can benefit from economies of scale. Indeed…”

Best,

Francesco

(edited)

You should pick a topic that interests you and offers a lot of potential for discussions. Maybe already imagine arguments or statements where you can discuss a lot. Since it is in English, make sure to look up all the relevant terms that could come up if youre not native like me. The main focus wont be the topic, though. Important is a good structure and perfect time management. So make sure you have that covered and then you should be fine :) If youre really nervous about it, maybe practise with someone and they can give you feedback. But I don’t think it’s really necessary. Good luck!

Hello! Congrats on the ATK interview!

Written case interviews are indeed becoming very fashionable nowadays as a way to interview!

Remember that the skillset tested is the same than in the "usual" cases, hence, all the practice you may have done totally plays in your favor.

One important point to add is the need to be very 80-20, structured and to the point, since the prep time is very short, so we need discipline with the analysis to have enaugh time to prep the communication strategy.

There are many many entries in thsi same Q&A regarding written cases, hence, I would recommend you to look with the keywords "written case"

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara