Case Interview

Candidate-led interviews Case Interview
Recent activity on Jun 02, 2019
4 Answers
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Rahul asked on May 15, 2019

Greetings,

I am having my case interview in two weeks. The interview is going to be for 2 hours, in which the first hour will be given to me to prepare the case and presentation and 2nd round will be of Q&A round about the case. The case is related to the Strategy and Operations.

Could you please tell me which specific cases I should be focusing on?

Thank you in advance.

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Ian
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Content Creator
replied on May 16, 2019
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Should be quite easy to find Operations cases. PrepLounge has that category in their case Library here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases?language=en&topic[]=13&topic[]=8&sort=real-case-desc&page=1&perPage=20

For Strategy you need to be more specific - that's essentially what all cases are. If they haven't been specific, look at what the company/office focuses on. Are they known for market entry? Tramsformations? Growth? M&A? Then, practice these. Additionally, if you know your interviewers, find out what they specialise in, as they will likely give you a case in this area.

Best of luck!

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Vlad
Expert
replied on May 15, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

I've uploaded some samples here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0

(message me for a password)

The best way to prepare is the following:

  1. Check if the calculator is allowed. So far it was. 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
  2. Prepare for a regular case interview - it helps a lot. Basically, prep lounge website is about it
  3. Practice making slides. Look for publically available MBB presentations for reference. Good books are "Pyramid Principle" and "How to make it with charts"
  4. Practice reading cases fast and prioritizing the information. I found useful two 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.

The appropriate structure is the following:

Slide 1: Context, Objective, Recommendations

Slide 2-4: Analysis (Usually 1 slide with a table, 1 slide with graphs and 1 slide with pros and cons)

Slide 5: Next steps or risks & mitigation

Good luck!

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Daniel replied on May 15, 2019
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Anonymous updated the answer on Jun 03, 2019

Hi Rahul,

Obviously, you should be focusing on strategy and operations cases. However, the area of focus depends on your current level, i.e. your case skills, incl. opening the case, structuring the case etc. Also, I believe that "Strategy and Operations" is too broad to give advice on a specific focus area. After all, we are "strategy consultants" so every case is also a strategy case. Try to research the background of your interviewers (in which practice they work) and definitely include these kind of cases in your preparation.

Best regards

(edited)

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Ian gave the best answer

Ian

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