Critical Thinking in Math Questions

Hi there, 

It makes sense that this is where you are currently failing. This the most difficult part of the interview - the actual interpretation and contextualization of the results - and the one that requires most practice. 

To begin with, aside from continuing practicing, what I would recommend is to take more time before answering. Try and take 50% or even 100% more time so as to think deeper about the answer you have to give. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

It's pretty hard to advise you just via text here…

This requires coaching where the exact root cause of this problem is identified and worked on.

That said, it sounds like a combination of lack of case leadership and lack of business acumen.

You need to improve case leadership (tricky, best done through coaching) and you need to improve business acumen (through research, daily reading, and creating industry deep-dives).

Ultimately, across the entire case (math, exhibits, questions, etc.), you need to always be objective-driven and think “why” slash “so what”.

You are right in identifying that if you are given a data point, it almost always should play a part in your analysis. One simple check you could do is once you have set up your equation, to quickly run through the list of what you have been given and make sure there are no “unused” data points as a habit.

Your approach to lay out the equation is the right one, and it will also ensure that the interviewer can identify how you are using the information and correct you if needed. One thing you may also do to try to catch this type of mistake is to be more explicit about the assumptions you have made, and run these by the interviewer e.g. “I have assumed in option B that storage costs do not apply, have I understood this option correctly?”

Hi there,

Hard to give general advice. As for the example you give, you should have followed two steps:

1. Verify variables: If you're working with variables for two or more scenarios, you essentially end up with a matrix. What you should be doing is systematically go through each intersection of the matrix to verify the validity and specificity of each variable. ▶ This systematic approach should prevent anything falling through the cracks and would have saved you.
2. Set up equation: Once you're clear on the variables, you set up your equations according to the objective you're trying to solve for. ▶ It seems as though you focused on this part exclusively, which is important but not sufficient

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

Hello!

It seems to me that you are already taking the right steps to become a master in tricky math questions, congrats :)

Unfortunately, the only non-original advise that I can give you here is: practice, practice, practice. Only by doing a bunch of those you would realize mistakes like the one you point out, and don´t do them again. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi there,

It's difficult to know your precise areas of improvement without doing a mock session. However, I would suggest that before you do the math you can clarify your thinking with the interviewer and also ask logical questions to understand the business model. If you have not worked in a particular industry it's difficult to understand the business model so you can ask hypothesis-driven questions during the interview 

(edited)