Error in a case interview

Question

Hi folks,

I had a case interview round with one of the boutique firms in the US. Made some stupid mathematical errors while market sizing. Will that be the end of it or focus is also on other parts of the case?

PS: Mistake led to considering market size at 1bn instead of 12bn.

Answer 1

Hello,

I wouldn't worry about this too much. In market sizing questions, interviewers are more interested in seeing your thought process than the exact numbers you come up with. So if you went through the question in a structured and logical way but just happened to provide an inaccurate number for one of the steps, that is totally fine. If it was a specific mathematical step you got wrong (e.g. you subtracted when you should have divided), that might be a slightly bigger issue, but if the rest of your interview was good and if you showed mathematical prowess in other questions, it shouldn't make or break the interview. Contrary to what many popular consulting prep guides say, you can advance to the next round if you don't get the math perfectly right on all questions. I wouldn't worry about this too much, and focus more on how you felt the interview went overall.

Answer 2

Hi there,

I actually don't think 1b vs 12b is eggregious for a market sizing within a case.

Here's what's critical:

If you noted the difference and moved on, incorporating the new number into your analysis
If you didn't let this phase you/affect the rest of your performance
If your general approach and estimation during the market sizing was reasonable and made sense

If the above is true (and you did well in the rest of the case) then this would not be a dealbreaker. Of course, this comes with the caveat that we can't predict the outcome here.

Answer 3

Hey there,

Hard to tell without witnessing the overall performance.

In short: Yes, it could mean the end if the error was grave and the rest of the case was not excellent either. Interviewers always look at the big picture, however, you should still have a baseline good performance across all elements of the case and a spike in some areas.

You will find out soon.

Fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 4

Only one way to find out - let the results come in.

Do update us on this question.

However, in case the outcome is not favorable - it may NOT be due to the error you point. It could also be due to some other parameters.

You can ask for a feedback call as well.

Answer 5

1b vs 12b is a pretty huge delta. Regardless, its done now so no point speculating. You will find out anyway.

Move on from this and continue to improve.

All the best.