Exhibits drills and best practices?

Hi there,

1) What is the best practice to approach exhibits in a case interview?

I would recommend the following:

1. READ THE GRAPH

• Ask for 30 seconds to understand the graph
• Summarize the graph. Read in particular the graph title, the legend, and the footnote. Candidates quite often skip this part and then make mistakes

2. ANALYZE THE GRAPH AND FIND THE KEY INSIGHTS

• Repeat the question. Many candidates don’t spend time clarifying the question; consequently, they answer the wrong question. Be sure to align with the interviewer on what you have to do
• Provide an analysis related to the question. Identify the key insights of the graph based on the question. This is the most difficult part of graph analysis to master, as it is different in every graph. You can improve with drills on your own or coaching

3. PROPOSE THE NEXT STEPS

• State your hypothesis or suggestion on what to do next. Present what should be done next to help further the client to reach the goal
• Ask a question/propose an analysis related to what is needed to move forward. This will show you are able to drive the case forward

2) How can I practice specifically on exhibit interpretation and communication? I was thinking of analyzing exhibits from random cases. any other suggestions?

That’s a possible way. Alternatives could be graph drills from platforms like PrepLounge or, if you have the budget, coaching.

You can find a few cases with Exhibits to practice below:

• NonProfit Case - www.case.tools/smart-education
• Consumer Goods Case - www.case.tools/blissottica

Best,

Francesco

On the coaching side we're equally glad to be a part of it!

Best Rote Practice

RocketBlocks (Preplounge has resources too)

Best Practice Strategy

1) Read the Economist (especially the daily graph section) and BCG Insights

2) Ask case partners and/or coaches to focus particularly on your chart-reading skills (i.e. by providing you with cases with many charts) - Bain and Deloitte cases tend to be chart heavy

Graph Interpretation Tips

1) Read the title - and understand it

2) Read the legends - and understand them

3) Remind yourself of the objective / hypothesis in the case, to see where this might fit

4) Find the differences - where does the line graph plummet or spike? Which column is a lot smaller or bigger than the others? Where does change occur? The differences are what matter

5) Talk outloud while interpreting - first, it helps you think and process your thoughts, second, it lets the interviewer provide guidance and course correct if needed.

I agree with both the other experts. There are a couple of points I would add. 
1. Dont be afraid to go back and forth between graphs and see the relationships between them. This is particularly important on Zoom when there might be related graphs. Ask interviewers to flip between the graphs if you want to read something again (Specially found on Bain cases) 
2. Do not forget to the “note” at the bottom. Sometimes this contains key information 
3. If read the first charts where the order of items is x, y, z. Make sure to check the order of the same items on a related chart. I came across it as x, z, y. This triped up my calculation 

Couple of things I want to emphasize 
1. Look for the sudden change/ spike/ drop in the graphs 
2. Do not forget the “So what” at at end 

Hi there!

The way to get better is practicing as much as possible with similar exercises -those targeted at the same skillset-. Hence, I would strongly recommend you practice it with the Integrated Reasoning part of the GMAT exam.

There are free exams in the internet that you can use for practice (the one of LBS MBA page, VERITAS prep, as well as some free trials for courses such as the one of The Economist (gmat.economist)

Furthermore, you can leverage the MBB tests (in myconsultingoffer, psychometricinstitute, and many others)

Hope it helps!

Best,

Clara