How to be "fast" in structuring a case?

Hi there,

As long as your quality is good (first priority), then here is my advice for speed:

1. Use shorthand (pie for profits, up arrow for increase, comp. for competition, prod. for product, etc.)
2. Don't write full sentences - single words suffice!
3. Think about your framework like a presentation - do you need to write every idea down?
4. If listing ideas/examples, move on the moment your hand stops writing
5. Focus more on creating an outline/skeleton of your structure. Rely on your brain to come up with the explanation/examples as you talk through the framework itself (news flash: you can say things that aren't actually written in your framework!)

Good luck!

A few thoughts: 

- You will get faster the more you practice, ie the more you do cases, so keep doing cases obviously

- Best practice is to write only your first and second-level on paper, anything else you can think of on the spot. If you have more time in your 2mn, then you can add a few more 3rd level ideas on paper, but trust yourself to think on the spot. It will also provide a more natural feel to the interviewer when you communicate, making eye contact instead of keeping your eyes on paper to read your notes

- What worked for me to get into McKinsey when I was trying to improve on my structure was exclusively answering the structuring question of the case (typically the first one) and not necessarily doing the full case. It takes 2mn to read the context, 2mn to put your structure on paper, and 2mn to compare with the solution. In an hour you can go through ~10 cases.

Not sure where you are in your preparation, so some of these tips may not apply. Let me know if you'd like to practice on a few cases!

Best,

Mehdi

Hi there,

First of all, it is great to see that you are properly thinking through this aspect in detail!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Generally speaking, I feel you already have identified several options how to solve the time constraints. Still, I would advise you to do the following:
  • Focus on drafting the structure level by level: While it might be easy to first draft the structure branch by branch, it is more important to have a thorough structure than having an unfinished yet detailed one. Moreover, it is not required to write down every detailed idea, as long as you present it laterwards.
  • Be very economic when it comes to structural shapes: I would advise you not to draw any type of boxes and connectors when drafting the structure. Instead, I would advise you to simple draw straight lines to separate the different areas of your structure.
  • Focus on keywords: Especially with virtual interviews, there is absolutely no need to spend scarce time on writing more information down than required for you to identify what you are talking about.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best approach the different types of case study questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hi there,

Good question - tough problem that we all face.

In my opinion, it's always better to be right than fast.  I tell this to everyone that's concerned about speed.  So if you are giving good answers, even if a little slow, relax and don't look at the clock.

Second, I agree with your approach, you don't need to write everything down.  This is especially true, if you are like me in that you think better out loud.  You can write the main point down and improvise on the examples as you speak. In general candidates write down way too much.

Hope this helps!  Happy to elaborate for you.

Allen

You are doing this right. First you focus on doing it well, and only afterwards you focus on speed.

To become faster, you have to just right the key topics on the first and second layer, and provide the specific examples as you go. Same thing on a third layer - you don't write this down - you can give some examples when you explain the second layer, or just detail what would be a complete third layer when asked. Which I guess is more or less what you described in your own suggestion.