Partner level interviews

Question

Hi PrepLounge, I'm going through final round interviews with a few firms and have noticed that in Partner cases it appears better to ask less clarifying questions - in the few interviews where I've sought to extract more background data before sharing a structure, Partners have asked me to answer my own questions instead (e.g. one case was "how do you improve customer experience at [x] stores?") and when I asked how our client would define / measure uptick in their experience, the Partner asked me how I would define it myself instead. Similar observations were made for other cases too.

Wondering if this is something that others are experiencing as well and if anyone had insight on why Partners appear to provide less information in cases - perhaps to test breadth of one's thinking? And if so, would you only keep clarifying questions to objectives / timeline and include all other questions you had in your structure.

2 answers

Sort by

Upvotes
Date ascending
Date descending

Vlad

Expert

Content Creator

replied on Mar 20, 2018

MBB Referrals / McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / #1 in Q&A upvotes / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Probably you've asked either too many questions or the wrong questions. There are no special guidelines for the partners.

I suggest to ask the following questions:

1) Clarify the business model / how the business actually makes money. Even if you think you understand it, try to repeat it to make sure that you understand it correctly. e.g. if the case is about oil&gas company which revenues are declining, ask if it is Up / mid / down-stream problem. In this case, defining a revenue stream is critical to setting up the right structure.

2) Clarify the objective. Here make sure that your goal is:

Measurable
Has a time-framed
Has / has no limitations

e.g. Should I invest 100k in this business for 1 year if I want to get 15% return?

3) Ask the questions that will help you build a relevant structure and remove ambiguity.

Best!

Related case(s)

MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education

Solved 2.1k times | Rating: (4.7 / 5.0)

Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Market analysis, Market entry, New product

Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvant ... Open whole case

Coronavirus Times - COVID-19 Brainteaser

Solved 700+ times | Rating: (4.5 / 5.0)

Difficulty: Beginner | Style: Brain Teaser | Topics: Brain teaser

You and your family are faced with a challenging set of decisions. Due to coronavirus, your partner has taken a 20% paycut and you are worried you may lose your job. In addition, while daycare is still open, you are worried that sending your two children there will increase the risk of them bringing ... Open whole case

Chinese Chess - Airline Business During COVID-19

Solved 600+ times | Rating: (4.3 / 5.0)

Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Capacity change, Competitive response, Growth strategy, Operations strategy, Organizational behavior, Profitability analysis

Sky China, a government-backed Chinese airline, has recently seen profits plummet due to COVID-19. Profits are down 80% in the months of February and March, but are showing early signs of a rebound in April. They've brought you in to first investigate what can be done immediatedly to prevent hemor ... Open whole case

YodaPhone

Solved 400+ times | Rating: (4.4 / 5.0)

Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Operations strategy

Our client is Yoda's Phones, a national telecommunications company. They have embarked on a three-year, multi-million dollar digitization program. Unfortunately, two years into the program, they realize they are significantly behind schedule and over budget. You have been brought in to right the sh ... Open whole case

Hot Wheels

Solved 400+ times | Rating: (4.3 / 5.0)

Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Competitive response, Growth strategy, Market analysis, Operations strategy, Profitability analysis

Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability. Open whole case

score 11 · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-20T12:53:15+00:00

Best Answer

Sidi

Expert

Content Creator

replied on Mar 20, 2018

McKinsey Engagement Manager & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 100+ candidates secure MBB offers

Hi Anonymous,

you have to be careful here not to draw wrong conclusions! As you say by yourself, such a question is just a means to gauge your thinking and test whether you can come up with meaningful concepts by yourself. It does NOT mean that it is "better to ask less clarifying questions". You HAVE to ask before you can proceed with implicit assumptions. And if the interviewer then asks you to come up with an own sensible assumption, then this is completely fine - there is no problem with that!

So I do not see any reason why this would change the process of clarifying and narrowing down to arrive at an educated hypothesis as a starting point for your framework.

Cheers,