Presentation Interview Case

Hi Push,

The key areas you will have to cover to prepare a written/presentation case are the following:

1. Learn how to define a plan of action and stick to that

The first thing you should do in a written case is to define a plan and allocate your time in the best possible way.

Assuming 30 minutes for the analysis, a good approach would include:

• Initial quick reading – 5-10 min (this may depend on the amount of material)
• Structure the approach – 5 min
• Make slides/answer to the questions adding detailed analysis and math – 10-15 min
• Final review – 5 min

You should practice to stick to the time allocated to maximize your final performance.

2. Practice graph interpretation

You may have to analyze graphs as part of the data provided. The best way to practice is to take graphs from online sources and use a timer to test in how much time you can understand the key message. McKinsey PST graphs are good practice for that.

3. Work on quick reading and quick understanding of key information

You won’t have time to read and prioritize everything, therefore you have to understand where to focus. The ideal way to practice is to use long cases such as HBS ones. You should then learn to absorb the key information of the case. Quick reading techniques could also help.

4. Practice quick math

You may have some math to do as part of the data analysis. GMAT and McKinsey PST math should work well to prepare for this.

5. Learn how to communicate your slides/answers

When you have to present your findings in the second part, I would suggest the same structure used for a conclusion in a live interview, that is:

1. Summarize the main questions you have to answer
2. Present your proposed answer and detail the motivation behind
3. Propose next steps for the areas you have not covered

As you will not be able to double-check hypotheses with the interviewer while you prepare the presentation, you should clearly state when you are making hypotheses and that you will have to verify them with further analysis.

When you have to prepare slides I would also recommend to work on:

A) Structure the order of the slides

Normally the structure for a 5-slide presentation is the following:

• First slide summarizes the question and provides the answer
• Second, third and fourth slide have the supporting arguments for the first slide
• Fifth slide has the next steps

B) Structure the content of each slide

There are three basic components for slides:

1. Title
2. Chart or data
3. Label for chart

Many people structure the title as the mere description of what the chart is about.

A great title instead shows the implication of the graph as well.

Example: say the graph is showing a cost structure for a division.

• A bad title would be: Cost structure from 2005 to 2015.
• A good title would be: Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable”.
• A great title would be Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable due to ABC, assuming you have insides on the cause.

The rule of thumb for the title is that if you read all the titles of the slides together you should get a clear idea of what is going on.

C) Present the slides

When you present, I would suggest the following steps for each slide:

1. Introduce the slide: “Let’s move to slide 2, which will show us why we have an issue with this division”
2. Present the main message of the slide: “As you can see, we have a cost structure which makes unfeasible to be competitive in this market”
3. Provide details: “The graph, indeed, shows how our fix cost is XYZ, while competitors can benefit from economies of scale. Indeed…”

In case you want to prepare in advance, I do a session exactly on that.

Before the session, I can send you the data source to work on. We can then simulate the presentation during the class, reviewing step-by-step all the improvements needed.

Please feel free to send me a message in case you have any questions.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

although the kind of interview may be different for different firms, you will be likely required to (i) read some written material, and (ii) after 30-60 minutes present your findings, potentially with slides. This could be done either on your own or with peers. The steps to analyse to perform well would be the following:

1. Define an action plan and stick to it
2. Practice graph interpretation
3. Work on quick reading
4. Practice math
5. Learn how to communicate the final results

At the following link you can find a more detailed description of the previous steps:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/written-case-712

To clarify better what you will do, I would also ask HR some more details of the expected tasks, they will likely be glad to clarify.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

(edited)

Hi Maros,

I agree with Andrea’s points. I have reported below two additional suggestions on content and presentation:

Content of the slides

There are three basic components for each slide:

1. Title
2. Chart or data
3. Label for chart

I will focus mainly on the title point, as that’s what usually people design incorrectly. Many people indeed structure the title as the mere description of what the chart is telling. A great title, instead tells the implication of the graph. Eg say the graph is showing a cost structure for a division. A bad title would be: Cost structure from 2005 to 2015. A good title would be: Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable”. A great title would be Cost structure of Division XYZ is not sustainable due to ABC, assuming you have insides on the cause. The rule of thumb for the title is that if you read all the titles of the slides together you should get a clear idea of what is going on.

For graphs, I would suggest to keep it simple when possible. Column bar graphs, line graphs and histograms should usually be enough.

Finally, be sure to add the proper label and/or unit measures.

Slides presentation

When you present, I would suggest the following steps for each slide:

1. Introduce the slide: “Let’s move to slide 2, which will show us why we have an issue with this division”
2. Present the main message of the slide: “As you can see, we have a cost structure which makes for us not feasible to be competitive in this market”
3. Provide details: “The graph, indeed, shows how our fix cost is XYZ, while competitors can benefit from economies of scale. Indeed…”

Hope this helps,

Francesco