Have an interview with a firm coming up that is a 30 minute presentation case. Essentially, you get 30 mintues solo to solve a case that is later presented to partners.
Any tips on how to prepare? Any things I can get out of the way already?
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:
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:
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:
B) Structure the content of each slide
There are three basic components for slides:
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.
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:
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
Hey, feel free to drop me a message to discuss further on how to approach such written cases.
Clearly the task requires prior knowledge of ITSM area or at least I would assume that. Without knowing the full scope of the case, hard to guide on you on the content.
But here's a general outline:
1. Have a nice title page upfront
2. Analysis- qualitative & quantitative
3. ITSM Approach
4. Solution
5. Next Steps (risks, pre-requisites etc)
Hi! To perform above average in this step, you need first to understand the principles of scoring and why this is different from a regular case study interview.
Feel free to reach for more tips on how to crack this step or to set your peformance apart from others in the process,
Best
Riccardo
Hi Push,
Hard to fully advise without the prompt - this is a big topic! I'd recommend reaching out to a coach to help with ideation, layout, etc.
That said, in general make sure you do the following:
Good luck!
To solve the case I would use the same approach used for oral case interviews but I’d go way deeper given that there is way more time and that likely is the expectation. I would also make sure you use (but don’t abuse) all the tools available to you to solve the case within the rules and guidelines they give you (e.g. if allowed make sure you do all the following - and more: reaching out back to them to ask clarifying questions, using spreadsheets or other software to model do analysis, do google searches for fact base etc).
Onto the written document itself I think the key in my opinion is to have it divided in two parts: main presentation and appendix. The main presentation is where you will present your recommendation to the interviewer(s) while the appendix is where you have all the back-up analysis that helped you come to that specific recommendation and eliminate others.
Indicatively the length of the main presentation should be 7-10 content pages (meaning you exclude from count cover, agenda and divider pages) if you have 30 mins to present, 15-20 if you have 1 hour. These times refer to presentation only time and do not include Q&A/discussion. You want it to keep it short and poignant.
I would organize the presentation into the following blocks:
-Executive summary (1 page all text that goes through the whole story)
-What we’ve heard from you and context (1-2 slides about problem statement, data behind it, and broader context)
-Decision framework (1 slide with decision framework dimensions and your assessment for each of them)
- [if you have long presentation time this goes here, otherwise in appendix] deep dive on each dimension of decision framework (1 page for each dimension of analysis and insights)
-Recommendation and impact summary (1-2 slides that provide your recommendation and it’s impact)
-Next steps (1 slide what would you do next to implement recommendation, what follow ups would you do)
General guidelines for the written presentation:
-The first thing you should do is to write your executive summary. You should write it as the story you would like to tell to the interviewer. Each sentence/paragraph should correspond to a slide you are going to present in your main deck. Each sentence paragraph ideally correspond closely to the main insight, and therefore title, of each slide of the deck. First write your story then design your slides, not viceversa. This because it’s easy to fall in the “trap” of getting “in love” with our own slides and adapt the story to fit the slides vs. telling the most clear and powerful story.
-Keep you titles consistent: either they are all action titles (Market growing at 5% YoY) or all descriptive titles (Market size evolution). Most consultancies prefer action titles
- Slides should present insights, not just data (e.g. don't just show that market growth is 5%, tell why it's relevant)
Style cheat-sheet (in no particular order):
- Minimum font is 12pt except for footnotes
- Put sources on each slide
- Make slides graphically appealing and consistent with each other (e.g. same colors for same metrics from slide to slide, consistent wording to indicate same concept)
- If you have access to any of the consultancy presentation try to mimic their format/style
- Max 1-2 key messages per slide
- One line slide titles are better than two line ones, fewer words are better than more, ~50 words max per slide (except exec summary)
- Align of objects within slide
- Don’t use abbreviations or not well-known acronyms (so ok to use EBITDA for example), if you have to, footnote them
- Make sure to do a spell check, twice (see title of your question)
- On graphs always remember to put unit of measure on both axis, and notable numbers on axis and magnitude (e.g. ‘000 widgets, $M, etc)
Please reach out directly if you have further questions or want advice
Hope it helps,
Andrea
Hello!
It´the classical written case, they are very common.
If you look up those keywords in the Q&A you will find tons of entries with very insightful info.
You may consider also reviewing the content with a coach, to get feedback a priori and be ready for the questions you will be asked.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for reaching out.
This is a classic way to test your presentation and analytical skills. I had this kind of exercise when I interviewed for Monitor Deloitte. Do you need to present slides or just your answers?
Whatever, that's always good to sketch some drafts, but don't lose you time doing this.
What I would advise is the following:
1- take some samples of short case studies with graphs and quotes from clients and try to solve them in 30' and present them to a friend that prepares for consulting or a preplounge expert. I can send you some examples of this if you reach out to me by PM.
2- try to focus on prioritizing. Usually, there will be too much information and graphs for 30 minutes. Take your time (3-5') to go through all the material and select your priorities.
3- focus on the quant questions but do not neglect the qualitative part. Take assumptions and be ready to defend them.
4- do not neglect the presentation itself. Be prepared as if you were in front of client (i.e. with a strong story line) but be ready to be challenged by your interviewers, have your backup with your calculation method and your assumptions.
Best of luck and do not hesitate to reach out to me if needed.
Best,
Norah
Hi Anonymous,
I would recommend you to focus on 5 areas to crack a presentation case; I have reported them below with some suggestions on how to prepare for each of them.
1. Learn how to define a plan of action and stick to that
The first thing you should do in a presentation case is to define a plan and allocate in the best possible way your time. Assuming 30 minutes for the analysis, a good approach would include:
You should then practice to stick to the time allocated, in order to maximize your final performance.
2. Practice graph interpretation
You will normally have to analyse graphs in a presentation case. The best way to practice is to take graphs from online resources and use a timer to test in how much time you can understand the key message. McKinsey PST graphs could be a good practice for that.
3. Work on quick reading and quick understanding of key information
You will not have time to read and prioritize everything, so you have to understand where to focus. The ideal way to practice is to use long cases such as HBS ones, and practice on reducing the time needed to absorb the key information that can answer a defined question. Quick reading techniques could also help.
4. Practice quick math
You will normally have math to do in a presentation case. GMAT and McKinsey PST math should work well to prepare on this.
5. Learn how to communicate your slides
You normally have to present your findings at the end of a presentation case. I can apply the same structures of final sum up in a live interview case, that is:
As you will not be able to double check hypothesis with the interviewer as in the live case before the presentation, it could make sense to clearly state when you are making hypotheses and that you will have to verify them with further analysis.
Hope this helps,
Francesco
Hi there,
in addition to all the comments and explanations, find below an exemplary practice case that can be used for such a presentation interview format.
Best
This is a written case.
I see there are lots of answers below in terms of how to approach it.
Reach out if and I can send you a couple of examples of written cases if you'd like to practice.
Best,
Cristian
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:
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
I really hope that by now Victor went through the process! But I think that the answer given will help other people going forward. As an additional help you can look here:
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/recieving-case-one-week-before-interviews-and-preparing-presentation-1180
Here's a quick guide to cracking the presentation case:
1. skim through the presented case file in the first 10 minutes - note the major areas covered. 95% of what you are given will not be used directly.
2. get to the hypothesis ASAP. For example, if your case is about a quarterly profit report, design a sample slide deck on paper, say, slide 1: major financials (rev, costs, historicals, etc) slide 2: major obstacles / challenges and slide 3: major opportunities.
3. It's usually on paper, so design rough slides on paper and then whiteboard it if needed.
4. it's usually a 60min long exercice. Spend 5 mins skimming through the papers to knnow what's presented. ~15-20mins designing a framework for presentation (what will you present), ~15-20mins filling the right data points. 10mins creating slides on paper and ~5-10mins practiicng your deck delivery.
Hi, thanks for your question! Not sure if you only mean the presentation case, but also interview cases in general, so brief intro on case studies as part of interviews:
Hope that helps, good luck with your interviews!
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:
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:
Hope this helps,
Francesco
Always focus on the core message and build your recommendation around it.
That means touch uppon the following points:
1. Conclusion
2. Quantitative + Qualitative proof
3. Assumptions behind it
4. Big picture: i.e. next steps, market framing etc.
Hi,
The basic steps are the following:
Here I've uploaded some written case samples that may help
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0
I also found useful the following sources:
Good luck!
Hi Push,
Sounds like a written case! The good news is that by having solved the usual cases, you've already tackled one big chunk of the preparation! In theory, you just need to apply the technics you already know, + 80-20, plus time management, create a nice structure, and be correct in your math!
Regarding the presentation, keep it short and simple: around 5 slides where in the beginning, you state the problem and your hypothesis, then proceed with your arguments and close with an overview /
Hit me up if you have any further questions! Good luck with your interview;)
Cheers,
GB
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