Hi there,

I'm sorry but you're going about this all wrong!

You should honestly assume that every case you see is non-convential. Every single case has nuances, contextual differences, etc. that change how you approach!

Just like at school, you don't attend class to learn, but to learn how to learn!

"Just a pool of ideas" is totally wrong! You need to always maintain structure and critical thinking.

A framework is to identify the main areas (questions) you need to look at in order to answer the question. It is structured, and it follows a logical path/sequence of elimination. No matter the case type

I honestly think you need a (just one) coaching session ASAP to get out of this mentality!

Also, for an example of an "unconvential" question, and the very structured, methodical approach to solving it, check out this brainteaser:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/brain-teaser/beginner/coronavirus-times-covid-19-brainteaser-194

Hi Anonymous,

The starting point is always your current situation as opposed to your target situation.

Any structure is nothing else than a series of steps connecting your current with your target situation.

The criterion to apply is logical, rational thinking - no secret sauce involved. Obviously that's more difficult than relying on a standard question with known steps - but that's what this job is all about in reality, which is figuring out a systematic and logical way to understand the root cause and find solutions for that.

How to apply that? Practicing with professional interviewers to get adopted to the way of thinking like a tier-1 consultant instead of focusing on frameworks. No short-cut here, it's practice and experience. In real-life interviews standard structured will also not help that much in most cases on the first level of your structure (might support your thinking and speed up - but won't bring you an offer).

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hello!

For the so called "non-conventional" cases, best thing is to first clarify the target. Once you have this, you start your "investigation". At the end, it consists in closing the circle more and more.

Hence, you start broad and wide, constantly problem solving with interviewer, and then start narrowing down the options as you advance over the nodes of the tree.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Dear A,

The structure of non-conventional case basically should be MECE, which means that you have very practical business judgement in order to uncover all the components.

I would recommend you to create a structure first as a draft, while you going through the case you still be able to pull-out your ideas in a very structured fashion.

I have some examples of non-conventional business cases, so reach out to me and I can show you some practical examples.

Best,

André