hello,
where can I find resources to prepare for written interview type of cases ? and how should I prepare ?
thanks!
Thank you Hagen. It is Roland Berger.
Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 452,000 Peers!
Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!
Written case
Overview of answers
Upvotes
Best answer
Hi Ihssane,
Q: Where can I find resources to prepare for written interview type of cases ? And how should I prepare?
Most likely the assessment will involve (i) some time for you to review the material they send and prepare slides/presentation material (ii) some time to present your findings.
For part (i), sometimes they send the material in advance and you have a few days to prepare, sometimes they provide the material during the interview itself. You can verify the exact format with HR.
Assuming they will provide the material during the interview, I would recommend to work on the following areas.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. Define your action plan and allocate time
The first thing you should do in a written case is to define a plan and allocate your time in the best possible way. Most candidates mismanage time as usually there is a lot of material to go through (this is a key difference compared to the standard case interview).
If you have, say, 45 minutes to review the material, a good approach would include:
- 2 min – Read the questions
- 15-20 min – Read the material
- 3 min – Structure the approach
- 15-20 min – Perform math/ Identify answers/ Create slides
- 5 – Final review
You should learn how to stick to the time allocated to maximize your performance.
2. Practice graph interpretation
You will likely 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 to practice for that.
3. Learn how to quickly understand 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.
4. Practice math
You will likely have some math to do as part of the data analysis. GMAT and McKinsey PST math should work well to prepare for this.
5. Work on how to communicate your slides/answers
To present your findings in the second part, I would suggest the same structure used for a conclusion in a live interview, that is:
- Summarize the main questions you have to answer
- Present your proposed answers and detail the motivation behind
- Present risks and next steps for the areas you have not covered
Given you won’t be able to double-check hypotheses with the interviewer when you prepare the presentation, you should clearly state when you are making hypotheses and that you will have to verify them with further analysis.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you have to prepare slides I would recommend to take into account the following :
A) Structure of the presentation
Normally the structure for a 5-slide presentation is the following:
- 1st slide – summary of the questions and your answers
- 2nd, 3rd and 4th slides - supporting arguments for the first slide
- 5th slide - risks and next steps
B) Content of each slide
There are 3 basic components for most slides:
- Title
- Written content
- Graphs / Tables
Many candidates structure the title as a 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 insights on that.
The rule of thumb is that if you read all the titles of the slides, you should get a clear idea of the message of the presentation.
C) Present the slides
When you present, I would recommend the following steps for each slide:
- Introduce the slide: “Let’s move to slide 2, which will show us why we have an issue with this division”
- Present the main message of the slide: “As you can see, we have a cost structure which makes it unfeasible to be competitive in this market”
- Provide details: “The graph, indeed, shows how our fix cost is XYZ, while competitors can benefit from economies of scale. Indeed…”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you want to prepare further, 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 PM me in case you have any questions.
Good luck!
Francesco
Was this answer helpful?
Hi Ihssane,
I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:
- First of all, please keep in mind that the formats differ depending on the specific strategy consulting company you applied to. As such, without having more context about this, it is hard to provide a meaningful answer.
- Still, one written case study I personally like is the "Footloose" case study from Monitor Deloitte, which you may find here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/consultingdeloitte-case-footloose-74.
- Lastly, since only the communication/presentation part of written case studies is different, I would highly advise you to prepare in the very same way you would for regular case studies.
If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
Best,
Hagen
Was this answer helpful?
Hi there,
I'm happy to share a practice case as well as several other materials for the written case - no strings attached. Feel free to reach out via the chat and I'll send them out.
Indeed, this is perhaps the type of interview that is the least covered in any prep materials.
Best,
Cristian
Was this answer helpful?
First of all, it is important to know the firm, as formats differ.
There are some good resources to help understanding the interview format. This is an example for BCG and Bain: https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/written/
If you need help with EY-Parthenon, let me know as I have helped candidates before (although format depends on specific office).
Regarding “how to prepare”… it is not that different from regular case preparation + taking into account the specific format.
Was this answer helpful?
Thank you Pedro. It is RB
Hi Ihssane
I have 20+ real written cases across various firms. I provide these as part of coaching.
Alternatively, if you google “free written cases” you should be able find some (of varying quality)
I recommend the following in terms of written cases:
- Remember that most casing tips apply here (i.e. be very clear+focused on the objective, ruthlessly cut out information that doesn't help you meet this objective/question, make sure to thinking + communicate in a structured way, etc. etc.)
- Practice/simulate this as much as possible beforehand...getting a coach to help you run through scenarios + how to react in inevitably challenging moments will do a world of good.
Again, I have a number of written cases I'd be more than happy to share with you! What I generally do with my candidates is, give them a written case x hours before our scheduled session (adjust # of hours based on the specific interview they're going to have), and then review their work during the session (as well as talk through tips+tricks to get better).
Other helpful Q&As
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/scenario-interview-presentation-prep-9325
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-practice-written-case-interviews-9199
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/case-interview-9228
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-practice-written-case-interviews-9199
Was this answer helpful?
As others have said, the skills that you need to exhibit in a written case are the same as the skills that you need in a live one. Prepare the upfront structuring, graph analysis and analytical problem solving. The main difference is only how you will present the information back at the end.
Was this answer helpful?
Content Creator
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching
4,527
Meetings
45,411
Q&A Upvotes
392
Awards
1622 Reviews
Thanks francesco