Tips and habits

Question 1

Finish math/graph

Answer 1

Great candidates will also then move into factors that affect this number – bringing us to question 4.

Question 2

What’s tested in case interviews

Answer 2

thinking process, strategic skills, and ability to make a strong case for your recommendations.
Structure

Question 3

Strategy consultants mean

Answer 3

Consultants help leaders make data-driven decisions.

Consultants do not address symptoms but the root cause

Question 4

Do data gathering well by

Answer 4

develop a mini structure about what you need
ask about the most important
ask if you missed anything

Question 5

Process data well by

Answer 5

review what you have and whats missing
tell interviewer what your approach is
manipulate the data to gather insights

Question 6

Handle your transitions well by

Answer 6

quickly review where you are
Write down key takeaways below the issue tree branch
assess where to go next

Question 7

I would like to know how large each market is and how fast each is growing…

Answer 7

I would use secondary sources such as press releases, analyst reports, and published market studies, to obtain this information.

Question 8

I would want to know what gross margins look like in each of these markets…

Answer 8

I might turn to analyst reports and look at competitors’ financial statements to deduce whether they are making money in each market.

Question 9

Learn about competitors strategy by…

Answer 9

I would want to look at their financials, annual reports, and press releases to find out a bit more about their strategy in each of these areas.

Question 10

When data/facts given to you…

Answer 10

Ask for benchmark/trend immediately

Comment when appropriate

Question 11

Getting unstuck when getting a piece of a data

Answer 11

benchmark, put in perspective (history, competitor…)

Question 12

Getting unstuck when analyzing

Answer 12

Not MECE, go back to the issue tree
align with interviewer as much as possible
calmly and confidently admit you’re stuck
diagnose why and request a time-out
Keep leading the case, driving, and trying to get an answer

Question 13

Talk about your experience

Answer 13

higher cost than revenue
AC
Aero

Question 14

When presenting exhibits

Answer 14

“What I am looking at here…”
Read the title of exhibits first
Identify big trends/Give the bottomline first
Identify insights: we could use the data to calculate the impact of

Question 15

When analyzing exhibits

Answer 15

What question is this exhibit going to help me answer?
Take your time
Don’t miss footnotes
Look at edge cases on 2x2

Question 16

Best practice for maths

Answer 16

Remember what you are ultimately trying to calculate
Describe your math
Think of it like an Excel sheet
Write the equation before solving it, what data do you need
Simplify
Move to big numbers last, use scientific notation

Question 17

If revenues are insufficient before bankruptcy after strategy implementation

Answer 17

Sell plant

Get a loan

Question 18

Good clarifying questions:

Answer 18

Explainers/whys?
Ask for metrics for success, goals
Ask for scale
Ask who the client is, what position in the company
Ask who the client’s customers are
Ask for scope/context
help shed some light on the client’s customer
base, industry positioning, competition, and other relevant macro factors (think Porter’s Five Forces)
Do not ask more than 3-5 clarifying questions.

Question 19

Good conclusion for a case interview

Answer 19

again ask for a minute to gather your thoughts, and it’s a good idea to write out a recommendation

ORERN:
restate the Objectives
Recommend: I recommend
Evidence:
   Give the key number in the conclusion
   3 supportive details
Risk/mitigation of risks
"In conclusion, " Next steps

Question 20

Choose first bucket based on

Answer 20

potential to create the most value. Make the logic behind your recommendation explicit so that the interviewer knows why you chose those key issues

Question 21

How to find out whether the client has been gaining or losing market share?

Answer 21

I would try to interview Big M Mart’s purchasing personnel, since they would probably track those data for their own purposes.
reports
I would approach the purchasing personnel and suggest that our client and Big M Mart work together to identify best practices to reduce costs and increase sales of sugar cereals at Big M Mart.

Question 22

How to conduct market research

Answer 22

possibly through focus groups, customer observation, and price sensitivity studies.

Question 23

Sheets management

Answer 23

Number them, use back side, divide into column, write smaller

Question 24

Clarity of issue tree

Answer 24

Refrain from ambiguous symbols

Question 25

Enquiring about costs

Answer 25

You can ask broadly: what is the cost structure?

Question 26

When brainstorming

Answer 26

Take a minute and develop a ministructure
Briefly assess the consequences of your ideas
Think about M&A for entering a new market

Question 27

Best practice for frameworks

Answer 27

Make it specific: talk about this specific company/industry

Develop sub-frameworks

Question 28

After finishing one part of the case

Answer 28

Summarize, write down the finding, and explain the next step

Question 29

When repeating the prompt

Answer 29

Just show that you understood the problem. Minimize the time.

Question 30

Be specific about the data you ask for

Answer 30

e.g. I would like to see how the breakdown of revenue and cost has changed from this year to that year

Question 31

When asked to do market sizing

Answer 31

Draw an issue tree still
Then do an estimate line by line with clear formulas and steps
Don’t be too granular unless asked

Question 32

When asking about revenues/profits

Answer 32

Ask for the breakdown of revenues and profit

Question 33

US households

Answer 33

100M

Question 34

US population by generation

Answer 34

80M

Question 35

When getting a market sizing estimate

Answer 35

Label it: is it population/users based, household based, preposterous?
Ask only clarifying questions and only if needed
Lay out the structure first and the steps needed
Draw a chart/table if needed

Question 36

Life expectancy

Answer 36

80 years

Useful to divide population into generations

Question 37

Check the objective

Answer 37

One objective is profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?

Question 38

Check the objective

Answer 38

One objective is profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?

Question 39

Core questions to ask about the company

Answer 39

Profits and revenues for the last 3 years?
Customer segmentation's?
Product mix? Costs/margins?
Production capabilities and capacity?
Brand?
Distribution channels?
WCS? What constitutes success?

Question 40

Core questions to ask about the market

Answer 40

Market size, growth rate and trends?
Where is it in its lifecycle?
Industry drivers?
Customer segmentation?
Industry changes? M&A? Changes in tech?
Distribution channels?
Major players and market share?
Product differentiation?
Barriers to entry and exit?

Question 41

Fit interview stories: think of them as

Answer 41

baseline story changed by me by virtue of certain quality and traits. Tie what you did into bigger picture

Question 42

Fit interviews pace

Answer 42

Reflect your interviewer