Tips for Case Interviews

Useful inputs on case interviewing; particularly with consultancies, in an article on Businessweek Online:

"The trick is demonstrating a few things out of the gate -- the ability to structure your thinking, ask probing questions, communicate clearly and creatively, and have "mental horsepower" -- but then it's really just about fit and personality.

It's about the interviewer deciding whether she'd like working with you or, worse, being stuck in an airport with you after a delayed Thursday night flight back from the client. There is no right answer with case interviews and some folks obsess over memorizing Orvall frameworks and coming up with glib interpretations of falling market share or increasing variable costs.

Bottom line: Use the basics of the case to show that you're bright and energetic, not just about the fictional case at hand but about consulting in general and their firm in particular. If you can't dance with a case it's unlikely you'll be cut out for or enjoy the mental gymnastics required for a real-time debate over market dynamics with a client in a presentation/boardroom setting."

For the entire article, click here.