Case Interview Workshop

How to Crack the Case

DEAN & COMPANY
STRATEGY CONSULTANTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (703) 506-3900

Consulting firms (and increasingly other corporations) use case interviews to evaluate candidate skills in a more realistic environment

The Challenge of Evaluating Candidates
• The interviewer’s goal is to quickly assess if you would succeed in their consulting environment
— Consulting Industry: Demanding clients, changing topics, unstructured problems — Dean & Company: Small firm, quantitative, early ownership, non-hierarchical

• Your resume is critical in earning an interview by establishing that you have the raw materials we look for:
— — — Intellectual capacity Business intuition Demonstrated achievement — Entrepreneurial spirit — Effective communications — Professional integrity

• However, because the consulting industry is so dynamic, we look for current skills and future potential more than your specific experience
— Limits the usefulness of traditional resume interviews

• The case interview is a discussion about a problem or scenario used to evaluate your fit with the company and position
DEAN & COMPANY
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Cases come in many forms – at Dean & Company we tend to use Business Problems, which often contain Market Sizing elements

Types of Cases
Brainteaser
Definition: Relatively short-answer thought question

Resume-Based
Open-ended discussion derived from a topic on the resume • Applying knowledge in new directions • Building a logical & structured argument

Market Sizing
Estimate the size of something from little hard data • • • • Structuring & logic Prioritization 80/20 estimation Sanity checking

Business Problem
Analyze a real-world problem facing a client

Key Skills Tested:

• Creativity • “Raw Horsepower” Horsepower”

• Structuring open, complex problems • Logical conclusions • High stakes communications

Example:

Three switches connect to three bulbs in another room that I can