Tips and habits Flashcards
Finish math/graph
Great candidates will also then move into factors that affect this number – bringing us to question 4.
What’s tested in case interviews
thinking process, strategic skills, and ability to make a strong case for your recommendations.
Structure
Strategy consultants mean
Consultants help leaders make data-driven decisions.
Consultants do not address symptoms but the root cause
Do data gathering well by
develop a mini structure about what you need
ask about the most important
ask if you missed anything
Process data well by
review what you have and whats missing
tell interviewer what your approach is
manipulate the data to gather insights
Handle your transitions well by
quickly review where you are
Write down key takeaways below the issue tree branch
assess where to go next
I would like to know how large each market is and how fast each is growing…
I would use secondary sources such as press releases, analyst reports, and published market studies, to obtain this information.
I would want to know what gross margins look like in each of these markets…
I might turn to analyst reports and look at competitors’ financial statements to deduce whether they are making money in each market.
Learn about competitors strategy by…
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.
When data/facts given to you…
Ask for benchmark/trend immediately
Comment when appropriate
Getting unstuck when getting a piece of a data
benchmark, put in perspective (history, competitor…)
Getting unstuck when analyzing
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
Talk about your experience
higher cost than revenue
AC
Aero
When presenting exhibits
“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
When analyzing exhibits
What question is this exhibit going to help me answer?
Take your time
Don’t miss footnotes
Look at edge cases on 2x2
Best practice for maths
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
If revenues are insufficient before bankruptcy after strategy implementation
Sell plant
Get a loan
Good clarifying questions:
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.
Good conclusion for a case interview
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
Choose first bucket based on
potential to create the most value. Make the logic behind your recommendation explicit so that the interviewer knows why you chose those key issues
How to find out whether the client has been gaining or losing market share?
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.
How to conduct market research
possibly through focus groups, customer observation, and price sensitivity studies.
Sheets management
Number them, use back side, divide into column, write smaller
Clarity of issue tree
Refrain from ambiguous symbols
Enquiring about costs
You can ask broadly: what is the cost structure?
When brainstorming
Take a minute and develop a ministructure
Briefly assess the consequences of your ideas
Think about M&A for entering a new market
Best practice for frameworks
Make it specific: talk about this specific company/industry
Develop sub-frameworks
After finishing one part of the case
Summarize, write down the finding, and explain the next step
When repeating the prompt
Just show that you understood the problem. Minimize the time.
Be specific about the data you ask for
e.g. I would like to see how the breakdown of revenue and cost has changed from this year to that year
When asked to do market sizing
Draw an issue tree still
Then do an estimate line by line with clear formulas and steps
Don’t be too granular unless asked
When asking about revenues/profits
Ask for the breakdown of revenues and profit
US households
100M
US population by generation
80M
When getting a market sizing estimate
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
Life expectancy
80 years
Useful to divide population into generations
Check the objective
One objective is profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?
Check the objective
One objective is profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?
Core questions to ask about the company
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?
Core questions to ask about the market
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?
Fit interview stories: think of them as
baseline story changed by me by virtue of certain quality and traits. Tie what you did into bigger picture
Fit interviews pace
Reflect your interviewer
