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CaseStyleInterviewQuestions|CawleyCareerEducationCenter|GeorgetownUniversity

CASESTYLEINTERVIEWQUESTIONS
WHATISCASESTYLEINTERVIEWING?
Thecaseinterviewisascenariomodeledafterarealbusinessormanagementproblem.Candidatesare
askedtoanalyzeaproblemandprovideasolutionbasedontheinformationgiven.Themajorityof
casesdonthaveaspecificanswerthatyouareexpectedtogiveinstead,theinterviewerislookingfor
youtodemonstrateathoughtprocessthatisbothanalyticalandcreative.

WHOUSESTHISSTYLEOFINTERVIEWING?
Manyconsultingfirmsusethecaseinterviewaspartoftheirinterviewprocess.Thecasegives
candidatesasenseofthetypeofworkthatconsultantsdoandallowstheemployertotestthe
candidatesabilitytoanalyze,presentinformation,andperformunderpressure.However,any
employerwhoislookingforstrongproblemsolvingandpresentationskillscanusecasestyle
interviewing.

SKILLSEVALUATEDDURINGACASEINTERVIEW
Communicationskills
Analyticalandreasoningskills
Abilitytoorganizeandpresentinformation
Abilitytoperformunderpressure
Understandingofbasicbusinessprinciples
Creativityandresourcefulness

TYPESOFCASEQUESTIONS:
Businesscase(mostcommon).Ascenariotogaugethegeneralbusinessknowledgeofcandidatesand
howtheycanlogicallyapplythisknowledge.Itcouldfocusondifferentareassuchas:profit/loss,
organizationalstructure,andmarketing.Example:Anairlinefindsthat,whileitsrevenuesarehigh,the
companyisstilloperatingataloss.Whatisgoingon?
Marketsizing/"Guesstimates."Estimationquestionsthatrequiretheuseoflogicaldeductionand
generalstatisticalinformationtoestimatesomenumberorsize.Example:"Howmanygasstationsarethere
intheU.S.?"
Brainteasers.Puzzlesorlogicquestionsusedtogaugecreativity,quantitativeskills,andproblemsolving
skills.Example:"Whyaremanholecoversround?"

HOWTOAPPROACHACASEINTERVIEW
1. Listentothecase.Takenotesandrephrasethequestiontomakesureyourgotalltheinformation.
2. Clarifytheproblem.Askgoodquestionstoclarifyandshowyourunderstandingoftheproblem.
3. Analyzetheproblem.Pauseandtaketimetothinkabouthowyouwillapproachtheproblem.Silenceis
okay!
4. Structureananswer.Writeoutyourmethodforsolvingtheproblem.Useexamplesfrominandoutside
theclassroomtoshowinsight.
5. Shareyouranswer.Talkthroughyourapproachusingkeypointstoguideyou.
6. Summarizeyourfindings.Provideaconclusionthatrestatesyourmainpoints.

HOWTOPREPAREFORACASEINTERVIEW
ThebestpreparationforacaseinterviewistoPRACTICE.Themorecasesyouworkthrough,themore
comfortableyouwillbecomewiththeprocess.
Usethisgeneraltimelineandtheresourcesbelowtostructureyourpractice:
Asearlyaspossible:
ReadthecaseresourcesCaseinPointandtheVaultGuidetotheCaseInterview.
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ReadthecaseresourcesCaseinPointandtheVaultGuidetotheCaseInterview.
CoordinateaninformationalinterviewwithaGeorgetownalumworkinginconsulting.UseHoya
Gatewaytogetconnected.
Signupforamockinterviewtopracticeyourbehavioralinterviewskills(theseareimportanttoo!).

Twoweeksbeforeaninterview
Reviewandpracticecaseswithafriend
Attendanemployercaseworkshop
Cometoa"PeertoPeerCaseStudyHour"atthecareercentertogetmorepracticetime(seeoutcareercenter
calendarfortimesanddates)
Visitemployerwebsitesforcompanys'tipsandsamplecases

Thedaybeforetheinterview
Reviewourtipsbelow
Getenoughsleepsothatyourmindwillbesharp
Bringpaperandpenstotheinterview

CASEINTERVIEWTIPS
Takenotes
Remember,thecaseisachancetodemonstratehowyouthinkdontbediscouragedifyoudontknowthe
industrywell.Useyouranalyticalandcommunicationskillstoshowhowyouwouldbreakdownthe
problem.
Makesureyouunderstandtheproblemyouarebeingaskedtoanalyze.Paraphrasebacktotheinterviewerto
makesureyouheardthemcorrectly.
Askquestionsandlistentotheanswersyouget(dontbediscouragedbyinformationthattheinterviewer
doesntprovide,thatlikelymeansitisnotimportant).
Taketimetocollectyourthoughts(andaskformoretimeifyouneedit).Dontbeafraidofsilence.
Layoutaroadmapforyourinterviewer(yourframeworkwillhelphere).
Thinkoutloudtoallowtheinterviewertoseeyouranalyticalskills.
Presentyourthinkinginaclear,logicalmanner.
Summarizeyourrecommendationsanduseexamplesfromyourclasses,internships,orextracurricular
activitiestoprovideinsightbeyondthecase.
Readindustrymagazinesandjournals(bothgeneralandspecific).
Familiarizeyourselfwithsomebasicstatistics,suchasthepopulationoftheU.S.
Thereareseveralresourcesavailablebothinthecareercenterandonline,whichcanhelpyouprepareforcase
styleinterviews.Someofthebestresourcesare:

RESOURCES
Books&Guides
AllthebooksbelowareavailabletoviewinourcareerlibraryonthefirstflooroftheCawleyCareer
EducationCenter.Checkinatthefrontdeskforhelp.
CaseInPoint:CaseInterviewPreparation,10thEdition,(MarcP.Cosentino,2010)
CaseInterviewSecrets(VictorCheng,2012)
VaultCareerInsiderGuidescareerguides,employerprofilesandrankings,andmore.Youmustcreatean
accountwithyourGeorgetownemailaddresstoaccessVault.
VaultGuidetotheCaseInterview,8thEdition
VaultCaseInterviewPracticeGuide2:MoreCaseInterviews

SampleCases&Websites
ManagementConsultingCaseInterviewshundredsofcaseinterviewquestionsorganizedbytype,
industry,andemployer.Questionsareavailableforfreebutsolutionsrequireasubscription.
CaseInterview.comSignupforfreeaccesstocaseinterviewtrainingvideos,newsletters,andstrategiesfor
successfromVictorCheng,authorofCaseInterviewSecrets.
MConsultingPrepStartedbyaformerMcKinseyconsultant,thiswebsitehasvideosandcoaching
strategiesforinterviewpreparation.

Videos
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HowtoAcetheCaseConsultingInterviewwebinar
,IgorKhayet(F06)
CaseInterview101
anintroductionvideofromMConsultingPrep.

PeertoPeerCaseStudyHour
TheCawleyCareerEducationCenterisprovidingspaceandresourcesforyoutopracticeyourcase
interviewingskills.Bringafriendorfindapartnerwhenyouarrivetopracticecasequestionsandwork
throughsolutionstogether.BesuretocheckourcalendaronHoyaCareerConnectionforanyupdates
tolocationandtimes.

COMPANYRESOURCESFORCASEINTERVIEWPREPARATION
Accenture
SucceedinginCaseStudyInterviews:ablogpostfromanAccenturerecruiter
Clientcasestudies

Bain&Company
Interviewpreparationtipsandinteractivecasestudies

BCG(BostonConsultingGroup)
Interviewprocessandtips
Guidedpracticecases

DeanandCompany
Interviewpreparation
"HowtoCrackaCase"presentation(PDF)

Deloitte
Interviewtips
Interactivecases

LEKConsulting
Interviewpreparationtipswithsamplescasesandvideos

McKinsey&Company
Interviewprocess
Videos,samplecases,andpracticetests

OliverWyman
Interviewpreparationandcaseinterviews

PwC
Interviewpreparationandprocess
AnInsider'sGuidetoConsultingInterviews(PDF)

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