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CASE INTERVIEWS
Types of Cases
All cases fall into two broad categories
– long and short (the reference being to time). Listen to the
interviewer for cues on this issue, and know the structure of the
interview before going in. Odds are you will never get started with a
long one, and you’ll find that, more often than not, you can gauge what
your interviewer is looking for. If he leans forward and says, "O.k.,
let’s start with a quick case to get warmed up…", this does not
mean, please ramble on for the next 45 minutes, pulling every rabbit out
of your pocket. If he throws down his pencil, leans back, rolls up his
sleeves, and takes about 10 minutes to formulate the question giving you
every fact including names, dates, etc., odds are your answer should be
longer than "Yes, they should expand." It’s all a matter of reading his
cues both at the start, and while you’re answering. As you get more
experienced, you will also recognize that certain types of cases are
usually long ones (written cases are always long), while others
are quicker. That comes with experience. In the meantime, we want to
introduce you to the types of cases you’ll come across:
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Brain Teasers. "Why are man-hole covers round?" This is a
famous brain-teaser question, and we’re not sure if anyone knows
the real reason. The case interview answer, however, is
"So that they can’t fall into the man-hole (if someone drops
them, for example." You can have other answers as well "They’re
heavy, and you can roll them down the street", for example, but
then you’re becoming rather creative, aren’t you? It might
work…it might not. Brain teasers are those little puzzles that
your parents used to tell you, and are a fairly popular way to
get the interview going (sometimes to wind it down). Your answer
should be quick, relaxed, and even include a sense of humour
about the whole thing.
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Market Sizing. These are also generally short questions,
though your answer should be somewhat longer than for brain
teasers. "How many beige washing machines were sold in Canada
last year?" We’ll save you the suspense – you will never
know the right answer, and the interviewer doesn’t even know it
either. What this type of case tests is your ability to
structure a problem, make certain assumptions, do rough
calculations, and explain your reasoning to the interviewer. The
last thing you should do is say "13,000." A typical explanation
follows the lines of "Let’s say there are 30 million people in
Canada, with an average household size of 3. That makes 10
million household. Let’s say that 50% of them live in houses,
70% of those having their own washing machine. That makes 3.5
million washing machines in houses. Out of the 5 million people
living in apartments, let’s say 10% have their own washing
machines. That makes another 500,000 washing machines in
apartments. Let’s assume that Laundromats have 1 washing machine
for every 10 households that don’t have their own machines.
There are 6 million of them (in houses and apartments), so that
makes another 600 000 washing machines in Laundromats. There is
now a total of 4.6 million machines in Canada. Let’s assume that
washing machines depreciate once every 4 years and need to be
replaced. That means 1.15 million new washing machines are sold
every year in Canada. White is the common colour, so let’s say
that only 20% of them are beige, which makes 230,000 beige
washing machines sold every year in Canada".
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Before you applaud, let’s make it
clear – we have no idea how many damned beige washing machines were
sold in Canada last year, nor do we really care. However, we did
demonstrate an ability to structure a problem, make reasonable
assumptions, and we demonstrated that we are comfortable calculating
20% of 1.15 million. That’s what the interviewer is looking for. You
can use a pen and paper to keep track of your figures, and you
should always use round numbers (never say 8% - you’re only shooting
yourself in the foot). Don’t get too detailed as you will lose the
interviewer, as well as drag the process out far much. Be concise,
detailed, and organized. A decision tree never hurt.
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Project. Project cases are generally long, they can be
written or oral, and involve a typical situation facing a
business. Generally the interviewer will pick an industry with
which she thinks you might not be familiar (such as the golf
ball manufacturing industry), and ask you to analyze the problem
facing the client. The client might be looking to expand into a
new product line, a new geographical location, attempting to
target a new demographic, facing a rising cost structure, or any
other typical problem that companies face every day. You will be
given a minimal amount of information. As you start to structure
your problem, you will realize you need other pieces of
information, and you should ask the interviewer if they can give
you that information. This shows that you understand what issues
are relevant, and reveals to the interviewer what types of
information you would spend your time gathering. If they don’t
have the information, they will tell you to make an assumption,
and you should do so as in the market sizing. The project case
is an interactive dialogue between you two, where you
should continually be asking questions, and "thinking aloud".
The interviewer will often steer you in the direction she thinks
you should go, and you should follow her lead. These cases can
take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. The interesting ones
are when the interviewer asks you about a case she has actually
worked on in the past, and then tells you what really happened
in real life.
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Business World. These are the most challenging, and the most
rare. "What do you think Eaton’s did wrong?" If you haven’t been
reading the papers – you are toast. You generally have the floor
(i.e. no dialogue), and you are required to analyze an important
event in the business world. This will show your degree of
interest in business in general (i.e. do you love the
Financial Post or not), your ability to incorporate common sense
with advanced business theories in the analysis of a real-life
scenario. If you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, be
honest that you haven’t followed the case and are unfamiliar
with the details. However, it’s best to be familiar with the
major events in the business world, so start reading the papers
a few weeks before you start applying for jobs (you should also
be familiar with past landmark events, such as the Apple
vs. Microsoft war, Japanese Automobiles in the U.S. etc.). We
don’t want you to worry, however, these types of cases are
very, very rare. |
http://www.campusaccess.com/campus_web/career/c5job_incatc.htm
Behavioural Interview Questions
Traditional Interview Questions
Case Interview Questions
Education
Previous Jobs
Company / Job
Questions determining your Competence
Questions on Wages / Salaries
Personal Characteristics
Your Community Involvement
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