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Case Interviews
Case questions are used to assess a candidate’s skill in a number of areas including: logical/analytical thought process, business insight, quantitative skills, creativity/inquisitiveness, practical judgment, communication skills, and response to pressure/lack of information. An employer will usually inform you if the interview will include case questions. Consulting interviews often include case questions.
There are three main types of case questions. They are:
- The interviewer describes a “typical” project to the candidate, then engages in give-and-take to reach a solution.
- The interviewer asks a candidate to analyze an experience from their past as a “case.”
- The interviewer asks the candidate to solve a brainteaser or puzzle.
Tips for Case Interview Questions:
- Never lose focus of the fact that in answering a case question, you are also demonstrating your interpersonal skills. Your energy, persuasiveness, and delivery are being assessed as you work your way through the question.
- Listen carefully to the question.
- Ask questions. Case questions are give-and-take exercises, and you are rarely given all the necessary information up front. Ask as many questions as you need to, but be prepared for the interviewer to stop giving you answers at some point.
- Case interviewers are not looking for a quick answer. Make sure you understand the question asked and compose yourself before you begin to answer. Organize your thoughts and take a few moments to think before you answer if necessary.
- Make assumptions. When you don’t have enough information on which to base an answer, make assumptions that can be defended. Be prepared to explain these assumptions to the interviewer if required.
- Construct an organized answer. Define the problem, the actions you would take, and the expected result. Interviewers are looking for your thought process and insight into how you would solve problems. Remember that there are often no “right” answers to these questions, but there are approaches and results that are more “right” than others.
Example of a case question:
Your client is a major airline whose customer base has significantly decreased during the past six-months. The airline’s executives ask you to investigate the situation and make recommendations of ways to increase and retain customers. How would you go about doing this and what are some of the recommendations you anticipate making?
For more detailed information, see the resources on case interviewing located in the Career Resource Center.
Adapted from “How to Crack a Case”, written by the Fuqua Consulting Club, Duke University.
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