Carnegie Mellon - Heinz College

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

As presented by someone who has actually sat in your seat before!

Carnegie Mellon University January 16th, 2009 Larry Gioia larry.gioia@diamondconsultants.com

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Plan for the Next Hour

Introduction Objectives of this Workshop Case Interviews at a Glance A Typical Case Interview A Practical Approach to Case Interviewing A Few More Tips and Tricks Recap/Questions

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agenda

A Few Personal Pet Peeves

Please close your laptops (You really arent taking notes like

you say you are!)

Please sit in the front (I recall this room having bad acoustics!) There are no stupid questions - there are just stupid people who are afraid to ask questions. Please feel free to interrupt me and ask! Lets make this as interactive as possible!

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ground rules

A Little About Me
Education

Gannon University 04
B.S., Management Information Systems

Carnegie Mellon 05
Master of Information Systems Management

Professional Background

Start-Ups
GioiaDesign COMPackage.com

Internships/Co-Ops
GE Transportation Systems US Department of Energy Deloitte Consulting

Diamond
Federal Government Big 5 Pharma Enterprise Healthcare

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introduction

Why Am I Here?
I AM NOT HERE TO
- Recruit for Diamond - Talk with you about the only way to approach a case interview - Pretend to be an expert on case interviewing (I only know

enough to be dangerous)

I AM HERE TO
- Provide you with a Practical Approach to case interviewing - Give you a real-world examples of what you might expect - Fill you in on a few interviewing tips and tricks - Answer your specific questions

I want to give you a view from the other side of the table

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expectations

I Want to Hear From You

What programs do we have represented today? How many have full-time work experience? Straight from undergrad? How many have participated in a case interview before? What do you want to get out of this workshop?

I am under the assumption that you are interested in consulting?

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you tell me

Typical Interview Structure

Behavioral-based Interview
Depending on the company, it may be a series of interviews Interviewer is typically someone more junior in the company 30 minutes to 1 hour

Case-based interview
Depending on the company, may be more than one case Quantitative (e.g., Google, Microsoft, McKinsey) or Qualitative (e.g., Deloitte, Diamond) Interviewer will likely be someone more senior in the company (e.g., Senior Consultant, Manager, Principal, Partner) 1 to 2 hours

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at a glance

Behavioral-Based and Case-Based

In a behavioral-based interview, companies are assessing:
Your soft skills (e.g., friendliness, communication, presence, poise, adaptation to surroundings) Ability to work in a team/as an individual (Tell me about a time

when )

Past performance is the best indicator of future success

Can you pass the Airport Test

In a case-based interview, companies are assessing:

Listening/learning skills Comfortable with ambiguity Do you enjoy working through problems How do you structure your thoughts under pressure

Approaches may differ (very direct vs. very interactive)

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at a glance

Who Uses Case Interviews?

Consulting firms (e.g., Diamond, Deloitte, McKinsey, etc.) Strategy-oriented/higher level marketing positions Law Firms Counseling and social work organizations Ex-consultants

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at a glance

So Whats It All About?

Companies use case interviews for a number of reasons Primarily to assess the following dimensions:
Industry capabilities How do you structure your thoughts Analytical abilities Ability to sort through extraneous information Can you come to a concise and clear recommendation in a short amount of time, given limited information Core capabilities (e.g., communication, judgment, organizational skills, flexibility, handling ambiguity, creativity and innovation)

Companies want to see how you think through a problem

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at a glance

What Can You Expect?

Breaking the Ice Instructions, overview, & approach 1-5 minutes 5 minutes

Overview of the case (information to get 3-5 minutes you started) Nature of the problem to solve 3-5 minutes

Give you the opportunity to ask questions 5-15 minutes Give you time to structure your thoughts 5-10 minutes Opportunity to present your recommendations Follow up questions
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10 minutes 3-5 minutes

a typical case

Student Mind-Set About a Case Interview

More Stressful

Less Stressful Break the Ice

Stress Level

Problem Solving

Wrap Up

Time
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just relax!

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Firm handshake, smile, and let your personality show The first few seconds are crucial its human nature that people will likely pass judgment on someone they meet in the first few seconds Engage in small talk
How as the flight in? Have you ever been to Pittsburgh before? Are you an Carnegie Mellon/MISM/MSPPM alumnus? So how long have you been with Company X?

Hint: Think about the Airport Test

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breaking the ice

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Listen attentively Take a few notes
Not to the point of annoying the interviewer You still need to pay attention Maintain eye contact

Understand the structure/format of the case

So, if I understand you correctly, I should be focusing on X Are there any specific rules I should know about? What is fair game?

Hint: You have no idea what this person is even talking about (yet)
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the case overview

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Listen very closely to what the interviewer is telling you (this is where it is key that you listen carefully) Take more detailed few notes
You will be busily taking notes, but you still want to acknowledge the interviewer (OK, Yes, Got It) Maintain eye contact when looking up for your notes If something comes to mind right away, right it down!

Ask clarifying questions and repeat what you hear

Just to make sure I understand you correctly, you said Let me make sure I got the details correct

Hint: Ask the detailed questions to get more information dont ask a question just because it sounds good
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the case problem

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Do not deviate from the problem that are you trying to solve Talk-through and explain your logic/approach
Whats on your mind? State your assumptions/ask for validation (Is it safe to assume that X is in Y?) Apply a framework (Thinking about Porters 5 Forces in this context, we can ) this may not always be the best idea

Structure your thoughts on paper

Use a whiteboard if needed to portray your ideas and engage A picture is worth 1000 words! (Consultants like pictures)

Hint: Think about your approach structure your thoughts

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your approach

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Ask if you can have the time to gather your thoughts Use paper/pencil/whiteboard to collect your ideas
Group like ideas/thoughts together Write down any of your assumptions (you may forget!) Use boxes and arrows if it helps Consider making an outline (A, B, C, I., II., III., etc.)

Have at least one solid recommendation

If they ask for a recommendation or a suggestion, make sure you have one! You should feel free to be creative and think outside of the box

Hint: Make order out of chaos!

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collect your ideas

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Tell the interviewer when you are ready Speak slowly to articulate your ideas
Reference your notes (thats why you took them in the first place) Reiterate your assumptions justify why you made the assumptions you did

Be sure to get to the recommendation at the end

Your recommendation should be defendable The million dollar questions - So how did you pick the framework you did, Why should I do A vs. B?

Hint: Stay calm take your time speak slowly

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present findings

Acing the Case: A Practical Approach

Ask the interviewer if you were on target with your approach/recommendation
What was the actual outcome (if you know its a real problem that

the company has addressed in the past)

Its completely OK if you are off base dont be discouraged some of the most creative are the most successful There is no right/wrong answers (unless they ask you for the sum of

2+2!)

Thank them for their time if you were genuinely interested in the case and exercise, tell them and why!
I really enjoyed working on this problem, it is similar to ...

Hint: Close with confidence

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wrap up/close

A Few Tips & Tricks

Do your homework on the company
Whitepapers, intellectual capital, external research News articles/stock quotes Frameworks

Google your interviewer Think out loud, draw pictures, make assumptions - give the interviewer a sense for your thought process Be confident in your approach and engage the interviewer Remember, there is no right way to analyze the problem The baseball analogy
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my advice

A Few Final Thoughts

PRACTICE Practice, practice, practice LEVERAGE YOUR RESOURCES There are many resources available to you on Carnegie Mellons Campus:
- Career Services (Martin, Ron and Susan) - Heinz/Tepper consulting clubs - Peers and professors - The Vault Guide/WetFeet

BE YOURSELF Let your personality show through during the case interview! Remember - its not always entirely about how smart you are! RELAX its just another interview! Remember that there are no right or wrong answers.
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in closing

What Not To Wear

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Contact Information

Questions? Feedback? Larry Gioia, MISM 2005 larry.gioia@diamondconsultants.com

www.diamondconsultants.com
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thank you