Tuesday 11 August 2015

7 Effective Guidelines To Crack Case Interviews

A case interview is a type of job interview question used by management consulting firms when recruiting new employees. Employers conduct this type of interview to measure your confidence, test your ability and intelligence to solve problems. Due to inexperience and a lack of preparation, young professionals can often encounter problems when facing case interview questions.

Here are some guidelines compiled by experts to help you crack your next case interview:

Analyse the questions and clarify doubts: The interviewer will present the problem regarding a particular case. You should understand the case properly, interpret the problem, get into it strategically and do not hesitate to clarify any key points. You may also write down a few notes.

Structure the problem and solve it: Take some time to develop a better perspective of the problem. Systematically note an order of steps through which you want to analyse the problem, taking into account the probable solutions.

Don't directly jump to conclusions: Formulate your answer with in-depth analysis, then organise all your ideas to put forward a good case. Do not draw conclusions without considering all aspects of the question.

Prioritize issues: You should focus more on issues which you think are more relevant in creating value for the client. You may give an explanation to support your choices.

Pose a hypothesis: Just like school science class, a case interview question can be approached like a scientific problem. Solve by posing a hypothesis and then prove it true or false through analysis of data and facts. This will allow you to keep digging deeper or change direction as necessary.

Make accurate and quick calculations: It is often observed that the interviewer asks you to make some simple calculations. It is their way of checking whether you can use numbers to quickly form opinions and guide decisions. So, it’s essential to make correct calculations and incorporate it into what you have discovered so far.

Recommended solutions: By the time the interviewer winds up the interview, you must stay alert to recommend solutions to the client's problem asked in that particular case. Always base your judgement on the overall analysis of the problem.

Job searching is nowadays very challenging. Therefore, formulating a good way to correctly present your skills and expertise will undoubtedly take you towards success.