Approaching the case

What makes a successful case interview

The cases you discuss in each of your interviews will be different. Generally, they are based on the interviewer's professional experiences and will usually describe situations with which you are not familiar. For example, your cases might focus on deciding how a company should react to a new competitor or determining what attributes a company should look for in seeking a joint-venture partner.

In addressing the case, it is important that you take a logical, well-structured approach and reach a reasoned conclusion. At a minimum, you should be sure that you:

• Understand the underlying problem and the question.Ask for clarification on points that you feel are unclear.
• Break the problem down into a logical structure and describe your overall approach. There may be several issues to be addressed in order to reach a conclusion. Don't dive into these issues before describing your overall approach.
• Address the issues one at a time. Focus on the most important issues first. Your interviewer will guide you on which issues to focus on, and they will also be reasonable in their expectations of what issues can be covered in the time allotted.
• Address important issues, not just ones you feel comfortable with. Candidates often focus too much on their own area of expertise rather than the important issues (for example, accountants focusing on the financial aspects of new product development without mentioning customers). Follow your interviewer's guidance here.
• Perform the important analyses. There may be important calculations or analyses to do in order to reach your conclusions. Follow your interviewer's guidance on these, and do them as best you can. Remember, your interviewer is there to help, so be sure to ask for assistance if you need it.
• Test your emerging hypotheses. Keep coming back to check that you are addressing the question you were asked.
• Request additional information. As you build an understanding of the problem, there may be more information that you need.
• Reach a conclusion. Synthesize your thoughts concisely and develop a recommendation. Don't just summarize what you have discussed. Think about what the actionable next steps are, and which ones are the most important.