Case interview (also called – case study interview) requires more preparation as compared to other types of interviews.
When receiving a case interview question, the interviewer may deliberately tell you only part of the information needed for solving the business case.
In some case questions, you will receive little to no information so you will have to analyze and come out with a solution based on limited resources.
The case interview main goals are to find out how well you identify information to analyze a case, How you set the component needed for solving the case ( the key issues) and finally the way you organize your thoughts and the quality of the solution you provide.
After reading this article, refer to the following articles:
• How to answer case study interview questions
• Management Consulting Interview Questions: Case Consulting Interview Questions
• Situational Interview Questions and Answers
• Business Analyst: Interview Questions for Business Analyst Position
Examples of Case Interview Questions
Here are some business case interview examples:
• There has been a visible decline in the performance of a subordinate. How would you handle it?
• Your client is a major pharmacy chain. Every year they make more sales and every year, they lose more money. They are considering closing more and more pharmacies. Should they implement this strategy?
• You are consulting the company management. The company is facing a complicated project which would increase the company’s bottom line extensively. Given a specific set of information, you are required to take the project to the proper direction.
• You are consulting a small firm that sells a quality and well reputed product. A large competitor starts selling a similar product incorporating the newest technology. What should they do?
• You are consulting a company that their major business is in Western Europe. They are considering an expansion into China. What is your advice?
• The company is facing a situation in which there is a need for a product change – dropping it or selling to a completely different market. You are required to solve the case.
• You are consulting for one of the largest shoes store chains in the country. Their sells start to shrink and they are considering selling fast food in the stores locations. What would you recommend?
Case Interview Answers
Divide the answer into 5 parts:
1. Define the Problem
Describe the problem in the workplace. What is involved in making it a problem?
2. Analyze the Problem
Tell about how you collected information for analyzing data: the process you utilized for extracting maximum information from the facts.
3. Generate possible Solutions
Explain the factors you took for making a decision: how did you get to the root cause of the problem? How did you identify the likely causes of problem? How did you generate a number of possible solutions?
4. Select the best Solution(s) and course of actions
Describe the actions you took: why did you choose these actions? What were the results you expected to achieve? Describe how you organized ideas into process flow and common theme and the way you monitor result. Don’t forget the risk management factors.
5. Lesson learned
What did you get? What was going right? What do you learn from that experience?
