Page 79 - Carlson School GBCC Career Guide

The Interview: What To Expect (continued) ADDITIONAL TIP
INTERVIEWING
2 Spend some time structuring your approach to solving the case. You should do this in silence, using a pen and paper, and should spend one to two minutes at the most. Consider using a specific “framework” to create this structure (e.g., cost/benefit, SWOT analysis), as this can help you break a large, complex problem into more manageable pieces.
3 Analyze the problem or situation by asking questions to gather information that you think would be helpful in solving the case. Often, the interviewer has additional information that they will share if you ask for it. After you’ve asked a few questions, your interviewer may encourage you to move along by coming up with a solution, so take your cues
from the interviewer at that point and refrain from asking additional questions.
4 Finish the case with a specific, actionable recommendation. It is important that you commit to a solution when answering a case interview question, so avoid “riding the fence” or being vague in your response. If applicable, think about both
short- and long-term approaches to solving the problem.
ADDITIONAL TIP
If you don’t know the answer to a function-specific or technical question, do your best to demonstrate your general knowledge of the content area. However, if you truly don’t have any technical knowledge or experience to answer the question, you should simply state that this is a current gap in your skill set, and share what you would do to close that gap quickly in order to make yourself a more marketable candidate in this functional area.
Case Questions
Case interview questions provide you with a particular business situation or problem, and ask you to walk through your thought process for solving it. Often, the case problem is a real-life business situation that a company has faced in the past. The goal with these types of questions is primarily to test your critical thinking skills, as well as your ability to follow a logical process
to solve a business-related problem. These types of questions are commonly asked during interviews for consulting or strategy positions, but are becoming more common in nearly all areas
of business.
Sample Case Interview Questions
• A major Canadian airline has sold more seats year-over-year for the past three years, yet has seen a decline in profits. What could be causing this?
• Choose one of Company X’s brands and tell me how you would change the way it is marketed.
• You are consulting with a company that has just announced a merger with one of their primary global competitors. Walk me through some of the implications for HR leadership to consider.
• You are a consultant for a large distributor of canned beans in North America. They are considering an expansion into the Southeast Asian market. What are some of the strategies that you would recommend?
When answering case interview questions, there are a few steps that you should follow:
1 When the interviewer presents the case, be sure to
take notes in order to capture the key details of the business situation or problem. When the interviewer has finished, clarify the question that was asked by restating it aloud. Clarify how much time you will have to solve the case if it has not been stated.
Closing the Interview
At the end of the interview, you will usually have an opportunity to ask a few questions of your interviewer. Be sure that you have a number of questions prepared in advance (usually five to seven questions is sufficient, but you should not expect to get through all of these). Be sure that you are not asking questions that were answered during the company’s information session, or that you could have answered by visiting the company’s website. The questions that you ask should reflect those things that you are truly curious about. What information do you need to decide if
Practice makes perfect! Attend case interview prep workshops and practice with your classmates. We typically advise
a student to run through 40-50 cases before the actual interview day. Start with sample cases in the GBCC, then work with your peers, second year students who interned at a consulting firm, a GBCC coach, your Enterprise Director, and finally with a few select alumni. Read publications such as
The Wall Street Journal and challenge yourself to come up with case questions from the articles (e.g., Why did this company acquire that one? Should Company X expand into a new market? How did they make that decision?). Constant refinement of your critical thinking skills will help you build confidence with this challenging aspect of interviewing.
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