Tackling a Case Interview

WHAT McKINSEY DOES DRIVES WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES

What McKinsey looks for in What McKinsey looks for in our people our people

How McKinsey serves clients How McKinsey serves clients

Help clients develop strategies and make decisions in challenging situations

Ability to solve tough problems Ability to set and achieve challenging goals Ability to impact outcomes and influence others Ability to build long-term relationships with clients and colleagues

Work with client management to overcome obstacles and achieve outstanding results

Bring the best expertise to our clients through effective teams, including experts from around McKinsey

FOUR WELL-DEFINED PARAMETERS FOR SELECTION

Logical and conceptual thinking Creativity and curiosity Intuitive sense of context

Problem solving

Demands for own performance Initiative and drive Dare taking risks

Drive and aspiration

Leadership

Sense of responsibility Ability to identify and exploit opportunities Balance project result and the teams wellbeing Positive influence on other people Interest in other people Self confidence without arrogance
2

Personal impact

WHAT IS A CASE INTERVIEW?

What are we looking for in case What are we looking for in case answers? answers?

What is a case interview? What is a case interview?

An interview that presents you with a problem to be solved in the context of a real-world business situation

You are asked to arrive at a reasonable solution, using logical reasoning and creativity

Ability to think through a problem Strength in structuring problems Clear, logical reasoning Creativity in generating options Basic numerical agility Practical business sense Ability to synthesize Ability to see the big picture Ability to build working relationships Effective communicator Capacity to manage ambiguity Self-confidence

A GOOD APPROACH TO CASE INTERVIEWS

Approach for each Question End of Case Structure Analyze Conclude

Context

Clarify

Listen closely to
into discrete pieces/issues

Ensure understanding of the context / problem Develop a plan to solve the problem

Break the problem Walk the Use framework

when and only if appropriate

Request information and develop answer

Synthesize case

State findings of
your analysis

problem definition

Ask questions to

interviewer through your thinking

Develop overall Ask for

additional relevant facts recommendations

improve understanding

Paraphrase to

Discuss trade-offs Suggest next State crisp

hypothesis or assumptions steps if applicable

confirm problem statement

CASE INTERVIEW HINTS

What not to do? What not to do?

What to do? What to do?

Relax! Remember this is not a test of industry knowledge Listen (take notes if you wish) Organize your thoughts, structure your ideas Explain your thought process Work from hypotheses (guess a little; be creative) Gather and analyze key facts Push for a conclusion

Ask 20 questions Force a framework that doesnt fit Jump to a conclusion without explaining your thought process Insist you have the answer and ignore signals/hints from the interviewer Ignore important facts Hide from the details (or the numbers) Get frustrated Defend impractical solutions Do a postmortem (in or after interview)