Mastering the

Case Interview
 Agenda

 What Are They Really Looking For…

 Frameworks to Attack the Cases
 Theory to Practice (Some Sample Cases)
 Some Other Thoughts

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 Why Do Case Interviews?

Case interviews provide both parties with Information:

Interviewer Candidate

 Opportunity to learn about:  Opportunity to sell

– Experience – Experiences
– Goals – Education
– Objectives – Interests

 Opportunity to Assess  Opportunity to ask

– How you handled situations questions
– Critical thinking skills – Evaluate firm
– Do I want to sit with this person – Evaluate potential colleagues
on an airplane

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 Keys to the Case Interview

Know your resumé.

Preparation
Practice, Practice, Practice.

Demonstrate why you want the

Enthusiasm
opportunity.

Show you can think under pressure.

Comfort
Practice, Practice, Practice.

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 Frameworks:
Porter’s Five Forces

New
Entrants

Industry
Suppliers Buyers
Competitors

Substitutes

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 Frameworks:
Three Cs

SWOT? What customer segments Segment competitors by

Competitive advantages? exist? customer segment.
Company strategy? Are there segments that What advantages do
can be acquired? competitors have?

Company Customers Competitors

Some add a fourth C: ”Capabilities”

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 Frameworks:
Four Ps

Four key dimensions in marketing any product or service

Place Product

How is the product What are the product’s

distributed to consumers? differentiating attributes?

What methods of Why does the consumer

distribution are available purchase this product?

What advertising medium

How is this product
is used to sell the
priced?
product?
What is the most effective
How are its competitors
method of distributing
priced?
product information?

Price Promotion

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 Frameworks:
Profit Decomposition

Profit

Revenue Costs

Price Volume Variable Fixed

 Elasticity  Product Short-Term Impacts Long-Term Impacts
 Credit Policy  Promotion  SG&A  Property Plant and
 Allowances  Placement  COGS Equipment
 Discounts  Changing – Direct Material  Fixed Overhead
 Price Consumers – Direct Labor  Capacity/Utilization
discrimination  Channel – Variable Overhead  Depreciation
 Competitor’s restrictions  Functional Costs
pricing  Customer  Taxes
segmentation

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 Frameworks:
Operational Processes

Develop Procure
Perform Provide
Market and Materials Mfg. Manage
Order Custome
and Sell Manage and Products Logistics
Mgmt. r Support
Offering Services

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 Frameworks:
Infrastructure Processes

Perform
Financial Manage Manage
Plan and Manage
and Informati Plants Manage Manage
Manage Human
Manageri on Equipme Capital Support
the Resource
al Resource nt and Projects Activities
Business s
Accounti s Facilities
ng

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 Frameworks:
Supply Chain Model

Mktg. and
Suppliers Inbound Operations Outbound Service Customers
Sales

 Manufacturing  Price
 Assembly  Product
 Packaging  Placement
 Testing  Promotion

 Receiving  Warranty Claims

 Inventory Control  Distribution/Logistics
 Order Processing  Service Parts
 Warehousing/Storage  Service Contracts
 Supplier Leverage  Delivery

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 Frameworks:
Other Models

 Economies of Scale & Scope

 Learning Curve
 NPV
 Variable Vs. Fixed
 Internal/External

Caution: Frameworks don’t solve the problem…you do!

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 There are two kinds of Case
Study Questions...

cases you
ACE
cases you
B MB
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 The Case Interview

What is it? An opportunity to evaluate five key skills:

Problem Data
Identification Analysis

Use of a
Framework

Effective Logical
Communication Process

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 The Case Interview:
Problem Identification Skills

 Determine the salient issues

 Know when and how to ask the right questions
 Avoid pitfalls

Understand the problem first!

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 The Case Interview:
Data Analysis

 Determine your structure up front

 Can the interviewer follow your logic
 Are you making sense
 Are you performing the appropriate calculations
 Have your solved the problems you have identified

Organize your analysis!

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 The Case Interview:
Communication Skills

 Listen carefully
 Speak clearly and concisely
 Support and defend your points
 Don’t lose your cool

Have fun with it!

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 The Case Interview:
Logical Process

 Listen carefully
 Make sure you know what the question is
 Ask clarifying questions
 Figure out what facts you have and which
ones you don’t
 Build a sequence to get the facts you need
or
 Develop a process to get to a point from
which you can work

Plan your work.

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 The Case Interview:
Work the Plan

 Communicate to the interviewer the issues you

want to evaluate
 Drill down
 Ask questions that support or refine your
framework
 Check your progress
 Wrap it up!
– Based on the facts you have gathered, draw a conclusion that
answers the interviewer’s question
– Be prepared to “wrap it up” even if you run out of time

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 The Questions…

 Philosophical
 Scenario-based
– Full
– Short

 Problem
– With an Answer
– Without an Answer

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 Philosophical...

The concept of relative value is extremely important in

the financial services industry. Describe something
that is cheap in relative terms.

Wrong answer… “Talk is Cheap”

Right Answer… “A Newspaper”

Watch out for the following…

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 Scenario—Full

You have a client that manufactures, among other

things, batteries for use in cameras and watches.
The batteries are sold as original equipment and as
replacement parts. The battery division has been
struggling for a number of years and the client has
asked you to help turn things around. What would
you want to analyze in an effort to improve
profitability? Where do you expect to reduce costs?

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 Scenario—Full
Additional Information

 Industry is price conscious

 Competition is moving manufacturing overseas
 Other competitors are profitable
 Raw materials used in batteries are commodities
 Cost structure
– Direct materials = 20%
– Direct labor = 40%
– Material handling overhead = 15%
– Tooling surcharge = 25%

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 Scenario—Short

Below is a representation of the value chain for one unit of Coca Cola®.
What would you expect the value chain for a secondary brand of cola like
RC® to look like?

Value Chain for Coca Cola®

R&D Manufacturing Distribution Marketing OHD Margin
Syrup Bottling “Base” DC Local DC

5% 15% 10% 5% 20% 25% 10% 10%

Value Chain for RC Cola®

R&D Manufacturing Distribution Marketing OHD Margin
Syrup Bottling “Base” DC Local DC

?% ?% ?% ?% ?% ?% ?% ?%

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 Problem Without An Answer

How many ________ are there in _______ ?

Wrong answer… “2,143,387”

Right Answer… “I’m not sure, but I would...”

Watch out for the following…

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 Problem With An Answer

You’ve been contacted by a client who operates a

freight forwarding business between Minneapolis and
Asia. Your client is concerned about their declining
profit margins. After conducting some basic cost
accounting you determine that the decline in margin is
due almost solely to sharp increases in the freight
charges being charged by the airlines. In fact the airline
in which your client conducts the majority of their
business has increased their rates 45 percent in the
past six months. Why would the airline raise their prices
so much in such a sort period of time?

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 Additional Information

 Fuel prices have been stable for past 36 months

 Passenger airfares have declined in the same period
 All of the other airlines have also raised their prices
 Air cargo operations have been operating at capacity

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 Key Ideas to Remember

 RELAX and BE YOURSELF

 Don’t hesitate to take a few minutes to compose your
thoughts
 Ask clarifying questions/think out loud
 Thinking out of the box is OK, off the package isn’t
 Consider external perspectives; customers,
competitors
 Consider the implications/applications of technology
 Bring paper and pencil

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 More Key Ideas to
Remember

 Use a framework to organize your thoughts

 Don’t forget to look at the forest while walking
among the trees
 Structure is more important the answer
(most of the time)
 Interviewers talk…
 Be careful how you answer—what you say can
and will be used against you in an interview

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