Case Interview Example with Expert Comments

Our #CaseInterview End to End Secrets Program is designed to help build the foundation and skillset comprehensively in all three aspects of Case Interview: (1) How to do #Math better in cases? (2) How to have a better #businessintuition? How to be more insightful in cases? (3) How to build a strong set of consulting habits to demonstrate in cases? What are must-have Case #InterviewTips & Techniques to apply?
In our program, we tackle the third aspect by conducting real case interviews with various candidates and show the audience the specific #feedback in context. Because so many people are interested in knowing more about this, today I am happy to share with you a sample of how an interview in that third aspect of our program would look! We will go into the first half of the case in this #example.
You are about to hear a really interesting performance!
There is a common Myth that #Profitabilitycases are easier. Well, for beginners, that may make sense, but I would argue that Profitability cases can be really tricky and candidates without good foundation will make about the same level of mistakes regardless of the type of cases given.
The profitability case we are about to watch will show that. It’s a very unconventional Profitability. It started out like a typical one but got trickier and trickier toward the end.
The candidate is fairly good in terms of business intuition, but the Tips & Techniques aspect needs a lot of fine-tuning. Why don’t we all try to figure out where she can improve together? Watch the video and leave your ideas and insights below in the comment. We’ll be sure to check them all out!
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Hope to see you in the next video!

[@MConsultingPrep]

Practice with our experts and receive quality feedback from them here: mconsultingprep.com/case-partner

[@gilsukim]

My note: 1. [thank the interviewer] That’s a very interesting problem and I am happy to get the chance to solve it. 2. [map my approach] - First of all, let me tell you my UNDERSTANDING of the case concept and key objectives. - Then, I would like to ask a few CLARIFYING QUESTIONS regarding a few terminology and concepts. - Both of these are to make sure that I will be solving the right problem. 3.[map and walk the talk] So here is my understanding of the case: - The client is ABC ... - Here are some DEF facts about the situation we just talked about... - And the key case question is XYZ. 4. [align with the interviewer] Does that correctly and adequately summarize the case? 5. [map and walk the talk] Now I would like to ask a few clarification questions. There are 3 of them. - No 1. 2. and No 3.... 6. [open-ended question] Is there anything else? 7. [align with the interviewer] Does that sound like a fair approach to you? 8. Issue tree, make hypothesis and explicitly say it, aligning - [issue tree] So as we just discussed, a profit problem is either caused by revenue or by cost. - [align, hypothesize and map approach] Unless you would like to go into COST first, let’s hypothesize that the problem is on REVENUE. I would like to look deeper into REVENUE. Do we have any data on the revenue? 9. Every time I get any piece of data, - 1. (acknowledgment) say ... that’s an interesting piece of data. - 2. (description) describing the data, how it looks, is there any special worth-noting trend? - 3. (connection back to hypothesis) link the trend identified back to the original case question and the hypothesis you are having e.g., It’s interesting that revenue went up quite a bit. However, to be able to fully reject our hypothesis on the revenue, I would like to compare our revenue to the competitors as well. 10. DO EVERYTHING AS EXPLICITLY AS POSSIBLE. 11. [thank the interviewer to express client-oriented mindset] Thank you for your patience. 12. [summarize] We have been analyzing the revenue aspect of the case and have gathered very interesting insights: - No 1: Total revenue increased by about 50% - No 2: Revenue data from competitors are not available and not relevant - No 3: 85% of our revenue come from the “Advertising” segment - All of these three insights have strong implications on how we would do next to solve the problem. 13. [conclusion] While we cannot at this point reject the hypothesis that the bottleneck is in revenue, these data are very suggestive that the problem is on the Cost side. 14. [map] And on the Cost side, here are a few things I would be very interested in finding more about: - No 1: How has cost been changing in comparison to revenue. - No 2: Since 85% of revenue is from the “advertising” segment, I would like to look specifically on the cost devoted for this segment. 15. [align] Does this approach look good to you?

[@mikhailpotapov4086]

This is rather a good and detailed approach :) The only thing I wouldn’t spend so much time is the repetition of the question, it’s coming from my friends in McKinsey that they expect you of course to understand words so no need to repeat question if it’s quite clear, goals and side goals are important to know though :)

[@hiteshdua3746]

Amazing. Thanks for summarising

[@hiteshdua3746]

Point 9.3: Put a number (ballpark) to an insight. Like revenue grew by 50%.

[@user-eg4qn4sv9h]

Probably the best free content I’ve ever watched on how to solve cases.

[@MConsultingPrep]

Agreeeeee

[@salentuxsempre]

Great Kim. Thank you very much. This video is awesome and of great help. You are doing right to charge money for the second part. We should already be grateful that you provided us some 30 free minutes. I can't understand wy people complain about this. It is your job, it is your business and you need to make money in some way. As future consultants we should be aware of this. You're offering more than enough for free. Thanks for this

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

Thank you very much for your understanding. Appreciate it ^^

[@justice14248]

Hi Kim, great explanation you have here of the case. I had a question regarding the constant checks you do with the interviewer to see if you are in the right direction. To me, this seems to portray a lack of confidence and reliance on interviewer direction for every decision. Will interviewers truly see this habit as alignment or as a sense of weakness?

[@KIronManz]

Just like Julian Silvestri down there, I am truly grateful already for having received this HUGE amount of thought-through insight, it's clear and directed, and I think it's only fair to charge for a full access to this quality content. Thank you so much, MCPrep!

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

Appreciate it^^. Thank you for your understanding.

[@AdedayoAdebagbo]

wow this content has been released 8 years ago and it is still very interesting and relevant in today's interviews. i find this very amazing and great content. i am having a case study interview coming up for a demand manager role at walmart and this has been so interesting to me in preparing for it. thank you for this. so amazing

[@jollywong1118]

Me too!

[@JJ-zy3zv]

Most comprehensive consulting case channel available. great job

[@Nicole-se7zj]

Amazing content. Thank you so much for this!

[@MConsultingPrep]

Thank you thank you thank you^^

[@saralsharky9514]

the video is just ausum.its of great help as minute points were taken care of.!!

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

This is an ausum comment. ^^ Thank you very much.

[@thabompala6524]

This is so awesome! Helped me get a job offer

[@MConsultingPrep]

It's so amazing that we help! There are more to discover at mconsultingprep.com/!

[@AJ-et3vf]

Awesome video! Thank you!

[@TheBigShil]

This is an awesome and informative video - good on you

[@MConsultingPrep]

Glad you enjoyed it! Keep watching ^^.

[@phamhatrang8652]

Thank you so much

[@xiaoyuyang5866]

It is really useful.

[@zl7289]

curious~ this is a great and practical tutorial, why so many people dislike it?

[@MConsultingPrep]

They like this so much, but KZbin doesn't provide them the "overlike" button, so they dislike ^^

[@121thesofiya]

Hi Kim. Great resource though we need to purchase to see the full video. Just want to point out, there are a few typos here and there. Otherwise, thanks for posting this up. Great resource for beginners. Keep it up!

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

Thank you very much for the feedback. Yeah we will work hard to avoid them. Hope to see you keep on commenting ;)

[@awdhesh17]

Hi Kim, Great work and great slides. How can I access rest of the interview and what is the process.?

[@MConsultingPrep]

You may access the rest by purchasing our End-to-End Secrets Program at mconsultingprep.com/shop/case-interview-end-end-secrets-program/. Take a look and send us messages if you ever need any help!

[@adityasaraswat2051]

A job well done

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

^^

[@jacksonklasen2028]

Wao I got to say this is way better than LOMS ... going to get myself the full version!

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

You got it? How was it ? ^^

[@omarkayal5336]

Thanks for this!

[@MConsultingPrep]

Glad mconsultingprep.com helps!

[@wgconsultants3030]

I like the concept in the beginning but honestly it seems more personal to say the candidate said it wrong and how you would say it. I know you are feeding back the client of what you are doing and a lot more words are involved. I know what you are getting at here but it was equally just as good IMHO. Me, "Oh wow that's interesting and very honored to work this case. So, here's my understanding to give you assurance we are on the same page." ...."The way the candidate said at first"...(Client says yes). Ok, so im going to ask a few questions to clarify these concepts to lock in the most effective and efficient solution solving process... ok......"

[@paulam2653]

this is very helpful, thank you

[@MConsultingPrep]

Thank you. Keep watching ^^.

[@Subyla]

Is it necessary to calculate the exact percentages (like in minute 26:24) or is an estimation enough? Or is there a simple trick to do this kind of math very quickly, as I would need a couple of minutes for the calculations.

[@sleepless2375]

+Subyla Probably the most natural thing is to compare it with the value of 1%, 10% or even 50%. In this case 1% of 425 is 4.25 and 10% = 42.5 which is quite close to 50. Since there's only 7.5 difference between 50 and 42.5 and you know that 1% of 425 is 4.25 then you can mentally calculate the rest

[@ajb229]

Is a case interview more difficult for an MBA Graduate? Or is it the same type of case but a higher standard of response is expected?

[@MConsultingPrep]

I tent to agree with the latter. Normally each interviewer has his/her own standard case (can be in any format). For each candidate, the interviewer may twist the case a bit to make it harder or easier.

[@emiliozorrilla5188]

Why you didnt reject the hypothesis? If the revenue had more than a 50% increase in a year I think it is quite clear the problem will be on the cost side.

[@mikhailpotapov4086]

Not necessarily, it’s quite possible that you could further increase your revenue to compensate for loss. In this case, I think there is a problem with the hypothesis itself - it’s not quite specific to correctly narrow down your focus :)

[@AT-rq8xy]

@@mikhailpotapov4086 But since they are the market leader and this is relatively a new industry, wouldn't it mean that they have actually the maximum revenue that is available?

[@_tacotempura]

was this a real interviewee you interviewed or did he play by a script? he seems very uninterested haha

[@mikhailpotapov4086]

Good case and feedback tips except maybe few minor things like your hypothesis - it’s not as specific as it should be and confirmation/rejection should narrow down your focus at the end of the day. Hypothesis like “the problem is in revenue” wouldn’t help you much in this case, so I would formulate it as “we could increase revenue to compensate for the current loss within a given timeline of the project”. Then, you could go even more specific with revenue components if it makes sense. Secondly, the candidate should have asked, I would say, what the loss is at the moment. How much do you actually need to increase revenues/decrease cost? Lastly, standard phrases like “this interesting piece of data or interesting case” might sound fake to the interviewer so don’t overuse it please :)

[@DanCretu1752]

Dude, did you get into consulting ?

[@bolanle2788]

Hello! is the rest of this video still on the website? If so, can you direct me to where it's located?

[@MConsultingPrep]

the rest of the video and many more cases are included in our Case Interview E2E program: mconsultingprep.com/cr/mcp/courses/bundle/case-interview-end-to-end-secrets-program

[@davm1931]

A good case! Can you just please stop using that sound between case and feedback. it's annoying

[@tharwatjad9444]

Oh no please dont i like it .....

[@mikhailpotapov4086]

Sorry, Cheng knows better :D

[@MConsultingPrep]

I'll definitely note it down!

[@gustavonomura6285]

@@MConsultingPrep I`m thankful for the free content you provide online, but I also think that that music is too time consuming.

[@MConsultingPrep]

@@gustavonomura6285 Your idea is recognized! We'll try to improve it in the upcoming videos! In the meanwhile, you my wanna take looks at our articles to avoid those sounds mconsultingprep.com/blog/

[@aleekazmi]

aint nobody got time to clarify stuff that much lol

[@antonioeduardoruette2444]

coitus interruptus

[@antonypearce5163]

This was so helpful, but I totally disagree with your suggestion not to be silent at any point. Being silent doesn't have to be awkward. You're pausing to gather your thoughts and compose yourself. You're in control. Just talking will make you more likely to waffle.

[@MConsultingPrep]

There's no problem with pausing, we just need to ... announce it. So, ask for a timeout, and be silent for how ever long you want. You can't have the case suddenly stall. Hope that helps ^^.

[@80sROCKKKKK]

I have a question. Why would you want to look at competitor data once you found out that the revenues have increased: cos clearly this is sufficient to conclude that the fall in profits is because of an increase in costs that outweighs the increase in revenues. This should be enough to shift branch (to costs). Even if you were to find out that the competitors were doing better with their revenues, it isn't the fundamental reason why OUR profits have gone negative. Can you let me know why the thought process here was adopted instead?

[@80sROCKKKKK]

Also, you said "recently losing money"... how can we make sense of the revenue data for the past two years, if we don't know for how long this loss has been happening? I realized that I subconsciously concluded that the company turned a profit in 2012 and a loss only in 2013.

[@80sROCKKKKK]

And even after that, why dig deeper? How are the ad and royalty revenue percentages useful?

[@EralpBayraktar]

Please remove auto-scroll from your website. I'd have contacted you from your websites contact section but my eyes are bleeding thus I can't even check if you have such a section. I'm telling you here since you seem to be reading the comments ;)

[@kimmconsultingprep482]

Yeah, of course I do read all comments (and try to reply to most of them). Thank you very much for your suggestion. As far as I know, that has been fixed. Btw, there are many ways to you to contact us ...through the support chat, email, any social media ... ^^

[@maabrar8577]

May i have your email pls

[@MConsultingPrep]

Feel free to contact us through live chat/ FB messages/ Email!