KAISERASSOCIATES

A case interview is a scenario-based problem-solving exercise

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Case questions test many of the skills necessary to be a successful consultant

Skill Key Questions

Analytical Skills

Do you effectively organize information?

Do you develop a logical framework for analysis?

How comfortable are you with numbers and mathematical operations?

Business Insight & Judgment

Do you demonstrate sound business understanding and logic?

Do you understand the implications of your decisions?

Are you approaching the problem at the right level of detail?

Decision-Making Ability Can you make sound decisions based on limited data, and defend them?

Are you flexible in adapting them to new information?

Creativity Do you come up with interesting or original ways to tackle problems?

Poise Are you relaxed and confident?

Can you bounce back from mistakes or adapt to uncomfortable situations?

Communication Skills Are you a good listener?

How well do you articulate your questions and answers?

Interpersonal Skills Would co-workers and clients enjoy working with you?

Are you engaging?

KAISERASSOCIATES

There is no “right answer” – you will be evaluated on your framework and thought process

2

Structure the Problem

Collect and Evaluate

Data

Assemble Solution

Articulate Findings

How you structure the case is the most critical part of the interview

Keys to Success

Listen carefully and understand the question

Create a solution framework

Break the problem down into manageable parts

Organize the given data

Common Mistakes

Not listening to the setup

Not understanding the objective

Diving right into the details without creating a structure

Trying to force-fit a text-book framework

KAISERASSOCIATES

There is no “right answer” – you will be evaluated on your framework and thought process

3

Structure the Problem

Collect and Evaluate

Data

Assemble Solution

Articulate Findings

A complete understanding of the problem requires thorough fact-finding

Keys to Success

State assumptions and hypotheses

Start at a high level

Prioritize your analysis, keeping the objective in mind

Be thorough and organized

Common Mistakes

Generating answers too quickly

Not asking enough questions

Not asking clear, specific questions

Asking questions for the sake of asking questions, without relating them back to the framework

KAISERASSOCIATES

There is no “right answer” – you will be evaluated on your framework and thought process

4

Structure the Problem

Collect and Evaluate

Data

Assemble Solution

Articulate Findings

Relevant facts must be pieced together to build up an answer the original question

Keys to Success

Drive towards answering the question

Organize data to support your arguments

Be thorough in your analysis

Do a “sanity check”

Common Mistakes

Losing sight of the original question

Giving incomplete solution

Not gathering enough data

Not relating your data or thought process to the bigger picture

KAISERASSOCIATES

There is no “right answer” – you will be evaluated on your framework and thought process

5

Structure the Problem

Collect and Evaluate

Data

Assemble Solution

Articulate Findings

Close by clearly summarizing your conclusions and addressing any open issues

Keys to Success

Be persuasive and complete

Communicate a game plan for addressing issues you’ve identified

Common Mistakes

Failing to fully answer the question

Failing to summarize findings

Rambling

KAISERASSOCIATES

Let’s now use the knowledge we’ve acquired to crack an easy sample case interview

I’ve done some research, and have found the following:

– Average Game Attendance: 30,000

– Number of Nationals Games per Season: 160

– Average Game Duration: 5 hours

– Average Ticket Price: $40

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I live in Washington, DC

I’m a fan of baseball, and of the Washington Nationals in particular

I’ve noticed many single-vendor carts outside RFK Stadium at the Nationals’ home games, selling things like ice cream, hot dogs, clothing, etc.

I’m thinking of getting in the business by buying a cart and selling T-shirts

Can operating a T-shirt vending cart

outside RFK Stadium be a profitable

business?

Tell me if this is a good idea

KAISERASSOCIATES

First, we need to develop an appropriate framework to answer the problem

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Profit We need to determine whether this business can be profitable

Revenue Costs

Quantity Price Fixed Variable

Profit equals revenueminus costs

Here, we break the problem down further, into smaller parts that we solve more easily

Now that we have our framework, we can organize our thought process and questions to tackle each of these mini-problems

KAISERASSOCIATES

In this case, the cost piece is probably easier to calculate, so let’s go after that first

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Profit

Revenue Costs

Quantity Price Fixed Variable

What are the various costs I would incur?

Which ones are one-time vs. recurring?

How often do they recur?

Which ones depend on how much I sell?

KAISERASSOCIATES

We proceed by asking relevant questions, and making assumptions where appropriate

9

Profit

Revenue Costs

Quantity Price Fixed Variable

Annual cart leasing fee: $5,000

Annual operator’s license: $1,000

$6,000 fixed costs per year

Labor: $10 / hour

T-Shirts: $2 each

Variable costs: ?

– We need to figure out quantity

KAISERASSOCIATES

We turn now to the revenue piece of the problem

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Profit

Costs

Fixed Variable

How many T-shirts can we sell per game?

How much can we charge for each one?

– Answer: $15

Revenue

Quantity Price

KAISERASSOCIATES

Estimating the quantity is key, so we structure this as a mini-case in itself

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What is the per-game attendance?

How many people will buy my T-shirts per game?

30,000 attendees per game

6,000 buy things (20%)24,000 don’t buy

things

1,500 buy T-shirts (25%)4,500 buy other

things

50 buy my T-shirts (3%)

1,450 buy from

others

How many attendees buy things?

How many of these people buy T-shirts?

How many of them buy from me?

KAISERASSOCIATES

It is important to always “sanity check” our numbers to see if they are realistic

Does 50 T-shirts per game sound realistic?

– If I sell 50 T-shirts out of 1,500, and assuming that other vendors sell similar numbers, it implies that there are 30 T-shirt vendors in total outside the stadium

– Is this a realistic number?

– The bulk of my sales probably come in the pre-game and post-game periods, say 3 hours in total, implying that I sell 1 T-shirt every 3-4 minutes

– Can one person handle a transaction every 3.5 minutes?

12

Our assumptions seem reasonable

KAISERASSOCIATES

Now that we’ve calculated each component of our “profit tree,” we can put them back together

13

Profit

Revenue Costs

Quantity Price Fixed Variable

Annual cart leasing fee: $5,000

Annual operator’s license: $1,000

$6,000 annual cost

Labor: $10 / hour for 5 hours

T-Shirts: $2 each for 50 T-shirts

$150 per-game cost

50 T-shirts sold per $15 per T-Shirt

$750 per-game revenue

KAISERASSOCIATES

Next, we annualize our numbers, and come to a conclusion

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Total Revenue per Game $750

LESS Total Cost per Game ($150)

Net Margin per Game $600

Number of Games per Year 80

Annual Gross Margin $48,000

LESS Annual Operating Costs ($6,000)

Total Annual Profit $42,000

It’s important to sanity check the final answer

– Does the number make sense? Too high? Too low?

KAISERASSOCIATES

You should also think about, and mention, additional factors that may be relevant

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What does this figure of $42,000 really mean?

– Is it attractive? Why or why not?

– How can we answer this question?

What else could influence this business?

– Maybe people buy more when their team is winning?

– More games if the Nationals qualify for the playoffs?

– Can T-shirts be sold at other events or locations?

– Can I rent out my cart to other vendors at other sports events?

– Could I diversify into other kinds of merchandise?

– Can I differentiate my T-shirts somehow?

– What happens when games are canceled due to weather?

– Etc.

KAISERASSOCIATES

Finally, be prepared to walk through your solution in a clear, concise way

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Summarize your findings

Make a firm and actionable recommendation

Mention additional considerations and how to begin to deal with them