McKinsey Case Interview Workshop
FUQUA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
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TODAY’S TOPICS
Case interview overview
Purpose
Types
Suggested approach
Successful problem-solving
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RESUME AND CASE INTERVIEWS – WHAT FIRMS ARE LOOKING FOR
From your resume
Work experience
Advancement faster than norm
Selection by superiors to lead important projects/special recognition
Evidence of leadership and teamwork
Education
Academic excellence
Significant leadership roles
Personal initiative
Outside interests
Athletic/cultural achievements
Community activities
Drive/perseverance
From the case
Approach
Genuine interest in solving complex problems
Structured, logical approach
Curiosity, creativity
Logical, probing questions
Synthesis and conclusions
Skills
Comfort with ambiguity/poise under pressure
Broad functional skills
Analytical rigor
Quantitative, numerical agility
Practicality
Judgment, common sense
Business acumen/instinct
Clear, logical communication
Evidence of Excellence
Problem Solving Ability
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TYPES OF CASES
Business cases
“What will the impact of industry consolidation be on company X?”
“Should company X enter/exit a new/old market?”
“How should company X react to a new entrant?”
“Should company X add capacity?”
Estimation cases
“How big would the Ivy Gardens apartment complex have to be for everyone on Earth to live there?”
“What is the size of the skateboard market in the .?”
“What do you think annual residential real estate commissions are in Atlanta?”
Responses should demonstrate
Big picture perspective
Ability to structure
Broad functional skills
Comfort with details, analysis
Responses should demonstrate
Comfort with ambiguity
Ability to structure
Facility with numbers
Poise
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. . . but there are wrong answers
Ignoring or forgetting important facts
Not recognizing that some material may be extraneous
Defending impractical solutions
Force fitting a framework that just does not work
There is no
right answer
The goal is to demonstrate “how you think”
WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN APPROACHING A CASE
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SUGGESTED APPROACH FOR CASES
What to do
Listen to introduction – do not think ahead to your answers
Ask 1-2 clarifying questions, if necessary; take a few notes if you like; do not expect every piece of data to be available
Organize your thoughts and structure the problem
Pick one branch to probe, develop hypotheses, ask for a few relevant facts, defend/refine hypotheses based on new information, probe further, and describe implications you see
Pick another branch and continue (Make sure you are prioritizing your responses)
Put it all together: try to answer the overall question (big picture) with a reasonable, actionable conclusion
Review what you know
Clarify what you do not understand
Solidify and tender recommendation
What not to do
Play 20 questions
Assume 1 framework fits all
Cover 1 issue without mentioning and prioritizing all key issues
Dig your heels in
Hide from the details (or the numbers)
Get frustrated
Conduct a postmortem in the interview
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FIVE EASY STEPS TO BULLET-PROOF PROBLEM SOLVING
Step 1
State the problem
Step 2
Disaggregate the issues
Step 3
Eliminate all
non-key issues
Step 4
Conduct critical analyses, porpoise between data and hypotheses
Step 5
Synthesize findings and build argument
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STEP 1: STATE THE PROBLEMLEM
Characteristics of a good problem statement
A leading question or firm hypothesis
Specific not general
Not a statement of fact or non-disputable assertion
Actionable
Focuses on what the decision maker needs to move forward
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Interviewer states the problem
Problem has been clearly stated, and you understand it
Problem has NOT been
clearly stated, or you don’t understand it
You must clearly understand the problem
Paraphrase the problem to make sure you have it right
Ask questions to clarify the issue
Step 2.
You are responsible for ensuring the clarity of the problem
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STEP 2: DISAGGREGATE THE ISSUES
Why use logic trees?
1. To break a problem into component parts so that
Problem-solving work can be divided into intellectually manageable pieces
Priorities can be set among the parts
Responsibilities can be allocated to individuals
2. To ensure that the integrity of the problem solving is maintained
Solving the parts will really solve the problem
The parts are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (., no overlaps, no gaps)
Subissue
Subissue
Subissue
Subissue
Subissue
Subissue
Issues/hypothesis
No. 1
Issues/hypothesis
No. 2
Issues/hypothesis
No. 3
Problem statement
Suggestions
- Describe your approach to the interviewer as you proceed. Don’t assume they know what you are thinking!
- State your hypotheses as crisply as possible.
- Only use frameworks if they are appropriate - don’t force fit.
- The ideas are important, not the framework. “I think we should look at the power of buyers and industry competitiveness” is better than “I’d like to apply part of the Porter Five Forces framework”.
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Use any examples you have are comfortable with. . past study.
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STEP 3: ELIMINATE ALL NON-KEY ISSUES
Why
First step in constant, interactive refinement process
Focuses your effort on what is most important
Do’s & Don’ts
Always ask yourself “so what” . . . but also ask yourself what you might have missed
Tell the interviewer what you are cutting and why
Problem statement
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
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STEP 4: CONDUCT CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Do’s
Be hypothesis-driven and end products-oriented
“Porpoise” frequently between hypothesis and data
Keep the analyses as simple as
you can. Be suspicious of huge linear programs and their ilk.
Do order of magnitude estimates before you start detailed analyses
Use 80/20 and back-of-envelope thinking
Do not be afraid to be creative
Don’ts
Do not just “run the numbers”– ask yourself “what question am I trying to answer?”
Do not chase your tail
Do you really need to calculate the WACC?
Don’t miss the forest for the trees.
Beware of “polishing dirt”
Look for breakthrough thinking
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STEP 5: SYNTHESIZE FINDINGS AND BUILD ARGUMENT
Situation
Use situation, complication, resolution format
Pyramid structure
or decision tree
Supporting data
Supporting data
Supporting data
Supporting data
Sub-assertion
Sub-assertion
Yes Action 1
No Action 2
Yes Action 3
No Action 4
State the conditions at point of problem
Flesh out barriers to improving situation
Lay out possible solution path
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APPENDIX: INTERVIEWING WITH MCKINSEY
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FORMAT FOR 30 MINUTE FIRST ROUND INTERVIEW
Minutes
15-20
5
5-10
Resume-related questions and Q&A
Introduction
Case
First round
On campus
Two 30 minute case/resume interviews
Second round
Two 30 minute interviews
Generally both case interviews
Third round
In an office
~five 30-45 minute interviews
3-5 cases
XII
VI
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WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Problem solving
Intellectual capacity
Creativity
Practical approach and business judgment
Quantitative comfort
Personal impact
Presence
Empathy
Drive / Aspiration
Drive for excellence
Energy level/perseverance
Leadership
Personal initiative
Entrepreneurship
McKinsey profile
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RESUME RELATED QUESTIONS
Focused Questions
“Describe a situation in which you’ve led a project to success?”
“What strengths and weaknesses would your teammates recognize in your work abilities?”
“Describe a situation in which you’ve had to overcome obstacles to reach a desired outcome.”
Why?
Evidence of excellence
Personal growth plan
Logical career plan
Depth of preparation for interview
Open Ended Questions
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Why did you choose Darden?”
Why?
Clear understanding of personal selling points
Ability to clearly communicate in a structured way
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INTERVIEWING STYLES FOR CASES
From one extreme …
Detailed introduction
Specific problem to be solved
A few starter facts
Lots more facts available, if asked
Conversational feel throughout the interview
Why?
Test analytical ability
Test ability to sort out key facts and stay focussed
…to the other
Brief introduction
Very broad description of problem (. poor performance)
Few, if any , facts available
‘What do you think” responses to most questions
Why?
Test overall problem structuring, hypothesis generating ability
Test for creativity and business instinct
Look for comfort with ambiguity
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IMPROVING CASE PERFORMANCE
Indirectly through classes
Policy
Strategic frameworks
Business instinct
Industry structure
Economics/finance
Variable vs. fixed cost structures
Evaluating investment opportunities (ROI, Cost of Capital, …)
Income Statement/Balance Sheet/Cash Flow Statement thinking
Value chain thinking
Marketing
Customer segmentation
Channel management
Brand management
Operations
Quality
Lead time competition
Having the right kind of flexibility
Directly through practice cases
Student to Student
Class cases
Cases from pre-B school or summer experience
Cases from news stories
Fictional cases
Company sponsored workshops
Consulting Club case prep guide
Other case prep guides
On your own with paper and pen
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CLASS OF 1999 INTERVIEWS
Recruiting coordinator:
Marilyn Gerson
Suite 4600, Georgia-Pacific Center
133 Peachtree Street, .
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Additional information and resources:
Round Date Location
1 November 4 On campus
2 November 5 Off campus
at the Sienna Hotel
3 Varies At Office
By Office
Invitations to interview reflect our best initial effort to find the right people for McKinsey. Recognizing the limitations of this process, interviewers will consider students who bid for open slots no differently than those who were invited.
If you have a strong interest in McKinsey and are not included on the closed list, bid for the slot!
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Use any examples you have are comfortable with. . past study.
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