Written Case Interview Secrets

The written case interview is different than a traditional case interview. Many of the top consulting firms are implementing this new format, so it's good to be aware of this format in case you happen to get it.

Why are they doing it?

The written case interview is in some ways, a little more realistic of the job of say a Project Leader or a Manager at the firm. You need to sort through what's really important versus what's just interesting, and tell a compelling story to your client in order to affect change.

How does it work?

Some firms have slight variants, but this is how it works in general:

  • Step 1: You will go into a room, and it's just you - there is no case interviewer
  • Step 2: On the table will be a stack of slides, along with an e-mail from your team leader (often times a Partner)
  • Step 3: The e-mail will say something along the lines of, there's a lot of slides in this deck, the deck is out of order, there's no executive summary, and we need to present this to the client tomorrow morning
  • Step 4: In the next 30 or so minutes, you need to look through the deck, re-arrange the slides so that the deck flows, and create an executive summary which you believe are the key points that are important in your story 
  • Step 5: Then you will go into a Partner's office and they'll look at your deck as if they were a Partner on your case team
  • Step 6: You then need to then present the deck to the Partner, and respond to his or her questions along the way

What do I need to do to succeed?

Fortunately, you are evaluated on the same 7 keys for both the traditional case interview and the written case interview. The difference is the format. And as you can see from above, the format is quite different. Let's look at how each key is tested, but a little differently.

  • Key #1 - Structure: Your ability to organize the deck in a way that makes sense, and logically flows.
  • Key #2 - Examining and uncovering: Your ability to analyze the slides to see what is important versus just merely interesting. Not everything can make it into the deck, so you need to decide what's up front and gets presented, versus what to put in the appendix.
  • Key #3 - Identifying the nuggets: Your ability to synthesize information to understand the key points and messages that will be part of the executive summary that you create.
  • Key #4 - Calculating math: This isn't tested as much in this type of case format. But still be prepared if it shows up.
  • Key #5 - Generating ideas: This also isn't tested as much in this type of case format. But still be prepared if it shows up.
  • Key #6 - Delivering a recommendation: Your ability to pull everything together and convey the key recommendation at the end.
  • Key #7 - Communicating effectively: Your ability to be clear, concise, and confidant in your communication, especially when the case Partner will interrupt your presentation to interject questions that you'll have to respond to on-the-spot.