Author: Isabelle Desmet & Amélie Van Hoecke
‘How to ace a case interview’ is probably one of the most asked questions on Google among final year students looking for a job in consulting. Not too long ago, we were those students trying to prepare ourselves to the best of our ability for the case interviews at BrightWolves. We know how stressful it can be and that’s why we decided to share some of our tips & tricks that can come in handy when preparing the case interview round at BrightWolves.
Preparation is key
You are not the first one to go through a case interview, and you definitely will not be the last one either. This means that you’ll be able to find a goldmine of information online to prepare you for this phase of the application process. It would be impossible to read every possible article or post about it. Just remember it is simply about practice and getting insight into the casing structure.
So where did I start? My point of departure was to turn to my friends who already did a case interview and asked them about their experience. This helped me to compose a short list of materials that I wanted to read and make a to-do list on how to prepare myself to the best of my ability. Now, I would like to share some of those materials with you! First, the 'Case-interview secrets' of Victor Cheng allowed me to be introduced into the casing world and grasp the reason of this – what appeared to me as – torture. I also watched some videos and did some parts of the courses of Crafting Case. Last but not least, I did a couple of mock-up cases using materials found online (Preplounge, Case in Point, …) which really helped to get some practice.
While these tips will help you for any case interview, BrightWolves gives you a little extra by sending out an extended slide deck with great tips on how to crack a case, useful tools and frameworks that will help you. But whatever you do, DO NOT try to learn the frameworks by heart! The goal is to learn how to create your own frameworks that will help you solve a problem in a structured way. The only way you will master this, is to practice, practice, practice. Ask your friends to play the interviewer and do a mock-up interview. You will see, each interview you will improve and the way you handle the case will become more efficient.
The hours leading up to the case interview
You can learn every framework by heart, you can do a thousand mock interviews, the moment when you are entering the building can feel like stress is taking over. Obviously, this is different for every person and while one might be very stressed in the days before, some might be more relaxed (lucky you!). For the more stressed individuals among us it could help to think about some practicalities such as transport. If you come by car, make sure to take into account traffic that can cause delays and the same goes for public transport. This may seem obvious, but you never know and for your own piece of mind it’s nice to think about this beforehand. Luckily, the Brightwolves office is located by a nice pond with some benches around it where you can sit down if you’re too early for your interview.
In the current circumstances, it’s not getting there that can cause stress but the technology you will have to use. If you are doing your interview remotely, take some time beforehand to check if everything is working as it should be. Are your webcam and microphone working? Can you hear everything well, and can the other side hear you without buzz? Also, pick a nice and neutral background or make sure to blur your surroundings. You don’t want to distract the interviewer with your housemates passi