Pls do not take case interview if you don't know how to conduct one.
Rant alert. I'm not sure if I'm the only one facing this. I have interviewed for senior business roles at zepto, pocket fm, meesho. There are junior folks with very questionable credentials in VP/SVP level roles who are the interviewers. They have never worked in Strategy or Consulting at any company of meaningful scale. Yet they try to give case studies but really struggle to conduct the interview.
I've worked in MBB for several years and I'm getting tired of the weak interviewing skills of these "senior leaders" at startups. If you are one of these leaders, pls understand -
1. Case study is not treasure hunt with only one right answer.
2. Candidate does not have insight into your mind and the exact thoughts inside it. So be gracious and allow the candidate to think. Engage in the candidate's thought process and question and challenge it instead of expecting the candidate to give the exact one right answer that's in your mind. You need to test if the candidate can think logically and quickly on their feet, not if they can look inside your head.
3. Case study is about testing if the candidate can think holistically, cover all possibilities and then knock off whatever doesn't make sense from an outside in POV, and prioritize what to focus on.
4. No, the candidate does not have access to internal company info so if you penalize them for not accounting for it in your answer, you are not a good interviewer
Pls do not abuse the case study interview method. It is a very effective way to filter candidates but only if the interview is conducted in the right manner. Pls learn how to interview first before rejecting deserving candidates randomly. And pls do not act like you know structured thinking if you have never received training through apprenticeship at a reputed firm with solid talent and a culture of coaching. Accept that you don't know and make the effort to learn it first. Only then can you be in a position to judge others.
I've worked in MBB for several years and I'm getting tired of the weak interviewing skills of these "senior leaders" at startups. If you are one of these leaders, pls understand -
1. Case study is not treasure hunt with only one right answer.
2. Candidate does not have insight into your mind and the exact thoughts inside it. So be gracious and allow the candidate to think. Engage in the candidate's thought process and question and challenge it instead of expecting the candidate to give the exact one right answer that's in your mind. You need to test if the candidate can think logically and quickly on their feet, not if they can look inside your head.
3. Case study is about testing if the candidate can think holistically, cover all possibilities and then knock off whatever doesn't make sense from an outside in POV, and prioritize what to focus on.
4. No, the candidate does not have access to internal company info so if you penalize them for not accounting for it in your answer, you are not a good interviewer
Pls do not abuse the case study interview method. It is a very effective way to filter candidates but only if the interview is conducted in the right manner. Pls learn how to interview first before rejecting deserving candidates randomly. And pls do not act like you know structured thinking if you have never received training through apprenticeship at a reputed firm with solid talent and a culture of coaching. Accept that you don't know and make the effort to learn it first. Only then can you be in a position to judge others.
Kendall Denver
Stealth
15 days ago
I am sure they have their TopMate in place. Thought leaders!!
Matilda Olive
Stealth
15 days ago
Sad. Topmate is passe. podcast is the new fad.
Kendall Lee
Stealth
15 days ago
Off-topic: How can someone learn structured thinking if one hasn't been part of any consulting firm? I remember following case books during my MBA, but did not find them very helpful.
Kendall Olive
Stealth
15 days ago
I can help you learn for a fee. 😛
At the very core, it is about laying down all options logically before jumping into a solution.
And then breaking down a problem into logical steps and tackling them one by one so you have a plan instead of being haphazard or doing ad hoc work.
The frameworks from the case books are a starting point. They give you a flavor of how to think. But you can always come up with your own framework and not just apply whatever the case book says. That comes with practice.
I would suggest go through some mock interviews on YouTube from people who have cracked these interviews and try to observe their approach. And go through the case books.
Then pick a new video and try to solve it at every step and then compare your answer vs the video to get a sense.
The best approach is to practice with someone who has cracked these interviews though.
Holy hell that is insane tbh. Just crazy in my opinion that people do these.
Jordon Carmden
Stealth
15 days ago
Annoying it is. I hope people understand and change for the better
Same have done case rounds for PM roles and some of the people just expect you to arrive at answers...and internals of the business..like I'm interviewing for a fintech role how would I know what is the trigger for payment for add placement in your ecom business
Kendall Lee
Stealth
15 days ago
Yeah that's unfortunate. My bigger issue is the lack of mentorship and the rampant relationship based hiring in startups which means some of these people never learn any better
Jordon Denver
Stealth
15 days ago
Sabb gaandu hein....
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