Case Interviews  Used in law firms, consulting groups, and other organizations that place a premium on thought process  Relatively recent in use, but are becoming more widespread  Little or no legal precedent

Employer’s View  Shows ability to reason on the spot  Shows one’s ability to deal with stress in unfamiliar situations  Ensures “best of the best” are hired  New supplement/alternative to resume interviews  Possible legal repercussions as these become more popular

Applicant’s View  Are these tools job-related?  Could foster negative feelings, particularly due to shock value  Too much room for bias?  What is the right answer, and how do I know it won’t change?  Coaching advantage  Many answers and approaches available on websites

Types of Cases Brainteasers and Riddles  Short, unrelated, simple reason test Market Sizing  Short to moderate in length, usually related to unfamiliar industry Project  Long, great deal of information, oral or written Business World  Asks for analysis regarding recent or landmark business news stories

Examples- Brainteasers You are in a room with three light switches, each of which controls one of three light bulbs in the next room. Your task is to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are off. Your constraints are: you may flick only two switches and you may enter the room with the light bulbs only once. How would you set about determining which switch controls which bulb?

Examples- Market Sizing  How many golf balls were lost in England this year?  How many Air Canada Aeroplan miles are outstanding?  How many new houses were built in Montreal last year? Rests on reasonable assumptions

Examples- Project  You are consulting for a major distillery in Canada. They mainly produce a mid-priced vodka product and 2 different brands of mid-priced gin. Every year, their profits are shrinking. What could be causing this? Understanding of market influences (i.e.barriers to entry, pricing strategy)

Examples- Business World  What do you think Eaton’s did wrong?  What actions will Amazon.com have to take to maintain expected growth? Emphasis on interest in business world, up-to-date employees, but rarely used

Legal Issues Legally, there is no law approaching this subject, and little or no case law to follow. The caveat belongs to the company, as to whether the benefit is worth the possible risk of an angry employee seeking legal repair. It may be best to relate these problem- solving questions to potential work situations.

How to Survive?  Emphasize your thought process- think out loud  Maintain eye contact to engage the interviewer  Use reasonable assumptions and relate to real world situations  Practice cases and think creatively

Helpful Sites  CampusAccess.com er/c5job_incatc.htm  Boston Consulting Group iew_prep.asp