Case interviews at a glance

Case interviews are conducted a little differently depending on the company and the interviewer, though the characteristics are generally the same across the board.

A case interview is a process of presenting a real-world business problem to the individual being interviewed to gauge the candidate’s abilities. The business problem—or the case—can be fictitious, or it might be a challenge the business faced in the past. But it will definitely be based on the issues new hires could face as employees.

The ultimate goal of a case interview is to evaluate how candidates approach problems, manage responsibility and think critically in real-world business scenarios. For these reasons, it’s unsurprising that many companies use this format when interviewing for leadership positions.

Why case interviews matter

Dealing with pressure and correctly evaluating the details of the problem while still making confident decisions are fundamental skills for many functions within a service business. When an interviewer suggests a case interview, these are the kind of skills they’re looking for.

In a traditional job interview, the candidate usually talks more about their skills, knowledge and work history. In theory, this approach works for most companies and interviewers. However, someone that’s good at interviewing isn’t necessarily good at solving business problems.

On the other hand, case interviews give recruiters the opportunity to validate skills that aren’t measurable by means of a resume and 20-minute chat. Engaging with a candidate over a legitimate business issue goes beneath the surface of formalities. It lets interviewers evaluate how creative or technically minded a candidate is. It also demonstrates how resilient the individual is in the face of challenges.

Make no mistake—case interviews are one of the most challenging kinds of interviews. In fiercely competitive industries where organizations face diverse challenges, case interviews are an efficient method for evaluating potential hires.

How a case interview works

A case interview is performed in different formats. Despite the popularity of this interviewing method in high-stakes business, it doesn’t need to be intense.

Introduction and presentation

The first step of a case interview is a short discussion on the dynamics of the interview. The interviewer explains the objective of the case and other guidelines, such as how much time the interviewee has.

If you’re planning on conducting a case interview, you’ll also want to include relevant business details that the candidate would have access to if they were on the job. Remember, the objective is to evaluate them in the real world, so giving them as much information as possible to solve the challenge is standard.

Next, present the business problem. To give you some examples, here are some common scenarios in the finance world:

• Analyzing the financial performance of a company or product and identifying areas for improvement
• Analyzing falling sales and increased competition to remedy the problem
• Entering new markets for which an analysis of risks and a strategy to negate them is necessary
• Developing a pricing strategy for a new product or service, taking into account costs, competition and target audience behavior

These are finance industry examples, but you should evaluate candidates on challenges relevant to the position they’re interviewing for.

Solution development

Once the candidate is presented with the case scenario, they’re usually given the opportunity to ask questions to gain clarity. It’s important that for this particular interview method, the candidate has time to think about their solution. Evaluating how each candidate approaches the problem is more important than the solution they develop.

That said, candidates are expected to address every issue of a case comprehensively. If a problem has multiple business impacts, it’s important to evaluate the candidate’s thought processes for each scenario.

Likewise, the recruiter or interviewer can ask questions during the development of the solution to clarify the candidate’s line of thinking as well as their reasoning and decision-making abilities.

Case conclusion

In the final phase of the interview, there’s a discussion regarding the solution the candidate developed. In this part, it’s important for the person interviewing to review key elements of the problem. They need to have a solid understanding of how and why the candidate came up with their particular solution, as well as what sacrifices they had to make in choosing it.

It’s also common for candidates in case interviews to ask about their performance on the business problem. As long as the candidate is clear that your feedback isn’t indicative of the final decision, there’s nothing wrong with providing a little feedback on how the candidate fared.

Qualities to look for in potential new hires

Business case interviews are generally more informative than traditional interviews. Paying close attention and taking your own strategic approach will help you tune into the candidate’s skills and abilities.

Client or customer focus

Clients and customers are the lifeblood of most businesses. If you asked all your candidates about the importance of business customers, you’d probably get the same answer.

A case study, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to witness candidates tackling problems and evaluate what they focus on. Are they devising strategies that demonstrate your customers aren’t far from their minds?

Time and resource management

The ability to manage resources and time is fundamental. To find out whether a candidate has this ability, you need to observe how they utilize resources, prepare their final plan and meet the case deadline.

Likewise, during the conclusion, you can ask questions about the candidate’s thought process in regard to resources or considerations they might not bring up in their solution.

Responsibility and proactivity

During a case interview you have the opportunity to see how engaged the interviewee is with the problem in front of them. Afterward, you can ask about how they settled on their chosen solution and what other solutions they considered. If the candidate identifies a variety of solutions that they weighed and considered before deciding on their final approach, it’s a clear demonstration of initiative and leadership.

The ability to think quickly and clearly

Quick reasoning in the face of a stressful situation is a skill most businesses value in team members. Between impulsive decisions and a long, drawn-out gestation period, those that can think with clarity and alacrity are often keepers.

If you want to measure this in case interviews, a good approach is to put just a little pressure on candidates by giving them strict time limits to solve the case.

Communication

If you’ve been in the business world long enough, you’ve encountered those bright individuals who can hone in on solutions twice as fast as everyone else. They’re efficient and intelligent, but they might lack interpersonal skills.

At the end of the day, regardless of a candidate’s problem-solving acumen and productivity, service businesses need people that can form lasting client relationships and get along great with teammates. Chatting for a bit with a candidate after the case interview is one way to evaluate their communication and interpersonal skills.

FAQs

Are case interviews supposed to be difficult?

For candidates, this interview model may be more challenging than a traditional interview. That said, the objective of a case interview is to assess whether a candidate can respond effectively to a real-world business problem, however, so the case interview’s difficulty correlates to the business conducting it.

How long should a case interview be?

Depending on the position and the characteristics of the company, case interviews are often longer relative to a standard interview. On average, they can last from 30 minutes to an hour, and some organizations conduct multiple case interviews for each candidate.