cover - 2005 Edition-new colors Crack the Case How to Conquer Your Case Interviews 2 0 0 5 E d i t i o n
Crack the Case How to Conquer Your Case Interviews 2005 Edition Contents Foreword Introduction: Something’s Broken Part 1 What Really Matters Chapter 1 A View from Behind the Interview Desk Chapter 2 Business Case Interviews – The Main Thing Part 2 One Model/One Method Chapter 3 The Maximum Value ModelTM Chapter 4 The FRAME MethodTM Part 3 An Insider’s View Chapter 5 The Interview Timeline Chapter 6 Behind Closed Doors Part 4 Perfect Preparation Chapter 7 Wrong Turns and Dead Ends Chapter 8 Build Your Base in 15 Hours Chapter 9 Ten Interactive Practice Case Packs Copyright © 2004 David L Ohrvall All rights reserved. 4 5 9 19 29 48 61 72 81 85 108 consultingcase.com serious case interview prep
Foreword Dear Readers, Welcome to the 2005 Edition of Crack the Case: How to Conquer Your Case Interviews! This volume updates the original Crack the Case guide published in September 2003. I would like to thank my readers for their enthusiastic response to Crack the Case. The book was warmly welcomed by several leading business schools and I personally received a great number of positive testimonials, encouraging notes, and helpful feedback over the course of the last year. Much of this feedback has been incorporated into the 2005 Edition. I am also grateful for my coaching clients, the very focused and talented individuals who met with me one-on-one to sharpen their case-solving skills. Working with over one hundred and fifty clients in the last twelve months has helped me to refine my methods and develop additional recommendations to optimize case interview performance. My One Model / One Method approach remains the core of Crack the Case. The 2005 Edition contains the following changes to enhance your case interview preparation and make the concepts introduced in the book easier to practice and apply: Reformatted Case Packs: These tough cases have the same content as before but are even easier to use in your practice sessions. I have added an innovative Case at a Glance section and simplified notes for the interviewer. Interviewer/Candidate Evaluation Sheets: I have also added two new assessment sheets for the “Interviewer” and “Candidate” to complete at the end of the case. These sheets ask you to rate the case performance on a scale of 1 to 6 in four critical areas: Planning & Logic, Communication & Composure, Analytics, and Recommendation. Expanded hypothesis explanation: I have provided additional information on how you can use this mental “anchor” to help you focus your questions and solve your cases quickly and effectively. I hope this book is a useful stepping stone to the job of your dreams. I would love to hear any feedback you have on my materials. I can be reached through my website at
[email protected]. Best of luck with your case interviews! David Ohrvall September 2004 4
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