– Marc Cosentino
- General
- Advanced
- Train-the-trainer (How to give & write a case interview)
- One-on-one
- Small Group (3 – 5 students)
- Case Certification
– Marc Cosentino
- 90-minute Case Competition Workshop
– Mukund Jain
- 4-hour seminar geared toward students in MS in Business Analytics
Case Interview Workshops
Marc Cosentino
- General
- Advanced
- Train-the-trainer (How to give & write a case interview)
Cosentino demystifies the case interview process. He takes you inside a typical interview by exploring the various types of case questions and he shares a system that will allow you successfully approach, analyze and answer the most sophisticated cases. This workshop is a combination lecture, video exercises, and working through a case.
In an extended version, students will give a case to each other so they can “get their feet wet” by doing their first case in a controlled supportive environment.
Depending on the level of knowledge of your students the workshop can shift to a more advanced session, focusing more on examples and less on the basics.
Train-the-trainer: Learn how to give a case interview with confidence, provide critical and substantial feedback, and deliver guidance and next steps with minimum commitment. You will receive handouts that you can review with, and provide students to ensure they are covering all of the key elements to answer a case. In addition, you’ll receive two “ready-to-give” unpublished cases as well as structures for the four most popular cases.
The second component is learning how to Write Your Own Case. The best way to learn how to give a case is to write your own case.
Advantages of writing your own case:
- You own it; you know the numbers, the problem, all the possible solutions, you’re going to sound more confident giving the case, while giving the student a more realistic experience.
- It will help you learn to give other cases.
This workshop can be from 90 minutes to three hours depending on how knowledgeable you want to be.
Mock Case Interviews
- One-on-one
- Small Group (3 – 5 students)
- Case Certification
One-on-one mock interview and analysis lasts 60 minutes. The level of the case is based on the knowledge of the students.
- If the student is new to case interviews, we can walk them through a case structure, while having them generate analysis, ideas and running through the math.
- If the student has done some cases, then we can give guidance as they move through the case.
- If the student is ready to interview tomorrow, we will run her though a case as if we are the actual interviewer. No helpful hints.
After all mock interviews an analysis will be done on what the student did well and what they didn’t do so well. The student will receive a case review sheet along with a game plan to improve their performance.
Mock interview can be done on campus, over the phone or via Skype.
Small Group Mock Interviews
These interviews range in size from 2 – 5 students. The students work though the case together, but need to make their own recommendation. The sessions last an hour and are normally geared toward students who are new to the process.
Case Certification (Marc Cosentino)
Cosentino will give a level-two case to a student and rate the student in twelve categories. The student can either get a 0, 1 or 2 in each category for a total score of 24. If they student can get a 20 or above they get certified. Typically career services will market those students to the top consulting firms. The firms like it because they know that the students are well prepared. Clients include Georgetown and Notre Dame.
Case Competition Workshop:
Creating winning strategy presentations for case competitions & job offers
Kara Cupoli, Ph.D. or Jason Rife
- Full day seminar (Starting in November)
Pre-workshop
Participants will be given a case in advance of the workshop. They will be expected to read and analyze the case and create a first draft of a 10-15-minute presentation (using PowerPoint) to bring with them to the all-day workshop.
Materials required:
- Students need to bring lap top.
- Potentially faculty/staff volunteers to participate in mock competition in the afternoon.
- Boxed lunch provided by institution.
Day of Agenda
(8:00 am – 4:00 pm)8:00 am – 11:00 am: Strategy & Planning
- Forming a team
- Key elements of a winning strategy presentation
- Slide Design
- Competition Strategy
Working lunch where students will take their first draft of their presentation and will make changes based on information presented in the morning.
1:00 pm – 3:30pm: Delivering the Case – Mock Case Competition
- Teams will be picked at random to deliver a 15-minute presentation and experience 5-10 minute of Q & A (time dependent on number of participants).
- All participants will evaluate the presenting teams and complete feedback sheets.
- Jason/Kara will facilitate a feedback session for each team utilizing their own feedback and that of the students’ peers.
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm: Q & A
Business Analytics Graph & Chart Analysis Workshop
Mukund JainThis four-hour workshop is geared toward Masters in Business Analytics, particularly those programs with a high number of international students, and can be customized for MBA students as needed. The workshop is run by Mukund Jain, co-author of Case in Point: Graph Analysis for Consulting and Case Interviews, former BCG consultant and a specialist in data interpretation and its visual representation.
The workshop will be divided into three segments based on time.
Segment 1
Objective: Build a foundation/knowledge base of the most common types of graphs and how to interpret themActivity:
- Discuss a framework (found in the book) for interpreting any type of graph
- Review the objectives behind each graph in the book through the course of an example on each one
- Understand how to ask questions clearly and respectfully when presented a graph
Segment 2
Objective: Handle market sizing visualizationActivity:
- Practice 1 market sizing visualization question
Activity:
- Provide guidelines on how to present graphs to an audience clearly, succinctly, and thoroughly
- Teach students how to field questions respectfully and intelligently
Segment 3
Objective: Solve graph-heavy case interviewsActivity:
- Practice three cases (each with 4-5 graphs) as it would be administered in a consulting interview
Abbass Sharif, Ph.D. Program Director and Faculty
Lily Salem, Career Strategist
USC Marshall MS, Business Analytics
Case Interview Workshop for Government and Nonprofit Consulting and Industries:
Description: Participate in this tailored training designed specifically for candidates and consultants entering government and nonprofit consulting or seeking employment in these industries. Learn how to differentiate yourself in an increasingly competitive field and gain critical insights that will better prepare you for landing the job and succeeding in the industry.
Why this workshop?: The government and nonprofit industries face unique and complex challenges, stakeholders, and business opportunities. With little consolidated resources and shared best practices for the industry available, you have the opportunity to walk away with insider understanding and insights from a government and nonprofit consultant who has been on both sides of the case interview table. Set yourself apart from the countless candidates applying to Big 4, mid-market, and boutique government and nonprofit consulting opportunities and get yourself ready to hit the ground running.
Topics: This half day interactive workshop can be tailored to best prepare you for the industry. Topics can include:
- Industry Ecosystem: Understanding the stakeholders in government and nonprofit and how they relate to each other and the private sector
- Interview Preparation: Gaining insider insights on how to build stories and skills to help you respond best to interview questions
- Frameworks: Learning leading frameworks for the industry with opportunities to focus on human capital, strategy and operations, and information technology case interviews
- Case Interview: Discovering key competencies that interviewers use to evaluate case interviews, steps to take to enhance your case interviews, and facilitated case interview(s)
- Resources: Utilizing industry resources to develop an action plan for ongoing learning, preparation, and growth
About the Facilitator: Evan Piekara is passionate about preparing people for the government and nonprofit industries. He is the co-author of Case In Point: Government and Nonprofit. As an industry professional who has been on both sides of the case interview table, Piekara supported the launch of a public sector management consulting practice and has provided strategy and operations, human capital, and information technology support to government and nonprofit clients. Evan led efforts building internal practice recruiting processes including interview questions, cases, and candidate evaluation criteria and developed their Graduate Advisor internship program. He has facilitated on numerous topics and led workshops on change management, project management, process improvement, project management, and many other topics.
