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Old 26 April 2017, 02:51 PM   #1
rr-nyc
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Rant: Case study panel interview

Just a rant that I have to get it off my chest. This might be a long one...

I left the corporate life a few years ago to do some independent work but was recently contacted about an opportunity I just can't pass up. This would be an enormous step up from where I was in every aspect.

Because I have stated my industry on several occasions, I'll be vague. this opportunity is with a fortune 500 company. The position is senior enough where I would travel on a corporate jet but not senior enough where I can use it for personal use. My financial responsibility of the job is in a whole other realm, going from <$100M in sales to managing close to $!B in sales.

So after going through the basic phone screen, the HR person tells me they will be conducting a case study panel interview. Add to that this would be conducted virtually, via webex so I'm starting to wonder what the hell I just got my self into. Now I know what a panel interview is because my last company used them for upper management positions. And I know several consultants who have been given case study interviews but a case study panel interview is a new one to me. Essentially, through this one virtual case study panel interview, a final candidate will be chosen. There are no next steps except for the final candidate to fly into corporate to work out the final details of the offer.

The way it plays out is the webex is scheduled at 2-3. At precisely 12:45, a case study would be sent via email and from it, I need to answer the questions they provide and then create a powerpoint to present at 2:00.

So yesterday was my case study panel interview and here's my beef: The case study had nothing to do with my area of expertise. I mean literally, my career has been about sales, and sales management, product launches and strategic business development in the US market. The job I am applying for is for the US market. My case study, however, was about expanding into ASPAC. I am supposed to make certain assumptions based on my experience and propose a clear and concise strategy for a hypothetical company. They wanted me to conclude price points, margins, product priority, market strategy, and penetration point forecasts, in a region and market where i have no experience. WTF?!?! I feel like I was set up for failure

I did it to my best ability and presented it like I knew what I was talking about. I actually spent more time googling the Asian markets to get anyt real info in my assumptions but I have no idea whether its correct. The panel seemed to respond well during the Q&A about my thought process and why I chose certain aspects vs others. So we left it at that. To make it worse, I couldn't see the panel to get visual cues whether they were liking me or not. Now I sit for what I understand to be 3 weeks in order to find out if I'm the one.

Anyone else go through this type of process?
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Old 26 April 2017, 03:03 PM   #2
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That sounds intense Renato!

Can't say I have but congratulations on being considered for such an opportunity. Best of luck
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Old 26 April 2017, 03:20 PM   #3
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Case study interview is fine by me, so long as they are critically evaluating your thought process. If all they're doing is checking whether your response conforms to their existing "correct answer" then it is BS

I have done it against a panel before. It was for a hedge fund analyst position and it went fine. My answer had some problems, but it at least reflected a flexible and intelligent style of thinking. Still got the offer.

in your situation, I think they were trying to be open-ended and "outside the box" with their question, but they ended up going overboard by requesting too much detail and precision

the upside is that if every candidate got blindsided, then your answer could still be the best they receive
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Old 26 April 2017, 03:26 PM   #4
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That is weird.
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Old 26 April 2017, 04:30 PM   #5
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I think it is common.

There is no correct answer but to test your ability to think outside the box. This will be the key differentiation between you and the other candidates.
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Old 26 April 2017, 06:45 PM   #6
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It sounds like they deliberately gave you something outside your comfort zone to see how you would handle it working under stress and a tight time line as well as understand how you were thinking about various aspects of the project. I'm sure you did fine, it's not always what you said, but how you went about it and why. That's how our oral board exams are. There's no real right answer for a lot of questions, but there are wrong answers, and they want to understand how you're approaching the complex problem.
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Old 26 April 2017, 09:34 PM   #7
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here is what i would have done if i didnt really need the job.

1 power point slide.

"No thanks guys, I'll pass"

see where it leads.

in all seriousness, i'd do the best i could under the circumstances.
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Old 26 April 2017, 09:41 PM   #8
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I've had that type of interview, and as others have said, they weren't expecting the response to be technically accurate. They wanted to evaluate problem solving skills under duress. The case is intentionally out of your lane to force you to analyze rather than respond by rote.

It's a good technique IMO. It allows leaders to evaluate whether you're good because of the system you were in, or good because of your innate abilities and experience. System guys struggle with this, whereas ability guys hit it out of the park.
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Old 26 April 2017, 10:56 PM   #9
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Dr.Brian may be on to something. Keep us posted.
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Old 27 April 2017, 12:19 AM   #10
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Thanks for the responses. More than I thought I would get. I do feel much better

Quote:
Originally Posted by GB-man View Post
That sounds intense Renato!

Can't say I have but congratulations on being considered for such an opportunity. Best of luck
Thanks Tom. I'm happy to even be considered for the position

Quote:
Originally Posted by Star Ferry View Post
Case study interview is fine by me, so long as they are critically evaluating your thought process. If all they're doing is checking whether your response conforms to their existing "correct answer" then it is BS

I have done it against a panel before. It was for a hedge fund analyst position and it went fine. My answer had some problems, but it at least reflected a flexible and intelligent style of thinking. Still got the offer.

in your situation, I think they were trying to be open-ended and "outside the box" with their question, but they ended up going overboard by requesting too much detail and precision

the upside is that if every candidate got blindsided, then your answer could still be the best they receive
Thats the part I struggled with...Do they want answers that fit their current model or are do they want someone who will shake things up and take this business unit to a different level with new ideas. I chose the latter


Quote:
Originally Posted by topgear View Post
I think it is common.

There is no correct answer but to test your ability to think outside the box. This will be the key differentiation between you and the other candidates.
Yes, it was made clear that there were no right or wrong answers but some better than others.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Brian View Post
It sounds like they deliberately gave you something outside your comfort zone to see how you would handle it working under stress and a tight time line as well as understand how you were thinking about various aspects of the project. I'm sure you did fine, it's not always what you said, but how you went about it and why. That's how our oral board exams are. There's no real right answer for a lot of questions, but there are wrong answers, and they want to understand how you're approaching the complex problem.
Thank you. I completely agree

Quote:
Originally Posted by Etschell View Post
here is what i would have done if i didnt really need the job.

1 power point slide.

"No thanks guys, I'll pass"

see where it leads.

in all seriousness, i'd do the best i could under the circumstances.
lol. At one point during prep, the idea crossed my mind to do something absolutely bonkers like that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abdullah71601 View Post
I've had that type of interview, and as others have said, they weren't expecting the response to be technically accurate. They wanted to evaluate problem solving skills under duress. The case is intentionally out of your lane to force you to analyze rather than respond by rote.

It's a good technique IMO. It allows leaders to evaluate whether you're good because of the system you were in, or good because of your innate abilities and experience. System guys struggle with this, whereas ability guys hit it out of the park.
I think the case study aspect is brilliant if done properly. I just wasn't sure if this was one of those times. In retrospect, and after reading the responses here, it does seem fine that I was thrown for a loop and agree that they are looking for answers not typically found in traditional interviews.

I think the real focus of this type of interview is competence rather than experience. Hopefully I showed enough.
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Old 27 April 2017, 04:07 AM   #11
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I've been thru both this and FTF board interview situations. It was a test IMHO........and sounds like you did just fine.

Having hired high end sales people as well I often throw out curve balls during interviews to get an idea of someone's ability to think on the spot and maneuver. My favorite is to ask someone deep into the interview questions like........."How many commercial aircraft are flying over my province at this exact moment ? I'm not looking for the exact answer (it is determinable though) but rather I want to see what you'll say.
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Old 27 April 2017, 07:50 AM   #12
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The fact that you persevere through it showed that you can think outside the box and under stress. For the high end job you're applying for, no doubt you'll be met with similar challenges. If I were a betting man, I'd put a few dollars on you getting the job.
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Old 27 April 2017, 08:24 AM   #13
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They are trying to see if you can think out of the box. There is no right answer to the questions, they just care about the thought/reasoning you put into it.
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Old 27 April 2017, 11:01 PM   #14
rr-nyc
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amg55 View Post
The fact that you persevere through it showed that you can think outside the box and under stress. For the high end job you're applying for, no doubt you'll be met with similar challenges. If I were a betting man, I'd put a few dollars on you getting the job.


I appreciate it!
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Old 27 April 2017, 11:10 PM   #15
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yes hoping you get the job as well.
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