Tackling Case Studies

It’s time to make your case and impress assessors during a case study session!

What?

Case study exercises can be used for both individuals and groups. During the exercise, you will usually be given some informaton about a work-related scenario and asked to imagine that you’re part of a group of experts giving advice to a client or superior on the basis of the evidence.

This will probably be carried out over a period of a few hours, and you’ll likely have to make a presentaton to the assessors at the end. You may also be drip-fed additonal informaton to assess at specifc intervals throughout the allocated tme.

When?

Case studies are partcularly popular in assessment centres for graduate jobs in banking, fnancial services, accountancy and management consultng. However, they can also be part of assessments for other business sectors and industries.

It’s also important to note that they’re typically based on real-life business developments.

How to approach them

You need to be clear about what you’re being asked to do. Start by reading through the informaton pack and assessing which parts of the informaton are relevant.

Understand the problem, your role and your objectves inside out. Don’t be afraid to ask for more informaton or clarifcaton about something from your assessors if you’re unsure.

If you’re working in a group, you can divide the tasks. For instance, you can nominate someone to assess any new informaton passed to the group during the course of the exercise. You’ll also need someone to manage the tme taken for each task, so ensure that your group has a tmekeeper.

Don’t dominate discussions, but do contribute to them – you should artculate what you’re thinking so your assessors can see how you approach problems.

Remember to allocate tme to prepare for your fnal presentaton, and be realistc about how much you can ft into it.

Lastly, don’t lose sight of your objectves! Your fnal presentaton should be relevant, clear and concise, and should also include a summary of your conclusions and recommendatons.

What assessors look for in case studies

• Analytcal skills • Problem-solving skills • Time management • Teamwork • Commercial awareness • Presentaton abilites

Case study example

The following example is based of a genuine case study used by a multnatonal investment bank. It should give you some idea of what to expect:

The scenario

A large publisher of magazines and books is looking to make a signifcant acquisiton.

It has identfed a target company and approached a number of investment banks for their views on the merits of a potental deal and a target price.

Based on these presentatons, the publisher will decide whether to proceed with a bid. If they do, select one bank to act as their advisor. The task

Your team is one of the investment banks bidding to win the mandate. You need to analyse the fgures provided to review the marketplace, your potental client – the publisher – and the target company. You must also prepare a fve-minute presentaton giving your recommendatons. Note

You may either be provided with a wealth of raw data alongside the scenario, or you and your group may have to dig up all the necessary informaton by yourselves somehow.

Either way, you’ll need to crystallise all this informaton into a workable acton plan that you can present to your assessors.

Can I practise for these?

Yes, you can! Here are some ways you can prepare for case studies: • Find out about the kind of business decisions the company you’re applying to have to make, or has made, recently. • You’ll need a bird’s-eye view of the current economic environment. Scour the business pages of newspapers or magazines to get a feel for current business actvity. • Practse your mental arithmetc, as you may have to demonstrate your quanttatve abilites without a calculator. • Talk to any relevant industry contacts or mentors you have to learn more about any new developments. You can also bounce various scenarios of them to see if your recommendatons are sound. • There’s ofen more than one way to solve a problem.

Get into the habit of brainstorming multple approaches instead of stcking to a single textbook soluton. • Check in with the career services centre on your campus.

They may run workshops or relevant presentatons on case studies. Join any practce sessions they host untl you become familiar with the format.

Keep in mind that though part of the aim of case studies is to help assessors see how you cope with the unfamiliar, research will stll boost your confdence and help you tackle issues in a more informed way.