I can't believe I am asking this question. Does "unstructured case interview" mean BCG/Bain type case or when interviewer flips few slides to show exhibits and ask candidate to draw insights and do calculations?
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It probably means the partner/whoever is giving the interview chooses not to use the case HR/the recruiting team designed and makes up a problem on the spot
Yeah, something like what the above poster said. One of my final round MBB interviews was like that. He was a partner at the firm and he simply asked me "An automobile parts manufacturer is thinking about expanding. What should they consider?"
I totally bombed that interview, because it was so unstructured. But I think those kinds of questions give you the most opportunity to show how unique/creative you are!
I would guess unstructured means it's your job to make up a structure. I've had cases at MBB ranging from just a broad talk about the infrastructure and public transportation in a large city and looking at a number of slides and drawing conclusions as well as the classical ones. Generally, the more unusual cases are given by senior people, just because they are most likely too bored to give out the same cases all the time and like to just make something up.
This.
Partners tend to give "cases" based on recent experience rather than designed/vetted cases with handouts etc. These can be one line prompts similar to the examples given above and, as with any case, it behooves you to impose structure and ask probing questions. Try not to think about it any differently. What info do you need? How can you collect it? What will you do with it? Where might that lead?
There are certainly more intimidating, but really shouldn't be.
How can the interviewer incorporate math or data analysis if it's an unstructured case? Can anyone comment on their experiences with this?
Guesstimates, e.g. estimate the market for product X, and from this estimate expected revenue for company Y and EBIT
I had a partner case that was similar to this: Assume revenue is $1m/yr divided in to 3 categories with 30/30/40% splits. Proposed change decreases prices by 5/10/15% and increases volume 10% across the board. Also, mix shifts to 25/25/50. What's new rev?
Multiplying %ages isn't tough, but there are a few layers here. If an interviewer is off script anyways, they'll just wing some numbers to make sure you can keep your calcs structured.
Thank you everyone for your responses. It seems that one definitely needs to practice with such 1-line prompts to do well in the partner cases. I would assume that you are allowed to setup the structure on paper and approach the case, just like any other regular structured interview, once the partner gives the 1-liner. Please correct if this is not the case.
@NoName - How would you approach that case? I would divide into 3 branches - current market, new market, and diversify. Within current market, two sub-branches - increase penetration and increase wallet share (by cross-sell/up-sell). Then, ask for data about customers, competitors, products, etc. to validate/invalidate each option. Would be interested to see how others would approach this.
@brj - I attempted the problem that you mentioned but was not able to work in the new mix %. How did you setup your math structure?
My response for @"NoName"'s case is similar to your response but worded a little different: assessment, strategy, and execution.
For @"brj" it's a simple PV=Revenue formula you apply to each set of revenue streams with new volume and new price. Total revenue is about $1.018 million
Broken down it's 300k = .95P1.1V.... 300k = .9P1.1V.... 400k = .85P*1.1V. Find then new revenues by dividing out the new PV.
EDIT: Didn't see the 25/25/50 shift.... oops
@siyaram, your approach sounds fine. I was just caught off guard and wasn't able to come up with a good structure on the spot.
It wasn't (necessarily) meant to be a workable problem. Looking at it, it's definitely overconstrained. I'll work harder on choosing my examples next time.
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