Clarifying Questions

Hi there, 

Q: I was wondering whether anyone has any advice on asking clarifying questions? 

In general, the goal of the clarifying questions should be to:

1. Clarify what is unclear in the prompt and
2. Get the relevant information needed to properly structure and communicate an answer for the question asked (for example, clarifying the goal if that’s not clearly defined)

Based on that, I would recommend clarifying the following points if not already presented in the prompt:

1. Objective and constraints of the client. E.g. Why does the client want to complete this acquisition? or How much does the client want to increase revenues, and in what timeline?
2. Operating model of the client - mainly what they sell, to whom and how. E.g. Could you please clarify which products the client is currently selling?
3. Any part of the prompt mentioned by the interviewer that you don't understand. E.g. You mentioned that our client performs standard activities as an intermediary bank. Could you please clarify which activities are involved? I am not particularly familiar with that sector.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

I'd put them into two buckets:

1. Operationalize the goal (What's the exact objective, target, and timeline): This helps you figure out what the client actually wants to achieve/know/solve. You should ask this as it defines the solution space and therefore impacts your analytical framework. Many case prompts include a very vague and ill-defined goal (on purpose).
2. Understand the situation better (contextual questions and questions related to the business model or workings of the industry). Do not fish for information on the problem at this stage of the case. Here, it is all about understanding the situation to then define an analysis plan with your framework.

Overall, this process should not last longer than 2-3 minutes (Q&A at the beginning of the case) and the questions should come naturally to you without thinking.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

as the name suggest, clarifying questions should be used to clarify the situation for you (if needed). You ask them after the case prompt if, e.g.:

• you are unfamiliar with certain terms/parameters/wordings presented to you 
• you want to validate the objective of the case and confirm whether it is the only objective for the time being
• you want to clarify the scope of the objective (e.g. are there certain areas, segments, aspects) that you can exclude right from the get go when you think about your approach

When you cannot think of any clarifying questions, does it mean you have understood the full prompt and are totally clear and comfortable in starting to formulate your approach? If the answer is yes, then you won't need to ask any clarifying questions. If the answer is no, the above should guide you in what to ask for.

Hope that helps.

Best

Hi
Some great answers here already - if you feel stuck (we have all faced very niche / curveball style cases) a simple trick is to just show some curiosity about the situation. This doesn’t just apply at the beginning of the case, you should ensure you remain curious throughout the entire study. 

You will inevitability be faced with gaps in understanding, and be missing info / data. Asking a few “how” and “why” questions will help immerse you in the case detail and keep your confidence and engagement high. 

Good luck! 

Hi,

I think the first thing is to understand the purpose of clarifying questions - which some great answers have been provided already. 

The next thing to do is to put in practice and try to train your mind to work in this way. A few key pointers

• Often there is no way to memorize a question to ask, especially about the context, and because many probing questions rely on you reacting to the specific information being provided
• Be deliberate in your practice - when you ask a question, later reflect on it and see whether or not that really was a useful question to ask and why or why not

All the best!