How to react to brainstorming quesitons?

Question

For brainstorming questions in interviews, do you always clarify whether the interviewer expects some “quick ideas”, or a comprehensive “full-fledged brainstorming structure & ideas”?

My feedback is I was “always” taking time to structure any brainstorming questions along the interview, which is too much. Some questions are just direct and simple questions.

What is the best practice to balance “time” and “structure”? Could I fix this by over communicating (ask the interviewer's preference), or try to do more “on the fly” style brainstorming?

Appreciate your advice.

Answer 1

Hi there,

It's fine to take some time to structure your thoughts as long as you ask the interviewer, but do not spend too much time (as an interviewer I found it tolerable under 2 minutes, and the more time a candidate spends, the higher expectation I have).

I would advise the following:

First, gather brainstorming questions you encountered, your approach (esp. how much time you spent to structure, the answers you gave) and the feedback. If you haven't timed yourself, do it. Compare the time you spent with the question and the expected answer to see if you really spent too much time than necessary.

Second, find out where you struggle. Are you aiming at perfectly structured answer with 2 more levels? Try reduce the complexity of your structure. 3-5 buckets usually suffice. Or is it just difficult to produce some quick answers? Try practice a few brainstorming exercises (simple questions that rely on common sense), or adopt “thinking out loud”.

Cheers

Answer 2

Hi there,

For most firms and most interviewers, it is okay to take time for this part of the case

Indications:

McKinsey: 2 minutes
Others: 1-1.5 minutes

Some interviewers want you to answer on the spot.

Approach

To become better and faster you need to learn relevant brainstorming techniques and then practice them to become proficient.

The main issue I see with candidates is that they do not have a reliable approach that helps them produce ideas quickly and in a structured way.

Just doing more of something does not automatically make you better.

Send me a message if you want to have some more info on that. I am launching a free course where brainstorming techniques are part of.

Cheers,

Florian