Tips for Preparing for a Take-Home Case Interview

Hi there!

Aim for covering the same parts of a live case interview, namely: structuring, math, chart reading, brainstorm and recommendation and do all the extra miles possible, considering you’ll have access to external information. E.g.: in brainstorm session, besides creating a solid structure to organize your ideas, mention sources that reinforce why an idea is to be considered; in the quant session, use the external data to come up with good insights, such as comparison with competitors’ numbers), market trends, etc - always mention the source. Usually there are some twists in the math part, meaning, non-obvious insights to be covered. Pay attention to that. Make sure to finish with a structured recommendation, stating what should be done next (execution, risk mitigation and further research) and a plan to achieve it.

Good luck!

Mari

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

My response is for take home cases, not specific to KPMG cases.

What to expect:

In general, for take home cases you would probably have a lot of content to cover and a main question/problem you need to answer for. The problem statement could be vague or broad, depending on the case and company.

Alternatively, I have done take home cases where the major part of my work was to do own research, come up with assumptions and solve the case, primarily using excel. Presentation was mainly a discussion.

It depends on the type of case, company and what they are looking to assess.

Some tips:

1. Assuming you get a lot of content to process - Given so much content, it is easy to get lost. That is why having an initial hypothesis or "answer first approach" helps. You can use your initial hypothesis to guide you on what data to look for. If you cannot find the appropriate the data to validate your hypothesis , then you may have to come up with a new hypothesis and repeat.

2. Make sure you present the case in the format they want - mostly would be Powerpoint. Check with them if you don't know. 

3. If you need to present the case to a panel, then be ready to answer any questions stemming from your recommendation/solution, outside of detailed understanding of the study content.

Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss more. You can book a free 15 min consult using the "book intro" button on my profile.

Thanks,

Soh

Hi,

For a take-home case, they can either explicitly say there is no need to prepare a short presentation, or you that you should. 

Either way, I recommend that you do prepare a short 3-5 slide presentation on powerpoint if you can because it shows you’re dedicated, prepared and you know how to structure (which is part of the job you’re applying for) because remember…Same principles to a live case apply so approach it in the same way:

Your presentation should follow a basic structured format:

Slide 1: Problem statement and hypothesis (summarizes your understanding of the question and provide your answer)

Slide 2-3: Data and analysis: Use desktop research, any data they gave you and use charts, or data infographics to back up your hypothesis (You can use AI tools to conduct research and create charts or graphics..I sometimes like to use the free napkin AI to make cool charts)

Slide 4 or 5: Next Steps 

Key things to note:

• Slide structure: Each slide will have a title, a “so-what” description and a some infographic (with a label above) and a source
• Manage your time: Try knock out a draft in the first 1-2 days to use the next couple of days to refine and practice. A week goes by very quickly!
• Confirm with recruiters: Also try to send an email to the recruiting team to confirm if a presentation is required/ and if yes, then how long will you present, will you need to send it to the recruiting team beforehand etc.

Let me know if you’d like to chat further (My first session is free)