Case Interviews
Do I need to state a hypothesis in a McKinsey case?
In a McKinsey-style interviewer-led case, is it expected or helpful to state a hypothesis at the beginning? And if I do state one, should I keep referring back to it and changing it as new information comes in?
Ian’s Answer
Great questions.
1) Neither! And interviewer vs interviewee led doesn't make a difference.
If there's a clear, logical hypothesis to be had early on, this may help. However, your framework in of itself is a hypothesis (i.e. I need to look to see if falling Revenues are the cause because of x, y, z). In reality, you should have a few hypothesis/guesses, embedded in a framework, all supported by logical reasoning and contextual understanding! And yes, you should always have a framework, regardless of the case type.
2) This really depends. I recommend you try to stop coming up with rules (I think you're a bit new to this?) and focus instead on "Have I done what matters?". In this case, what matters is whether you've come up with a reasonable approach to answer the question!
3) Again, try not to have quantitative "rules" here. It depends on the case! And it's not about "presenting a bunch of ideas". You can't just list 3 to 4 ideas and expect to do well! Rather, you need a structured, bucketed, logical approach for how you're going to look at, and eventually solve, this problem!