The most dreaded part of your consulting interview: THE CASE! Like it or not, if you're planning to get a job in consulting, you will have to learn how to handle the case interview. Although different firms and different interviewers have very different approaches to the case question, all of them use it as an important tool in selecting/screening out job candidates. Indeed, you may have to clobber as many as ten or more cases on the way to landing a job with a major management consulting organization. Fortunately, by studying up on the case process and honing your case interview skills through practice, you'll soon be able to amaze friends and family alike with your explanations, frameworks and graph drawing skills. In this best-selling Insider report, WetFeet.com will help you ace your case! What the Heck Is A Case? Let's start with a simple definition. The case interview is essentially a word problem based upon a real life (or simulated) consulting situation. Cases come in all shapes and sizes, from the simple, straightforward question designed to see how you think about a problem, to the highly complex business strategy issue that takes twenty minutes to explain and involves graphs and charts and buzzwords up the wazoo. However, they all have one thing in common. (No, it's not to inspire fear in the hearts and minds of would-be consultants!) The consulting firms tell us that the case interview is an excellent way to test a candidate's analytical abilities, his or her resourcefulness and way of thinking about problems, and, ultimately, his or her aptitude for consulting. Are you ready to ace your case interview? Among the topics in this information-packed report: What to expect in your interview How to impress your interviewer Seven steps to surviving the case interview Five categories of cases Buzzword bingo for the consulting case interview Consulting frameworks Consulting frameworks: The second stage What to do when things don't go as planned The judge's scorecard/How you'll be evaluated Sample cases for consultants-to-be WetFeet worksheet for case analysis Suggested answers to common case questions