#MeetBCGer (Ying-Ru) Ru Chen was one of our Part-Time Assistants during 2015-2016 and officially joined us in September 2016 with a degree in Business Administration from National Chengchi University. We asked her to answer one of the most commonly asked questions for case interviews:
"Framework or no framework?
During a case interview, do you have to apply the 'standardized frameworks' provided by casebooks? My answer would be: know your tools thoroughly, but use them flexibly.
Getting familiar with casebook frameworks during preparation phase gives you a better sense of what aspects you will need to consider for different problem sets. During the interview, structured frameworks are also useful for communicating your thoughts with the interviewer, and making sure you are going towards the right direction before diving into any details.
Additionally, during nerve-racking moments when your brain could easily go blank, these frameworks can at least give a good start on thinking about how you may structure the whole discussion.
However, be aware not to be trapped by your frameworks. By trying to cover everything, your time would be wasted on less important details instead of topics that are critical to the case and may need more discussions.
In other words, customize each framework based on the context, prioritize and focus on issues where most impacts can be brought. One small tip is that, though it's smart to focus on key topics, it is equally important to verbally and briefly let the interviewer know you've considered all aspects of the case but due to time constraint decided to focus on a few key areas."
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Ru (Ying-Ru) Chen is an Associate at BCG Taipei office. Her project experience so far covers digitalization for financial service sector, acquisition and investment due diligence for TMT sector.
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