Math in Case Interviews is a bit more important than you may think!

What's the last time you have calculated anything more advanced than 2 + 2 = 4 without the use of a calculator, a spreadsheet or your mobile phone? Yes, only pen and paper allowed, but without employing any 'tools' is more appropriate. Probably the last time was elementary school. So now, whilst at the end or having completed your college education, I urge anyone to retrain this long-lost skill. Why?If you're in search of employment in consulting, you will face case interviews: many rounds of job interviews with senior consultants or partners of a typical firm you’re applying to. But not just the normal brand of meeting, where they ask anyone to list your best talents and worst failures. Case interviews are definitely more than that. Yes, they’ll quickly run through your CV and ask of your leadership experience. But then it’s on to the important piece of the case interview: the business case.You will be able to expect anything to become the subject of a business case and questions vary from the amount of replacement vehicle tires sold monthly in the state of Nevada to the check of a merger between two big pharmaceutical companies. They are the same as varied when the day-to-day work of a consultant. But just as real consultant work, they all need thorough study to deal with. It is important you ask the interviewer questions or make assumptions to collect data then use that data to draw conclusions and provide recommendations. All this data is available in two variations: qualitative and quantitative data. Examples of qualitative data would be the triggers for Conglomerate XYZ to get in the Brazilian market, or the risk merger between } Company A and } Company B. Nevertheless you won't get a case interview without quantitative data also. You can need to calculate the total revenues of } Firm X, which sells two different products at different prices and volumes. You even must estimate the entire yearly market for  garden hoses inside the state of Nevada: there will be no avoiding calculation.And no, one will not have access to a pc with spreadsheet software, your mobile handset even a pocket calculator during your case interview to calculate the solution to to those questions. Why? The consultant wants someone to complete the calculations in your head or on paper. But then again, why? It’s a method to assess your quantitative skills: to be a consultant, you will face so much data that it’s impossible to crank out the good old Casio anytime. Also, you would like an outstanding grasp of whether numbers seem out of place: a gut feeling where the answers to the question are located within loads of data thrown at you daily.The case interview is really a simulation of daily consulting practice, and in consequence you will have a great deal of data to sift through. Data that could often require calculation: in your head. So if you would like to apply to a job in consulting, you should start practicing your case interview math promptly.Best wishes with your case interview!

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