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How to Interpret Charts During Case Interviews

A vast portion of a management consultant’s career is spent analyzing data, summarizing information, extracting insights, and helping to convert knowledge to action. So, a few minutes into your case interview, the recruiter slides a chart across the table and asks what you can tell from that particular exhibit. The objective of the chart is to help you drive the case forward by approving or disapproving your hypothesis of the business problem.

However, a lot of candidates overlook the valuable evidence by misinterpreting the facts, sharing the wrong insights, or not being prepared enough to respond to the questions completely and confidently. Hence, I would like to share some best practices for tackling these charts during a case interview.

Knowing the exhibit

There are four basic components to a chart: title, axis descriptions (units), legend, and values. Typically, the slides used during case interviews contain leads or a significant bit of information attached to the diagram. This is usually stated as the header of the diagram below, read this! In other instances, the lead does not appear on the diagram, leaving you only with the charts. The point is that every chart, whether there is a lead noted or not, serves as a source of insights. In the instance where the lead is unnoted, you will be required to reverse the process and come up with the lead for the charts (e.g. “based on what I’m seeing, the chart seems to show X during Y period in Z units”).

Structuring the delivery

As with anything regarding case interviews, being structured is key to securing an offer from the firms. With the same principles applied, you should always try to be as MECE and structured as possible. Here is a checklist of what is expected in your answer:

  1. Summarize the chart content: The goal here is to simply take in as much information as you can. Before touching on the insights, just make sure you understand everything about the chart. With this step well done, you reduce the chances of misinterpreting the data or missing any key insights. You should be comfortable explaining what each axis tells you, how they correlate with each other, and what each data point on each axis means. This process can be done implicitly in your head or explicitly on a notepad.
    • Tip: segmentation is a great way to absorb content. Divide the chart into four distinctive parts and try to interpret in business language what it means to be in each respective quadrant.
  2. Present the insights: Provide supporting evidence in a logical sequence. Substantiate your findings with strong arguments from the data. You want to build one or more pyramids with the findings on top and the facts that substantiate it as the base.
    • Translate the charts into English
    • Search for trends or patterns
    • Identify data points that are unexpected, unusual, or unique
    • Tip: one of the easiest things to notice are the outliers (i.e. highest, lowest, farthest, closest), which often signal something bigger going on behind the scenes.
  3. Put forward next-steps and/or recommendations: Discuss the ‘so-what’ for the client problem you are trying to figure out and provide recommendations. Tie those findings to the case and your analysis and interpret their implications. If you think additional steps need to be taken, such as looking at other data, state it out loud (e.g. “the next logical step for us would be to look at X because it will support Y”) and continue with the case to the next point.

Common mistakes

The five most common mistakes individuals make when interpreting graphs are:

  1. Only looking for patterns in the values – this is contrary to what we learned but I have found that candidates get lost and confused if they can’t identify any patterns, or even worse, they only focus on digging into the values. It’s more important to be able to connect the dots, including the title, axis descriptions, and legend.
  2. Not taking into account all the other data represented on the chart – often candidates become complacent when they see a hint of evidence that supports their hypothesis when other available data may not.
  3. Making wild assumptions rather than basing findings on the facts
  4. Not being able to identify what the different sources of data represent
  5. Not practicing basic case interview mathematics

Things to remember

  • Always keep in mind the question and ultimate objective
  • Analyze with understanding – don’t do it for the sake of analyzing
  • Comprehend the information before attempting to identify a solution or rushing to carry out calculations
  • Take note of the most obvious information first. Read the title first and start with the axes and units of the data included in the chart.
  • Consider the format of the data – there’s a reason why it’s presented that way
  • Consistently follow the most efficient approach to carry out calculations – state the formula upfront and number each segment (e.g. 1. Revenue = 2. Price x 3. Volume). The interviewer will correct you if she disapproves, which will prevent you from going down the wrong rabbit hole. The numbering approach will also go a long way for you to refer back to calculations later in the process.
  • Do not immediately blurt out the most obvious conclusion as your answer. Double check you are not missing anything and try to identify the twist, if one exists, to the problem.
  • Base your calculations on the facts and do a sanity check if the numbers make sense
  • Not all the information will be needed to make the calculation – one of the core functions of a consultant is to know how to separate the useful data from the rest.
  • Taking into context the core objective, make a quick hypothesis based on the key metrics

Communicating your insights

The following needs to be taken into consideration while communicating your interpretation of the diagram:

  • Always take into consideration the question when delivering your answer
  • Make sure your answers are clear and logical
  • Take the time to explain the logic behind your answers
  • Seeing the whole graph with all the details and values can be intimidating, so break it down
  • When breaking it down, use only the data needed to calculate only the facts needed to draw your insights
  • Not all the data will be useful, take time to practice how to interpret and extract useful data from charts

Final thought

Get used to the various chart formats by reading through the interviewing firm’s publications. A lot of the POV (point of view) or insight pieces will have a chart to support the firm’s belief on a particular subject and this is a great way to learn how each firm does it differently. Finally, remember there are no shortcuts, the only way to hone your chart interpretation skills is through dedicated practice.

Jason Oh is a Senior Consultant, Strategy & Customer at EY with project experiences in commercial due diligence and corporate strategy planning. Previously, he was a Management Consultant at Novantas with a focus on the financial services sector, where he advised on pricing, marketing, channel distribution, digital transformation and due diligence.

Image: Pexels

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