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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Igor Khayet,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My Resume Shop&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This post is part two of a two-part series on advice for the consulting case interview. Read part 1 here.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;As an interview consultant, I have helped hundreds of students apply  for positions at top consulting firms. At Yale&#39;s Undergraduate Career  Center, I have seen how a lack of preparation can make even the  brightest students struggle with the consulting case interview. While  the best way to prepare is through extensive mock interviewing with  someone knowledgeable about the case interview process, that&#39;s not  always an option. Here, then, are five more helpful tips for acing your  consulting case interview.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Take meticulous notes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Be scrupulous in your note taking; it is not enough to just listen  attentively. Why? Having detailed notes will help you avoid making  careless mistakes and keep your thoughts organized if in front of you  are written down all the key pieces of information. The accessibility of  your already composed thoughts and key bits of information will also  serve you by affording more time to creatively and analytically consider  your answers. Also, make use of highlighting, circling or whatever type  of marking up you prefer&amp;mdash;it&#39;s a great way to prepare for the summary at  the end of the interview (more on this later). Keep in mind, too, that  in some cases, the interviewer may ask you for your notes after the  interview in order to check your organization and/or make sure you do  not disclose information to other applicants.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Make careful assumptions and estimate when possible&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Making assumptions during the case (and estimations) will help you  solve the problem faster and make it easier to make calculations to  continue with your analysis. For example, if you are doing a market  sizing on how many coffee cups are sold in the U.S., you might say, &amp;ldquo;I  am going to assume a U.S. population of roughly 300 million people  divided equally among the 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, and 60-80 age range&amp;rdquo;.  Remember to always justify your assumptions: &amp;ldquo;I am going to assume we  can capture 10 percent market share, because of x and y&amp;rdquo;. Estimations  are also a key way to simplify your analysis, but make sure you are not  estimating or rounding a number that needs to be exact (like profit  margin).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ask great questions &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The consulting case is largely about asking the interviewer the right  questions in order to learn more about the organization. Because the  interviewer usually has information which is not immediately revealed,  you should ask intelligent questions before making your own assumptions.  Questions have to be probing and show your intelligence and  understanding of the subject matter. Instead of asking to learn more  about the competition, you may ask, &amp;ldquo;Do you have any information or  insight on the breakdown of the fast-food industry? How many major  competitors are there and what are their respective market shares? On  what basis do they differentiate themselves?&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4.&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Provide insight beyond the case&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is not enough to simply answer the questions posed by the  interviewer. Throughout the case, your role as an applicant is also to  give insight wherever you can, showing the interviewer your  intelligence, thoughtfulness and expertise in business strategy. For  example, if you are estimating revenues from radio advertising, you may  offer additional insight about how much TV or online ads cost as a way  to estimate radio ads. Additionally, you may even go beyond the  questions in the case in the conclusion and offer two or three things  the organization should consider that were not posed by the case but may  be good business strategies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5.&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Have a conclusion or summary ready&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is nothing more awkward in a case interview than when the  applicant answers the last part of the question and assumes they are  done. When giving a presentation or writing a class report, would you  ever end your analysis without a conclusion? Take a few minutes at the  end to gather your thoughts and provide a thoughtful summary that  includes the question posed, your approach and assumptions, and your  final conclusions. This is a great way to set you apart from other  applicants and, if done correctly, will end the interview on a high note  (even if there were blunders at various points in the interview).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;About Igor Khayet:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Igor is the President and Founder of&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;My Resume Shop&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;,  a career services company offering assistance with r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute;s, cover  letters, and interview preparation (including Consulting Case  Interviews). He is a former Admissions Interviewer for the&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Yale School of Management&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;and a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers &amp;amp; Career Coaches. Contact him at&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;igor@myresumeshop.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read part 1: 5 Tips for the Consulting Case Interview&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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