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Author Gives Jenkins MBA Insight for Case Study Interviews

On Friday, November 9, 2012, N.C. State’s Jenkins MBA students received new tips, tricks and strategies to help them master the most challenging of business interviews: the case study.

Their instructor was Marc Cosentino, former associate director of career services at Harvard University and author of the popular guidebook “Case in Point.” Cosentino knows the case study inside out. He has written hundreds of case studies himself, for industry, government and non-profit firms, and currently travels to lecture at business schools and professional career service events.

In his talk, Cosentino taught students how to approach a case interview, what publications to read to prepare yourself, how to interact with interviewers, how to capture the information they give you about each case, how to design your answer, and how to present it in the most compelling way. “These topics are important because they allow the student to be as effective as possible in the case interview,” said Belinda Dowdy, assistant director in the Jenkins MBA program.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about Cosentino and “Case in Point,” highlighting the value the book has provided to students in their preparation for these difficult interviews. According to the article, “Case in Point” tops Amazon.com’s best-seller chart in the consulting category, and over 65,000 copies have been sold to date. The book, which outlines numerous “case commandments” students should adhere to in tackling any case study, provides a framework for quickly organizing a case argument under the pressure of an interviewing employer.

Mastering the case interview and leveraging analytical skills to rapidly solve problems, wins coveted positions in management consulting as well as other industries. With Cosentino’s extensive expertise in the case study method, his talk to this year’s Jenkins class was an invaluable resource, for their current and future job pursuits.

Author: Katie Kowalski, Poole College Communications Intern