Case studies

What are case studies?

Case studies are usually comprised of a scenario (real or imagined), a set of instructions and an information pack.

You should expect to receive information in multiple formats (emails, reports, graphs and statistics) and you’re likely to be given 30-60 minutes to research and prepare a piece of analysis.

Case studies may feature at assessment centres as part of individual written tasks, group exercises and/or presentation activities.

Your next steps

Attend an assessment centre workshop

Use our free resources to practise

Why do employers use case studies?

Like situational judgement tests and in/e-tray tasks, case studies offer employers a glimpse of your potential to perform the role, as well as a sense of what it might be like to work with you.

Some of the key skills which employers may be looking for are:

interpretation
analysis
decision-making
prioritisation
interpersonal and communication
presentation (verbal and written)

Use eCareersGrad and Graduates First to prepare for case studies

Don’t waste precious time looking for the ‘right’ answer – there probably isn’t one. Focus on reaching a reasoned decision that you’ll be able to justify to your assessors.
If asked to choose between a series of proposals, record their pros and cons as you read through the information pack including key statistics.
Keep an eye out for inconsistencies and gaps in the information. Highlighting these in your report or presentation will earn you points for attention to detail and analysis.

Mastering the Consulting Case

This resource from eCareersGrad contains:

15+ video-based candidate answers showing what good looks like (and doesn’t) for key case scenarios including market sizing, market entry, revenue growth and more…
recruiter answer scoring guides and illustrated answer structures for handling the case introduction, issues analysis and dealing with the numbers
Spotlights on how to use case ‘frameworks’, essential financial concepts and mastering note-taking

Alumni: email us to access

Through Graduates First you can explore a wide range of resources.

There are over 100 Top Employer Profiles and Job Assessment Stages that give further information about the recruitment process and the kinds of assessments you may face.

There are case study briefs to practice, and instructor guidelines that show what employers look for in good candidates.

Students - register for free access using your UoN email address

Alumni - email our team for free access

Careers and Employability Service

University of Nottingham
Portland Building, Level D
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 3680
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 3679
email: careers-team@nottingham.ac.uk