PartnerRoundWhat interviewers are actually scoring
Four scoring dimensions decide your outcome. Most candidates over-invest in one and neglect the rest.
A case interview is not a test of business trivia. Interviewers carry a scoring sheet with a small number of named dimensions, and they are trained to fill it in from evidence you give them in 25 minutes. Knowing the dimensions changes what you practise.
| Dimension | What it means | How it is evidenced |
|---|---|---|
| Problem structuring | Can you break an ambiguous problem into parts that are testable? | Your opening framework, and whether it is tailored to this business |
| Quantitative reasoning | Can you set up and execute maths without hand-holding? | You propose the calculation before the interviewer suggests one |
| Business judgement | Do your conclusions survive contact with reality? | You sanity-check numbers and name real-world risks |
| Communication | Would a client trust you in the room? | Top-down answers, signposting, calm under interruption |
Structuring and communication are scored on every single exchange. Maths is scored on maybe two moments. Candidates invert this: they drill arithmetic for weeks and never rehearse saying their answer first. Fix the ordering of your sentences before you buy another maths app.
A useful mental model. The interviewer is asking themselves one question throughout: 'could I put this person in front of a client next month?' Every behaviour that makes them answer yes is worth points, including ones that feel unrelated to the case, like how you handle being told you are wrong.
Going silent while you think. Ten seconds of silence feels like thoroughness to you and like paralysis to them. Say what you are doing: 'Let me take thirty seconds to structure this', then actually take thirty seconds. Permission changes the read entirely.