- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,717
- 8,627
This was initially posted to a different thread but thought I'd repost it here. Please note, the case study may have changed since, or you may be given a different one.
From anonymous:
When was it?
Mid November 2018
What was it for?
Vacation Scheme (although the Training contract interview process is exactly the same)
First interview: Case Study
The first interview is a case study. You are given a document bundle to read through within 30 minutes. You then have to give a 20 minute presentation to a partner, who will then ask follow up questions for around 30 minutes.
The case study is typically a scenario of you as a trainee, working on an M&A deal. In the first couple of pages, a fictional partner provides some background information on a client. The client, an investment arm, is looking to acquire a target – which was a company producing [redacted] in my interview. You have to investigate the details of this deal. You are given explicit instructions by the fictional partner that you have to address 6 points. This includes questions such as: what legal issues are raised in the deal; how much the client should pay to purchase the target; and what are the shareholders rights issues (this was raised because the deal is a [redacted]).
The document bundle consists of different types of documents. There are company balance sheets, shareholder right documents; bank loan terms and conditions; and background company information on the acquirer and the target.
Note that this case study is immensely time pressured. There is about 30 minutes to read through it all. Seeing as there around 10 pages in the bundle, that gives you roughly 3 minutes per page. In fact, you probably have less time than this, because you have to factor in time to organise your thoughts and structure your presentation. It is also important to quickly discern what information is relevant to the 6 points that you are given in the briefing. Make sure you stick to the briefing instructions, and think carefully about how the information in the case bundle relates to the instructions.
Also, make sure that you do not just describe the issues at hand, but offer practical solutions. For example, in my interview, the [redacted] was being provided with automation technology by a supplier. What’s important is that you’re providing pragmatic suggestions to deal with aspecific problem you have identified.
In the presentation, you are being marked for the organisation structure of your answers. Make sure you have a clear and coherent structure – and, again, remember to offer practical solutions. The partner will probe you on various details you have missed. I think the best thing to do is engage with what the partner is asking you, to not be worried about looking over documents again (they expect you to do this), and to try and think on your feet.
Second interview: scenario based
This is the first time Allen & Overy have changed their second interview for years. It used to be competency and commercial. Now it is scenario-based. This means you’re extremely unlikely to be raised questions like: ‘what commercial news story interests you?’ You’re also unlikely to be asked firm-focused questions, like ‘where should Allen & Overy open its next office’ etc.
Instead, you are given a set of scenarios, and you have to answer what you would do in those circumstances. These scenarios were clearly pre-prepared by the interviewer and are testing specific skills, like adaptability. One example is: ‘you’re a trainee, and you have been working really hard on a specific task. But then, an associate says that you need to take a completely different approach and scrap what you’re doing right now. How do you react to this?’
These scenarios will be interwoven with related competency questions. So, with that scenario about taking a different approach, the interviewer would then ask: ‘has something like this ever happened to you in real life – when you worked really hard at something, but then had to completely change your plans? How did it make you feel?’
Some general advice:
The case study is considerably harder than the second interview. The latter will feel quite relaxing after the former. It is really hard to prepare for the case study, because it is such a unique task given the time pressure. Perhaps read some shareholder rights issues and do some basic balance sheet calculations (ebidta etc.)
But the most important things I would say is just relax, do your best, and try and engage with the partner and get into a conversation. The partner is not expecting you to retain all of the information. The case study is designed so that it is impossible for you to raise every issue and know all the ins-and-outs of it. So stay calm, listen to what the partner is asking, and engage with this as well as you can.
From anonymous:
When was it?
Mid November 2018
What was it for?
Vacation Scheme (although the Training contract interview process is exactly the same)
First interview: Case Study
The first interview is a case study. You are given a document bundle to read through within 30 minutes. You then have to give a 20 minute presentation to a partner, who will then ask follow up questions for around 30 minutes.
The case study is typically a scenario of you as a trainee, working on an M&A deal. In the first couple of pages, a fictional partner provides some background information on a client. The client, an investment arm, is looking to acquire a target – which was a company producing [redacted] in my interview. You have to investigate the details of this deal. You are given explicit instructions by the fictional partner that you have to address 6 points. This includes questions such as: what legal issues are raised in the deal; how much the client should pay to purchase the target; and what are the shareholders rights issues (this was raised because the deal is a [redacted]).
The document bundle consists of different types of documents. There are company balance sheets, shareholder right documents; bank loan terms and conditions; and background company information on the acquirer and the target.
Note that this case study is immensely time pressured. There is about 30 minutes to read through it all. Seeing as there around 10 pages in the bundle, that gives you roughly 3 minutes per page. In fact, you probably have less time than this, because you have to factor in time to organise your thoughts and structure your presentation. It is also important to quickly discern what information is relevant to the 6 points that you are given in the briefing. Make sure you stick to the briefing instructions, and think carefully about how the information in the case bundle relates to the instructions.
Also, make sure that you do not just describe the issues at hand, but offer practical solutions. For example, in my interview, the [redacted] was being provided with automation technology by a supplier. What’s important is that you’re providing pragmatic suggestions to deal with aspecific problem you have identified.
In the presentation, you are being marked for the organisation structure of your answers. Make sure you have a clear and coherent structure – and, again, remember to offer practical solutions. The partner will probe you on various details you have missed. I think the best thing to do is engage with what the partner is asking you, to not be worried about looking over documents again (they expect you to do this), and to try and think on your feet.
Second interview: scenario based
This is the first time Allen & Overy have changed their second interview for years. It used to be competency and commercial. Now it is scenario-based. This means you’re extremely unlikely to be raised questions like: ‘what commercial news story interests you?’ You’re also unlikely to be asked firm-focused questions, like ‘where should Allen & Overy open its next office’ etc.
Instead, you are given a set of scenarios, and you have to answer what you would do in those circumstances. These scenarios were clearly pre-prepared by the interviewer and are testing specific skills, like adaptability. One example is: ‘you’re a trainee, and you have been working really hard on a specific task. But then, an associate says that you need to take a completely different approach and scrap what you’re doing right now. How do you react to this?’
These scenarios will be interwoven with related competency questions. So, with that scenario about taking a different approach, the interviewer would then ask: ‘has something like this ever happened to you in real life – when you worked really hard at something, but then had to completely change your plans? How did it make you feel?’
Some general advice:
The case study is considerably harder than the second interview. The latter will feel quite relaxing after the former. It is really hard to prepare for the case study, because it is such a unique task given the time pressure. Perhaps read some shareholder rights issues and do some basic balance sheet calculations (ebidta etc.)
But the most important things I would say is just relax, do your best, and try and engage with the partner and get into a conversation. The partner is not expecting you to retain all of the information. The case study is designed so that it is impossible for you to raise every issue and know all the ins-and-outs of it. So stay calm, listen to what the partner is asking, and engage with this as well as you can.
