Why A Case Study Can Boost Your Job Search And How To Research For It
Through my consulting business, I developed the habit of analyzing a prospective client's situation and proposing a path forward. This approach not only helped me navigate sales conversations and win clients but also crack my PM interview to join FlexAI in 2024.
Since then, many job seekers have asked me about this approach. While it is a tedious and time-intensive method, it is essential for success. Below, I explain why it is crucial and how to get started. You can refer to the 9-step framework here.
I spend 17 hours preparing a few case studies and 2 hours 20 minutes writing this blog. You need 5 minutes to read this.
I wrote this based on 3+ case studies, which took 5 hours 45minutes, 4 hours 56 minutes, and 6 hours 16 minutes each. I did not time the other consulting work here.
I first published this on www.sparkcreativetechnologies.com on Oct 14, 2024.
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Challenges With Online Job Applications And Interviews
In today’s challenging macro environment, job seekers struggle to get interviews, and converting those interviews into offers is even harder.
The primary issue with online job applications is the overwhelming number of applicants for each role. The volume is so high that recruiters often can't review every resume manually. To increase your chances, you need to stand out. A powerful way to do this is by connecting with employees within the company. They can help you understand the company's needs, refer you for a role, or notify you of open positions.
Even if you're great at what you do, interviews can be challenging due to intense competition. How can you stand out? One way is by adding value before you even join the company.
A case study can demonstrate your interest, industry understanding, and practical skills.
3 Reasons To Do A Case Study
1 - A case study helps you differentiate yourself from the crowded pool of applicants.
2 - If you're skilled in your role but not confident in interviews, a case study allows you to showcase your abilities.
3 - Additionally, if you have theoretical knowledge but lack practical experience, a case study is an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise.
Presenting this case study during your interview highlights your value to the company.
Research Plan For Case Study
Here's how you can research for your case study:
Popular frameworks: Draw a porter’s five forces of fill out a business model canvas for the product or startup. Each section will prompt you to ask deeper questions and seek more detailed answers.
Customer Stories: Look for customer stories about competitive products. These stories will reveal the challenges faced by target customers and how competitors are addressing them.
Forums: Search forums and communities to find real pain points directly from customers. This first-hand knowledge will give you a clearer picture of their struggles.
SEO Research: Use tools like Ahrefs, Similarweb, and Google Trends on competitor's websites to understand prospects’ attraction to them.
Content: Reflect on books, podcasts, or online courses you've consumed. Use the insights from these sources to shape your research approach.
Experts: Speak to industry experts or individuals who match your customer persona within your network.
Example for pre-PMF startup:
Porter’s five forces will show that XYZ
Customers
Search forums for what people do with Intel and AMD hardware
ABC and XYZ - use Similarweb on them
Re-read Andrew Chen’s Cold Start Problem
Give examples of challenges in network effect startups
Find ways to decompose the problem into a non-network problem
Talk to Gajanan, Lenord, Surya, and Prince about the problem space.
Example for marketing strategy client
Write skeleton of execution plan
Competitive research - don’t know competitors yet.
Sign up to the product
SEO keywords research.
N number of blogs. M number of videos.
What is working well e.g. the ABC video.
Challenge of 2-3 times in lifecycle
Calculate the revenue and cost numbers.
Example for B2C SaaS client
Show these in this order in discussion
Demo:
Share landing page link
Show ad campaign
Research:
About ABC industry - here is what I understood. Is this right
Peers or competitor companies
Ad samples:
Blogs/affiliates for driving traffic
Execution plan - approaching this as an operator
Some diagram. flowchart.
Socratic Research Method: Start With Questions
When considering the points above, it's easy to get overwhelmed by too much information. While you might try to understand everything about an industry or company, how can you ensure it helps you complete the case study?
Instead of jumping straight into research, write down your thoughts before looking up information. This process will highlight gaps in your knowledge, similar to the Socratic method.
Make a list of questions to guide your research. These questions will help you focus on finding the right information.
Example 1 for AI infrastructure startup
Who buys GPUs? What are use-cases for GPUs?
Why are GPUs expensive to purchase?
Who rents GPUs, instead of buying? Why?
Where do they rent it from?
How much commitment do they need to make to rent the GPUs?
What on-demand pricing can users find?
Who are the logo customers of GPU rental providers?
What’s the comparison of Nvidia vs AMD or Intel GPUs?
In a large company, which developers’ work will be agnostic of GPUs and which developers’ work is on Cuda/Nvidia, so cannot be ported?
What is required to enable developers to port their work from Nvidia to other GPUs?
How do developers know how many hours to rent GPU for? Are there other quanta e.g. TFlops that developers use to decide on rental?
How do developers deal with the complexities of network, storage, CPU, etc. decisions to rent GPUs?
Some companies offer serverless GPU rental. What does that mean in terms of simplifying GPU rental decisions?
What is the market position of ABC and XYZ? What is their value prop?
What do developers do now to reduce their cost of GPU usage? Where is the gap?
Where do the GPUs come from, to rental marketplaces?
What is customer’s experience with renting GPUs from ABC, etc.?
Example 2 for marketing strategy client
What is the impact of case studies or customer stories on conversion
What features or services do long-term customers find most valuable? What are the standout benefits that customers would highlight about ABC?
How can we do partnerships
What are other platforms or tools that ABC customers frequently use that could benefit from deeper integration and documentation? E.g. DEF
Content plan ideas - Versus blogs, founder video interview per question or topic,
Estimate revenue uplift
Estimate my pricing
Using Case Study In Your Job Search
I invite you to take these strategies and make them your own. Start by selecting a company that excites you and craft your personalized case study using the frameworks discussed.
If you'd like more personalized guidance or have specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me directly at sparkcreativetechnologies.com
Framework For Product Case Study With Examples
In the next article, I’ll show you examples of each step.
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