Dyslexia and Consulting Case Interviews: How to Prepare

Consulting case interview preparation can require a different approach when you have dyslexia, especially for reading dense exhibits, organizing notes, completing calculations, and communicating your thinking under time pressure. Effective case interview preparation with dyslexia should focus on practical strategies that match your individual strengths and challenges rather than assuming every candidate has the same experience. You may also want to understand whether case interview accommodations are available during the recruiting process. In this article, we will explore how to prepare for reading heavy exhibits, note-taking, verbal communication, case math, pacing, and potential accommodations.

TL;DR - What You Need to Know

Effective consulting case interview preparation for candidates with dyslexia uses individualized strategies for reading, notes, math, pacing, communication, and accommodations.

• Structured exhibit reading helps candidates focus on titles, units, relevant data, and case implications without processing every detail equally.
• Simple case interview note-taking systems can reduce cognitive load and support clearer verbal communication during analysis.
• Structured case math methods improve accuracy through written equations, unit checks, estimation, and targeted quantitative practice.
• Deliberate pauses and repeatable routines can improve case pacing without sacrificing accuracy or structured reasoning.
• Case interview accommodations may include extra time, accessible materials, assistive technology, or alternative formats depending on individual needs and employer policies.

How Should Dyslexia Shape Consulting Case Interview Preparation?

Dyslexia should shape consulting case interview preparation by helping you identify which parts of the interview require the most deliberate practice. Depending on your individual profile, this may include reading written information, organizing notes, sequencing ideas, processing verbal instructions, or working under time pressure. The right preparation strategy should reflect your needs rather than assumptions about dyslexia.

Dyslexia does not affect every candidate in the same way. Some candidates may find dense written material more demanding, while others may be comfortable reading exhibits but need more structure when taking notes or organizing information quickly.

The first step is therefore to understand how you personally process information during a case. Instead of treating dyslexia as one broad challenge, break the interview into individual tasks and identify where additional preparation would be useful.

You can assess yourself across five areas:

• Reading written information: Notice how easily you identify the objective, key facts, labels, units, and important details in a case prompt or exhibit.
• Working memory: Observe whether it is difficult to hold several facts, numbers, or assumptions in mind while continuing the discussion.
• Sequencing: Check how comfortably you organize information into a logical order before presenting your analysis.
• Verbal processing: Consider whether you prefer a short pause to organize your thoughts after receiving a question or new information.
• Time pressure: Identify whether your accuracy or communication changes when you try to process information quickly.

These are areas to test, not difficulties that should automatically be attributed to dyslexia. Dyslexia is experienced differently by different people, so your case preparation should be based on patterns you observe in practice rather than a general checklist.

A useful approach is to complete several practice cases and record where errors occur. For example, if your calculations are accurate but you occasionally misread a chart label, the priority may be developing a consistent exhibit reading routine rather than spending additional time on case interview math.

Similarly, if you understand the analysis but your notes become difficult to follow, experiment with a simpler page layout. You might separate the case objective, structure, calculations, and conclusions instead of recording every detail chronologically.

Your consulting case interview preparation should also distinguish between understanding a problem and expressing your answer. You may reach the correct insight but need a few additional seconds to organize it into a clear verbal response. Practicing short pauses followed by structured communication can make this process more consistent.

The goal is not necessarily to become faster at every task. In a case interview, accuracy, structured problem solving, and clear communication often depend on using your time deliberately.

A practical preparation cycle is:

1. Complete a case or targeted drill under realistic conditions.
2. Identify exactly where you lost accuracy, clarity, or time.
3. Determine whether the issue involved reading, notes, calculations, sequencing, or communication.
4. Change one part of your process.
5. Repeat the same type of task and compare the result.

This approach also helps you decide whether case interview preparation with dyslexia requires only changes to your practice method or whether you may want to explore formal case interview accommodations.

Where accommodations are relevant, they are typically considered individually rather than through a single standard adjustment. For example, official UK recruitment guidance lists possible adjustments for dyslexia in assessments such as additional time, changes to font presentation, assistive technology, or alternative test formats, depending on the assessment and the candidate's needs.

Accommodation rules vary by employer, assessment format, and jurisdiction, so you should verify the process directly with the recruiting organization. The broader principle is that your preparation should help you demonstrate your actual problem solving ability rather than force you into a practice method that does not match how you process information.

How Can You Handle Reading Heavy Case Exhibits?

Case interview preparation with dyslexia can make reading heavy exhibits more manageable by using a consistent sequence rather than trying to absorb every detail at once. Start with the question, then scan the exhibit title, axes, units, labels, and time period before interpreting the data. This reduces unnecessary reading and helps you focus on the information needed to answer the case question.

Dense exhibits can include charts, tables, market data, operational metrics, or several pieces of written information on one page. The goal is not to read everything equally carefully. Instead, you should first understand what the exhibit is showing and why it has been introduced.

A practical exhibit reading sequence is:

1. Reconfirm the question you are answering.
2. Read the exhibit title.
3. Identify the axes, column headings, categories, and units.
4. Check the time period and any footnotes that affect interpretation.
5. Look for the largest differences, trends, or changes.
6. Connect the observation back to the case question.

This creates a repeatable process for chart interpretation and reduces the chance that an important label or unit is overlooked.

For example, imagine you are shown a chart comparing revenue across three customer segments over four years. Before calculating growth rates, first establish what the chart measures, whether the values are absolute or percentage based, and which segment is relevant to the question.

It can also help to separate observation from interpretation.

An observation describes what the exhibit directly shows. For example, one segment may have grown from 20 percent to 35 percent of total sales.

An interpretation explains why that observation matters to the case. You might conclude that the segment is becoming more important to overall growth and should be investigated further.

Keeping these two steps separate can make your verbal communication more precise because you are less likely to jump from a number to an unsupported conclusion.

When reading tables, avoid moving randomly between cells. Use a fixed direction, such as reading the row labels first, then the column headings, then only the cells relevant to the question.

You can also use your notes to reduce repeated reading. Write down only the information you expect to use, such as:

• The exhibit purpose
• Important units
• One or two key numbers
• The strongest trend
• The implication for the case

This is usually more useful than copying large parts of the exhibit onto your page.

If reading speed is a concern for you personally, practice should focus first on accuracy and process. Once your exhibit reading routine becomes consistent, you can gradually introduce timed exhibit analysis rather than immediately forcing yourself to work faster.

One useful drill is to take a single chart and give yourself a fixed sequence of tasks. Identify what the chart measures, state two factual observations, explain the main insight, and connect that insight to a business decision.

You can then review errors by category. For example, ask whether you missed a unit, misread a label, overlooked a comparison, or reached an interpretation that was not supported by the data.

This makes practice more useful because you are diagnosing the source of the error rather than simply recording whether your final answer was correct.

Reading heavy case exhibits also becomes easier when you avoid treating every piece of information as equally important. Case interview exhibits are normally introduced to help answer a specific question, so keeping that question visible in your notes can help you decide what deserves attention.

The best reading strategy is therefore not to read more. It is to read in a structured order, extract the relevant facts, and translate them into a clear insight before moving back into the broader case discussion.

How Should You Take Notes and Communicate Your Thinking?

Effective case interview note-taking should help you reduce cognitive load, preserve key facts, and communicate your reasoning clearly. Instead of trying to write everything down, capture only the case objective, structure, important numbers, assumptions, and emerging insights. Then use your notes as a visual guide when explaining your thinking to the interviewer.

For candidates with dyslexia, a simpler note-taking system may be easier to scan quickly than dense pages of text. The best format depends on how you personally organize and retrieve information, so the goal is to find a system that remains usable under interview pressure.

A practical page structure can separate your notes into a few consistent areas:

• Case objective and key question
• Initial structure
• Important facts and assumptions
• Calculations
• Insights and emerging conclusions

Keeping these categories in predictable locations can reduce the need to search through your notes later in the case.

You do not need to record every sentence the interviewer says. Instead, focus on information that is likely to affect your analysis, such as a numerical assumption, customer segment, geographic constraint, or change in the client's objective.

Short labels can also be more useful than complete sentences. For example, you might write "Rev growth," "Margin down," or "Segment B largest" if those labels are immediately clear to you.

The same principle applies when you receive a longer case prompt. After listening, confirm the objective in your own words and note only the facts needed to begin structuring the problem.

If you are unsure whether you heard or understood a detail correctly, asking for clarification is better than building your analysis on the wrong assumption. Clear communication is part of effective case solving, and clarification can help ensure that you are answering the intended question.

When presenting your thinking, avoid reading directly from your notes. Use them as prompts that help you communicate in a logical sequence.

A simple verbal structure is:

1. State your main point.
2. Explain the supporting reasoning.
3. Reference the most relevant evidence or calculation.
4. Explain what the insight means for the case.