40 Minutes to Develop Logic (Logos) Before Interviews

Part 3 of EPL Framework

4 min readJan 2, 2021

“I don’t care you can find 4% of 1540 off the top of your head. I do care if you can make sound assumptions, think through it and execute”
— Dan O’Neil

Logos In Interviews

Does this candidate have the ability to do the work?

Logos in rhetoric is defined as the logic of the speaker. Up to this point, everything we’ve discussed (i.e. credibility and emotions) are necessary but not sufficient to do your best. At the end of the day, technical knowledge relevant to the work is still indispensable. The reason being is, without demonstrated competency in the job’s technical portion of the interview, you become a liability that employers can’t take a risk on.

Technical knowledge doesn’t always entail industry expertise, it can be demonstrated through critical thinking capabilities. Whether it’s through a coding test, a consulting case or an industry question, there is an expectation for candidates to take charge and remained flexible in solving and articulating your thoughts. Paired with awareness for the news and trends associated with its product and services, you demonstrate that you are poised to hit the ground running.

EPL Framework Tasks

The task of this section is to generate 3 or 4 questions in order to help you develop a perspective on the technical questions relevant to the company and its industry. The goal is to know in advance the skills you must demonstrate in your responses and technical interview. Below are some questions I generated to gain a deeper insight on my employer’s product offering, paint points and competitive dynamics:

This logos section is more than just knowing the answers, but communicating the process you took to address an analytical problem. It isn’t enough to regurgitate facts, it’s about putting your answers into context and remaining cordial and comprehensive during even the most analytical moments.

Advice from an Employer

Dan O’Neil is the Founder of Career Labs LLC

What are employers assessing behind the scenes of the technical interview portion?
“For certain firms, it’s very important (i.e. finance, consulting firms) because what you’re hoping to ascertain is multi-faceted. When you’re performing a case interview, you’re getting a benefit of understanding how a person communicates and carries themselves. The case specifically gives you a chance to see how the person will perform under pressure how the person organizes their thoughts, and how they present conclusions. Presenting conclusion can show how concise, thoughtful and evidence-based their thought processes can be.”
What is your expectation of a candidate’s performance during these technical questions?
“By the time I get to a case interview, I know if the person has an intellectual horsepower to learn. I don’t expect you, coming in, to know how to best complete a DCF analysis. I do expect you to have the horsepower to get that done.
Case studies are often on random industries, so my expectation is it’s less about technical knowledge and more about their performance under pressure, thoughtfulness, and articulation.”
How would you recommend students prepare for these interviews?
“I do think preparation is critical. I would expect you to practice if it was meaningful to you. Practice what you haven’t achieved — case interview mock interviews, etc. I don’t care you can find 4% of 1540 off the top of your head. I do care if you can make sound assumptions, think through it and execute.
If you’re interviewing for an accountant or statistician, it might be different. In which case, fall back on networking. Know what you need to know come interview”

Personal Example

My domain expertise was in organizational psychology and I’ve used my academic knowledge to help research change initiatives between labor unions and executives in the past. Knowing that I have a first-hand experience in the field of effective leadership, culture and communication, I tried to think about how I can add to their products and services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, time is of the essence and as dangerous as under-preparation is for any job interview, over-preparation can also be insidiously ineffective. The EPL framework will give you the strategy you need to allocate your 2-hours of prep time in the most impactful way. Targeted preparation of Character (Ethos), Emotions (Pathos) and Logic (Logos) may not get you a job immediately, but with each interview, your story and presentation will become more refined and more compelling. Good luck and don’t give up!

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Special thanks to my friends, mentors and editors: Rui Lin Lin, Benjamin Palmer, Ivy Li, Darrell Huang, Kaitlin Zhang, Belicia Tan, Joyce Zhang, Anthony Gregorio, Dan O’Neil