How to assess · For hiring teams

How to Assess Strategy Skills When Hiring

The test formats that actually work for Strategy, what a strong answer looks like, sample questions and a scoring rubric you can use as-is.

The short answer

Assess Strategy with a task, not a conversation: bounded strategy case, critique a strategy document, ai-scored assessment (e.g. cohesyve) or defend a recommendation. Score it against written criteria you fix before you see any submissions, and weight the criteria that the role actually depends on.

Structures an ambiguous problem into the few questions that decide it
Separates what is known, what is assumed and what would change the answer
Reaches a recommendation and states the conditions under which it would be wrong
Considers competitors, customers and economics together rather than one at a time

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Strategy skill is the ability to choose — where to compete, what to stop, which bet to make with limited resources — and to reason about those choices under uncertainty. It is easy to imitate with frameworks and hard to verify in an interview, because everyone can describe a strategy after the fact. This page covers how to assess strategic thinking for strategy, corporate development, product and leadership roles: problem structuring, analysis under uncertainty, making a recommendation, and the judgement to say what not to do.

Why Strategy is worth testing

Weak strategic thinking produces plans that are lists of everything, analyses that never reach a recommendation, and decisions made on the last slide someone saw. Testing with a bounded case shows whether a candidate can structure a problem, weigh evidence, commit to a view and defend it, and that predicts whether they add clarity or noise to decisions.

What strong Strategy looks like

Structures an ambiguous problem into the few questions that decide it
Separates what is known, what is assumed and what would change the answer
Reaches a recommendation and states the conditions under which it would be wrong
Considers competitors, customers and economics together rather than one at a time
Says what not to do and what to stop
Quantifies where possible and is honest about ranges
Communicates the argument, not the analysis

Ways to assess Strategy

Bounded strategy case

Describe a business facing a choice — enter a segment, respond to a competitor, allocate a fixed budget — with some data and some gaps. Ask for the structure, the analysis, a recommendation and its risks. Sixty to ninety minutes, written.

Pros

Tests structuring and commitment; a written answer is comparable across candidates.

Cons

Needs a well-designed case.

Best for Any strategy role.

Critique a strategy document

Provide a plan that lists ten priorities with no trade-offs. Ask what is wrong and how they would fix it.

Pros

Tests judgement quickly.

Cons

Passive.

Best for Senior roles.

AI-scored assessment (e.g. Cohesyve)

Generate a strategy task from the job description — a decision case, a plan critique, a competitive-response question — with a rubric. Each candidate receives a different variant; the reasoning is scored alongside the work.

Pros

Asynchronous and consistent across a large pool; a different task per candidate removes shared answers; scores the explanation, which is where judgement shows.

Cons

Cannot observe live interaction; keep a human conversation for shortlisted finalists.

Best for Screening an applicant pool fairly before interview time is spent.

Defend a recommendation

Ask for a recommendation on a case, then push back hard and see whether they update or fold.

Pros

Reveals conviction and openness.

Cons

Interviewer-dependent.

Best for Leadership roles.

Cohesyve

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Cohesyve generates a unique Strategy task per candidate from your job description, with the scoring rubric attached. Questions are different for every applicant, so they cannot be shared or looked up.

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What to test

Problem structuring

Whether they find the questions that matter.

Break an ambiguous brief into three deciding questionsIdentify the assumption the answer hinges onDecide what analysis to skip

Analysis under uncertainty

Whether they reason with incomplete data.

Estimate a market with stated assumptionsWeigh two options with different risk profilesSay what evidence would change their view

Recommendation

Whether they commit.

Make a call and state its risksRecommend what to stopSequence a plan given constraints

Communication

Whether the argument lands.

Write a one-page recommendationPresent to a sceptical executiveExplain a trade-off in one sentence

Sample Strategy questions

A competitor cuts prices 20%. What do you consider before responding?

Entry

Look for Their economics and intent, our customers' sensitivity, alternatives to matching, what a price war costs.

You have budget for one of three initiatives. How do you choose?

Mid

Look for Criteria — return, risk, strategic fit, reversibility — applied explicitly; a choice with reasons.

What would make your recommendation wrong?

Mid

Look for Names the key assumption and what would change the answer; conviction without rigidity.

A plan lists ten priorities. What is wrong with it?

Mid

Look for No trade-offs means no strategy; propose the two or three that matter and what stops.

How would you decide whether to enter a market you know nothing about?

Senior

Look for Structure the unknowns, cheap tests before big bets, what would need to be true, and a stop rule.

Red flags

Analyses without recommending
Cannot say what to stop
Frameworks instead of reasoning
Folds immediately under push-back, or never updates
Presents analysis rather than an argument

Scoring rubric

Criterion	Weight	What strong looks like
Structuring	25%	Finds the deciding questions.
Reasoning under uncertainty	25%	Assumptions explicit; ranges honest.
Commitment and judgement	30%	Recommends, with risks and what to stop.
Communication	20%	The argument is clear and brief.

Mistakes hiring teams make

Rewarding framework fluency
Accepting analysis with no recommendation
Not pushing back on the recommendation
Using a case with one right answer
Ignoring the "what to stop" question

Roles that need Strategy

Strategy ManagerCorporate Development ManagerChief of StaffProduct ManagerManagement ConsultantGeneral Manager

Common questions

Should the case be from our industry?

A neighbouring industry works best: relevant enough to reason about, unfamiliar enough to prevent recitation.

What is the best single strategy question?

Ask what would make their recommendation wrong. It tests whether they understand their own argument.

How long should a strategy assessment take?

Sixty to ninety minutes for a written case, plus a thirty-minute discussion for finalists.

Is consulting experience a good proxy?

It correlates with structuring skill. Commitment and operational judgement still need testing.

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