FREE case interview practice partners-Types, Pros & Cons
If you are preparing for case-based interviews, you always need good practice partners. Professional case coaches are great for case practice, but financially, it might not be feasible to hire a coach for every practice session, or sometimes you might need a non-coach partner to implement feedback given by a coach in a low-stress environment.
Sharing my analysis to help you hunt the best possible practice partners.
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Apart from studying this analysis, keep a few more points in mind while doing case practice with a partner:
1. Do ASK for a buddy (typically a junior-level consultant from the consulting firm that is interviewing you) when the recruiter calls you to inform you about your shortlist and first-round interview/test schedule. Not every company/office has a βbuddyβ culture/process but several do – ππ πππ π ππβπ πππ, πππ π ππβπ πππ – πΊπ π¨πΊπ²!
2. While practising with inexperienced interviewers (schoolmates or others who are also preparing along with you), donβt take their feedback at face value, probe a little e.g. if the practice partner says your framework was not correct, ask why he/she thinks so? Was it not MECE, was the ordering of the analysis incorrect, was it not communicated correctly – what made her think the framework is not correct? A lot of times inexperienced interviewers tend to give feedback by just comparing your answer with the answer given in the case book. However, it is very much possible that your answer is ALSO correct. πΎππππ ππππ ππππ πππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππππ ππππππ ππππ πππππππππππππ ππ πππ π πππππππππ πππππ ππππππππππ. π©π πππππππ.
3. There are several FREE online forums, where you can find practice partners. Some of them are just Linkedin or Facebook groups, and others are better curated/managed by case interview coaching companies. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Just giving you a starting point. Do feel free to add more forums in the comments that I have missed