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How much does it matter if I made small errors due to mishearing information?

Hi,

I had a first round case study interview with EY-P. There were some calculations, I got most right, but for 2 questions I misheard the question, so was off by a factor of 10 (e.g. heard '1' instead of '10'), as it was an online interview. The rest of the case study went well, do you think these errors would lead me to not passing onto the next round? 

Thank you!

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Top answer
on Mar 04, 2021
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

It really depends if you clarified with the interviewer that you misheard:

  • If you did clarify so, it may not be a problem (depends on the interviewer though)
  • If you didn’t clarify so, it is a problem, as the interviewer will assume you did the math wrong twice

Before doing the math, it is always good if you repeat all the information – in particular if you have a lot of numbers – to be sure there are no issues with miscommunication.

Best,
Francesco

Ian
Coach
on Mar 03, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

This should be fine! (All else equal).

Ideally you let them know you had heard 1 instead of 10? This would further help your cause.

Gaurav
Coach
on Mar 03, 2021
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 1000+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2) | The Only 360° coach(Ex-McKinsey+Certified Coach+Active recruiter)

Hi there, 

If everything else was fine, I don't think it would matter that much!

Fingers crossed!

Cheers, 

GB

Deleted user
edited on Mar 03, 2021

Thats okay as long as you clarified it with the interviewer. Little mistakes here & there are not a biggie as long your structure & approach to the case are solid.

13
Florian
Coach
on Mar 04, 2021
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

This happens almost all the time with my first-time coachees. The key learning (for online cases as well as in-person cases):

  1. Always play back the objective of the questions (math or no math)
  2. Always play back the numbers in case math or when you receive a new piece of information

As for your particular situation: Did you tell the interviewer that you misheard the numbers? In general, if such a mistake happens once it shouldn't be a big deal. If it happens twice in succession that means you have not learned from the first time, which makes it a bit more difficult to present a positive case in that regard.

Fingers crossed!

Kind regards,

Florian

Clara
Coach
on Mar 06, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Order of magnitude is indeed a big mistake, so I would say it depends very much on how clear it was that it was due to mishearing. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara