How often should I practise with a coach if I stop doing peer mocks?

Hi there,

Inconsistency and business judgement are two different problems, and only one of them is fixed by better feedback. After 60 cases, performance that varies case to case is usually a coverage problem rather than a teaching problem: the cases that go badly have something in common, and you do not yet know what it is.

A few things I would do before buying more sessions:

• Log every case you have left. Industry, question type, what you did in the first two minutes, and whether it went well. Variance has a pattern and the pattern is cheap to find, but not from inside a session you are paying for.
• One session a week is enough while your applications are out, rising to two in the week before an interview. A session you have not acted on yet is a session wasted, and absorbing one piece of feedback takes more practice than it takes hearing.
• Spend coach time on what you cannot fix alone. Business judgement and insight qualify. Structure and arithmetic do not, and paying for those is the most common way a coaching budget goes on the part you could have drilled.

Consistency and level are different investments. Coaching raises your ceiling. Written process and volume raise your floor, and on a bad draw in round one it is the floor that decides the outcome.

Hi,

I would not move all your mocks to coaches even if the budget allows it; past 60 cases what usually holds a candidate back is a small set of recurring gaps, and you still need volume around the sessions to work on them.

1) On frequency, as Margot said, one session a week over a two to three month process is a reasonable pace. Closer than that and the sessions start to arrive before you have had the time to apply what came out of the previous one.

2) On the balance, use the coach only on what you cannot judge from inside your own performance. Business judgment, insight and case leadership fall in that category, while math, structuring drills and industry familiarity can be built on your own or with peers at almost no cost. I would still keep one or two cases between one session and the next one, chosen in the industries and question types where your performance drops rather than at random.

One point on the inconsistency: my sense is that it usually traces back to how the case is led, and that is the part a peer is least equipped to see. It is also the fastest thing to correct once someone points it out.

If you think an external pair of eyes could be of help to structure your preparation, feel free to reach out.

Best,

Franco

Look, I honestly don't know.

That's because I'm not your coach, so I don't know how you work or operate. Ultimately, your coaches need to give you a clear and satisfactory answer here. If they don't, well, maybe they shouldn't be your coach.

If it's me though? I'm telling you to take a significant break. Of NOTHING. Two weeks even.

You need time for all the information to settle and build a solidified foundation. You'd be surprised what happens when you leave the brain alone to mull things over for a bit.

You have already done around 60 cases. You are not going to forget how to case because you stopped for two weeks. You might actually return with fresh eyes, more energy, and a clearer understanding of everything you've learned.

Then you can assess what is actually missing and build a targeted plan from there.

Do not choose a coaching frequency by case count alone. Use coaching when you need diagnosis and calibration, then leave enough time to implement the correction. At your stage, one focused session per week is a sensible starting point. Increase it only when an interview is close and you are demonstrably fixing the prior feedback between sessions.

Bring a clear agenda to each session: one or two recurring weaknesses, recent examples, and the behavior you tried to change. Afterward, spend several days on targeted drills before running another full case. For business judgment, practise forming an initial view, selecting the next analysis, and explaining the implication of each result.

You can reduce peer mocks without eliminating independent practice. A useful weekly mix is one calibrated mock, two or three skill drills, one self-reviewed case segment and deliberate rest. If the same feedback appears in consecutive coaching sessions, add implementation time rather than another session.

Hi there, 

You might already expect this but there's not one answer. 

It depends a lot on where you are (and thus what the gap is), how much capacity you have to practice and how many resources you have to invest in prep. 

By the sounds of it, you already have a good base and have been prepping for a while. So when you work with a coach, you should start by getting an assessment of where you are. That should already help you have a sense of what is the gap that you need to close. 

As you work with a coach you'll also understand the pace at which you're progressing and that will inform how many sessions you need to do. But there isn't one number that will answer your questions. 

If you need any support, reach out and I'm happy to answer your questions. 

Best,
Cristian

Hey there :)

At your stage, I’d probably do 2 coached cases per week rather than replacing all practice with coaching. After ~60 cases, the biggest gains usually come from identifying your recurring weaknesses and deliberately working on them, not just increasing case volume.

Between sessions, do 1 to 2 cases independently, specifically focusing on the feedback you received. I’d also spend some time reviewing old cases and writing down the business insights or judgement points you missed.

If interviews get scheduled, you can temporarily increase to 3 coached sessions per week for the final 1 to 2 weeks.

Best, Alessa :)