Hey there,

Personal and client experiences:

Many if not most people sleep badly before a marathon interview day with MBB. The good news is that sleep the night before the interview usually does not matter that much.

• You will be fully focused in any case (thanks to adrenaline)
• I believe to have read studies that what matters for performance generally is the sleep 2 nights before (in the context of marathon running)

In any case, it's always good to calm your nerves and this is a very personal thing. What works for others might not work for you. A couple of ideas that tend to work well (apart from knowing that you are well-prepared):

• Spend time with your spouse, family, friends
• Go outside and take a walk
• Pursue some sports/exert yourself
• Meditate/yoga and everything related to mindfulness
• Help others
• Visualization techniques

Avoid anything related to cases and fit on the day(s) before the interview.

All the best,

Florian

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your issues with sleeping. In terms of your question:

Q: I will have issue in staying asleep as I would just wake up after 3-5 hours and then my mind starts to wander and I start to panic. Anyone has any advice on what I can do to avoid this issue? 

I believe this is quite personal. You might have experienced this in the past with college exams (I did) and know what works and doesn’t work for you (similarly to morning routines).

To me, this is what works best when I was/am nervous and need to relax:

1. Identify the worst-case scenario. Consider what will happen if you fail all the interviews. Yes, all of them. This would obviously be pretty bad, but you will still “survive”. You will get another job (probably a good one if you have MBB interviews) and be able to apply in 2 years. If that also fails, you could do an MBA and apply again in 4 years. You could also find a shortcut and get to your desired job after MBB faster (most people do MBB in order to do something else). So in the worst possible case, you still have plenty of chances to reach your goals. This exercise is important as if you don’t materialize the worst-case scenario, you risk to assume it is going to be worse than it is and increase your stress level.
2. Structure your calendar in advance so that you can stop preparing 24 hours before the interview. Not sure if that’s the same for you, but for me before interviews and exams it was important to have the feeling “I have done 100% of what was reasonably possible” to feel alight. To get that feeling, I needed to organize my prep plan to be able to finish at a proper time. You can check if that works for you as well.
3. Do the basics to relax. This is very personal (you can see it from the different answers of the different coaches). The following is what works best for me:
   1. Don’t go to sleep too late. Ideally keep your usual bedtime routine.
   2. Exercise (not too close to when you go to sleep). To me, this works great as if I am physically tired I sleep better.
   3. Hot shower. I do so right before going to sleep when I really need to relax.

If you want to test something new, I would recommend to do so a few days in advance so that you can check if it really works for you.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the progress so far!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for a lot of users, thus I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• It's completely normal to feel nervous and anxious before a big interview, and it's common to experience difficulty sleeping as a result. Here are a few suggestions that may help you get a better night's rest before your upcoming interviews:
  • Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This can help regulate your body's natural sleep-wake cycle.
  • Create a relaxing bedtime routine. This might include activities like reading, taking a warm bath, or listening to calming music. Doing these things can help signal to your body that it's time to wind down and sleep.
  • Avoid stimulating activities before bed. Avoid activities that are likely to keep your mind active or raise your heart rate, such as watching TV, using the computer, or engaging in vigorous exercise close to bedtime.
  • Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed. Both of these substances can interfere with your sleep. Caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you awake, and alcohol may initially help you fall asleep but can disrupt your sleep later in the night.
  • Practice relaxation techniques. Techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or visualization can help calm your mind and body and prepare you for sleep.
  • Consider using relaxation aids. If you find it difficult to relax or fall asleep, you may want to try using relaxation aids such as white noise machines, essential oils, or over-the-counter sleep aids. Always consult with a healthcare professional before using any new products or medications.
• Remember that it's normal to feel anxious before an important event like an interview. Try to stay positive and focus on the things you can control, such as your preparation and mindset. 

In case you want a more detailed discussion on what to do in your specific situation, please feel free to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Stress management should a big part of coaching sessions and your preparation, but apparently, you and your coaches neglected this part.

While it is normal to be stressed, it is quite unlikely that you will land an offer or succeed as a consultant if you get such distress. 

There are three things I strongly recommend doing:

1. Force yourself to think that mature people don't get panicked for such a small thing as an interview (sorry to be so straightforward) 
2. Breath deeply, meditate and exercise as much as you can
3. Ask for professional support
   
    

Hello,

Totally relate to your situation as I have had similar issues. Here are my thoughts:

1) Ensure you get plenty of sleep in the week upto the interview. Sleeping for 4 hours on the night before if you have been sleep deprived for the whole week - it's a disaster. But if it's just one night, then you should be okay.

2) Try and wrap up your preparation well in advance. Spend the evening before the interview on doing things that relax you - watch some TV, spend time with family, go for a walk, etc

3) If you have practiced enough, you should have enough muscle memory during your interview to run it smoothly.

4) Try keeping a consistent bed time so you do end up getting the right amount of sleep the night before the interview. The best skill you can have is to be in the present during the interview so that you can think on your feet. 

Hope this helps!

All the best :)

Rushabh

Hi there,

Sorry to hear! Remember this is not abnormal. Here are a number of possibilities (note: I am not a doctor, they are just things I have seen/heard or potentially tried):

• Remember that this is the most important moment of your life…until the next…
  • Does your last final exam, your college applications, your first date, SAT test, your first internship, etc. weigh on you now? Nope! And this won't in the future either
• Adjust eating
• Tea
• Sleeping pills
• Warm milk
• Meditation
• Books
• Yoga
• Nature
• Mindfulness exercises
• Physical exercise
• Sleeping mask
• Lavender
• Standardized sleeping times

^A list of possibilities. You need to figure out what works for you

There isn't much you can do about it: most likely you will have a bad night. Of course, there are things that make it worse. Usually if you spend the day (or next to going to bed) thinking about the interview, most likely you will keep thinking about it during the night… If you don't spend the whole day thinking about it, you are feeding your mind with better topics to think about when going to sleep. Similarly, if you need to pack, plan the day, etc., do it well in advance, so you don't have to think much about it close to bed time.

You can take sleeping pills, but the downside is that they can impact negatively your performance on the day. If you do that, make sure you take them early to avoid being dizzy during the interview. Probably a good tea (actually not tea, but infusion) for the nerves is probably better.

The idea of resting well the days before is critical here. You can manage one bad night. You can't manage a bad night if you are already sleep deprived. Also making sure you are used to going to bed early is good (meaning that you may be able to go to sleep earlier, and have more time to stay in bed during the critical day).

Thank you for sharing.

I think the more often you are in a situation like this, the less of an impact it has on you. You’ve done case prep with coaches and you’ve passed interview rounds with consulting firms already (just because it’s T2 doesn’t necessarily mean the cases or interviews are kindergarten level). The MBB interviews will just be another permutation of the above. 

Try to get a regular sleeping rhythm in your day-to-day - so you are generally more rested and the night before an interview doesn’t throw you off. Nerves are normal but you can use that as momentum to stay focused and be in the moment when it matters.

Best of luck 

Hello!

Totally get you, happens to me as well with things that matter a lot to me, and make me nervous. 

Something that has worked really well for me is exercising, more than any sleeping aid. This said, there are countless experts that have online resources on how to get a better goodnight sleep, I would look for those!

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Once you are in the interview, the adreline will kick in. If you have had good night's sleep in the weeks before I wouldn't worry about sleeping less the night before. As a consultant - you may end up presenting to SteerCos with 4 hours sleep…

If you are well prepared, it will be muscle memory in running through the case.

Breathing exercises can also help you fall asleep and keep anxiety down. Exhale for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds, breathe in for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds.

(editiert)

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear about you're struggles but you're far from being alone and are actually part of a very big group of bright and talented people with the same problem.

As long as your fear the interview deep down, most remedial means will only cover up the symptoms (it's like taking pain killers when you're sick - you're treating the symptoms, not the illness).

Hence, you must find a way to not fear the interview but embrace it. People with stage fright do the same thing and go from hating the spotlight to seeking it (myself included, going from introvert to a passionate public speaker).

How do you get there? It's all about a positive mindset, which is outlined quite nicely in this article: https://www.jobstreet.com.sg/career-resources/job-hunting/power-positive-thinking-job-interview-success/

I've boiled this down a lot because there's simply too much to talk about. Please do reach out if there's anything I can do to help boost the confidence. As pointed out by others, interview anxiety is something that should be part of a good coaching experience.

You've got this!!! Best of luck!!!