What are the benefits of coaching compared to having a good partner to practice?

Hi Anonymous,

as for many other activities, a coach for consulting interviews can help you to achieve faster the results you want to get, which means you can get to your top level performance in a lower amount of time AND increase the likelihood of getting in your desired company. There are several reasons for that, including as main ones the following:

• More experience. A good partner may have done tens of cases. A great coach has hundred or thousands of cases and coaching sessions under his/her belt, a network of current consultants to help with networking, and has gone through most of the consulting prep material out there . This means that you will work with someone with exponentially more experience. Which means that in the end you can get to your desired results 10X faster or more than working without a coach. As an example, when I help with coaching, I not only provide the best cases based on an experience of 1400+ coaching sessions, but also a network of hundred of current consultants worldwide to help you with referrals, constant support after the class and a selection of the best prep material for free, to boost your preparation in the minimum possible amount of time.
• Teaching skills. A good partner can provide challenging cases. But are you really looking for a partner just to get a well-delivered case? The goal when doing cases should not be to do cases per se, but to improve, and for that you need someone who is able not only to deliver a case, but also to teach you how to get better. A great coach can help you to spot your mistakes, and teach you the exact steps to improve for each of them. When I help with coaching, I usually provide a 2-page minimum feedback report, detailing all the mistakes you are doing and the specific ways you can correct them, plus providing the material to start to work on the different areas.
• Stronger commitment. It is clear that coaching requires an investment while good partners are usually free. Although it may sound counterintuitive, putting money in your learning is one of the best ways to self-commit to success. Once you have invested in something, studies show you have a lot more commitment to deliver your maximum results, at the bare minimum to justify your investment. I have experimented this first-hand with my own investment: at the beginning of this year I committed $1000 in coaching program for self-improvement. Although the program overall was good, it also required a lot of work from my side. I can guarantee you I would have never gone through the whole amount of work required if the course was free. But since I paid for it, and thus committed, I put effort to deliver the maximum I could from the program. And in this way I got the results I wanted. Of course, you want to invest wisely when choosing a coach – I would recommend you carefully select your choice on the basis of the success rate and reviews.

The most successful people in the world - from Warren Buffet to Michael Jordan - had coaches helping them to achieve their goals. The reason is simple: investing in the stock market can give you a 8% return in one year. Investing in yourself can give you a 10X return in one year. And getting a great coach is one of the easiest ways to invest in yourself, whatever part of your life you want to improve.

Hope this helps,
Francesco

(editiert)