Choking during interview

Hey there,

Firstly, congrats on securing all these interview. Isn't that worth a pat on your back in these times!

And am sorry to hear you are feeling these emotions. A lot of people, if not everyone feel the nerves. You are not alone. The key thing is to learn to keep them at distance and not let your mind go out of control. You are creating too much pressure and worrying too much about the outcome. Stop doing this.

Try these tricks:

• Take one or two days off completely and do something you really like- jog, walk, games, something that will engage and energise you
• Work from a different place/room/office if you can, change of scenery helps trick the mind
• Try deep breathing, slow down your breathing when you are getting anxious
• Tell yourself to take things one at a time, one interview at a time
• Feel GRATEFUL for everything you have- your health, your education etc etc. So many people are worse off..think about it

Ultimately, the source of the problem is this: aspiring consultants and bankers are insecure ambitious, high performing people. I am generalising here but its largely true. I am one of them. Its important to give your best, manage your thoughts and emotions and let things in happen.

On the flip side if you are feeling like this in the case exercise , do you really think consulting is the right path for you? Consulting companies use the performance on case interview as a resonable indicator of real on the job performance. Please choose a career where you can be joyful, give your best and not resent every day thinking there is something better out there.

All the best and take it a bit easy on yourself.

Hi Anonymous,

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on getting so many interviews lined up. Many people struggle with that critical first step, so you should already proud of yourself and tell yourself that getting so many invitations must have a reason ( = you should be qualified).

I believe that the answer here has two components:

• More practice cases, tougher practice cases, with tougher coaches Practice really makes perfect. The more cases you see and do in real-life settings, the better you'll get and the less you'll be impressed by the actual interviews. Make sure you pick experienced coaches, who can practice their cases in different ways with you, and ask them to be tough on you in terms of directness, how critical they are, the way how they treat you, etc. To really get the best out of you. If you prepare for the worst, real-life will feel easier.
• Better preparation in the days before the interview. It is very important that you go to the interview when you are at the best of your capabilities. This means being relaxed, having slept a lot, having a clear mind. How to get there, really depends by person. For me running worked very well, and not doing too many cases in the days before the actual interview. For other people, things like yoga might help.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Pascal

Hi there!
I am really sorry to hear that. However, it`s amazing that you have so many interviews!
You definitely deserve all of these interviews if you have been invited to visit them.
However, it really seems like you have too much pressure on you and stress. Probably you really need to take some rest and reschedule some interviews and this will help you to feel more comfortable.
Also, try to speak with your nearest and dearest, so they can give you support.

What do you think about that?
GB

Hi,

Unfortunately, the only way to confront it is having more practice:

• Solving more cases, 100 cases if needed
• Applying to Tier 2, Tier 3 firms and going through the interviews
• Having more sessions with coaches who are ex-consultants and getting used to the process

Best