Hey,

Totally doable! Many people are in your situation and get the job done by preparing after office hours and on weekend. I did the same :).

Importantly, make a plan for yourself (4-6 weeks) that fits with your current work & personal commitments. Factor in enough breaks and recreation time. Pull a sick day here and there and take a friday off here and there. Dont over do it obviously. 

If possible, try and schedule the interviews earlier in the morning (830am), Lunch time or late evening (5pm).

Get applying now & spread your options as there will be lead time of few weeks from now anyway before the interviews start landing.

In terms of mindset, focus on giving your best and avoid worrying about the outcome, peer pressure etc. Enjoy this process as there is much to learn too. To speed things up, consider hiring a coach.

All the best.

Hi there,

I believe the best thing is to ask if you can concentrate interviews in a day or max 2 – it would be suspicious if you take multiple Fridays off.

In terms of how to organize the schedule, I think the best thing would be to take the day off – you don’t want to have distractions that day.

In terms of how to schedule interviews, I would apply first to 2nd tiers and then to MBB if possible. If you get an offer from a 2nd tier, it will increase your confidence and decrease the stress for MBB, plus will give you the option to prepare better for the most important interviews if you see you are not ready yet.

Also, a few tips to optimize your performance while preparing for interviews:

1. Use the Pomodoro Technique. You may have to do cases when already tired – it is important that you use correct techniques to maximize your productivity
2. Practice early morning rather than late at night. It may or may not be feasible given your current job, but for most people mornings are more productive
3. Optimize time during weekends. You don’t want to overwork during workdays to avoid burn out as mentioned by Ian

Best,

Francesco

There tyo sides to the question here:

• Managing your own schedule: This is something only you can answer. Depending on habits in your current company, think about taking annual leave, or managing expectations with your supervisors intra-day. 
• Managing the interviews: The good thing about COVID is that you don't need a full day for interviews anymore. Most firms arrange rounds of 1 or 2 interviews, so you'll only need 2 hours. Especially for experienced hires, the MBB are also flexible with their offered interview slots. If you explain to HR that it's difficult to take too much time off, they will likely try to help you find a slot that works around your schedule as much as possible. 

Hi there,

The main "excuses" you can pull are as follows:

1. Annual leave
2. A "personal" matter
3. Doctor/dentist

Importantly, try to schedule your interviews when you know there are going to be lulls in your project (a particularly light day after a SteerCo for example).