How to manage time smartly to prepare for case interview while working full time?

Question

Dear all, I am working full time currently. As my job is quite busy (usually get off work around 21:00, I am wondering how to best use my time for case preps. (Back ground: I have gone to final round last year, and reapplying this year; done over 60 cases.)

My questions are:

(1) Assuming there's 3 weeks of lead time till first interview, what would be the suggested amount of cases to practice per week?

(2) How would you suggest to distribute the case prep sessions across the week? Would you also suggest to do cases on weekdays (before / after work)?

Appreciate any experience sharing! Thanks:)

Answer 1

Hi there,

Ultimately everyone is different (in terms of how they operate, energy levels, etc.) and you are an adult, so you do need to figure out what works best for you in regards to time management (not unlike what you'll have to do on the job!)

(1) Assuming there's 3 weeks of lead time till first interview, what would be the suggested amount of cases to practice per week?

This is narrow thinking! This is a quantity over quality approach.

Rather, think about what am I missing and what do I need to work on? Soccer players don't just play matches/games - they do shooting, passing, and dribbling drills!

So, think about whether you should be focusing on math exercises, chart/exhibit reading, daily reading, industry research, reviewing old cases, etc. etc.

(2) How would you suggest to distribute the case prep sessions across the week? Would you also suggest to do cases on weekdays (before / after work)?

You need to study when your brain is “fresh”. Give yourself rest. I'd be shocked if you can actually retain information at 9pm at night. Sounds like you either need to wake up early, carve time out of the day, and/or study on weekends.

I'd also highly recommend you take some paid leave off.

Finally, coaching is essentially a “time lever” - consider getting a coach to optimize what is clearly limited time!

Best of luck!

Answer 2

Hi,

You wont have much left in you after you finish work at 9pm. So, take some days off over the next 3 weeks and dedicate weekends.

Given you clocked 60 cases last year, there will be muscle memory. So, I suggest you warm things up by doing a few easy cases and then find suitable case partners and/or coaches to deep dive into your weaker areas. No point doing high volume of cases. You rather finesse your weaker areas.

Answer 3

Great answers above. Practically I think Adi says it best, you need time off to prepare - if you are working till 9 pm every day it is unlikely you have the mental capacity to prepare well despite your best intentions.

Udayan