Interview feedback: how can I improve?

Question

I did two interviews in two different days with the same company, the first one was behavioural (which I passed) and the second one was a business case (which I didn't). I asked for feedbacks and that's what they told me: I did well the analytical part, I was very good at giving concrete solutions but I was not that organised, especially in communicating (I know it's important how to comunicate), and then I showed lack of logical reasoning. They told me that I could improve by practicing but I really don't know how. I would appreciate some suggestions! Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

For improving, a structured process for yourself is key.

Meaning:

Make notes of all feedback which you receive
Group your feedback into meaningful buckets
Prioritize issues to work on
Review this list before next case interview session and focus on a few key aspects until you get them right (don't try to achieve everything at once - you will most likely by mediocre if you spread yourself too thin)
Review this list after each case interview session to add new feedback and to review (honestly!) on how you did on the key areas you wanted to concentrate on

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Answer 2

Hi

Based on the feedback, although extremely high-level, it sounds like your issues are:

1. Not framing the problem correctly

2. Not leveraging top-down communications

3. Your approach was not addressing the drivers of the problem

I would recommend that you book a session with a coach to get more in-depth feedback and ways to tackle your specific problems as its very hard to give you good advice based on the feedback provided.

-A

Answer 3

Hi,

It's really hard to help you without knowing your current stage:

What was the feedback?
How many cases have you done so far?
What were the feedbacks from the other partners? Were they in line with the interview feedback?
What have you done so far to work on that issue?

Best

Answer 4

Hi there,

I think you missed to further explain your question. In case you asking in a general way, I would recommend keeping a notepad of the various comments you have received and when practicing cases, ask your interviewer to test you on those areas.

I hope this helps

Khaled

Answer 5

Hi there,

Please elaborate! What was the feedback you recieved...there's many ways to improve :)

Answer 6

Can you please elaborate ?

However, make sure that you really understand every word of the feedback. Otherwise, do not hesitate to ask questions.

David

Answer 7

Hi there,

the feedback they provided is quite generic, thus it is difficult to provide specific advice.

Communication issues may be related to:

Not presenting first the first level of your structure and then the details of it
Not using “buckets” to present, using “first”, “second”, “third”
Not explaining what you want to do to the interviewer in a clear way

Lack of logical reasoning could be related to:

Your structure was not fitting the question asked
You didn’t have a hypothesis-driven approach
You did not connect the insights of the case to derive the next steps to follow

However, without additional information, it is difficult to understand which one they referred to and therefore define the best plan of action to follow.

I would recommend to identify the exact issues doing p2p sessions with someone else and if needed post a specific question on that, if possible with a concrete example of your current approach.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 8

Dear A,

Most probably you need to work on your top-down communication skills and on the case-cracking skills, as far as I can observe it from feedback.

Regarding the second one, it's hard for me to judge just on these very generic description. I would rather suggest to take one session with a coach on the platform, who can provide to you more specific feedback to where do you stand and help you to designate the preparation plan, which is tailored to specific situation and needs.

Hope, it helps,

Best,

André

Answer 9

Hello!

Don´t worry, it´s a very common feedback for someone who is not yet in the advanced stage of prep.

It´s related to structure: how you get the information, process it, organize it, and finally present it.

It´s very accionable by practicing in the right way (e.g., with structure-heavy cases, the right approaches -not frameworks, it´s very different-, and the right corrective feedback).

PM me if you need help with it, I can send you cases tought precisely for this.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 10

Hi A,

Both structuring and (top down) commuications are muscles that you can train with practice.

1. Make sure you are familiar with a few concepts (e.g., MECE, pyramid principle)

2. Whenever you practice 1-on-1 case solving with someone, ask them to focus on your performance in these areas.

3. You can also practice structuring cases on your own by reading the prompt and thinking about the initial structure in 1-2 minutes. Then check the case solution.

I hope it helps!

Best,

Réka