Hi there,

Quick question: Did you go with a cheap coach or a tried-and-tested coach? Like most things in life, it's not just about doing x, it's about who/what you pick.

Math Setup

1. Have a seperate "math" scrap sheet of paper
2. Grab a new sheet of paper every time you're entering a new phase of the case...number and title it
3. Use tables to organize numbers
4. Write out the equation before doing the math
5. Never forget to write down units
6. Circle key numbers AND write down the "so what"

Regarding Improving Fast Math Skills

• Math sheets (print these and do them on paper): Math-Drills
• Leverage the free preplounge resource:https://www.preplounge.com/en/mental-math.php
• Rocketblocks is great for math in the context of a case

Regarding Improving Anxiety

1) Practice, practice, practice - just like playing an instrument, practice until it becomes second nature...then when you perform in front of an audience, muscle memory takes over from stage fright!

2) Practice with people who make you nervous - Don't keep casing yourself or casing with other PrepLoungers! You need to feel as nervous when practicing as you will in the real thing. To do so, you can do any (or all) of the following:

• Ask for a buddy/case partner from target firms to which you're applying
• Ask anyone you have a relationship with at your target firms to give you a practice case
• Ask your school's career office to give you a case
• Ask a coach to give you a case (and ask them to be tough/strict/non-friendly)
• Still ask PrepLoungers to case you, but ask them to jump straight into it without conversation beforehand (i.e. simulate the real thing)
• Change your enviroment - instead of casing at home, go to a library or office room. Changing the scenery may trigger you to be less relaxed

3) Practice with the unknown - ask people to give you "weird" cases. Ask people to throw everything they have at you (curveballs, confusing statements, etc.)...you'll get comfortable with tripping up (and recovering)

4) Practice fast math

Mental Math Q&A: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/is-quick-mental-math-a-skill-that-can-be-learned-5210

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mental-math-help-7962

Interview Anxiety: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-on-interview-anxiety-7095

Hey there, 

The key is to try to apply a couple of principles to (1) avoid tough math to start with and (2) know how to get to proxies as needed

A couple of tips:

A- Round your numbers

Whenever you can, ask whether the interviewer is okay with rounded answers. You can frame it as ‘should I get the exact figure or can I take proxies". You’ll be surprised to see that many (not all) will be okay with proxies as they are really testing your structure. In some cases, they'll still ask for the exact figure though.

B- Reordering

The order in which you solve an equation matters a lot. Starting with the wrong pair might complicate things a lot (e.g. get you into decimals)

C-  Replacing zeros with symbols

Use K, M, B as opposed to tens of zeros. That leaves you with a max of 3 digits to worry about. e.g., 10,000x25,000 is 10kx25k which is 10x25M which is 250M

D- Decompose 

It's sometimes helpful to decompose some complex figures into easier ones and tackle then in 2 shots vs 1 only e.g., decomposing into sums or fractions

Can give you more tips as needed !

Hi there, 

All good advice mentioned below. Worth a shot!

Additionally, I suggest two things:

1. Do root-cause analysis on why you're getting mentally blocked. It sounds like the issue is not so much your mental / cognitive ability to run / figure out the numbers, but rather managing your emotions to remain calm and composed. You need to figure out why that is the case, what are the triggers and how to best control them as early as possible in the interview process. 

2. Reach out so I can share a free guide on how to approach maths questions. It's designed to break down the process in a few steps so as to make it easier for you and less likely to create mistakes. I am confident this will help, like it helped all my candidates.

Best,
Cristian