Advice for the day before and day of interview

Hello there!

Feeling nervous before an interview with one of the world's leading consulting firms is entirely natural. If you find yourself confident in your casing skills, it's a testament to the countless hours of preparation you've dedicated and the diverse range of cases and scenarios you've tackled.

Life presents us with aspects we can control and others we cannot. You cannot anticipate or influence your interviewer's state of mind prior to the interview. However, you can employ the following tips to bring out the best in yourself:

1. Prioritize a restful night's sleep before the interview.
2. If feasible, consider taking the day off prior to the interview to unwind and engage in activities you genuinely enjoy.
3. Approach the interview as a conversation rather than a mere assessment. Remember that the interview is a mutual evaluation: you're gauging whether the firm aligns with your aspirations just as much as they're evaluating your fit for their team. The interviewer is not a gatekeeper!
4. Before the interview, establish calming routines that work for you. This can vary from person to person. Personally, I find solace in listening to music in a quiet environment while doing some self-pep talk :-)
5. Lastly, should you encounter a mistake during the interview, take a moment to gather your thoughts or restructure your points. Feel free to request a brief pause to gather your composure.

I trust these suggestions will prove valuable and wish you the utmost success in your upcoming interviews!

Best,

Margot

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Hi there,

Before giving my personal advice, let's talk about your nerves quickly. And please bear with me, this is important.

If you're like 99% of all people, you will feel them up until the moment the interview actually starts. That's when the triune (aka reptile) brain kicks in, taking over from the neocortex. Your higher brain function is reduced to the most basic functions. At that point, you won't feel the nervousness. You'll just be guided by instincts and 'muscle memory', which is what you happen to have built over the last few months by doing lots of casing, mock interviews, etc. 

You won't realize this during the interview, but likely after. You won't remember all the details and it will all seem a bit blurry, because you were in fight or flight mode. However, this isn't a bad thing at all - as long as you have practiced (which you have) - and here's how it works:

• Practice: Doing anything repeatedly migrates the part of the brain responsible for the action from the above-mentioned neocortex to the triune brain. Again, the latter is all you have available during the interview. If you have done lots of casing, it's now manifested as part of your lower brain function.
• No practice: People who didn't practice a lot before the interview and rely on recalling stuff rather than muscle memory from practice, will generally do significantly worse than those who practiced. That's because you need higher brain function to recall things. Ironically, this is less true if they don't take the interview so seriously, which reduces stress and allows them to use their higher brain function more.

You have practiced and therefore nothing to fear. My tip for the last day; don't do any preparation at this point. That ship has sailed. You know what you know. 

Now it's time to do whatever brings out the best in your, so you can bring that best version of yourself to the interview. I'm not sure what that may be in your case, but I'm pretty sure it's not reviewing notes or doing some final casing. It's maybe a nice hike or whatever other activity you enjoy!

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Moritz

Hi,

Sharing 3 things that have worked for me before, based on my experience facing high stress/intense situations in the military as well as in consulting

1. Deep breaths / meditation
   • Meditating or taking deep breaths and focusing on them deliberately can really help to calm the mind and generate a physiological response/impact
2. Contextualize / draw on previous experiences
   • I found that recalling a more difficult/intense experience before helped me alot
   • E.g. when I was interviewing for consulting, I recalled the nerves/mood/emotions I had and overcame when I had to jump out of a plane as part of my military training
3. Visualization
   • This is a technique used by competitive sportsmen and I find to be quite helpful as well in preparing your mind for the situation

All the best!

Dear,

I sense the enthusiasm in your message! What I always emphasize is that we are now at a point where there isn't much more we can do. I'm confident that you've prepared yourself as thoroughly as possible. Here are some tips I'd like to share with you for managing stress:

1. Review the notes you took during your preparation the night before. Try not to spend too much time on this (maximum of 30 minutes). Ideally, you should have a designated place where you've kept the feedback you received during your preparation and identified the areas where you need to focus the most. Additionally, I recommend rehearsing in front of a mirror a few times to nail your responses to the classic initial fit questions. The first few minutes of a conversation have a significant impact on how the rest of the interview will unfold. Be prepared to make a strong impression as someone who is determined and well-informed about the type of work they're applying for. Most importantly, avoid coming across as robotic or overly nervous, even if you've mastered the material.
2. Be ready to handle unexpected situations. You might encounter an interviewer who takes on the role of the "bad cop." That's perfectly fine. The key is to have confidence in your ideas, stand your ground when you're certain, or be ready to pivot if the structure you've outlined isn't yielding results.
3. Embrace the moment. The most effective approach during an interview is to demonstrate empathy and relish the experience. An interview presents a crucial opportunity to showcase yourself as the ideal candidate that the interviewer would want on their team. A friendly smile can go a long way. Show sincere interest in the interviewer's background and experiences. Pose thoughtful, tailored questions to engage with the person across from you.

Wishing you the best of luck, and please keep me posted on how it unfolds!

Best regards,
Antonio

Hi there,

Q: I would appreciate any tips or advice in regard to dealing with nerves and ensuring that I have the best possible version of myself.

I would recommend the following:

1. Stop doing cases 24h before the interview and just review past material to avoid stress.
2. Go to sleep early - ideally sleep the usual amount of hours you need.
3. Have some snacks ready that you can eat during breaks if needed.
4. Take a break between interviews if you have some time (eg. change environment, listen to music, read something).

Hope this helps. Good luck for the big day!

Francesco

REST

If you need to do something to feel “productive” and prepared, do so. But, generally you should rest.

Athletes rest before their game day.

They prep for months before game day.

This is no different.

You've done your prep. Last-minute studying won't move the needle. Tiring your brain out needlessly and coming into the interview without a fresh brain, will.

Here are some additional Q&As to help:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/last-few-days-before-interviews-how-to-avoid-burn-out-3234

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/best-pre-interview-rituals-1596

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/night-before-the-first-interview-round-14873

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/managing-anxiety-before-interviews-11039

Hi there!

I wish I would've seen your message earlier. 

First of all, it's totally normal to feel this way. And being a bit nervous can actually help. 

Realistically, at this point and after all this practice, no additional practice will make a critical difference. So just try to relax and do things you enjoy to put yourself into a positive and restful mood. 

Try also to visualise the interview and see it going well. 

The day before the interview test your zoom link and get your clothes ready. Minimise any stress that could appear on the day.

And best of luck! It sounds like you put in a lot of work so I really hope things work out for you.

Best,
Cristian

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