Buddies

Introduction

Do make sure that you have read the section on 'Buddy Calls', as a part of 'The Process'. That will help frame the idea of what the motivation behind buddies are in the first place. With the understanding that buddies are more of an opportunity for candidates than an evaluative step, there are a few key ideas to keep in mind to make the most of the buddy process.

Preparation Levels Required

Before your first buddy call, I would suggest that you ensure that you have completed all of the sections prior to this in the notes. Alongside each section that you have completed, it's important of course to have duly practised the relevant skills, and brought them up to a level of confidence, where you feel like you would be close to okay if you were evaluated on that today. Your case solving however, doesn't need to be at that level yet. You only need to ensure that you have seen all of the different types of cases, and have solved a handful of cases of at least one type so far.
The benefit of having done this level of preparation is two fold:
- You are in a position to identify what is tripping you up, and ask for help
- If your buddy suggests a case in a week's time or so you will be in a position to perform reasonably well, and therefore get more meaningful and insightful feedback
Another bit of preparation which is essential before talking to your buddy is reading up on the firm. As someone who is actually working in a company that you are considering joining, they will be in a position to clear up a lot of the misconceptions and also paint a clearer picture of what the work life is really like. It would therefore make sense for you to go in with your expectations and understanding of what your work life might look like in this company and get a little feedback on what the reality is.

The Important Calls

There are a few different calls that you will have with your buddy. Some of them are critical, while others are fairly routine and will be easy enough to maneuver through:

- Intro call -

The introductory call is usually fairly easy to get through. In this call you will be expected to introduce yourself and also have an chance to understand who your buddy is. Through this call you should aim to understand a little more about the buddy process as well as the overall recruitment process from their standpoint. Importantly, this is also an opportunity for you to practise some of your basic tell me about yourself answers as you introduce yourself in a semi formal setting.

- Check-in calls -

Over the course of the preparation process you will also have a few check-in calls from your buddy. In these calls you will have an opportunity to present where you stand on your timeline of preparation and get some feedback on what the next steps should be. The idea here is that your buddy is actually invested in understanding whether you're on track and trying to help you get on track if not. And of course, they will ask if there is anything that they can help with. If there is something that they can help with, let them know so that you can actually benefit from their advice.

- Doubt clarification calls -

You may also find yourself setting up some calls, when you have a few doubts, that you would like clarified from a trusted source. The only suggestion here is not to shy away from setting these calls up, independent of how silly you may think your doubts are. Make sure to treat the process as non-evaluative, and make the most of the buddy support provided to you.

- Case calls -

You should also aim to set up a handful of buddy cases, if possible. Not every buddy will be available to solve multiple cases, but try to make the most of it. Most importantly, ensure that you are reasonably well prepared for these calls, so that the feedback isn't something super obvious, but something more nuanced, that you will benefit from. At the same time, that means that you should move your prep along faster, not delay the buddy case. This is important, because you will want to do at least a second case with the same buddy, to check if you have incorporated the feedback correctly, and gets some more advanced feedback.

- Interest checking calls -

Towards the end of the recruitment process, your buddy may or may not call you to test the waters and get a sense of whether you're interested in a hot list offer. This of course depends on multiple factors, ranging from whether you're in the consideration set, down to how that consultancy operates. So don't sweat it if you don't receive this call. It's usually more awkward, than it is nice.

- Best of luck -

Right towards the end of the process, on the day before the interview, most of your buddies will call to wish you luck. That's all this is. Do not read into it, and try to figure out which firms are going to call you in early. It's just a nicety.

Buddy Cases

There are a few key pointers to keep in mind during your buddy cases:
- Prepare thoroughly, and treat it like a real interview case
- Ensure that you are in a position where you can sit, write, talk etc as if you were in an interview, without disruptions
- If you haven't prepared for all case types, announce that, so that you can get targeted feedback on what you're ready with
- Record the call, for review later, after asking for permission of course
- Make sure to get detailed feedback, and ask questions about individual portions, to be as thorough as possible. Make sure that the feedback is also recorded
- Analyse the case afterwards, and rework your structure and synthesis basis this analysis. Share a cleaner version of this reworked structure and synthesis with your buddy and ask for feedback on your learning / ideal solution
- Share this case with your friends, and see if you can learn something from the way in which they approach the same case