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Boston Consulting Associate Consultant Interview Questions & Reviews

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Updated Dec 27, 2011 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 24 ratings

4.0

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 24 ratings

Positive	54%
Neutral	25%
Negative	21%

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4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Dec 2011 (took a day)

I applied the position through the company's website. I received a call from the HR on being shorlisted for the interview about 3-4 weeks before my actual interview. The interview involved 2 case interviews each of 45 minutes. The interview was conducted in their office one on one with 2 separate consultants.
The office location, people and work culture seemed good to me. Smart people who were polite.
Preparation - You should focus on practicing cases. Try to practice as many cases as you can. BCG is very selective with their applicant pool so you need to be really well prepared.

Interview Questions

A very complex long case with a difficult business model to understand in a few minutes.

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in New York, NY (took 1 week)

I applied, then got invited to two social/networking events before interview. Had 2 30min interviews with mid-level consultants. One seemed bored/tired--> didn't click. Rapport with the other one was much better. Cases: how to increase profits for pharma company (reduce number of drugs advancing to pahse 2 trials), should financial asset mngmt compnay enter China.
Overall, very good experience, communications were very professional and courteous, felt like they cared for the success of the interviewees, very relaxed, very conversational interviews.

Interview Questions

Why are pharma costs so high, esp compared to competitors

Answer Question

should financial asset mngmt company enter chinese market

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 2 weeks)

I received an interview through on campus recruiting. It was two back to back 45 minute case interviews. They were very polished, throwing a cocktail hour before the interviews for the several hundred students they were choosing to interview, and even had greeters the day of. My interviewers were cordial, but really pushed me. They would challenge everything I said - "Ok great. What else? Ok great. What else?" and keep pushing you until they were satisfied. Like other reviewers on here, I found the case to be VERY math driven. But I also found that the interviewers did a poor job of presenting the case in a way that the math that needed to be done became apparent. I bombed my second interview but did well in the first. I wasn't surprised at all when I didn't get an offer.

Interview Questions

Why BCG?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2010 in Boston, MA (took a day)

Standard 1st round. Went through two 30-minute interviews with different people. Each interview was structured similarly: interviewer looks through your resume and asks you questions about your past experiences, then you proceed to the case. I got a numbers/cost-benefit analysis case and a pricing strategy case. The interviewers were helpful and tried to point you in the right direction for solving the cases. However, feedback was nonexistent and you couldn't easily tell how you were being perceived.

Interview Questions

Cost-benefit analysis case. Very quantitative.

Answer Question

Pricing strategy case.

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in Boston, MA (took 2 days)

For MD degrees, don't even apply unless you almost have (or have) an MBA - they care very much about business knowledge; they don't care to tap on you background. And by the way, they don't get the good MD, Eng, or PhDs - only the ones that cannot go elsewhere: misleading advertising...

Interview Questions

Declining profits on deli store

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2011 (took 4+ weeks)

The first round consisted of two back to back 45min interviews with fit questions at the start of each, followed by a case for each. Both interviewers were nice and decently friendly. The first interviewer was clearly very burnt out though, and even though I hit on why the revenues of the client were down in great detail in the first few minutes, he refused to acknowledge it because I didn't use the exact sentence he was looking for. It may also have been that he didn't hear me though since he actually fell asleep while I was talking. The second case went much better. Both cases were fairly straight forward, but know your finance formulas and don't expect any direction from the interviewers.

Interview Questions

Why a strategy firm? Why BCG?

Answer Question

By what (compounding) percent would production have to grow each year for a certain period of years to catch up to demand if demand is still growing at the same rate it was previously. (No Calculator Allowed)

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in San Francisco, CA (took 4 days)

Interview consisted of two case study interviews which two associates both based out of San Francisco office. Mostly easy going but they did not ask any behavioral question. Make sure you know why you want to work for BCG.

Interview Questions

What did you learn from the people you met at BCG?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in New York, NY (took a day)

On-campus recruiting (receptions, info sessions, dinners, two initial round interviews)
Decision Day (three final round interviews)

Interviews were all 45 minute long with 5-15 minute on fit questions and the rest on case.

Interview Questions

Why BCG and consulting industry?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Sep 2011 (took 2 weeks)

Applied online, got invited to an interview that consisted of three back to back cases with the principals at BCG. Was told later that evening that I will be extended an offer.

Interview Questions

Tell me about something that you found very hard in your present line of work. Were there any situations that made you uncomfortable? How did you deal with it?

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

5.0

Very Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Apr 2010 in Chicago, IL (took 1 week)

BCG does a standard case study intereview. Preparing is an absolute must. I know many people do not prepare, but I certainly did and I performed much better because of it. Also remember that doing case studies at home is not the same as doing the studies in an interview. Make sure you time yourself and put yourself in stressful conditions. As for the regular, non-case study portion, minimal preparation is necessary. "Tell me your greatest achievement", "When you failed", etc...