Boston Consulting Associate Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated Feb 12, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 36 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 36 ratings
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| 1–10 of 36 Boston Consulting Interviews | Sort by |
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Feb 12, 2012
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 (took a day)
. Interviewer was very nice, had a nice interview, did not went well though I prepared rather well. Case was about a creditcard company. Will try next year again.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Jan 26, 2012
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 4 weeks)
Basic format (seems to be consistent with newer reviews):
First round: 2 interviews w/consultants, 30 minutes of case and 15 of experience/behavioral. This will take place either at your school (if it's targeted) or at the nearest office to your school (they don't reimbursed for travel expenses).
Second round: 3 interviews w/principals and/or partners, 20 minutes of case and 15 of experience/behavioral. This will take place at whatever office you would be a part of if offered (they pay expenses).
Decisions are communicated fairly quickly. First round decision during the following week; second round decision by the following Monday.
The cases are different than those from the others because they are very unstructured. After hearing the case and asking any questions, you'll construct a framework of issues that need to be considered. Then you'll be expected to guide yourself through the framework as much as possible. Generally you can tell if you're on the right track via the interviewer's verbal and visual feedback (though one of my interviewers was impossible to read). Keys to success: 1) Slow down and think things through. Don't hesitate to think out loud either. 2) Absolutely for sure think out loud with numbers. Don't be afraid that your approach might be wrong either. They don't care as long as you realize that it isn't quite right and are able to puzzle out how to do it correctly. 3) Don't accept the numbers blindly and don't waiver on your analysis (they might try to derail you). I wouldn't have gotten the offer if I hadn't essentially said, "forget the numbers, this won't work" and stuck with it. 4) Practice a lot, preferably with people who have done a real BCG interview before. Don't get me wrong, practicing a more structured case will also be helpful (since the data/numbers will be similar), but the BCG interview will be different, and you will bomb it if you don't make any adjustments (vice versa too of course).
The people I have encountered have consistently been very pleasant and down to earth (remarkable if you think about it). Both of the office I have been to were very nice and in some of the nicest buildings in the nicest/hippest parts of their respective cities.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Didn't even think about trying. Very strong numbers from the get go so I can't really imagine that too many try or are successful (I assume that mbb have an unwritten policy of not bidding against one another so I bet the numbers between the three are virtually identical for entry level people).
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Jan 6, 2012
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2011 (took 2+ weeks)
First was the resume screen, was notified through email that i was accepted and conducted phone interview with principal in seoul. overall was pleasant experience, i think he noticed how passionate i was about consulting. final round was in chicago, but i noticed i was the only undergrad interviewing alongside a bunch of mba candidates. pissed about that. the interviews were ok too but i screwed up when one of them purposefully got me riled up and kept drilling me about franchise/non-franchise. they seem to hire those with internal connections, so don't even bother applying if you don't know anyone in the firm, you won't get hired
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Dec 23, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2011 (took 2 days)
I got the interview through a recruiting event and did therefore not go through the normal application process.
1. Round:
The first round consisted of two personal interviews and a analytical test. The interviewing consultants were fairly junior but still challenging interview partners. The interviews itself consisted of a personal part and the ubiquitous case study. While the case study followed the usual pattern, the personal part felt different from comparable firms: You were asked about a situation in which you faced a difficult situation in a team, convinced people, etc. . During the following discussion the interviewers picked out a statement about me, amplified it to a untruthful degree and played it back at me. E.g., after I said that in teams I care about the work could be as it could be, I was described as perdantic. I felt this to be very uncomfortable and this tactics was what ultimately got be kicked out int the second round.
The analytical test was not too difficult and more a logic exercise. We were allowed calculators so that the numeris were really easy.
I got a call on the same day of the interview inviting me to the second round.
2. Round:
The second round consisted of three interviews and BCG Real Life. The interviews followed the same pattern as before, BCG Real Life is supposed to be a simulation of consultant life, i.e. client interaction and analysis.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Dec 14, 2011
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in Washington, DC (took a day)
Tough but manageable cases. Very dependent on the mood of your interviewer. Even if you ace all the cases, if one interviewer doesn't LOVE you you will not get an offer (words direct from the HR Director). Seems arbitrary, but they have had a lot of success in the past so who are we to question their methods. Do LOTS of case prep and know your behavioral answers cold before you go in.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Dec 3, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in Boston, MA (took 3 weeks)
I passed round 1 (which consisted of two case interviews with Consultants). The interviews were on Monday and on Wednesday they called me and said that I got into the final round. However, this was scheduled already for Friday, so I did not have much time to prepare. The final round consisted of three interviews with Partners. I did not pass one of those three interviews (I was told that I needed too much guidance), so I did not get the offer... Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The only downside was the short amount of time that I had to prepare for the final round...
Interview Questions
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?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Nov 16, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 3 weeks)
2, 45 minute interviews with principles in the IT and Public Sector practices. Was grilled quite intensely on my decision to shift from strategic planning consultancy to commercial consulting. First case involed a P&L for a mortgage company, with basic quants, and a discussion on potential future sale and ownership structures. Second case format was Mckinsey style from ex-Mckinsey consultant and was very qualitative.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Nov 9, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 3 weeks)
on campus resume drop resulted in a first round interview. First round involved two 45 minute case interview with consultants. Received second round invitation the next day by phone. Second round was in the office, involved 3 one hour-long interviews with a principal and two partners. Fit/resume question for first 15 minutes, case for the rest. Received offer the next day. Cases were very involved and based on interviewers' previous work. No stress interviews for undergraduates. The people I met were all brilliant, friendly, and excited about work, something I can't say for other firms.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
did not attempt to negotiate, had best offer terms out of MBB
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?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Nov 3, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in New York, NY (took 2 weeks)
1st round - Two 45-min interviews (10 min behavioral, 30 min case, 5 min Q&A)
Final Round - Three 45-min interviews (same format)
Practice practice practice cases - BCG cases are probably the toughest out of MBB. At the end of the day, a strong behavioral will help but it won't carry you to an offer. Interviews don't have to be perfect, but you have to be solid/strong on all 5 cases in order to get it.
Think out loud, structure everything, hypothesize then verify/negate with data, synthesize well, provide risks/next steps.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at Boston Consulting
Posted Nov 1, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 (took a day)
Had 2 back to back 45 min interviews. Practice a lot of cases before interview.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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