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Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 8 ratings

3.8

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 8 ratings

Positive	38%
Neutral	62%
Negative	0%

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3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 (took a day)

Everyone at BCG was very friendly and helpful throughout the process. Getting to the interview stage depended primarily on your resume and ability to make a connection with a representative at the information sessions. The info session is the first step--don't miss it. The interview itself was two case interviews with two different BCG people. I would advise focusing on sharpening your business vocabulary, reading business newspapers, and practicing some cases (don't go overboard here). The cases are not all that matters. You also need to interact well with the interviewer and demonstrate your understanding of the business world.

Interview Questions

Tell me about an area that you are considered an expert in, how you came to be considered an expert, and how you used that position.

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 Oct 2010 in New York, NY (took 2 days)

I went through on campus recruiting. First round consisted of two one-on-one interviews. You could select three location preferences. NYC was my top choice, and I was invited to a final round in that office. The final round consisted of three case interviews with senior level consultants. People were all very nice. I remember one of the cases I had at the final round was heavily focused on interpreting graphs and charts. I think that was the case that I tripped up on. I would prepare by going over graphs more and practice interpreting them in a short amount of time.

Interview Questions

How do you interpret [a given graph]?

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2011 in Paris (France) (took 2 weeks)

The numerical test was not very difficult, but under time constraint, it could be quite stressful. Hard to say which one of completion and correction is more important. I think that they equally count and the result really depends on situation. If you finish 20 correct out of 26, it could be considered a good shot. If you only finish half (13/26) and make sure that all of them are correct, it might be a neutral result. Less than that, I don't think that it would pass. This is all according to the feedback I got from both consultancy-insiders and interviewees like me.

The interviewer was late for about 20 mins. Well, sometimes it could happen...but I have to admit that 20 mins sitting alone in a closed meeting room really annoyed me. The case was a pretty easy profitability case, but I didn't crack it well. BCG interview was the first consulting interview I've had, so I was not surprised by the feedback that I need make improvement in structure-building and faster mental math (I am from a science background, so I am definitely not awkward at math) . Actually I got to know before that you could never make a math mistake during the consulting interview (especially the top 3 or 4 cabinets), coz you would be pretty sure to be rejected if there was ever an error in math. So I took a little bit more time to revalidate my math before giving the result. The results were all correct but the feedback said clearly that the interviewer was still expecting a correct answer in just a few seconds. Apparently there is no secret on the requirement of mental-math ability for the strategy consultancy firms. The only way to improve that is by practicing and polishing the math skill.

Also the interviewer test my poise under pressure; I think that this was a sponaneous test given occasion, not always expected. According to the feedback, I behaved pretty well on this point.

Interview Questions

The profitability of a company in the brown industry was down. Analyze it. The definition of the brown industry was given.

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Other Details

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

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2010 (took 3 weeks)

the cases the first round were fine, but in the second round, with three cases, blow one and you're done. it's the nature of the business. The cases ranged from pharma to consumer retail to the airline industry.

Interview Questions

determine the market size of contact solution.

Answer Question

Other Details

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

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2010 in New York, NY (took 1+ week)

2 45 minute interviews...30 minute cases, and 15 minute fit.

Interview Questions

Why do you know how to do a macroeconomic analysis?

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 Apr 2010 (took a day)

1) One 2 one interview with a HR manager about myself, my school experience, my perspectives and my skills
2) computer based testing: about 20 answers in about 40 minutes. It was a reasoning test, seeming like GMAT math quiz

Interview Questions

Why did you choose to propose your candidature for BCG and not for another company in the industry?

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Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Personality Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Sep 2009 (took 3 days)

1. round GMAT questions, 20 questions- 20 minutes
2. round Interviewed by 2 employees- 2 case studies
3. round personal interview

Interview Questions

Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years.

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jul 2009 in Toronto, ON (Canada) (took 2 weeks)

First round interviews: 2 rounds, 1 interviewer each (45 min each). First was 10-15 min of background and behavioral questions, then the rest was a case (5 min at end for questions).

Both cases were based on profitability (one was cost driven, the other was sales driven).

Second Round Interviews: 3 rounds.
Round 1: 2 hours to read a case and prep a presentation.
Round 2 +3: Same as in "first round interviews" except now with Senior Partners. Cases are a bit more subjective, though still grounded in numbers.