BCG Expert track interview

Hi there, 

given you apply for an Associate Director role with BCG, the interview format & expectation will vary quite significantly from most other roles in the firm. While fundamentals are similar, the standard prep approach that would apply to more general and more junior roles will not be the right use of time here.

In essence, this means

• HIGH focus on relevant industry & functional knowledge / experience as well as bigger picture thinking
• HIGH focus on senior stakeholder comms ability as well as other soft skills
• HIGH focus on personal fit with the firm
• LESS focus on quant & detailed case structuring - I can assure you that strong mental Maths is definitely not an expectation on AD level! Don't waste your time on that.

If you'd like to learn  more about the AD role at BCG, on what exactly to expect and how to prepare for it, feel free to send a personal message. Happy to discuss.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Andi

Hi there!

Modifying my answer slightly now knowing what AD means = Associate director. Speaking from my own experience hired as an ECT project leader and currently preparing a candidate for PL/AD ECT role at BCG Gama I can confirm that  even if you apply for a leadership role as an expert, recruiting is actually the same as for the generalist = business cases where eventually one can be from your expertise but rest classical business. You  will unlikely have an online test and during the FIT you may have a bit more exploration on your expertise. 

I would recommend you:

1. familiar yourself with the type of cases you can get https://www.preplounge.com/en/bootcamp.php and check cases published on PrepLounge

2. Practice math!

3. Dont learn any framework by hard, understand rather how to structure a problem and form a hypothesis to prove/disprove with an analysis

4. Practice with peers and take a few sessions with a coach

Feel free to reach out if you need a coach to support you, I am rewarded as a top BCG trainer, training new hires all the consulting skills (including how we create frameworks), as well as experienced coach. 

Good luck!

Lucie

Was my answer helpful?

Hi there,

It seems you are referring to an Associate Director role, but it is not clear if it is Gamma or a specific practice. It would be good if you could clarify it as would help to provide a more target answer.

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For general case prep, I would recommend the following:

▶ https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/only-one-month-for-my-first-interview-at-mbb-14567

Compared to a junior role, the process for senior roles usually includes:

• Questions on a specific sector and industry knowledge
• Questions on how to manage projects and teams (eg proposal structure and client involvement, number of people, allocation of people on workstreams, length of the different parts of the project)
• High-level cases/conversations (eb “How would you prepare the first meeting with the CEO of XXX for a YYY project”)

Please note that if you are targeting specific divisions like Gamma there could be additional differences.

For other questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

Congrats on the interview!

I have no idea what AD stands for an I'm ex-BCG! Can you please clarify what the role is?

In the meantime here's some reading/advice:

Fit: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case