BCG Lateral Hire, second round

Question

Hi all,

I applied at BCG (Germany) as an expert consultant (ECT). Friday was my first round and yesterday I recieved the call from one of the interviewers that I passed the first round. However, I like to understand what will be the focus in the second round. In the second round I will do three further interviews, two from the practice area I like to join as a ECT, but not in my specific focus as an expert, and another (second one) with a recruiting director. Has anyone any experience about the second round at BCG for an ECT-position and like to share it with me ?

Thanks a million!

Answer 1

Hi Thorben,

the second round interviews will be similar to your first round interviews. There is no structural difference. A recruiting director is a regular consulatant (usually Principal Level) who steers recruiting strategy and execution for his office as one of his main areas of responsibility.

Cheers, Sidi

Answer 2

Hi,

In the final round, I would expect a bit more structured and demanding approach to the fit part. The partners in the last round are more experienced and they will challenge every single detail of your story. So make sure that you have a couple of backup stories. Thus:

1) Make sure that you've prepared everything: A story about yourself, motivational questions and the main FIT stories. Also, don't forget about your questions to the interviewer - you'd rather have an interesting conversation and score some point instead of a simple Q&A session

2) Then go through each story and think of the additional questions the interviewer may ask. It’s important since additional questions will take up to 50% of the interview. Try to remember the main details and facts and make sure that you know how to explain the key concepts quickly. Test your stories with your friends, ideally consultants, and ask for their feedback. There can be multiple groups of additional questions:

The interviewer may be interested in details about the context
He may want to check whether this was your effort or more sort of a team effort.
“Have you faced any difficulties while implementing your solution?”- Typically an interviewer would like you to tell him how you’ve overcome those difficulties.
Your interviewer will check how real your story is. You should be ready to provide even more granular actions, key milestones and a breakdown of potential effects.

3) Now work on 3-6 backup stories. During your interviews, you can then use these stories or adapt these stories to the additional questions your interviewer asks you.

Best