BCG R1 interview decision

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the progress in the application process with BCG thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, it's common in consulting firms for the interviewers to convene and discuss each candidate's performance post-interview. It's not always about unanimous agreement but about an overall evaluation.
• Moreover, it's normal to feel that one interview went better than the other. Each interviewer has a different style and it may also depend on the case you received.
• Lastly, I would advise you to continue preparing for the final interview round until you receive official feedback. It's better to be prepared in the event that you are advanced to the next stage. Additionally, the preparation will still be beneficial as practice for future opportunities even if not successful this time around.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi!

Congrats on going through the first round! Now you know what it feels like :)

In most cases, interviews need to unanimously agree to take your forward. But they do discuss how both interviews went and even if one felt like you were weaker, they could still jointly decide to give you another chance. 

The thing is, after the interview itself, the decision is out of your hands. What you can do is to continue practicing to get better for the next interviews and to continue applying for other opportunities. So that's what I'd do.

Good luck!
Cristian

Until you know the end result, you should keep preparing. 

One very good interview and an average one may be enough to pass to the next round.

I struggle with the word “unanimous”… they'll have to agree that the performance is good enought. Doesn't mean you need to have two super-strong performances.

Hi there,

Some pieces of insight that will hopefully allow you to navigate this uncertain situation (all very general and based on my own experience at McKinsey):

1. It’s not over until it’s over! You should operate under the assumption of moving on in the process. Self perception is often off in both directions i.e. over/ underestimating own performance. Best you can do is continue preparing and focusing on the areas you think you could improve.
2. A single interviewer can veto but no single interviewer can move you forward. This means, a positive outcome should generally be unanimous as opposed to a negative outcome.
3. You don’t pass or fail interviews but rounds. This means, you‘re being scored across specific criteria across interviews. A single interview is a collection of data points being thrown together with data points from another interview in the same round.

Bottom-line: Stay positive and keep it up! Keeping my fingers crossed!

Moritz

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Hi there,

1) Unanimous or high-performance in at least one interview?

In general, all interviewers in a first round should agree that you should move forward to the second round. If they have doubts, you might be offered an additional first-round interview.

2) Should I still prepare for the next round or move on? 

I would recommend preparing for the following reasons:

1. You could move to the second round and not have much time to prepare.
2. If you applied to other firms, even if you don’t move to the second round you can leverage your preparation for that (if you have not applied to others, I would recommend doing so to increase your chances of landing at least an offer).

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

It doesn't matter.

You're trying to have control by understanding - but, you will not know until they tell you.

Generally, you need to perform well in both.

You SHOULD prepare for the next round. Always. Worst case: you're preparing for other interviews.

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation
 

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview

You should definitely continue preparing.

In June, I had interviews at BCG SEA. I didn't perform well in both interviews during the first round due to poor communication and a generic structure. However, they still gave me an additional case. Unfortunately, things didn't turn around quickly enough, and I received a rejection.

On the other hand, my friend had her interview three months later. She felt that her performance in the first case was subpar, but she did better in the second case. Interestingly, the HR staff told her that both interviewers actually rated her quite positively. She recently moved on to the second round, which took place two weeks ago.

So, stay engaged and prepared. Wishing you all the best.

Hi,

It's important to understand that in most cases, interviewers need to reach a unanimous decision to move you forward in the hiring process. Even if one interviewer has reservations about your performance, they can still collectively decide to give you another chance. However, once the interview is over, the decision is beyond your control. The best course of action is to keep improving your skills and preparing for future interviews while simultaneously applying for other job opportunities.

Also do not worry about what you did but keep focused on the next steps, other interviews.

Cheers,

Hi there,

All first round interviewers should agree on advancing you to the next round. If they have doubts, you might be requested to do a third interview.

You can check how the recruiting process works from an internal MBB perspective here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mbb-hiring-hacks-behind-the-curtain-secrets

Best,

Alberto

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