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Anonymous A

on Aug 15, 2025

USA

Final Round MBB Interview Performance

Hi there,

I just completed a final round interview with one of the MBBs today, and I would say it went fairly well. Some details:

I connected well with both of my interviewers, with behaviorals and case feeling very conversational and collaborative, and the last few minutes for questions being very targeted to their industry expertise and I drew from recent trends. They reacted well and had great personal connections with me too. One of them says he enjoyed the conversation and looks forward to see what’s next, and the other says they will reach back out to me soon. The interviews were scheduled for 45 minutes, and for both I finished the case around 35-40 minutes.

One concern that I have though is that I reflected back on my math calculations and realized that I did ROI as (Amount Gained/Amount Invested) rather than the (Net Gain/Amount Invested) for both cases. I interpreted them as normal and correct logic, just with >100% being worth it and negative returns otherwise. I did not receive any pointers or corrections in this process from either partners, and I was wondering if this would make or break the interview.

Would appreciate any perspectives! I know that there is no way to assess, but I’d love to hear if memorizing formulas is a big part of this process, and what your opinion would be based on the description. Thank you!

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Top answer

Evelina

Coach

on Aug 16, 2025

EY-Parthenon (7 years) l BCG offer holder l 7+ years coaching l 10% off first session l free 15' intro call l LBS

Hi there,

From what you describe, it sounds like you built strong rapport, handled the cases smoothly, and left a positive impression – all of which are the core things MBB interviewers look for. The ROI slip you mentioned is unlikely to be a dealbreaker:

Conceptual vs. mechanical errors – Interviewers care more about whether you logically approach problems and can articulate your reasoning than if you recall every formula perfectly. Occasional slips in exact terminology or calculation methods happen, especially in a conversational case
Signals from interviewers – The fact that neither corrected you, and both gave encouraging closing remarks, suggests it wasn’t viewed as a red flag. If it was a critical issue, they typically would have probed further or clarified
Overall weighting – Fit, problem-solving approach, structure, and communication tend to outweigh one formulaic misstep. A strong performance across the board usually compensates for small errors
Expectations – MBBs don’t expect candidates to “memorize formulas” as if it’s an exam. What matters is showing business intuition and applying reasonable math correctly under pressure

In short, the ROI definition detail is something to note for future practice, but based on your description, it doesn’t sound like something that would break your interview performance.

Best,
Evelina

2 comments

Anonymous A

on Aug 16, 2025

Thank you so much for your response! In terms of ending an interview early with time leftover to ask questions, is that usually a good sign, or does that mean I could’ve gone more in depth with behaviorals and case? For one of my interviewers, we ended the call 5 minutes early after around 5-10 minutes of Q&A, and the other interviewer we chatted all the way until the end of our 45 minutes.

Really appreciate your kind words so far and I look forward to hearing from you!

Evelina

Coach

on Aug 16, 2025

EY-Parthenon (7 years) l BCG offer holder l 7+ years coaching l 10% off first session l free 15' intro call l LBS

Ending a case or fit interview a few minutes early is common and not a bad sign. Interviewers often wrap up once they’ve heard enough to assess you — it doesn’t mean you should have gone deeper. Some prefer to use the full 45 minutes, others finish earlier and leave time for Q&A. The key is giving clear, structured, and relevant answers while having strong questions prepared. Don’t overthink the timing — both interview styles are normal