Fit questions

Hi there,

1) How long the fit part usually takes during an interview at BCG, Bain and other consulting firms? 10-15 minutes? 

If it's together with the case part, in most firms it will likely take between 5 and 15 minutes. Keep in mind that in some offices you could also have a round of only fit questions as well.

2) How many questions do they usually ask? 

Usually 2 to 4. An exception is McKinsey where the fit part is often made by one PEI question.

3) How long should a candidate talk for each question? 

It depends on the question but in general:

1. For “non-story” types (eg “Why us”) around 2 minutes for your part should be fine
2. For “story” types (eg “Tell me about a time when…”) around 5 minutes for your part should be fine

These are general guidelines and it could be totally ok to talk more or less than that depending on the question.

4) What do they usually ask? 

Common fit questions you can expect are:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why consulting
3. Why us
4. Give me an example of when you led a team
5. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone
6. What has been your major achievement so far
7. Tell me about a time when you failed
8. Why should we hire you

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi,

For BCG specifically I can tell you that it usually takes longer than 10-15 min, rather 20-25 min. Of course this can vary depending on geography, but BCG puts high emphasis on personal fit.

The personal fit interview, as the case interview, is a conversation rather than a Q&A session, so the number of questions very much depends on your CV, your answers and the flow of the conversation.

Be prepared to be challenged on decisions you have made, argue for the professional and personal path you have taken and expect follow up questions to your answers. The interviewers really want to get to the bottom of things and understand you and your motivations.

A good way to prepare:

1. Practice some of the common questions for personal fit.

2. Go through your CV and reflect on your path and find arguments and motivations on why you are where you are today.

3. Be transparent and honest. It is in your interest that it is a good personal fit for both sides.

Let me know you want to practice actual personal fit interview questions and best practices in more detail.

/Marvin

Here was my personal experience by firm and by round.

McKinsey First Round

+ 10 - 12 minutes

+ 1 PEI question drilled down

McKinsey Second Round

+ 20 - 28 minutes

+  Mixed:

1 PEI question drilled down

2 - 3 motivational questions

1 - 2 aspirational questions

 BCG First Round

+ 6 - 10 minutes

+ 2 - 3 Fit & motivational questions

BCG Second Round

+ 15 - 22 minutes

+  Mixed:

1 PEI-style question, not drilled down

1 - 2 motivational questions

1 aspirational question

Other Firms First Round

+ 10 - 15 minutes

+ 1 - 2 Fit/Motivational/Aspirational questions

Other Firms Second Round

+ 15 - 37 minutes

+  Very mixed:

1 - 2 PEI-style questions; drilled down & not drilled down

2 - 3 motivational questions

1 - 2 aspirational questions

2 - 3 industry-based expositional questions

1 - 2 ‘Big Idea’ questions (for example, flaws of democracy in nation-building…came up organically)

1 intimate question

But, more importantly, remember that questions go both ways and that the best candidates have genuine, insightful questions to ask of their interviewers.

By rounds I would say First Rounds seemed  more rigid and superficial in engaging with candidate questions.

By firms, I would say there was almost zero correlation. It all came down to the person. For example, my shortest and longest candidate questions segment came from the same firm.

Hi there, 

The fit part is usually around 20 minutes. 

That's the standard though. It really depends on the interviewer. More senior interviewers tend to spend more time on this part and less on the case. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Please be ready for anything.

I have had candidates with zero minutes of fit interview and I have had others where 75% of the interview was fit.

You might have 1 short question or 3 long ones with lots of followup.

For a story answer, you should talk 1-2 minutes. If I ask “What do you think makes a great leader”, it should be 20 seconds. If I ask you to break down exactly how you went about building x model and what the excel sheet looked like, it should take 3+ minutes.

Please remember, this is like asking “When I go on a date, how long will they ask about me? How many questions will they ask and how long should be answer to every single question be?”

Be flexible and adaptable

Note: In general you can expect 5-15 minutes with 1-3 questions

Here's some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Hello,

This is going to vary by firm/interviewer/interview stage, but in general the fit part takes around 5-7 minutes in a first round, and more like 10-15 mins in a latter round. Generally you would expect 1-3 fit interview questions. Candidates usually start with a 1-2 min response, and the interviewer then will ask you to dive deeper or ask more questions about your experience, so you end up talking for 3-5 mins about the particular answer.

McKinsey's format is a bit different in terms of format (take a look at McKinsey PEI), but in terms of substance your stories will most likely be quite similar for the different firms.