How to prepare for recruiting event & first round of interviews at BCG?

Question

Hi everyone,

I have been invited to the BCG Einstiegsevent in Murnau am Staffelsee (February). Participation in the event serves as a gateway to the first interview round for full-time entry 2026.

How would you recommend preparing for the online part of the process in particular, and how should candidates best approach preparation for the event overall?

I am especially interested in advice from a non-traditional background perspective, as my academic background is in engineering / construction rather than classic business studies.

Specifically, I would appreciate guidance on:

What to focus on when preparing for the online interview / assessment
How to best prepare for case structuring and business thinking coming from a non-BWL background
How to balance case preparation, fit preparation, and general business fundamentals at this stage

Thank you!

Answer 1

That is a fantastic invitation—congratulations on clearing the initial screen for the Murnau event. Your engineering background is a serious asset here; firms actively seek out candidates who naturally default to highly structured, analytical problem-solving. The challenge now is understanding the mechanisms of the screen and translating that structured thinking into the language of business quickly.

You essentially have two hurdles before you. The first is the online assessment/interview component. Regardless of your insight or structuring ability, many highly quantitative candidates from non-business backgrounds stumble because they lose speed on the numerical processing sections. This screen is often a blind, pass/fail gate. Before you touch a single complex case, you must drill mental math—percentages, fractions, ratios, and complex multiplication—until it is second nature. Speed and precision are paramount here.

For bridging the business knowledge gap, you do not need to memorize years of BWL coursework. Your goal is fluency, not encyclopedic knowledge. Consulting frameworks (like 3 Cs or Porter’s Five Forces) are simply the vocabulary we use to describe problem structuring, which you already do daily. Take every significant engineering or construction example you have—managing a budget, optimizing a schedule, selecting a complex vendor—and force yourself to map it to a classic business concept. This instantly translates "reducing material waste" into "cost optimization" or "improving profit margins." This is how you prove business fluency.

Finally, remember that the physical event in Murnau is a high-touch environment. They are assessing chemistry and executive presence. Make sure your fit preparation is razor-sharp. Every engineering example needs a clear business or leadership element attached, and you must have a compelling narrative explaining why you are pivoting from building things to advising leaders. Show genuine interest and ask thoughtful, targeted questions about BCG's work when you engage with Partners and Principals.

Hope this helps you strategize the next few weeks! All the best.