My situation

Hi there,

I'm so sorry to hear about this! It's honestly rotten luck (so much of your internship outcome depends on who you get to work with).

I personally had some really tough bosses (and some awesome ones!), and honestly nothing is harder in consulting than having a bad boss - sorry :/

That said, glad you're not letting it get to you!

1.) How shall I react to potentially upcoming questions regarding BCG? What can I tell them? I am frankly afraid of getting rejected simply when they find out I didn't get an offer to return at BCG and did not get an internship at McKinsey last time.

I honestly don't see them asking. If they do, just say “I ended up taking an offer at another firm. BCG wasn't quite right for me at the time”. You don't need to say you were not given a return offer.

If they press, I would be “open” but neutral. If you think you can swing it, I would say “To be honest, I had a bit of bad luck. Turns out my boss had a pretty bad reputation for being brutal, and despite my best efforts I just really couldn't overcome that. I've learned a lot from that now and I know not all projects/bosses are like the one I got!”

2.) I am not performing well under stress in interview situations. I know - bad starting point. Can you please advise me on ways to practice on how to become less nervous in interviews and remain confident when they want to make you feel super uncomfortable?

You need a coach. This is going to be very hard to get over on your own to be honest. Other Preploungers are going to be too nice to you - you need to truly simulate this live and a coach is the best (only?) way to do this.

Here's some advice: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-regain-and-boost-confidence-before-interview-12405

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/dealing-with-nervousness-10452

3.) My clear weak point is math, formulas and sometimes seemingly easy relationships between profit, profitability, revenue, costs . I am quite good at structuring and reasoning. As I do not have oceans of time to prepare, can you give me an advice on which cases, case formats or exercises are best for me?
 

I think if you have both problem #2 AND #3 you need more time to prepare. Ask for an extension if you can.

Preplounge+Rocketblocks are good for math drills. In terms of these “easy” relationships, you need to keep casing and reviewing old cases. I know I said the solution to #2 was coaching, but if you're still struggling via self-study and practice on this item, coaching also sounds like it might be needed here.

Here's some math advice/help: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/improve-my-math-11965

4.) Is it true that the first HR call (they said for 20 minutes) is really just to answer my questions for the interviews, or will it actively influence my evaluation what I might ask?

I would always be ready for it to influence your evaluation. This could be a screening call, so be prepared with your 3 Whys and your Fit/Behavioral stories (just in case). It's worth mocking this call.

Here are some cases you may consider going through to practice your math!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/hot-wheels-186

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/beginner/hot-wheels-part-2-254

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/chinese-chess-airline-business-during-covid-19-191

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/yodaphone-195

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/cutting-carbs-divestiture-in-the-electrical-power-market-228

Hey there,

Sorry to hear about your situation but keep your head up and stay positive. You seem to be doing very well already even without working for an MBB. :-)

Not getting into BCG or McKinsey is definitely not the end of the world! I would use that mindset as the starting position.

Now straight to your questions:

1. They would not talk about it during the normal interview. If it comes up, say that your experience was not what you expected and you got an amazing offer for a different job, which you are currently doing.

2. McKinsey interviewers don't want to make you uncomfortable at all. 

• In fact, they want to put you at ease as much as possible so you can perform at your best. I know that stress interviews are a thing at BCG. See the interview as a two-way discussion with someone else to work on a problem, rather than a one-sided evaluation. 
• Since you already got the BCG offer once, you are definitely capable of getting a McKinsey offer too. Keep that in mind, breathe deeply, and hold your head up high! :-) 
• If you ever get stuck, highlight your current thinking, then ask for help.

3. I have a program with a case session that is tailored to math questions in MBB cases. Reach out for more info.

4. They might ask a couple of motivational questions such as

• Why consulting
• Why McKinsey
• Why the switch
• Guide me through your resume

This will not have an evaluative character, so don't worry about it.

As for McKinsey interviews in general, check out the two articles that I wrote:

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your BCG experience. It does happen sometimes and sucks a lot. Hopefully it is a learning experience and now you can put it behind you.

Answers to your question

1. I would just say that the culture at BCG was not the right fit for you. If you do go with something like this you will need to be specific about why it was not a good fit (maybe the nature of client work they do or something specific only to BCG) and you will need to be clear about why McKinsey will be different in your opinion
2. Unfortunately no one can teach you to not have stress. Stress is a function of fear and the fear might come from fear of failure for example. That is understandable but also as you realize not healthy. In my opinion, learning techniques to stay calm such as meditation and also accepting any outcome by knowing that regardless of what happens you will be okay are some good ways to not be stressed.
3. There are many resources here or even if you google where you can practice math from cases. When it comes to math, basic understanding of the formula followed by lots of practice is the best approach.
4. Yes this is true. McKinsey does not lie about the interview process. If this were an evaluative round they would have told you that in the begining.

All the best,

Udayan

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the bad experience at BCG. But well done on being willing to go back to the arena – quoting Roosevelt. This is a clear sign you have the potential to get the McKinsey offer.

In terms of your questions:

1) How shall I react to potentially upcoming questions regarding BCG? What can I tell them? I am frankly afraid of getting rejected simply when they find out I didn't get an offer to return at BCG and did not get an internship at McKinsey last time.

If they simply ask why you did not go on with BCG, you can say that at the time you found more interesting the offer of the Fintech firm for A, B, C reason and opted for that. But now you understood consulting could be more interesting for a few other reasons, such as X, Y and Z.

If they explicitly ask if you got an offer from BCG and if not why (unlikely to happen), I would say the truth, taking 100% responsibility without any bad comment on BCG. Say that you had to improve X, Y and Z, you worked hard in your current job and believe you have now improved on them and are ready for the next step. Own the previous “failure” without looking for any external reason – this will lead the interviewer to respect you if you frame it as above, exactly because it is tough and very few people would have the confidence to do so.

2) I am not performing well under stress in interview situations. I know - bad starting point. Can you please advise me on ways to practice on how to become less nervous in interviews and remain confident when they want to make you feel super uncomfortable?

Difficult to comment as you probably get nervous in specific situations. In general, you should try to replicate the same situation in advance during your mocks with peers. Ask the other person to specifically act as a “though interviewer” so that you can practice your reaction.

3) My clear weak point is math, formulas and sometimes seemingly easy relationships between profit, profitability, revenue, costs . I am quite good at structuring and reasoning. As I do not have oceans of time to prepare, can you give me an advice on which cases, case formats or exercises are best for me?

There are two key areas for math you can improve, how you communicate the math and the math computation itself.

• For math communication, you can check this: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/improving-math-skills-8726
• For math exercises, you should do drills. A simple way is to go through some good casebooks and focus just on the math part there, ignoring the other parts

I do a session specifically on math improvement, in case it is interesting to you please feel free to PM me.

4) Is it true that the first HR call (they said for 20 minutes) is really just to answer my questions for the interviews, or will it actively influence my evaluation what I might ask?

They may also ask fit questions, so I would prepare for that as well. Some common non-PEI questions they may ask are:

• Tell me about yourself
• Why consulting
• Why us
• Why should we hire you

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

This really surprises me and I'm very sorry you had to go through this! Let me try and help out with your questions:

1.) How shall I react to potentially upcoming questions regarding BCG? What can I tell them? I am frankly afraid of getting rejected simply when they find out I didn't get an offer to return at BCG and did not get an internship at McKinsey last time. First of all, make sure you do not talk “bad” about the firm and, if anything, highlight the positive aspects of the job that made you want to pursue a career in consulting because here you are, interviewing with McKinsey. As for not getting an offer, this is no reason for getting rejected at McKinsey! They are using their own criteria for assessing you and there's plenty of people not making it in some firms but getting into McKinsey. However, if you're not being asked directly, I would simply state that there was a great offer on the table that you prioritized over any alternative at the time. If you're being asked directly, no shame in sharing your experience. Just make sure you're not lashing out and find the right tone.

2.) I am not performing well under stress in interview situations. I know - bad starting point. Can you please advise me on ways to practice on how to become less nervous in interviews and remain confident when they want to make you feel super uncomfortable? Knowing what to expect and being good at what you do is the ultimate confident boost. McKinsey interviews in particular are somewhat predictable and I HIGHLY recommend getting a coach for this. I offer a package specifically for McKinsey, focused on building confidence.

3.) My clear weak point is math, formulas and sometimes seemingly easy relationships between profit, profitability, revenue, costs . I am quite good at structuring and reasoning. As I do not have oceans of time to prepare, can you give me an advice on which cases, case formats or exercises are best for me? Hard to tell where the problem really lies. Generally speaking, you need to be prepared for 3 things:

• Knowing when to do math: It isn't always obvious when you should be doing some math, apart from being asked directly. Great candidates proactively identify opportunities to crunch some numbers to generate insights, often associated with exhibits (graphs, tables, charts, etc), and they communicate to the interviewer prior to going down an undesired route (unless math can be done easily on the fly).
• Knowing how to do math: Whether the quantitative problem is simple or complex, you should always be clear on your approach and communicate it clearly prior to executing. This is not only good interview practice but also allows the interviewer to course correct e.g. by challenging assumptions.
• Actually doing math: Once you aligned everything with the interviewer, you should execute without making errors. Here it's OK to go silent for a bit (say so before), unless you feel comfortable talking clearly as you execute. However, most candidates end up mumbling, which isn't great and should be avoided.

All of the above can be trained through casing, ideally with coaches to save time, as well as math drills (see tools on Rocket Blocks and Preplounge: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mental-math). Also, going through case books and quant heavy cases can help. However, nothing beats real practice!

4.) Is it true that the first HR call (they said for 20 minutes) is really just to answer my questions for the interviews, or will it actively influence my evaluation what I might ask?

It will not be part of the evaluation. However, you should always act as if it were. This is a golden rule for any dealings with any firm during the interview process. Make sure you're on top of your CV and personal story and have some answers prepared around your motivation to join McKinsey - just in case!

Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!

Hello!

I am sorry to hear that! It can happen and it sucks how luck can shape your internship. 

I tihnk you need to prep the FIT very carefully to answer about the time in BCG, as well as the case prep. 

Cheers, 

Clara