Rejection for BCG First-round

Question

Hi all,

I had a partner referral at BCG and went through the first round. Just received a call that I didn't make it past the first-round interview. I went through an online case (Casey bot) and a 25-min-behavioral, and the recruiter refused to provide any feedback.

1. Does it mean that I don't qualify for MBB right now and I should pause my recruiting process (delay Mck first round for example)?

2. Should I still contact the partner and ask for feedback?

3. Had anyone experienced the online case and is willing to share some insights? I feel like the criteria of it is different from the in-person case (more quant-heavy and GMAT than conversational).

Thank you very much!

Answer 1

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. To answer your questions:

1. Not at all - if you are still interested in a consulting position and feel like you have the required experience, definitely go ahead and apply! While we often hear success stories about candidates who get offers from all the firms they apply to, there is an element of luck to the process and so even very strong candidates tend to get mixed outcomes, even within the MBB bracket. So 1 rejection is no reason not to apply to other positions.

2. I don't think this will yield anything if the partner wasn't the one who interviewed you (I assume you mean the partner who referred you).

Answer 2

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the rejection.

Not necessarily. Your performance was based on (i) chatbot and (ii) BCG fit questions. The process for the first round at McK is different (Imbellus + PEI and case most often)
The partner cannot provide feedback as did not interview you. I would not look further if HR did not provide feedback
I wrote a guide at the link below, as at this stage you don't need to prepare anymore please feel free to PM me if you have questions

https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/bcg-online-case-secrets-69

Best,

Francesco

Answer 3

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear this, but I promise you're not down and out!

1. Not in the slightest. You don't qualify for BCG, but that doesn't eliminate Bain or Mck. Figure out what went wrong, and fix it!

2. I personally would not. You'll get a generic response, if one at all.

3. I have a number of materials to support you here - feel free to shoot me a message!

4. It's also possible your behavioral was an issue. Read up here to better sense-check your answers:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Answer 4

Hey there,

1. Definitely not. You should not give up your dreams based on one rejection!

2. There is little value in that and they likely won't provide proper insightful and actionable feedback.

3. The BCG Online Case is more like an interviewer-led case than a typical BCG candidate. The skills that are assessed are the same but the format makes it less personal and more stressful for candidates in my experience.

Fingers crossed for the other firms!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 5

Qualify or not? Rejection from 1 consult is not enough of a data point. Most people making it to MBB would have faced rejection somewhere or the other. I would suggest to have a diagnostic coaching session through a mock interview with a coach. This will help you understand what all you still need to improve. Happy to help you out there - let me know.
Partner: You can check with the partner if there is a way for you to get feedback. Perhaps the partner can relay the feedback to you. Definitely give it an attempt
Online case: Feel free to write to me and tell me your experience in detail. I can share you my knowledge on cracking it. Have recently helped 3-4 coachees in clearing it in the last 2 months. It is not supposed to be difficult - only requires simple step-by-step thinking.