Which animals would consulting firms be?

Hey there,

The content of your answer to such questions does not matter much. Such questions are used to see how you deal with unusual situations and respond to such challenges.

• Stay calm
• Stay focused
• Come up with a somewhat reasonable logic (e.g., base the type of animal on the size of the firm, etc.)
• Laugh about it and show that you can take a joke :D

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

I heard this question before and was asked at BCG in Europe, I since added it to my standard fit questions homework for candidates. It is not difficult to structure but can be difficult to answer it on the spot.

The way I would structure it is the following:

• Identify the positive characteristics for the firm you like most (eg strong team players, humble, etc)
• Define an animal with those particular skills
• Create a variation of that animal for the other companies. Don’t take negative characteristics for the competition. You may simply choose a different size if the company is smaller, or consider a specific environment the animal would leave in if the company focuses on a segment (eg Kearny in operations, SK in pricing etc)

Usually you should be ready to answer fit questions immediately. But for this, it would be totally fine to ask for time if you have not prepared in advance.

Best,

Francesco

What a great interview question! I'm a big fan of anything that throw a candidate off, and this is exactly why I encourage every candidate to be ready for anything when it comes to both the case and fit portion of interviews.

There's not "right" answer here. However, there are plenty of "wrong" answers.

Any animal with a negative connation should be avoided (unless you can defend it). Snails, slugs, skunks, sloths, come to mind! Any mis-interpretation of the true culture/status of the company should also be avoided.

Essentially, this is testing whether you can think on your feet, "have fun", think outside of the box, and be clever/creative.

Hi, it can happen. There is not a correct answer but try to be at the same time insightful and a little fun

Best

Anto

Fun question. It probably doesn't matter what you're saying. Just make sure you're not comparing the firm you're interviewing for to a very negatively connotated animal. But similarly, don't try to praise them sky-high over their competitors.

Hi there, 

haha, it's a nice one. I agree with Florian - the most important thing for such types of questions is to not "lose the face". It's a joke, you just have to play along :)

GB

My answer would have been "I have no clue as the only firm I'm serious about joining is yours..."! :)

LOL!! Really they asked you this...?!

Hello!

I love it, what a ramdom question!

 There are no wrong answers here as long as you articulate correctly and don´t freeze. 

I would try to think about: 

• Company´s positive attributes
• What makes them different
• What makes them stand out

And try to link to an animal. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara