Are brain teasers actually used in consulting interviews?

Hi!

the use of Brainteasers differs across the tiers:

• Not used in MBB
• Sometimes used in Tier 2 firms (Berger, Wyman etc.)
• Frequently used in Tier 3 firms (AD Little etc.)

Cheers, Sidi

At McKinsey they are 100% NOT used.

Hi Anonymous,

brainteasers are rare in consulting, but you may occasionally get some - had one myself in my final at BCG.

Best,

Francesco

I never used it in BCG and Strategy&, I also never heard my colleagues use it in their interviews.

When I interviewed in Roland Berger, this type of question also did not pop up.

no

I had one interview with a Tier 2 consultancy in which the case study was replaced with 6 basic brainteaser. It might happen but it is very unlikely I would guess.

Yes, I had 2 in Germany.

Hi,

Almost not used at MBB at sometimes used at Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman.

There is no dedicated part of the interview for brainteasers and to be honest, they are quite rare. Although the interviewer might want to ask you a brainteaser question either before or after the case. To prepare you simply read the 2-3 most popular books with the brainteasers (Are you smart enough to work at Google?, How would you move Mount Fuji?).

Best

Very interviewer specific. It is probably safer to assume you won't get them, then you will. However, some people like these things. In my experiences not common in final rounds and/or with senior people. 

Hello,

THey are not really common, especially in big consulting firms. I heard of one just in a Simon Kucher interviewer but I would not invest time in the brainteasers preparation

Best,
Luca

Yes, in some companies like RB, OW, ADL, ZEB, etc.