Hey there,

I have written a longer article on this, which I am not allowed to link here. Hence, I copy and paste some information from that article.

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Bain has a pool of questions. 3 will be randomly selected for your interview. Below are a few standard questions you should definitely think about and prepare an answer for.

• Guide me through your resume (Variations: Tell me about yourself. What characteristics do you have that will make you successful in consulting?)
• Why do you want to go into consulting (Variation: Why do you want to work for Bain)?
• Tell me about a personal or professional failure of yours (Variation: How did you cope with an error or failure?)
• What is your opinion on the current economy (Variation: What are the key economic challenges of our times)?
• Tell me about a time you lead a team (Variations: What constitutes a good team? How do you delegate tasks? Do you work rather alone or in a team setting?)
• Tell me about a time you faced a challenging situation or achieved a challenging goal? (Variation: when did you overcome an obstacle?)
• Tell me about a time when you persuaded someone (Variation: did you ever have to convince someone?)
• …

How can you prepare for such questions?

Use the SCORE framework, which I created and detail here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mckinsey-pei

Let’s use a very common question as an example:

Why do you want to work in consulting?

Situation: I want to work in consulting for 5 reasons. First, I enjoy working on challenging topics. Second, the impact I can have in a top-tier consulting firm is already very high early in my career. Third, I want to work with driven and smart colleagues on a global scale. Fourth, it is important for me to have a clear career trajectory and a steep learning curve. Fifth, to be fully transparent, I would enjoy the benefits and perks of the consulting life as well as the exit opportunities.

Complication: I did many internships in corporates and startups and found that the motivation, learning curve, and everything I expected from a work environment was not there. It was just not as stimulating as I would have hoped

Expected outcome: Hence, I knew that I wanted something bigger in my career. Staying in such positions would not have fulfilled me in the long run.

Remedial action: As a result, I started talking to peers who went into consulting, reading up on research published by consulting firms, joined my local consulting club at university, and participated in several pro-bono projects for clients in the public sector.

End result: Based on what I learned and the experiences I made my wish to get into a top-tier consulting firm has only become stronger and that is why I am here today.

Get used to preparing every personal fit and behavioral question with the SCORE framework for maximum clarity and impact of your answers.

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Of course, all the other things for an online test apply as well such as

• making sure your connection works
• making sure you have 30 minutes of peace and quiet when doing the interview
• …

To read more, just Google Bain HireVue.

All the best!

Cheers,

Florian