Hi there,

Sharing a couple of my thoughts on this, having sat in the seat of the interviewer for a few years, and also of course having been the interviewee myself:

1. Sometimes, interviewers play ‘tough cop’ and try and see how you operate under stress 
2. Sometimes, interviewers (because they are also people) may be unprofessional and unfair and deliberately hold back information
3. Sometimes, it could be that candidates also don't really ask the right specific questions, even though they are thinking they are already asking for data
4. Most importantly, You can never judge the interviewer's actual perception of you until the actual results

Point #4 is the most important, I've had interviews where I thought I did well but ended up failing, and there were interviews where I thought I had bombed but ended up passing.

If you have any future interviews, look forward and prep well and then trust in your prep.

All the best!

Hi there, 

Yes. They were probably role-playing. 

That happens rather often though it's not necessarily encouraged as part of the guidelines that interviewers receive. 

It's something that is most common with senior interviewers who want to see not so much how you handle the case, but how you would handle a difficult client (which is who they are trying to impersonate). 

A few things that you can do:

1. Keep on smiling. Some of the interviewers will try and challenge you on purpose just to see if you drop your guard down. Like with clients, keep on being positive and smiling to try and thus change their own mood. 

2. Be constructive. Don't allow yourself to get frustrated. At the end of the day, it's on you to make the case work and persuading the interviewer / client is yet another thing that you need to manage. Always seek a way of co-developing the solution.

3. Take a deep breath once in a while. When stuck, ‘take a step back’ and think through your situation. Take a deep breath. It's ok if the other person is staring and looking at you. Thinking about what you're going to say rather than just blurting out random things is always better. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Q: I just had an interview at a big consulting firm. The interviewer I felt was deliberately holding back the information. Also, they interrupted me a lot during my behavioral answers. Is this normal? 

Possibly it was a stress interview. They are rare in consulting but they still happen sometimes (I had one in my BCG final). Alternatively, you might have just found an interviewer on a bad day.

Regardless, there is not much you can do in these situations – just do your best taking into account they might be putting you under pressure to see how you react.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello A,

Yes, it is normal and it can happen due to various reasons.

Interviewers can choose to have different styles and behaviors, which can include withholding information and interrupting you during behavioral answers. 

These actions are often meant to assess your problem-solving skills and ability to handle challenging situations like communicating effectively under pressure. 

It's important to stay composed, and confident, and adapt to these dynamics, using interruptions as opportunities to showcase your abilities.

Always remember that the interviewer is playing the role of a potential client. Just like clients in the real world, not all of them will be polite or friendly. However, it's crucial for you to establish a common understanding and build trust with them. If you approach your interviews with this mindset, you'll be better equipped to handle challenging situations and showcase your capabilities without being bothered. Stay focused and give your best performance regardless of the interviewer's behavior.

Best of luck with everything!

Hello,

Both of those things are completely normal. Don’t worry about it, the interviewer was just doing their job. 

Is it normal to hold back information? Actually quite common, although this depends on the context. 

If a candidate gives me a generic approach with “areas of investigation” (a.k.a. “I want to know about the market, the company and the competitors”) and then they lead with a generic question… I will not give them the information.

Examples:

Q: What do we know about the market / costs / competitors?
A: What exactly do you want to know about the market / costs / competitors? (and don't show any information).
The candidate here is just “fishing” for information, but not being specific on what information is required.

Q: Do we know if the problem is specific to the company or market related?
A: No answer. The candidate is trying to get the interviewer to give out the case answer. But this is the responsibility of the candidate. 

Q: Do we know if the problem is price related? 
A: What analysis would you do? (and don't show any information on price). The candidate is not asking for information, but asking for a diagnostic. The interviewer will not to the diagnostic for the candidate.

Q: Is there an opportunity to grow in international markets?
A: I dont' know (and hold back market size of international markets). Candidate asking for the answer, instead of asking for information in order to do an analysis.

But there is also a major situations where the interviewer will hold information ostensively: during a market size exercise. It is ok to ask for data, but it is also ok for the interviewer to ask you to do some assumptions, even if at the end they will show a table with different numbers.  They are testing your business judgement / world knowledge.

Is it normal for the interviewer interrupting on behavioral questions?

Definitely. This is a conversation, not a rehearsal. Some candidates really want to just spill out their pre-prepared pitch - and while it is fine to prepare a pitch, an interviewer will want to dig in deeper, probe, or even steer the conversation (if they feel you are not answering the questions they meant to ask). Some candidates start giving out long monologues, and there is really no alternative to interrupting them.

(editiert)