BCG First Round interview

Hi there,

First of all, I am happy to hear that PrepLounge is helpful for you – I am sure the platform changed a lot of professional lives!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• It is certainly uncommon to have solely one first-round interview with BCG ME, yet I would not worry any further about this.
• Moreover, I would advise you not to try to anticipate specific case study questions that might be asked. Many applicants try to do this, only to be caught off guard when the questions are different from what they expected. Instead, find a way that feels natural to you to approach case studies.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming BCG interview, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there, 

Congrats! 

Let me take your questions one by one.

I got scheduled one interview with BCG Middle east for my first round interview. is that weird? i thought the first round usually have 2 interviews not just one. I am applying for a summer internship. 

It's not weird. Some regions / offices are changing their process. It could also just be the case that they scheduled the first interview of the first round and they're soon going to follow with the second. I wouldn't be worried about this though. 

Also, what kind of cases are more prominent in the BCG Middle East? and what kind of tips and advice would you give me? 

You can expect the same interview format as everywhere else. Unless you applied for a specialised role in a certain practice, you can expect the cases to be from any industry or topic. 

Best of luck!
Cristian

For BCG ME and SEA,

I believe the process for Summer Associate is as follows:

1. Online Application
2. Resume Screening
3. Online Assessment (Casey)
4. First Round Interviews
   1 - 2 interviews in first round*
5. Decision Round Interviews
   1 - 2 interviews in decision round
6. Final Decision

* Commonly 1 interview for Summer A, but additional interviews might be administered if the interviewer is undecided

Source: Myself who went through this process (ended 1 week ago)

Hi there,

Congrats!

1. That is completely normal and similar to what McKinsey started to do in a couple of countries, running the first round with 1 interview and the online assessment. This reduces the load on the interviewers and makes the process a bit more streamlined.
2. Do not focus on approaching cases from this perspective, but rather learn to approach a case like any other problem from a first-principles approach. Even if certain industries/sectors/functions are more prevalent in the Middle East, this is no guarantee that the cases will be set in the same context for various reasons (e.g., interviewer background).

All the best!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

It's certainly uncommon but it's nothing to read into! It's just about availability of their interviews and timing/preference. Just make this one count!

Please don't play the game of trying to predict the case type. You can be faced with any industry any case type and any difficulty/style.

Train yourself in being flexible/adaptable.

That said, ME will of course lean towards what they already do work in (O&G, Energy, Public Sector, Infrastructure, Tourism, etc.) 

I would not worry about the number of interviews. It depends on things like availability of interviewers and sometimes them trying out the best interview model. Prepare like you would for any other round.

Hi,

Anecdotally I know that some offices in BCG Asia sometimes only have 1 interview for the first round interview. Especially for non-MBA intership.

As for what kind of cases - please do not try and anticipate - focus on your fundamentals and core skills, that is really more important.

All the best!

Hi, are you applying as a MBA student?