Bombed 2nd round BCG interview but felt the fit was good

Question

I did ‘ok’ in the first round and was not tested on quants. Also had in my feedback that my structure was shaky.

Had a second round today and made a math mistake (a 0 and a hickup in the equation that I fixed myself) and missed an important branch of the strucure. Infuritating as the calculations were really not hard. The fit however seemed very genuine and it was a real collaborative interview overall (fit and case).

I know we can't quantify my chances but if anyone ex-BCG or experienced with interviews at BCG could give me an idea that would be amazing :)

Answer 1

Hi there,

It is difficult to judge from the outside. In general, a great performance in the fit part can’t compensate for a bad one in the case, unfortunately.

On the other hand, your self-assessment could be biased. I coached several candidates that believed they did not do well in the case and they actually passed the interview. The other way round also happens. That’s because most candidates can’t assess their performance objectively.

Overall, the only person who can tell you something now is.. the interviewer. Your impression may be biased, and any external person cannot really judge. So, although annoying, the only thing you can do is to (i) prepare for other interviews/ apply for other companies and/or (ii) wait for the results.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

Interviews are assessed through evidence-based scoring for specific criteria. These criteria are meant to make assessment consistent across interviewers and help them remain objective i.e. not get biased by other criteria.

These scoring criteria are generally highly confidential but here's some very high level examples for guidance:

Your structuring and quant skills will be assessed specifically based on the evidence you provide throughout the case (good or bad)
A great connection with the interviewer or being a super well spoken top down communicator will not be assessed formally (it may still bias the interviewer but goal is not to)

That being said, I hope you're able to make up for the mistakes in other areas! Best of luck!

Answer 3

Hi there,

Frankly, if your self-assessment is accurate (not likely), then you have low odds. Not “no” odds, but somewhere around 20-30% percent.

Ultimately, I really have no idea, but you're asking for a random take from someone who doesn't know you and is just going off of a brief, subjective, typed up assessment :)

Answer 4

Fingers crossed for u :)