Just received a BCG interview invite, was not expecting to land an interview, how do I prep best?

Question

Hi,

As the title says, I DID NOT expect to be shortlisted for a BCG R1 interview but now I am and I am fully willing to dedicate myself to case prep for the interviews.

I have no case prep experience and I want to get started intensely now. Could someone sign post me to a preparation strategy such as what topics to cover, resources to find, a prep plan?

I was thinking case coach and case in point……of course with regular case practice with someone else.

Answer 1

Hi there,

Q: Could someone sign post me to a preparation strategy such as what topics to cover, resources to find, a prep plan?

First of all, if you feel you might not have enough time, you can ask to postpone the interview. They might say no, but there is no penalty for asking.

In terms of preparation, I would recommend the following. You might have already covered some of them, but it might be good to review:

Define a calendar for your preparation. Identify how many hours you have before your interview and allocate a time slot for preparation in your calendar for each day, working on the points below. Many candidates need 100+ hours to be ready before the interview starting from zero so you can keep that as a benchmark.
Start reading good MBA Consulting Handbooks – you can find several for free online (INSEAD is a good one to start). Read the cases and try to apply your structure to solve them. Whenever you see there is something missing, upgrade your structure with the new insights. Try to read a new case per day – in this way you will absorb better the information with constant learning.
After the first 5-10 cases in books/handbooks and basic theory, start to practice live. PrepLounge can be helpful to connect with other candidates for that. There is a relevant part of the interview score that is based on your communication, which you cannot practice at all if you read cases only.
Keep track of your mistakes and see which ones you are repeating. If so, try to identify the source of the mistake (feedback from experienced partners would be particularly useful for this). Be sure to focus on both the behavioral part and the case part during the mocks. The case part should also cover market sizing, math and graph analysis.
Before the interviews, be sure to prepare your questions for the interviewer – a great way to show you prepared in advance and to connect with the interviewer for a good final impression. Ideally, try to get information on who they are and study their profile to have good questions to ask.

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If you want to spend a few hours only instead of 100+ and cover everything mentioned above, I developed a program precisely for that.

You can check the program at the following link to learn more:

▶ GYM Program

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

Ian is on point regarding the best approach for getting case interview ready by the time you have until the interview. Let me just go further on two things:

CASE: Don't become hyper-focused on cases at the expense of personal fit. As a McKinsey interviewer, I had to give more no-hire recommendations for poor fit compared to poor case performance, because people generally underestimate the importance of showcasing their soft skills vs their hard skills. A big mistake you should try and avoid!

TIME: If you have little time to the interview and/or don't have much time to prepare until the interview because of professional/personal commitments, ask to reschedule (or a date in a couple of months time if it hasn't been set yet). This is quite common and typically well received if you argue your case well, which is you simply wanting to bring your best self because of how much you value the opportunity. There's no point in rushing and failing quickly!

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

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Answer 3

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation from BCG!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

First of all, given the short timeframe and your current lack of experience in case prep, I would highly advise you to work with an experienced coach like myself. A coach can offer tailored guidance and help accelerate your preparation to maximize your chances of success.
Moreover, considering the depth and breadth of skills required to excel in a consulting interview, you should also think about postponing the interview, if possible. Both BCG and you would benefit from you being thoroughly prepared for the challenges of the case interviews.
Lastly, while books like "Case in Point" are helpful, they are no substitute for real practice. I would advise you to engage in regular live case practice sessions with partners who can provide candid feedback.

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

Best,

Hagen

Answer 4

Hi!

If you're under a tight deadline, coaching is the way to go.

Otherwise, the entire process can feel a bit like boiling the ocean.

If you can't afford coaching, I suggest two avenues:

Connect with friends who work in consulting and try to enlist their experienced help. Both in terms of telling you what to focus on and doing case practice with you.
Use ChatGPT to design a practice program. This is an unreliable option but it's better than just being on your own.

Sharing a few free resources from my side as well to help you along:

Good luck!
Cristian

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Practicing for interviews? Check out my latest case based on a first-round MBB interview >>> CodeWave

Answer 5

Hi,

Reading books is passive learning which is the least efficient method to learn anything. To progress quickly, I suggest you take an active learning approach (in the following order):

1. Getting coaching when you are a complete beginner to learn the basics;

2. After you've learned the basics, practice cases with peers to polish your case solving process and acquire understanding of a wide range of industries and problem types;

3. Before the interview, ask a few acting consultants to give you cases in a mock-interview format to assess your readiness.

Good luck!
Nick

Answer 6

Hi there,

Congrats! Same thing happened to me with McKinsey and it turned into an offer later on hahaha!

I worked for BCG. Feel free to schedule a coaching session. I had 4 interviews in one week and nailed them all (and didn’t consider myself particularly MBB material haha).

Best of luck and talk soon hopefully !

Aude Augias

Answer 7

Best?

Hire a case coach. Feel free to reach out if you want a crash course to get case ready.

Genuinely. If you want to ramp up quickly, that's what you need.

Case coach is a intro course - it will get you past beginner, but not further.

Case in point is a….book…you're not going to get case ready by reading a book.

Another point: You said “of course with regular case practice with someone else.” Change this to multiple people! You need a wide range of casing peers.

Here's some reading to help you with case prep: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

And and quick learning article (with videos in the linked cases):
https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

Answer 8

Save yourself time and directly speak with a coach. I can give you a 10min rundown on a winning strategy over a free coffee chat. Feel free to ping me, Warm regards, Frederic