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Phone screening

Hello Preplounge community,

I am working at a Market research firm but recently my firm has started consulting arm. I have done couple of PE projects for small companies.

Obviously the level of projects were not close to Bain or any tier 1 or tier 2 firms.

I have mentioned in my CV that I have done PE projects and exaggerated a bit.

I have got the phone screening scheduled on Monday with Strategy& and will apply to other firms as well very soon.

1 - During the interview, does the interviewer goes into each and every line of CV and get into the depth of it?

I have gone through the theory so that I can answer questions but would love to know your opinion.

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Top answer
Udayan
Coach
on Sep 30, 2021
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

It depends on what the objective of the HR interview is. Sometimes they get into details to see if you have the necessary experience for the role. If it is on your resume you need to be well prepared to elaborate on it.

Pedro
Coach
on Sep 30, 2021
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

No, the interviewer usually doesn't go into each and every line. 

But he may go into ANY line and may go deep on that line - particularly if your answers are not convincing.

As an interviewer I would go deep when something was “off”. Not only to probe the candidate, but to also give the opportunity to better explain something that wasn't clear. But I would rarily get too technical.

You may receive questions both on how you did things, or your responsibility level.

In any case, at MBB they assume you will need to learn “their way" of doing things, so you should actually underline your responsibility level (i.e., ownership for the whole module/project) more than your technical abilities. For that, we have the case.

Deleted
Coach
on Sep 30, 2021
Experienced interviewer | Roland Berger Project Manager| Cambridge University | Super intuitive approach

The interviewer will not go through every line of your CV.

However, he/ she may pick any line and ask you questions about it. For various reasons, e.g.,:

  • Because they found it interesting
  • Because it wasn't clear, so want to clarify with you
  • Because they think something is off
  • etc.

So you should be ready to explain any activities/ roles/ responsibilities you claimed on your CV.

Best of luck!

Ian
Coach
on Oct 01, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

You should be prepared to talk through each and every line of your CV.

There is a 100% probability that the interviewer will not go through every line of your CV. However, there is a very non-zero chance that any given line on your resume will be asked about.

Anything on your resume is fair game!

Make sense?

Deleted user
on Sep 30, 2021

They wont go into every line of the CV. 

But its your CV and you put those lines there, so you should be able to provide the details/story in a confident & credible way. Otherwise, dont bluff and put any such stuff on CV which you cant defend.

18
Hagen
Coach
on Oct 01, 2021
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

  • Generally speaking, you should be able to talk about your past experience in detail, whether it is on your resume or not.
  • Given that it is a phone screening, it will be rather short and you will most probably not dive into details. I would still advise you to properly prepare to walk the interviewer through whatever question you are being asked.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on PE projects (whether Bain-specific or not) as well as how to best prepare for your phone screening and the personal fit part of your upcoming interviews with Strategy&, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Agrim
Coach
edited on Oct 02, 2021
#1 Awarded Coach | BCG Dubai Project Leader | Master Casing in only 3 Hours | 10y in Consulting | Free Intro Call

Here is my take on this:

  1. The interviewer will NOT go in detail through all the CV lines
  2. The interviewer will MOST LIKELY go in detail through 1-3 lines - which shall be randomly selected
  3. There is a small possibility that the interviewer may not go in detail into any of the lines
  4. The interviewer may also ask you questions that require answers in the form of stories that may not be on your CV

Now coming to your exaggeration - you will need to share your CV for me to give you a sense of how much under the water you are and what is your risk level. Ideally, try not to exaggerate on your CV so that it starts worrying you.

Deleted user
on Oct 04, 2021

Hello,

Realistically they won't have time to go through each and every line of your resume, but you should be prepared to talk about anything in there at detail. Anything is fair game, so definitely make sure you are ready to discuss the PE projects.

3
on Oct 06, 2021
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi!

My recommendation is to enrich your stories but never lie.

Interviews with MBB tend to be very specific and your interviewer will dig deep into your stories. Be prepared to provide an answer to every small detail they might ask.

Best,

Anto

on Oct 31, 2021
Former BCG | Case author for efellows book | Experience in 6 consultancies (Stern Stewart, Capgemini, KPMG, VW Con., Hor

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