Regarding BCG Case Interview

Hello there,

I agree with Pedro's perspective: The interviewer evaluates not just your framework itself, but rather your ability to structure. If you consistently demonstrated this skill throughout the interview, exemplified in how you tackled brainstorming questions and organized your final recommendation, you may still salvage a less-than-ideal framework.

To be very direct and honest: The way you framed it, it did sound like you were overall unstructured which is not a promising signal. Nonetheless, your focus should now shift to (as patiently as you can) awaiting the outcome and concentrating on factors within your control, such as pursuing additional applications.

Given you had two interviewers in the first round, they will deliberate on your performance during the debrief. If at least one acknowledges your structuring abilities and advocates for you, there remains a chance of advancing to the next round. However, the drawback of initial rounds with multiple interviews lies in the risk of consistent weaknesses being observed across both interactions.

Let's keep our fingers crossed! Should the outcome prove favorable, gear up to hone your structuring skills for the next round. If not, remember: there are alternative firms, and this setback is only a minor detour.

Best regards,
Gero

Hi there,

Q: Would they not go ahead with a candidate who did not clearly structure their solution or who still give a chance to better it before the next round. 

It depends on your overall performance, so it is hard to say without more information.

To pass to the next round, you need to have both interviewers agree on that. If there are doubts, sometimes they might offer an extra interview to check the weak area.

Unfortunately, the only ones who can provide feedback on your performance now are the interviewers. This is because (i) we don't have all the details to assess your performance and (ii) your perception could be biased—sometimes candidates think they did badly when the performance was okay, and the other way around.

Although I understand your desire to get a clear answer, the only thing you can do now is to act on what is in your control, that is prepare for the other interviews/ apply to other companies while waiting for the results.

Good luck! 

Francesco

Multiple things are evaluated, and structuring ability is assessed in multiple ways. As such, a lower than average initial structuring does not immediately rule you out of the interview.

But…. the rest of the interview needs to be very solid!

A different situation is case interview vs. fit interview. Here it doesn't really matter how wonderful your fit interview goes… you need to pass the case interview. If you don't, you don't make it to the next round. Passing doesn't mean perfecting, but requires solid performance.

Hi there,

if you struggle a bit in the beginning of a case (e.g. lack of structure or faulty approach) but you are able to correct that along the way and drive it home correctly, it doesn’t mean you failed the case interview. However, your interviewers will also always compare your performance to that of other candidates to whom they have given the case prior. 

If you fail a case interview, that is usually the end of the process because the interviewers will doubt your ability to comprehend, structure, analyze, derive and/or concisely communicate - basically all of the essential consulting skills. It won’t matter then if you had great stories to tell in your fit interview. 

It is impossible to predict what all of this will mean for your interviews because nobody here witnessed it but fingers crossed that you will get positive feedback.

Best wishes 

Hi,

Structuring is a key component / metric that is being tested in the interview. 

Both interviewers need to give you a passing score. 

Nobody other than the interviewers and HR will know what the result is, so you just have to wait for it. 

Hi there!

Sorry to hear the interviews didn't go according to your expectations. 

Yes, there are situations when they decide to give candidates another chance to see them in the second round. You can only wait and see if this will be the case for you too. 

Sharing an article on structuring here in the meantime: Expert Guide: Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming

And if you're interested in something more tailored, I run a 2h 1-on-1 workshop on first principles structuring that would help. More on it here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/coaching-packages-5/first_principles_structuring_masterclass

Best,
Cristian