Some advice for final round

Question

I am an experience professional who has applied to BCG for Expert Principal in their TA practice. Since I a very experience professional and the role is quite a bit senior, I have been only interviewing with Partners, since the first phone screen. In my previous round, one of the partners actually cancelled his next appointment and continued talking to me for 90 minutes in total. The feedback after my last round was that 1) the FIT portion was very good, 2) the structure of my cases were good, 3) stumbled a bit on the math, and 4) tighten up the conclusion/recommendation. A few questions/advice:

- Does each round stand on its own? For example, do they consider the first round in their final recommendation, or is the first round, just to prove you can move to the final round?

- Most of the advice I see is for people to really be prepared for the final round because now you are interviewing with Partners. As I have only be interviewing with Partners, is the final round any different or much of the same?

- I should not have fumbled the math, one of my degrees is in Math and I am pretty advanced, as well as quick at doing math in my head. I fumbled more so because I took a slightly different approach to the math than what BCG was looking for. My approach was more aligned to industry practices to the problem, and they took a more basic approach. I am not sure I am going to fumble this again.

- What is the best way to prepare for the second round to tighten up my conclusion. My cases conclusion should have been more focused around, did the savings that I calculated deliver on the original question.

I chalk up most of mine to nervousness that I felt with the built up pressure I had in my mind. So I feel that I need to practice more live scenarios. I am not in college, so I don't have the same resources as MBA students might have. I will continue to review cases, but would like to get as much face to face practices in that I can with as senior of people as I possible can.

Answer 1

Hi David,

I replied below to your questions:

You will be evaluated in terms of the final. Interviewers may refer to the partners of the first round for specific questions, but if you perform well in the final you will receive an offer, independently by the possible mistakes in the first round
The final will be similar to the first round in your case. Potentially there may be more focus on your fit and communication at this second stage
It is difficult to assess your math performance without more details but in general would be important that you exercise on a not-too-complicated approach. Straightforward (and correct) math can be a plus versus excessively complicated math
Here is a link to some tips for the conclusion: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/at-the-end-of-the-case-interview-what-should-we-do-as-a-closing-conclusion-how-would-you-structure-a-synthesis-3832
I would suggest to look for experience candidates or experts for a final review of your prep, in particular if you feel you have reached a cap in your prep

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

If your performance was poor - they would not schedule the 2nd interview, so good news - you have a chance

If you perform well at the 2nd interview - you'll get an offer. If you perform so so and there will be questions - they'll probably reach out to the first partner and make a joint decision based on 2 rounds

Best

Answer 3

Hi David,

Here are quick answers:
- They consider only the final round. If you passed the first round, you are done with that.
- You can expect final round to be very similar in your case

- A practical approach to math is important because the aim is to do the math quickly

-most of the times your conclusion should start with your main recommendation and continue with a couple of supporting arguments.

- I strongly recommend you to do mock interviews with experienced consultants

Best

Answer 4

Dear David,

If have an invitation for the 2nd round of the interview, then you performance is ok.

Structure of the final round is pretty much the same - FIT, case, questions to the inerview. So just keep on with your practicing not only for cases, but for FIT questions, because you will be asked them by a partner.

Wish you all the best,

André

Answer 5

I feel people just assumed the process for a principal mirrors that of an associate. I'm not sure that's the case. For associates, you get through managers first and then you talk with more experienced partners. This is done partly for cost considerations.

If you are interviewing with partners both in the 1st and 2nd rounds, I think one could argue that those interviews don't stand alone and the offer discussion is done in the room with all partners, not just R2 partners. So, my reply would be I don't know. I just wanted to notice that maybe Vlad and al. know and that's why they are saying it or maybe they just assumed the decision making to be the same for associates and principals, which would be a big assumption to make.

Answer 6

Hello!

Congrats for moving to final round!

As it has been outlined, its very similar, but :

Cases you can expect are more "free riding" - less organized than the ones your found in the 1st round or most prep pages
Stronger emphasis in the FIT part, as outlined before by other coaches.

If you are interested in deepening your knowledge and preparation on the FIT part, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

- Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200

- Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

- Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!