Success

Hey Linda,

Congrats on the 2nd round - almost there :-)

The first thing that you should know is that you have what it takes and you can go confidently into the 2nd round. The 2nd round is just to confirm what has been noticed during the 1st, yet with a different set of eyes from more senior firm leaders.

In theory, the 2nd round should not be too different than the first. As a result, you should expect exactly the same interviewing format as in the first round. You will be evaluated on the same criteria, and metrics, with the same types of cases and questions.

Now, that's the theory. :-)

Quick reality check!

That being said, partners still often employ their own way of doing interviews based on their personal preferences, which means that sometimes the final round with them can be less predictable.

Some focus on the case, others focus solely on the fit part and some might do 2 cases in a row.

In general, the more senior the partner, the more likely are they to deviate from the standard interview format because they a. can b. have their own way of doing things. :-)

So now you know the practice.

What does this mean for you and your preparation?

Nothing much.

Continue with your preparation, meaning

• Rehearse and finetune your fit answers with a coach or peers who know what they are talking about
• Hone your case interview skills that are relevant for (structuring, math, exhibit interpretation, hypothesis generation) with coaches and drills
• Prepare for some traditional fit questions (Why consulting, why firm X, why you etc.) and more advanced ones (e.g., issues you faced, leadership roles,…)
• Pay special attention to the areas where you received negative feedback in the first round. Second-round interviewers are aware and will dig deeper into these specific areas

During the interview

• Do not expect a particular type of case and do not use any cookie-cutter frameworks
• Stay cognitively flexible
• Do not be surprised if the format deviates from what you expect
• Stay calm and collected no matter what happens
• Stay enthusiastic, and engaged, and portray the impression that you are happy to be here (partners love that...)

If you managed to pass the first round, you should have it in you to pass the second round as well.

Fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi Linda,

Q: Has anyone been successful with round 2 of the interview process? What cases have been used and what frameworks?

I would recommend to list the companies and offices interesting to you as the second / final round structure and content depends on that as well (eg some companies use market sizing questions while others never use them).

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In general, in a final round, the interviewers may:

1. Spend more time on fit and your alignment with the company.
2. Ask questions related to the areas of improvement for which you got feedback after the first round.
3. Not use a “standard” case. During one of my MBB finals I had one interview made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case.

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To prepare, you can work on the following:

1. Review your fit answers – they could ask more fit questions compared to the first round.
2. Work on the areas they mentioned you could improve, if any (eg. structure, creativity).
3. Focus your case prep on the weakest areas. If you are tracking your performance, do drills for the areas where you are struggling the most / review cases where you made mistakes instead of just doing random cases.

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Extra reading:

▶ How to Prepare for a Consulting Interview

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Good luck!

Francesco

Hi Linda,

First of all, congratulations on making it to the final round of the interview process!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• Be prepared: Review the information you've been provided about the company and the position, and be ready to discuss your qualifications and how they align with the role. Make sure you have also identified and addressed any weaknesses that you may have.
• Show your enthusiasm: Let the partners know that you're excited about the opportunity to join their team and contribute to the company's success.
• Highlight your relevant experience: Be sure to emphasize the experiences you've had that make you well-suited for the role.
• Be a good listener: Pay attention to the questions the partners are asking and answer them directly. Also, don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions if you are unsure about what they are looking for.
• Be prepared for anything, including strategic and conceptual questions about the consulting industry and business in general. Be ready to think on your feet and demonstrate your problem-solving abilities.
• Lastly, be authentic and show your passion for the role and the company.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Florian has a great answer and has already made important points you should take note of. 

I will add to that based on my own experience - in my final round interview, the Partner started the interview by drawing a scatterplot chart on the white board. After he finished drawing it, he simply asked me “What do you think?". We spent the ‘case’ portion of the interview talking about the chart in what might have seemed an ‘unstructured’ way, but end of the day he was looking for the same traits/skills that all interviewers look for, just that he used a different method.

Remember your fundamentals and keep a calm head and you'll be fine.

Lastly, do note that sometimes 2nd rounds are also used to test/validate certain weaker areas - so its important to ask for feedback on your 1st round too.

All the best!

Hey Linda,

Yes! Preparation is key across all areas of the interview: Advanced level mock cases, structured communication for the Fit part of the interview and demonstrating business acumen.

Happy to support you in your preparation.

Best,

Rushabh

Hi Linda,

No specific cases and no specific frameworks have been used.

Please remember here that there isn't a silve bullet and set of answers here but rather a training of the mind to approach any problem period in a structured way.

Plenty of my candidates have been successful with round 2 and the commonality across all of them is they did not use memorized frameworks.

Rather, they leveraged what they knew to tailor their structure based on the objective/context of the question.

Here's some reading that might help: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

Hi Linda,

congrats to making it to R2!

A lot of good advice has been given by other coaches already. If you'd like tailored advice to your specific situation, please share a bit more context re location and firm or reach out via PM.

Regards, Andi

Dear applicant, 

Congratulations to making it to round two. I wish you best of success and a great time interviewing. For round two expect more interesting cases, often with more details and great opportunities for you to shine. 

A) Ideally for round two move fr leveraging more standard frameworks to deciding your own, in particular expect to show that you can easily mention industry or case specific  suggestions to the field you are asked to explore so you can differentiate yourself from other applicants, also show that you are able to create your own framework so if you are used to using standard ones, rename categories, try to think a bit further and open up adjacent categories, question yourself whether you can spe ify the framework further by leveraging the context. 

b) Other than that break the question down as good as you can, think of the underlying drivers and detail them, find out what could give you a holistic answer to the question. Gladly contact me if you have further questions. 

Best regards,

Hi there, 

That's a rather broad questions, but here's a few things to keep in mind for last round interview:

1. Work on the feedback provided in the previous rounds. Most firms communicate the feedback from the previous rounds to the final interviewer. It's important then to show the final interviewer that you have a growth mindset and are reactive to feedback. This matters immensely. Make sure you are clear on your development areas and that you get the right support to polish them before the final interview.
2. Expect less structure. Senior interviewers already have the confidence that you are a decent candidate, your skills having been already vetted by their younger colleagues. They are rather more interested in your as a person and your way of thinking. So they might present you with an unusual case, or one that is created on the spot or no case altogether. Expect anything.
3. Focus on excellent communication. Senior interviewers care a lot about how clearly you communicate and how you manage to forge a connection with the interviewer. It's important to be top-down and concise as much as possible with your answers, while allowing the conversation to flow in a natural way.
4. Put yourself in their shoes. The one question senior interviewers are asking themselves throughout the interview is what will happen when they'll put you in front of a client they've groomed for years? Make sure that even based on this first impression you seem somebody who can be trusted and who can work with any client regardless of how difficult they might be.

As a last note, if you want to increase the likelihood of success, consider hiring a coach to assess your readiness for the final interview. 

This question has been asked previously in a similar fashion. You can read it HERE.

Best,

Cristian