All questions tagged BCG - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hi A,

I would say that for all MBB, the weightage is around 50/50. That is because while they will need you to be strong analytically, you also have to sit together in the room 4 days a week for 16+ hrs and work together (at least in normal times). Therefore, it's completely right that there are no shortcuts.

Speaking from experience, I can however say that many candidates underestimate the amount of time that sould be spent practicing the personal fit part, because they overestimate their ability to present themselves. Therefore, in some settings, it might be easier to stick out with a phenomenal personal fit, than with a very strong case performance.

Hope this helps, cheers

Jonas

Hi there,

you can definitely be referred no matter if you are an Emeralds member or not. But as far as my knowledge goes, the Emeralds membership should guarantee an interview invite. So you should really look at how you play your cards.

I would recommend you to reach out to the BCG HR of the office you're applying to clarify any questions regarding the application (this is not impacting your application chances at all).

Hope this helps!
Cheers

Jonas

Having worked frequently in McKinsey France, I have also heard that BCG historically was the stronger performing consultancy compared to McKinsey until 4-5 years ago. My undrestanding is that they are now comparable where McKinsey Paris is performing very well and the office has also cotinued to grow. The nuances will be that either firm will be stronger in particularly sectors/CAC40 clients/etc. but that is true in any location and easily changes over time.

For the second part of your question. The correlation was somewhat true 5+ years ago where although McKinsey opened Casablanca in the early 2000s the local office was much smaller and Francaphone Africa was still being served by consultants from the Paris office. Today, McKinsey Casablanca, in terms of consultant size, is double the size of BCG Casablanca (i.e., 80 vs. 40 consultants) and has also built a digital hub there for the region.

Dear James,

sounds like an exciting move! I think I can pretty much understand and maybe judge your journey. My wife is working as a dentist and founed 8 years ago her own business with two partners where I could support (being a consultant) the founding across all aspects of the business. It was really interesting to understand how a dentist is thinking and acting compared to my own view and knowledge from a "business" perspective.

You mentioned some good points like networking, online profile etc. However, hard skills will be key in order to succeed (also from the perspective of potential employers). MBA is not the only option. I personally know from my former business school ESCP that they are offering both full and part time executive programmes for professionals with non business background: https://escp.eu/programmes/executive-masters

Happy to further assist, if you have questions. Hope ist helps - Jasper

Hi,

I just went through the same reasoning for my new post-MBA career Investment Banking. Same as you I see my future in Europe for sure. Couple of thoughts:

In short: if you have the mental energy for it - I d start out in the US, set myself a timeframe, perhaps 2-3 years. This should allow you to build a network within the firm and think more about this situation. I d then make my switch over to Europe. This should also put you in a nice bucket to perhaps do a MBA in the US.

• Real income is the same you get - US is much more expensive on the CPI, all big firms adjust accordingly. Your living expenses will be lower in Madrid than in the US, so do not be worried too much about money. Moreover, some US offices do not get as many perks (e.g. a fancy comapny car). Quality of housing and groceries is much lower in the US (lived in NYC and Chicago before)
• Employee protection laws: not something that should be prio 1 but be clear that working in the EU gives you more rights as an employee. MBB being able to just lay you off wont happen here
• Focus on reputation, expected size and frequency of projects. How would Madrilenos think about you after you may have worked for 2 years in the US first? From my experience I d say this could give you the edge in either Milano or Madrid where most ppl lived studied and worked only in Europe before.
• What happens if a transfer from the US does not work out? I think this is not likely - if you tell BCG for family reasons you d like to go back to Spain or Italy and they WONT make it happen this would be a clear reason for me to switch firms, i.e. go over to McK or Bain. But in case you find out that consulting is for you, having been in the US may give your more options in terms of exits. Also a MBA in the US should work out well given US work experience.

100 hours sounds like a lot! When I was practicing, the ones who had done the most practice interviews ended up not getting the job. I thought they sounded too robotic and were not creative. I would aim for 30-40 lives cases (with 50 being a big maximum). After that you'll get robotic and it will hurt your performance. The rest of the time can be spent on practicing FIT (but again here, be authentic and do not rehearse), reading about different industries, and learning about the firms. I personally did 15 cases before round 1 (I wish I did more, glad it worked out, but I just didn't have enough time), and ~20 more for round 2. Got 2 MBB offers.

Hi,

Yes, in fact I have done the same today when I interviewed upcoming interns. The main reason is that interviewers typically have 2 3 different cases, thus they don't want you to share the solutions to other applicants.

Best,

Deniz

Hi Aisha,

I do a session exactly on that, please feel free to PM me if useful.

In general I would recommend the following approach for graphs and math.

GRAPHS:

1. Read the graph

• Ask for 30 seconds to understand the graph
• Summarize what the graph is about. Read in particular the graph title (often forgotten), the axes and the legend

2. Analyze the graph and find the main insights

• Repeat the question you have to answer. Many people don’t spend time to clarify the question; consequently, they answer the wrong question. Don’t be one of them and be sure to restate what is the main insight you have to derive
• Provide an analysis related to the question. Analyze how the graph can help to answer the question you just repeated and provide an answer

3. Propose the next steps

• State your hypothesis or suggestion or what to do next. As a last step, a great candidate will present what should be done next to help further the client
• Ask a question related to what you need to move forward. This will show you are a proactive candidate

MATH APPROACH:

1. Repeat the question – sometimes candidates do mistakes answering the wrong question
2. Ask for time and present how you would like to proceed from a theoretical point of view
3. Perform the math and present the interim steps to keep the interviewer aligned – don’t just say the final number
4. Continue with the computations until you find the final answer
5. Propose next steps on the basis of the results you found

MATH TIPS:

1. Use correctly 10^ powers in your math computation. For example 3.2B/723M can be transformed in 3200*10^6/732*10^6, which makes it easier to deal with math
2. Ask if it is fine to approximate. When you have to deal with math in market sizing - and sometimes even in business cases - you are allowed to approximate math to simplify the computation. In the previous example you could transform the computation in 320*10^7/70*10^7
3. Keep good notes. One of the reasons people do mistakes with big numbers is that they don't keep their notes in order and forget/misreport numbers
4. Divide complex math in logical steps. This is something you can use for big numbers after the application of the 10^ power mentioned above. For example: (96*39)*10^6 à 96*40 - 96*1 = 100*40 - 4*40 - 96*1 = 4000 – 160 – 100 + 4 = 3744*10^6
5. Use shortcuts for fractions. You can learn by heart fractions and thus speed up/simplify the computation - the most useful to know are 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9.

Best,
Francesco

Hey there,

Whenever you (re)-apply after a failed application (screening, aptitude test, or interviews) you need to make sure to show significant development in your resume since your rejection. Assuming you want to be hired straight out of university this means

• New academic achievements (e.g., new degree, top of class achievements,...)
• Experience abroad (career or university)
• New job experience (internships, working student, project assistant,...)
• New extracurriculars (leadership experience, NGOs, student clubs,....)

Usually, you are banned between 12 and 24 months from re-applying. Referrals can help both

• shorten that time
• increase your chances for a new invitation to the interviews

Cheers,

Florian

Having gone through the same, I would firstly realize that it's ~90% overlap with McKinsey Operations and 75% overlap with McKinsey generalists. So although the websites etc, will highlight the differences, the roles are in fact much more similar than they are different, and therefore you should be practicing the same overall skills and interviewing techniquest.

That being said, the focus is slightly different. For implementation, you should be thinking a little more about how you achieving impact through both people and organizational change. Highlighting leadership ability and getting people and organizations to move outside their comfort zone is key. Of course all consultancies value this, but it's weighted slightly hired at MI.

Happy to share more. Just ask. In the meantime, hope this helps!

Best,

Allen

Hi there,

Congrats on your offer. Your exits will be influenced by the projects you do. You won’t have full control over them, but you can express your interests and the company usually tries to accommodate them.

I helped people that before joining MBB were professional musicians, soldiers and doctors. They all did pretty well.

If you want to see exactly what people are doing after a path as doctors + McKinsey, my suggestion is to have a look on LinkedIn to their career path for your specific country.

Best,

Francesco

Hey there,

In a McKinsey interview, you can take up to 2 minutes to draft your structure, IF the structure you come up with is strong and

• a. hits all the key points that the firm wants to see and
• b. is communicated in the right way.

A big issue I see with coaching candidates is that they take too little time to structure their thoughts because they feel pressured to be quick rather than exhaustive and creative.

An additional 30 seconds can often make the difference between a bad structure and a good one or a good one and an excellent one. So my battle-tested advice is to get rid of this time pressure mindset, especially in a McKinsey interview.

Also different from other firms, you can take up to roughly 6/7/8 minutes to present your structure, your qualification, and hypotheses. This is due to the interviewer-led format that McK employs. The firm wants to see exhaustive and creative approaches to specific problems, which more often than not do not fit into the classic case interview frameworks that were en vogue 10 years ago...

Again, this only applies if everything you say

• adds value to the problem analysis
• is MECE
• is well qualified
• includes a detailed discussion of your hypotheses at the end

The difference in format and way of answering a question is the reason why I recommend to prepare very differently for McK interviews vs. other consultancies.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

I assume, you're also looking into transferring the money not only to a different currency but into a different account, likely someplace other than your current location, right?

If so, I found transferwise.com to be quite efficient and - depending on the currencies you are exchanging and the payment methods available - quite cheap (can be even lower than .5% FOREX). Best thing: you can directly check online on their website how much the cost would be, so you can easily compare it to other services.

If not, maybe an account with one of the current neo-banks (e.g. Revolut) might be helpful?

Hope that helps!

Best

Oliver

Hi,

Consulting companies are having ups and downs depending on the geography and at some point, some companies can be easier to get in than the others. But there are no statistics and any discussion on that topic will be speculation. This info does not help anyhow with applying, so I would rather recommend you concentrate on the prep process

Best

Hi,

Usually consulting companies inform the candidate regarding the time required before re-applying. Have you received any email on that?

I still recommend you to contact the HR of the other office. They are the best people to ask for this kind of information.

Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you're interested in discussing a structured prep plan that will lead you to get an offer.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Antonello

Hi,

As you can guess, BCG is simply bigger and thus might have more transfers and international project opportunities. But it's still a matter of luck

Office transfers are happening here and there, but you need to have:

1. Top- performance
2. Local contacts in the office you are transferring to
3. Personal family circumstances will make the case more compelling

Exit opportunities are very similar but may vary by country. Again, the size of the firm matters, since there are more BCG alums on the market hiring ex BCGs

MBA - similar approach across the firms, but differs significantly by country. In any case, being a top performer gives you more leverage

Best

Hi there,

I would suggest to divide the first page into 4 parts as below:

• top-left: who is the client
• bottom left: initial information
• top right: objectives
• bottom right: structure

Landscape format in general works better. Sometimes you will have to go back and forth, as you may get information, objective 1, additional information, objective 2, etc.

The vertical line should be closer to the left border and the horizontal line should be closer to the top border so that there is more space for the structure.

After the first page, you can structure as below:

• top-left: name of the first area analysed
• bottom left: structure for the first area
• top right: name of the second area analysed
• bottom right: structure for the second area

The vertical line can now be in the middle so that the left and right parts have the same distance.

Besides that, you can also improve your notes with the following:

• Ask the interviewer to repeat in case you missed information. It is better to ask for missing information upfront rather than later
• Do a recap after the prompt. This ensures you took notes correctly since the interviewer will correct you otherwise
• Use abbreviations. Eg, for revenues use R, for costs use C, for increase use an arrow directed up, etc.
• Write down essential information only. You do not have time to write everything, thus you should exercise in writing down only the necessary information. If you have a client that produces steel which has four plants, with a revenue problem, your notes could be something as Steel producer, R (arrow down), 4 plants
• Keep a separate sheet for math if you tend to be disorganized in that part

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

In general your answers should be 1-3 minutes long (depending on the question and body language of the interviewer). Remember, you need to be prepared with answers for "Resume Walkthrough", "Why consulting", and "Why BCG". Furthermore, you need to have 5-7 stories prepared.

You should expect 2-4 questions.

Resume walkthrough

• Needs to be chronological
• Only keep important details that make you look good (i.e. I worked across 7 industries and rose up the ranks twice in the course of that role)
• Keep a theme of "why consulting"
  • I.e. at each step you need to show that you both got exposure to aspects of consulting AND thrived + enjoyed them
• Finish with: And that's why I'm here today looking for consulting with your company

Why Consulting

• You need to summarize what you did before along the theme of consulting aspects you liked and consulting aspects that were missing
• You then combine those two - i.e. I know I like + am good at x, y, and z which is required for consulting, and I really am excited to get a, b, and c
• You finish with a "mini" why x company

Why x company

• Start with a "mini" why consulting
• Then have 2-3 reasons why x company is your target
• Every "reason" needs to incorporate 1) That you know they value x 2) That you not only value x but have exhibited it and done it in the past
• Be very very mindful of what they want you to want

Hi,

I had a somewhat similar path to BCG.

I did my Global Executive MBA at IE Business School after around 15 years of experience in industry and digital consulting. I came in to BCG late last year on the expert track as a Principal (now Associate Director).

Based on your profile, it sounds like you have a pretty good shot at an expert role, either Project Leader or AD level. My honest opinion is that trying to come in as a PL in generalist track will be extremely difficult and also very hard to succeed in, but I don't know your specific skillset and strengths (or ambitions).

The INSEAD EMBA isn't required due to experience, but it will make a big difference in getting your foot in the door. It would be quite hard for an average person with 10 years of mixed experience to get an interview without it or something else quite notable.

Hope that helps.

The questions are always specific and it is very important you answer the questions being asked. For example under personal impact the question could be tell me about a time you changed the mind of your manager or tell me about a time you faced a conflict in a team situation. You will have to adapt your answer accordingly to ensure that you are answering the question being asked.