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Hi! Please see the responses by me and Clara regarding the final round at MBBs in this thread https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/final-round-bcg-dubai-5860#first-answer I believe this would answer your question. Regarding creativity, I do not agree – it's just a bit more free flow, but no additional focus on creativity.

Hi Anonymous,

the standard ban is 24 months, it could be reduced to a lower period if you had a good performance (usually HR or the interviewers clarify that); the minimum I heard is 6 months - not usual though.

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

I would try a combination between:

• "Public" reasons: referring to what can be found in the website, public sources... pick some of the things that BCG is great at and build a story arround it that relates to your background, to your objectives, etc.
• "Personal" reasons: referring to the people you mention you know, how the BCG has shaped them and made them grow, etc.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi,

Unfortunately, the companies are doing that. It's not that they reject all candidates because they have no headcount. They would rather set the bar very high and will do a lot of hand-picking only taking the best of the best

The only way to know that is to ask your friends who work there. Additionally, If the particular economy is not doing that well, - be sure it's happening

The only solution here is being the best candidate and get accepted despite the high bar

Best

Hi,

I've uploaded some samples here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0

(message me for a password)

The best way to prepare is the following:

1. Check if the calculator is allowed. So far it was. If not - you have to train mental math. I posted the main tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-to-do-big-multiplications-in-my-mind-726#a1422
2. Prepare for a regular case interview - it helps a lot. Basically, prep lounge website is about it
3. Practice making slides. Look for publically available MBB presentations for reference. Good books are "Pyramid Principle" and "How to make it with charts"
4. Practice reading cases fast and prioritizing the information. I found useful two sources:

• Written cases you'll be able to find in google or in case books. I've seen a couple in "Vault Guide to the Case Interview" and "Insead Business Admission Test"
• Harvard cases - either buy or try to find online. You can find a couple of MIT cases here for free: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/Pages/Case-Studies.aspx Unfortunately free cases don't have the prep questions.

The appropriate structure for BCG written case is:

Slide 1: Context, Objective, Recommendations

Slide 2-4: Analysis (Usually 1 slide with a table, 1 slide with graphs and 1 slide with pros and cons)

Slide 5: Next steps or risks & mitigation

Good luck!

Hello!

The classical is cold-calling via LinkedIn, but I would avoid this approach if possible honestly.

If you cannot leverage any existing network, the best would be to attend recruiting events and get to know consultants for real. There are plenty -the Recruiting part of HR does them all the time, and there is people totally dedicated to this-, so check their websites or even give them a call.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hello Micheal,

In order to have a significant added value to your preparation, I suggest to start working with a coach at least 2 weeks before the interview. When will the ban be over?

Best,
Luca

Hello Micheal,

I would put the actual position and the starting day of your experience there, without specifying it. 1.3 years as specialist is not too much.
Then, if they ask, you have to give the detailed situation talkking about your trainee period, saying that your duties were the same.

Best,
Luca

Hi,

In the real case interviews, you don't necessarily finish the case. In fact, you can easily pass the interview without finishing any case. One thing that is important is the ability to provide a soft recommendation:

Indeed, in many cases, you can't provide a definite answer. Consultants may be testing several things:

• Are you comfortable enough with providing preliminary recommendations based on limited data? (Imagine a CEO whom you met in the elevator and who wants to know the preliminary findings)
• Will you make a mistake of providing a recommendation with a high level of certainty without having a proper supporting data?

Imagine a case when you have to make a decision about whether a PE fund should acquire a company. You make a proper structure (Market, Competitors, Company, Feasibility of Exit) and in 25 min of a case, you've managed only to go through the Market and Competitors branches of the analysis. What will be your recommendation?

In this case, you have to provide a Soft Recommendation:

1. You start with an objective ("Our objective was to understand whether we should buy this company")
2. You provide a preliminary recommendation highlighting the uncertainty("According to the limited data we have so far, our preliminary recommendation is to buy this company and there are three reasons for that..." or "Purely based on the data we have about the market it looks like it's a good idea for a number of reasons..")
3. You provide the reasons ("First of all the market is big at X and growing at Y, Secondly the competition is fragmented with the target company having x% of the market. Thirdly...")
4. You Mention the pieces of data that you need to provide a full recommendation ("But to come up with a final recommendation I would like to look at the company financials, key capabilities and..." or "But to be 100% sure in our recommendation we need to check...)

Best,

Vlad

Hello!

The HR team who reviews CVs does a "holistic" overview of them.

What does this mean? That is not only looking at grades, but the whole picture. If your records are not great but you were a professional sports player, for instance, your case might be even stronger. Same if you were involved in impressive entrepreneurial activities.

In any case, applying is for free so you don´t have any opportunity cost.

Give it a shoot!

Good luck,

Clara

Hi,

It will be up to a week. Don't worry and keep calm

Best

For perspective, I worked 5.5 years at BCG in Germany and Japan, and did projects all over the globe. I have multiple friends at both McK and Bain. The following are my personal views, and your statement "from different online sources, I am getting different ideas" also holds in "real life" :)

Important:

(1) The differences between all three firms (and even other top managment consultancies) are negligible compared to non-consulting firms/jobs.

(2) All three firms have grown so much, they compete on all levels and no longer specialize in certain topics or industries. Basically, if one of the firms pitch for a certain project, the others could do it equally well.

On to the differences:

- In Europe, there is still a difference between McK/BCG and Bain, which is a bit smaller. So, while any competitive pitch where McK is invited also has BCG pitching (and vice versa), Bain is not always present.

- McK tends to have a more top-down, slightly harsher approach (maybe rooted from operations/cost cutting experience). BCG has a bit more cooperative approach, building support bottom-up together with the client's organization/middle management. Bain is somewhere in the middle.

- I found the smartest/most intelligent people to be at McK, intellectually a tiny notch above the other firms. BCG I found to be a bit more creative/out of the box.

Again, all of this is highly subjective. If you receive an offer from any of the firms, congratulations, that's amazing! :) If you end up getting more than one offer, I would choose the one which feels the best to you personally. I loved BCG, but one of my friends did not like the atmosphere and they somehow didn't connect -- he is now super successful and happy at Bain. During the interview process, you get to know 5-10 consultants over 2 rounds in a professional context. And keep in mind -- they don't just interview, but also try to make a good impression on you! The interview process is actually quite revealing about how working there would be, so going with your gut feel is probably the best way to go.

Good luck and all the best!

Hi Amy Vann,

in order to understand if it could make sense to add your volunteer experience in the cover letter, let’s start with what a good cover letter should include. Generally speaking, a cover letter should address the following: (i) quick intro on why you are applying; (ii) why you are adapt for the job; (iii) why you are interested in that particular firm compared to others in the same sector; (iv) final remarks, mentioning again your interest.

Your volunteer experience could therefore potential be included in the second area. What you should include there is what can help the recruiter to understand you have the skills to do a great job as a consultant. The kind of specific skills your volunteer experience can show would of course depend on what exactly you did during it, but in general terms it probably helped you to develop better communication skills, proactivity and ability to listen to the needs of people different from you.

The questions you asked thus translate in “Is it necessary that I include a story showing I have good skills in communication/proactivity/listening”? As Vishwa mentioned, consulting companies are interested to see whether people have competences at 360°. The big bias you would have as a PhD would be they would consider you very strong analytical, but not as strong on communication. Thus, a communication/listening story in the cover letter could definitely help you.

As a consequence, my recommendation would be that if you have already better stories showing communication skills, proactivity and ability to listen, then you may exclude the volunteer experience form the cover letter. If not, I would definitely consider to include it, in order to show you have the skills they may expect PhDs lack, as a further point of strength in your profile.

Best,

Francesco