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Yes, go ahead and apply.  If they recruiters already know you, since they personally invited you, your chances are higher than applying without a referral.

Hope this helps!

Allen

Hi there,

Several questions ;) Let me go one by one.

1) NPV

The correct NPV formula closer to what you reported is:

NPV = -Initial Investment + (FCF/Discount Rate) 

Where FCF= Free cash flow of the project generated in one year (I guess that’s what you mean by Future Value of Money). Note that this formula assumes that (i) every year you will generate the same FCF and (ii) you will generate FCF forever with that project.

2) RULE OF 72

With the Rule of 72 you can calculate the time to double for a variable. The formula is:

Time to double = 72/r

Where r=discount rate*100 (so if the discount rate is say 15%, r=15).

3) WACC

From a theoretical point of view, the discount rate is normally approximated with the WACC of the company (Weighted Average Cost of Capital), which can be computed as follows:

WACC = Re x E/V + Rd x (1 - corporate tax rate) x D/V.

where:

Re= Cost of Equity

Rd= Cost of Debt

E= Equity

D= Debt

V= Total Value (E+D)

In practical terms, this is normally assumed to be 5% or 10% for simplicity in a case.

4) CASE QUESTION

I guess what they meant was that profits, not revenues, are going to be received in 6 years.

Given the WACC is 12%, if you apply the rule of 72 using the WACC as the discount rate, you will find that the returns of the project will double indeed in exactly 6 years (72/12=6 – see formula above).

So this means that if you have X in year zero and grow by 12% per year, this will be worth 2X in 6 years. Given in this case you have 354M in 6 years, 354M = 2X, so X (value today of that return) is 177M.

---

For more information on the other variables, you can refer to the following answer that goes more into detail:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/case-net-present-value-calculations-325

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing!:)
Cheers,
GB

Hi Anon,

Couple of dimensions to consider:

• Expert or general consultant. Most general consultants don't specialise until later into their Project Leader / Manager tenure. As a general consultant, you will be mostly considered for any and all projects.
• Past experience. Many chances are that your initial project assignments will be aligned with your past experience. If that matches your interests - then good! If not, then don't lose heart.
• Staffing team. Check with the staffing team the project pipeline. Let them know your specific interests so they can try to staff you better. 
• Look around. Search for opportunities aligned with your experience. Talk to other consultants, managers, and even partners. Other people your presence and preferences will help.
• Hanging on. No need to feel demotivated by initial non-aligned assignments. Take those projects as a learning opportunity to sharpen your skills so that when your perfect project comes - you are ready to shine.

Hope this helps!

Agrim

Hi there,

The 8-question test is the new chat bot version of BCG. It is structured in 2 parts:

• 8 questions to be taken in 25 minutes
• 1 video interview question at the end, where you have to provide a recommendation

The main differences compared to the previous version (BCG Potential Test) are the following:

1. 8 questions instead of 23
2. 25 min instead of 45
3. No negative points
4. Calculators allowed
5. Presence of open questions
6. Video sum up at the end

The general logic though is similar to the old test.

I helped several candidates who did the chat bot test and succeeded in it. The main challenges based on their feedback are:

1. Time. Questions are not particularly difficult, however you will feel time constraints also due to the fact you don’t know how difficult could be the next questions - thus how much time they may require.
   • Implication --> Try to practice PST and/or BCG Potential Tests with a strict time constraint
2. Math. Candidates usually find the math challenging
   • Implication --> Many candidates said the old BCG Potential Test is the one resembling the most the math required
3. Chat bot interaction. Unlike a test like the McK PST, you cannot proceed “at your own pace”. You will have to follow the evolution of the test. In that sense, it is not dissimilar from the old BCG Potential Test, where information was revealed step-by-step
   • Implication --> Practice on PST/Potential Tests working questions by questions, without skipping any

Please feel free to PM me for more info.

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

In most offices they have implemented the chat bot one already, so I would imagine Singy being one of them.

Hope it helps!

Best,

Clara

Hey there,

I would advise against preparing for the specific two case variations that are floating around for 2 reasons:

1. You put too much emphasis on the what instead of the how. Learn how to answer these types of questions regardless of their context. Focus on 

• Structuring/idea generation
• Chart interpretation
• Math
• Maturity and top-down communication skills

2. You will be surprised when the context changes (you get a new case you did not expect) or you got some variation of the existing case (new questions, different numbers, different exhibits)

Be aware that the test is still in its infancy and mostly used to collect data points at this stage. It is not a full evaluation tool as of yet.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

The new BCG Online Case (also called Chatbot Interview) is a new 8 questions test BCG started to use in 2019 and now expanded globally. It is structured in 2 parts:

• 8 questions to be taken in 25 minutes
• 1 video interview question at the end, where you have to provide a recommendation

There are some variations in some countries, which is why sometimes you hear it is a 10-questions test in 30 minutes. The 8 question format is the most common though.

The main differences compared to the previous version (BCG Potential Test) are the following:

1. 8 questions instead of 23
2. 25 min instead of 45
3. No negative points
4. Calculators allowed
5. Presence of open questions
6. Video sum up at the end

The general logic though is similar to the old test.

I helped several candidates who did the chatbot test and succeeded in it. The main challenges based on their feedback are:

1. Time. Questions are not particularly difficult, however you will feel time constraints also due to the fact you don’t know how difficult could be the next questions - thus how much time they may require.
   • Implication --> Try to practice PST and/or BCG Potential Tests with a strict time constraint
2. Math. Candidates usually find the math challenging
   • Implication --> Many candidates said the old BCG Potential Test is the one resembling the most the math required
3. Chatbot interaction. Unlike a test like the McK PST, you cannot proceed “at your own pace”. You will have to follow the evolution of the test. In that sense, it is not dissimilar from the old BCG Potential Test, where information was revealed step-by-step
   • Implication --> Practice on PST/Potential Tests working questions by questions, without skipping any

BCG questions are indeed peculiar in Dubai and different from other offices. I helped several candidates for that office and I have a pack of 40+ real questions asked there. Please feel free to PM for more info.

Best,
Francesco

PS. Answering the Anon B comment. BCG was not supposed to be hiring much at this stage in Dubai and redirect people to Riyadh and Doha. However, I am helping right now a candidate who applied to Dubai as 1st choice and has been accepted to interview there. So apparently applications are not completely closed.

It is impossible to tell whether it is a bad sign or not. Typically they respond sooner but it is peak summer right now and many people are away on vacation so there's going to be delays. Reach back out to HR and ask for a timeline, asking them politely will not hurt your chances.

Udayan

Hi there,

You are correct - this framework is terribly generic! As a general rule: don't trust the frameworks given in cases. They tend to be oversimplified AND there is rarely one single good framework for a case...so, even in the off-chance they have a good framework, you should write off your own just because it's different!

My general approach would be to a) Look to identify additional medical instruments + related services we could sell b) grow the health case software business, particularly to not large hospitals (i.e. expand customer based) c) Sell existing instruments + services to other countries/markets.

This is a bit oversimplified, but it's my quick and dirty framework on a Saturday morning!

Hi there,

While I would say this a major reason to network, we are past that point :)

First of all, Hudson Yards is incredible, so I hope you do get in and get to appreciate the double-decker office layout, high-end cafe, and amazing views!

If you do a quick google search, you'll see there are is a lot of writing on this, with one article on the BCG website literally called "Working in New York"

The New York (and NJ) offices are best known, unsurprisingly, for Financial Services. Healthcare is another big one. They also do a fair amount of work in insurance, industrial goods, CPG, and retail.

Work-life balance shouldn't surprise you - it's NYC so work-hard-play-hard is as present as ever here.

Hope this helps!

Hi there,

Things are moving around a bit and it does depend on the office, but I'm starting to hear now that the online case is more being used more to assess candidates hollistically than as a stage gate. So, there's still a change you get invited for a live interview (but you'll 100% want to make sure you shine on the math portion).

Best of luck!

Hi there,

1) How is the case usually different between Final/Partner Round with early round ?

In general, the structure of the rounds is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however in finals there is usually more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main differences you may find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. Spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. Check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. May not have a “proper” structured case to present – during one of my MBB finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because during the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on the following:

• Review in detail your fit stories – they will matter more than in the first round. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do almost exclusively in interviews with peers.
• Prepare cases as you did for the first round. If you got feedback on a specific area, focus more on that part.

2) How should I approach the FIT part ? Any particular emphasize

As you probably know, the standard fit questions you may expect in a consulting interview are:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why consulting
3. Why us
4. Give me an example of when you led a team
5. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone not agreeing with you
6. What has been your major achievement so far when you started something
7. Why should we hire you

Questions about experiences (4, 5 and 6) are standard at McKinsey, but other companies may ask them as well. To prepare those questions, I would recommend the following checklist:

1. Understand the difference between, leadership, impact and drive areas. You can find a link with their differences here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-pei-difference-drive-and-personal-impact-918
2. Identify good stories for each area. Ideally you want to have at least two stories for each area.
3. Use a structure for your story. A possible one is the STARR model (Situation, Task, Action, Rational for Action, Results)
4. Identify for each story one sentence clarifying what the story is about and start with it. Think of it as the title of a journal article.
5. Practice live, collect feedback from people listening to you, reiterate until when you get fluent and persuasive

3) Any general advice?

See answers 1 and 2 ;)

Best,

Francesco

Congrats!

1. I guess this ones a tricky one in the times of virtual interviewing when you're never really fully "unavailable". I would encourage you to express your preference but you may have to just go with what they are proposing if you want the job

2. Who gives you the feedback depends on the firm and office so it's hard to comment generically but if HR didn't have it then likley you will just have to wait to hear from one of your interviewers

3. There's no such thing as a "partner-level question". Having been a McKinsey interviewer for both first and final round, if a candidate is very strong, unless they are unlucky, your perfromance should be consistent and there's not need to take time between

4. I would say work on your round 1 feedback but in the absence of that, I would find a coach or case partner who can be give you more constructive feedback on things you can work on as well as your strengths that are going to help you secure the offer

Good luck!

Hey there,

Between 1 and 3 weeks usually. 

However, since both firms are hiring like crazy across the globe at the moment, it is often shorter than 1 week if your profile is sound.

Also be prepared that they might want to push the interviews and aptitude tests (Imbellus and Online Case) to an early time slot once they reach out to you. Feel free to push back if you don't feel comfortable with the timing.

Cheers,

Florian