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Tell me about yourself!

PrepLounge: Personal Fit
New answer on Mar 26, 2024
64 Answers
7.7 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Sep 18, 2019

How would you answer this question in your Personal Fit interview? Receive feedback on your answer and browse through the Q&As to review the approaches of other applicants and experts.

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Daniel
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 18, 2019
McKinsey / ex-Interviewer at McKinsey / I will coach you to rock those interviews

This question is usually asked in the very beginning of McKinsey interview and does NOT strictly constitute a part of personal fit questions (which are situation-based). In contrast to business cases and personal fit questions there is also no exact system for evaluating your answer to this question. The “tell me about yourself“ question during McKinsey interview serves just one purpose – to actually help you relax, let you talk about something you are familiar with and to help your interviewer to get to know you a bit better (sort of to put a face to whatever she read in your CV).

So, I would use it as a chance to make yourself memorable and to leave a positive impression. What do I mean by that? I mean, of course, do say a few words about your studies and work experience, but also say what you are passionate about and what you want to achieve in life. Are you passionate about swimming? Say it! Are you passionate about singing? Say it! Do you want to eventually build your own business? Say it! It’s important for an interviewer to understand what kind of person you are and for you to leave a memorable mark, so make sure you highlight those things which throw a bit of light on your personality.

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Thijmen replied on Mar 26, 2024

My name is Thijmen. I am an enthousiastic and motivated individual with an academic background in the natural sciences through my bachelors and system engineering through my masters. In both programs the main focus was on the energy transition, though approached from different angles. I also have some background in management and economics through and exchagne semester at the School of Management of the TU Munich. Furthermore, I have experience in both consulting, venture capital and the energy industry through internships at Carbon Equity, KPMG and Stedin. Also next to my studies and work experience I have done consultancy work for a non-profit student consultant in Utrecht

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anupriya replied on Jan 11, 2024

i am HR professional and Eger to learn to new thing  

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Kingsley updated an answer on Sep 24, 2019

Greetings Sir/Madam.

My Name is Kingsley Boyalapalle. I am from Hubballi(Hubli),Karnataka.My father works in Indian Railways as a Senior Section Engineer. My Mother is a home-maker. My brother has done his MBA in Marketing and works at FabHotels as a Corporate Sales Manager.

I have completed my Bachelors in Electronics & Electronics Engineering from KLE Technological University,Hubballi(Hubli).I have industrial experience of 33 months in telecom & retail sector from Accenture Solutions Pvt.Ltd at Bengaluru ,where I worked as an Application Development Analyst and Project Management Analyst. I have completed my Summer Internship for 2 months with LeanBox Logistics Solutions Pvt.Ltd in Mumbai.

I am a logical person and try to keep myself engaged in brain stimulating activities. I am tolerant to every point of view and like to see both sides of an argument. I value integrity ,dedication and a strong desire towards striving for excellence and helping humanity. I am passionate about Football.

(edited)

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Ronny updated an answer on Oct 14, 2019
Life science focused graduate student actively applying for consulting roles

As you already know, my name is XYZ and I'm currently excited to be just a few months away from graduation and en route full-time employment within an established and innovative firm, such as yours.

I describe myself as motivated, analytical and curious. These three attributes sufficiently speak to my professional abilities as I have earned ample successes over the years with these attributes instilled in me. Throughout the course of my education at XYZ university, I have had countless opportunities to exhibit stellar leadership and academic achievements and these attributes certainly put me at an advantage because, 3000 hours of research work, 30 units of academic credit, regular poster presentations, a presidential role in student government and a minor in business management is definitely no walk in the park . My motivation has driven me to initiate a variety of ideas and programs within my organization. Most recently, I founded the XYZ platform where I ensure that YZX is done and hone my mentoring skills to interested individuals. This has also allowed me to serve the minority population within the organization by serving as a proxy for the servicing of their complaints and requests. Being a minority myself, I stand for diversity and inclusion and am grateful for the unparalleled opportunity that I have been given to progress and develop the cause while ensuring optimum satisfaction within the program.

I also serve as the Chair of /// within the organization of XYZ and this has put me in a position of healthy exchange of ideas and collaboration with my team and with the general population. I have been able to achieve exemplary communication, presentation, and negotiation skills through my constant chairing of meetings, communicating with event vendors and planning of program activities. During my tenure, my team and I achieved more than 95% student engagement in activities and general communication matters and introduced over five new empowering initiatives to the program. I believe my reinstating and reutilization of the XYZ communication platform also contributed to the widespread positive growth in correspondence.

I am passionate about impact. Growing up in the rural area of XYZ instilled in me an attitude of vigor and service because I know the impact that an effective solution and implementation can have on the general outcome of a situation. This is why consulting fits my goals. Together with the technical expertise that I have garnered during the course of my ABC degree which was predominantly team-based, to the buoyancy of transferable skills I have acquired, I believe that I would be able to achieve my highest potential within an organization that will allow me to openly contribute to the solution of complex yet exciting problems.

*can also expand on transferrable skills acquired from relevant team-based/consulting-like classes and how it fits with my personality and how it will allow me to parallel with the company's goals.

(edited)

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Anonymous replied on Mar 30, 2020

Hi

My feedback from being a MBB interviewer.

The most important here is to highligh elements which are not written in your CV. The interviewed needs to understand the logical path until appying to the consulting firm. You need to manage to convey confidence on following topics:

- Ability to deliver impact

- Proof that you have demonstrated team spirit

- Willing to keep learning at all time

- Capacity to solve complex problems

All exemples from your experience allowing to illustrate those topics will be very usefull to succeed the "teel me about yourself" part of the interview

Best

David

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2
Anonymous K2 replied on Jun 06, 2023

I am  very proud to have this interview here with you. 

What makes myself unique is how I came here. As all recent graduates we worked really hard to finally can have a job interview at a prestigious firm you always wanted to work with. But I am especially proud as I worked my way here, even though maybe longer but with other hurdles than my peers had to deal with. From statistic I am the 1% of the blue-collar peers to get a higher education with good grades. The odds were against me but built the resilience and I was not willing to let go of my dream. 

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Carolina
Skilled
replied on Mar 02, 2023

Carolina, my colleagues would describe me as driven, challenging the status-quo and fun. 

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Anonymous F2 replied on Jun 30, 2021

Thanks for your interest in getting to know me! though I spent parts of my childhood in different parts of the world, I am primarily based in Canada. I went to University of Toronto to earn my Bachelors in Economics and Public Policy and since then have been focused in the Financial Services industry, specifically Investment Management. I have been working at State Street for the past six years building my skillset in private placement trading wherein I primarily  work with large institutional clients fulfill various portfolio mandates via trades into various Hedge Funds/ Private Equity funds. I started off as an Associate doing just that, and have since gained 3 promotions over my time there. As a senior associate, I travelled and worked out of another company office in Asia to set up a team. Also, I began to oversee end to end lifecycle of trades from placement of trades, to ensuring the correct valuation was recieved. Currently, I am a Manager, Registration Services, and I oversee deliverables of Associates/teams, enforce best practices in various offices such as India, Toronto, Poland, Singapore. Also, I am a subject matter expert for senior managment, act as a point of contact for client escalations for trades valued in millions, and have been supporting my managment in client demos/ presentations to gain new business as well.

My experiences demonostrate my ability to work in a global team - with my clients and team members being all over the world. Also, it demonstrated my leadership, communication and interpersonal skillls, all of which i believe will be valuable at your organization.

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Anonymous W replied on Aug 05, 2020

I have strong research and analytical mindset

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1
Anonymous B replied on Sep 21, 2019

I would answer this with the objective in mind that I am applying for a specific position. I would focus on the coherent theme or story of how I ended up applying for this position, tying up my previous experiences and how they lead me to have the competencies for the current role.

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Anonymous J2 replied on Feb 10, 2023

i hate this question so so much, anyhow should I say I like meeting friends, im very sporty, doing X and Y, I love traveling and meeting new people and exploring new places

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0
Anonymous I2 replied on Oct 28, 2021

i am good at playing the guitar. I have been playing for approximately three years. 

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Anonymous H2 replied on Oct 18, 2021

To introduce myself I will touch on the three adjectives that best describe me : adaptable, pro-activite and meticulous. 

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Andrei replied on Aug 29, 2021

I am a consultant in a way I live, I work, and have been educated.

Deloitte, Reka, Mazars

CFO-CEO-Co-partner 

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Anonymous G2 replied on Jul 12, 2021

30 seconds highlight my work experience, with major impact.

covering my skillsets on these projects and soft skills i have built.

relate the skillset as in how to add value to the company interviewing for. 

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Duncan updated an answer on Jul 08, 2021

Mijn naam is Duncan de Wit, bachelor in Bestuurskunde, master in Business Information Management met data science specialisatie & heb finance in Frankrijk gestudeerd.

In mijn bachelor kwam ik er snel achter dat de overheid niet innovatief is en consultancy organisaties voor innovatie zorgen. Hierna ben ik mijzelf op dit gebied gaan ontwikkelen, omdat ik diverse sectoren wil meemaken, waarde wil toevoegen op het hoogste organisatorische niveau & mijn creativiteit wil kunnen gebruiken.

Dit resulteerde in ervaringen bij Accenture, De Kleine Consultant, als freelance consultant & bij Randstad hielp ik de CFO ook met verschillende opdrachten. Door deze ervaringen weet ik dat ik de diversiteit in industrieën, projecten en focus op ontwikkeling bij BCG het past bij mij past.

(edited)

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Anonymous E2 replied on May 26, 2021

I want to know and experience everything both personally and professionally. I like people and want to build stuff for them that elevates their lives.

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Anonymous D2 replied on May 20, 2021

Hi my name is Khaled Ali, i am graduated from the American University in Cairo in construction and planning engineering. I worked as Research assistant during my last year in college after earning a research fund formy these using waste material ( diapers) in various construction applications. Also i worked 1 year as a highway and infrastructure engineer where i used to design and orchestrate work between multiple contractors to get the job done

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Anonymous C2 replied on Apr 25, 2021

I am an entreprenuer at heart

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Anonymous B2 updated the answer on Apr 11, 2021

basically i am an analytical person by education - quantitative and business degree in [] and [] university. I started off doing an intern in a VC, successfully helping the tech leaders to turnaround their startup business that improves their growth prospect and valuation. Fast forward i joined [a finance company], not just rating the bonds, also manage the client relationship in the way that helping them understand safe funding solutions to their business needs. that being said i've been motivated and continuously honed in skills in 1) data analytics and risks 2) client relationship management and 3) process streamlining, which I figured out that consulting is a better fit than my current career, to the extent helps me to learn further with various industry and practices. I wanted to maintain such momentum ramping up the qualities that I am on top of, that's why i want this job.

(edited)

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Valentine replied on Apr 05, 2021

Start wth a structure approach and only talk about experiences that are relevant to the job you apply

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Alexander updated an answer on Feb 25, 2021

I have worked for 15 years straight since I finished my IT degree in a number of roles in external and internal consulting of operations and IT incl. about half the time in manufacturing environments. I had multiple engagements with PE firms on my cost-out projects, worked on M&A DD, and recently led a full 2.5 year post-merger integration programme with >20 projects across all functions.

I am passionate about my kids (2 and 4), learning, and sports. We enjoy spending every waking moment together discovering the world when I am at home. I love running incl halfs and have gotten used to our 4 yr old waking me at 5am to go for a jog in the local park while she rides the bike on the weekend. Beyond that I like marginal-gain theory to continuously learn something new. Even in senior roels I found it is rather easy to set aside 30min a day to do some studies for certificates, trainings, degrees, etc. topics I then amply try-out and apply in my engagements.

I now want to professionalise my experience in the context of management consutling with a focus on DD, restructuring, transfomations, and similar challenges. I truly enjoy the pace and momentum and Covid-19 has made me realise just how much I miss it.

(edited)

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Emmanuel replied on Feb 21, 2021

I am a self-motivated, quick leaner and good in work organization

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Ochaki replied on Feb 04, 2021

im a effort oriented person who delights in meeting company goals. iam looking forward to learning as much so as to make myself as resourceful as possible

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Karim replied on Jan 08, 2021
Chemical Engineer seeking entry into Management Consulting

I always aim to reach my maximum potential in what I do. I love trying new things, as it all adss to my life experience when I look back at my previous years one day in the future.

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Elie updated an answer on Dec 28, 2020

I tried to be as diverse as i can through internships in 3 major industries

I love solving complex problem, i used to do it through my last internship and through competiton durign my civil enginerign cursus

I always try to be unique and attractive with the way i delever my work

(edited)

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Gaurav
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 29, 2020
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360 coach(Ex-McKinsey + Certified Coach + Active recruiter)

Nothing could be easier than this questions, and nothing can be tougher. the easiest way to make it your answer unstructure is to go through your resume in a chronological way. Basically the question behind this question from the interviewer is to get an understanding how is your experience, skills and accomplishments make you an ideal candidate for that specific role.

So, to answer brilliant on this question take out from your resume the most relevant experience and structure your narration in a way that will reply to the following questions:

  1. How led you to that role

  2. What did you learn from that role

  3. How did that influence your next steps

Was it helpful for you?

GB

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Anonymous A replied on Oct 24, 2020

I am a hardworking team player whose passion is to problem solve and constantly learn new things whilst aslo looking to develop myself professionally and personally.

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Anonymous Z replied on Oct 23, 2020

I am an ambitious engineer, with a talent for good communication and a good drive and empathy!

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Anonymous Y replied on Oct 18, 2020

test

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Anonymous X replied on Oct 07, 2020

See answer

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Cleio replied on Oct 05, 2020

dsfsdafs

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Laz replied on Oct 04, 2020

Risk and

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Arvind Rajamani replied on Sep 08, 2020

Arvind has a knack for making work fun. He has handled times of duress in his past organisations when the organisaion was in a project/startup phase. Arvind was able to keep the team closely knit without impact the core objectives. People like to work with Arvind since he is flexible but also does not lose sight of the big picture. He is a DIY person and has soiled his own hands in many a project.

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Urban replied on Aug 06, 2020

Independent, high self esteem, disciplined by years of sports and never completelly satisfied with myself

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Anonymous replied on Jul 22, 2020

Dear A,

In "Tell me about yourself" you should be talking about your career path till now. You can finish this story with an argument about why consulting is the next logical career step.

I would recommend the following structure:

  1. Start with a 1 sentence summary of your background, why you are relevant for McKinsey and what's your unique selling point

  2. Talk about 3-4 of your roles (may be professional, education, extracurricular), 3 sentences each. The more experienced you are the more you should speak about professional roles. It can be also the distinct roles within the same organization. Typical structure: 1) What was the company 2) What you were responsible for 3) Greatest achievement in that role, that will stay in the memory of the interviewer (E.g. While working at Adidas supply chain I was personally responsible for the delivery of soccer balls to the Worldcup in Africa)

  3. The main reason why consulting (or McKinsey if you were a consultant before) is the next logical career step for you

Best,

André

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Anonymous V replied on Jul 21, 2020

Ich bin eine Kölner Frohnatur, auch wenn ich streng genommen näher an Düsseldorf aufgewachsen bin. Aber ich habe mein Bachelor und Master Studium hier absolviert und wie das so ist mit Köln, bin ich hier hängen geblieben. Aber ich war immer viel unterwegs und habe in England, Paris und Amsterdam gewohnt, war mehrere Monate in Südameria und in Japan. Aber ich bin sehr verbunden zu meiner Familie, deswegen habe ich den Absprung nie dauerhaft geschafft. Doch jetzt zieht es mich erstmal nach London für 6 Wochen, da ich dort meine absolute Leidenschaft, das Kochen ausleben darf.

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Anonymous U replied on Jun 29, 2020

What should I say I come from X where I studied at ... then I moved to...

I discovered during my exchange program that facing diversity is something that really "exploit" me. At the beginning I touhgt it was just travel but then I realized the most entusiastic moments for me happen when I have to go through someting new. Of course when this "new" is incredibly challenging I can be scared sometimes, but the feeling of learning something from scratch is unique. Moreover, I think that If I should describe myself very quickly I would like to add my passion for cooking and my appellative as X, that can already make you understad my indole to never stop, never stop learning, working, walking. in addittion to te latter characteristics, I am an hard-sleeper, I think i quite valuable skill in conulting.

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Anonymous T replied on Apr 25, 2020

Tell about your accomplishments

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Anonymous S replied on Apr 02, 2020

I have a background in business with a degree for X school. However, in the past few years, I've developed a great interest in X topic and have read widely on it, hence my interest in this space. Moreover, from my cyrrent role, I've nurtured X skills and I'm really looking to further hone Y skills, which this position would give me.

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Anonymous R replied on Mar 30, 2020

I'm a consultant at Deloitte working within the financial services industry practice and having football and education as a passion

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Aphiwe replied on Mar 07, 2020

I am ambitious, I like sports, being part of a team with one common goal.

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Harshit replied on Feb 22, 2020

I am an optimist to say the least. I like to believe in things. I like to practice different ways to improve myself and the things that I am working on. I love solving problems and getting to know the root cause of the problem.

I have tried to deliver my best at whatever responsibility I have been entrusted with and would love to continue doing so. I like to implement what I learn from various places and experiences. I like being challenged in various ways.

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Theresa replied on Feb 21, 2020

My name is Theresa Oxfort and I am a fourth-semester student at WHU. Last summer I did an internship at Vonovia and I specifically enjoyed a task where I had to analyze data about the media resonance and draw conclusions from patterns that I observed. A couple of weeks ago I started my first project as a student consultant to develop a marketing strategy in a pro-bono project. I genuinely enjoy working in a team on a project because it offers the opportunity to exchange ideas and receive constructive feedback.

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Anonymous Q replied on Feb 16, 2020

X

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Anonymous P replied on Feb 11, 2020

Achiever

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SGA replied on Feb 10, 2020

12+ years consulting focus on predictive analytics consulting

financial services and private equity clients

specialize in customer analytics

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Anonymous O updated the answer on Jan 31, 2020

I've been at [company] for [x] years and I've partnered with my clients to assess their performance and provide recommendations on areas they can improve on. For example, I've identified a multi-million dollar opportunity to reduce call volume for one of my client's call centers. Outside of this, 3 things I'm passionate about are using data to drive actionable recommendations, develop new and efficient processes, and building skills within the team

(edited)

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Anonymous N replied on Jan 29, 2020

I am Sophie, i am always interested in learing something new and really open minded due to the fact that i have moved several times and lived in different cities and countries. I like new challenges and i am really engaged to my work and studies.

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
updated an answer on May 01, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, next week will be pusblished in PrepLounge´s Shop material related.

In concrete, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB". 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.

Hope you find it useful!

Hello!

In general lines, I believe "tell me about yourself?" and "why consulting?" are different for most candidates. Don´t mix them!

  • "Tell me about yourself?" > Classical elevator pitch about what makes you stand out.
  • "Why consulting? > For sure linked to your background and strenghts -that you would have mentioned before-.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

(edited)

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Anonymous M replied on Jan 09, 2020

I am a student in final year at EDHEC Business School. After two years of engineering preparatory classes, I went to EDHEC for the international exposition, the outstanding professional and personal opportunities, the teaching and diploma quality. During these 4 years, I have been able to do 3 internships: Management control at Société Générale, Transaction Services at Deloitte and M&A at Eurvad Finance. These 3 internships have been awesome sources of hard and soft skills learnings. I will tell you more if you want me to.

In terms of activities, I used to do a lot of gymnastics (12 years) at a national level, and also did a lot of other different sports. During my EDHEC experience, I got into a humanitarian organization named Schola Africa as treasurer and partnerships manager. This experience enabled me to go on field during a month in a Burkina Faso humanitarian mission.

Finally, I just came back one month ago from a 4-month exchange at Pepperdine University at Los Angeles in the full-time MBA. This was an amazing experience as a real American student. This also enabled me to meet very different people from various countries and to travel a lot.

To conclude, as you know a bit more about my path, I would say that I am a very curious, reliable and dynamic person. I am not afraid to take initiatives and to be proactive. I love talking and listening to people as well as discovering and learning new things. I also have strong analysis capabilities that I am always ready to put to the service of my team. All these skills enabled me to have really great feedbacks from my teams and managers during my different internships and extra curricular activities.

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Pranay replied on Dec 07, 2019

Hello Sir, I am Pranay from Jharkhand, India. I have 5 members in my family. I did my schooling from my hometown and then my coaching in Ranchi. I am doing my B. Tech major in Textile Engineering & minor in Business Management. Last summer, I did a project on filters using bio mass for dye adsorbents that interested me alot.I like to read non-fictional books. I like meeting new people living in different places. Also,

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Anonymous L replied on Nov 24, 2019

Im from... And i studied..

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Anonymous K replied on Nov 17, 2019

can bond easily with different personalities, cultures

have analytical mindset

can structure and leverage my work

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Anonymous J replied on Nov 15, 2019

a

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Carmen replied on Nov 05, 2019

I am a multinational bba student that speaks 4 languages at a native level and is looking forward to pursuing a consulting carreer. In my free time, I love to do sports, enjoy my family and party with my friends.

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Anonymous I replied on Oct 08, 2019

1) most relevant professional experiences and education achievements

2) general personality and behviours in team

3) personal goals

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Anonymous H replied on Oct 06, 2019

I am a hard worker and ambitious person. I always wanted to be a better person

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Anonymous G replied on Oct 04, 2019

I am an outgoing person, pro-active and keen to learn.

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Anonymous F replied on Sep 27, 2019

I work as a consultant

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Anonymous E replied on Sep 25, 2019

I am a experienced professional with both industry and a strategy consulting background. This allows me to put myself into the "shoes" of the client and tailor my approach and recommendations to the specifics of the client.

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Anonymous D updated the answer on Sep 22, 2019

I am a global retail performance analyst

(edited)

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Anonymous C replied on Sep 21, 2019

i am nobel

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Daniel gave the best answer

Daniel

Content Creator
McKinsey / ex-Interviewer at McKinsey / I will coach you to rock those interviews
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