Very hard to give a 100% rule: Partners often do the final rounds, they own the company and don't want / feel the need to follow "the rules". Of my 3 final round interviews at BCG, I've had a case and a half in total; the very last interview (he is now a Senior Partner) was a completely open discussion, on a variety of topics.

Having said that, how can you prepare?

1. Obviously, keep your case cracking sharp. If you get a case, you will be expected to do it (very) well. Like everyone, I have heard cases would be much harder, but that has not been my personal experience - or that of many of my clients

2. Same for the math & market sizing stuff

3. Comparatively most important though, prepare the fit. Interviewers will ask themselves "can I put Candidate in front of my senior client? how about in front of the client's low level analyst? Will Candidate make me look good? Would candidate be a fit in my team, in my company? Would I want to spend time with Candidate?"

At this point, MBB basically knows you can do the job. Now you need to prove that you are the better choice of everyone who comes back for a final round. Good luck!

I agree with the other experts and would add one additional point: 2nd round interviews often feel a bit more unstructured, as partners typically don't come into the room with a printed set of hand-outs that you are going through. I've elaborated a bit more on this in my response to this question:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-to-expect-from-bain-round-2-interviews-3303

Dear A!

• Review in detail your personal fit stories – they will matter more than in the first two rounds. In some finals, I had almost exclusively behavioral questions

• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure is extremely important, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do with peers or with me.

• Prepare cases as you did for the first round. More market sizing practice may be useful to think out of the box if you get unusual questions.

In case you need help with unusual cases please feel free to PM me, I do a specific session on them (eg How would you estimate the effect of the Coronavirus on the economy in the Middle East)?

Hope this helps and speak soon,

Best,

André

Dear A,

Interviews with partners during the 2nd round interviews depend on how you performed in the 1st round. Different scenarios are possible:

1. In case you performed well in the 1st round and didn’t get any advices on particular skills improvement (e.g structure, calculations etc.) Interview will be less structured: discuss variety of different topics, during which partner will assess your social skills, creativity, approach to different things to understand how you behave in front of a client and what your values are. What is more, short case is a part of such interview as well: market sizing or brainstorming.
2. If a candidate lacked a particular skill, or there was a fit issue in the 1st round, then the second interview round might test specifically for that issue. Cases partners use might be similar to the first round with a push towards specific skill you lack (structuring/calculations). Partners will ask more analytical questions and the business cases will be more detailed: for example more deep-dives in a structure. Furthermore, partners might use cases from their personal experience, as they are owners.

Hope this was helpful.

All the best,

Egor

Hi,

To make it simple, the expectations increase as you progress in the process.
The dimension evaluated remains the same, but we can say that senior people will pay more attention to :

- Structuring : in both case study and fit interview, you need to demonstrate your ability to structure your communication and keep it on track and easy to follow. Avoid saying right away everything coming to you mind (except for brainstorming)

- Business sens : it's likely that you'll have to build logical thinking quickly and therefore need to show you ability in back of the enveloppe approach to quickly offer suggestion without spending to much time

- Perspectives in the job : in a final round a partner is likely to ask about the industries you have interest in etc.

Best

Benjamin