Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!
Question merged
This question is read-only because it has been merged with Best questions to ask at the end of interview.

What is ok to ask an interviewer during Q&A?

interview questions
Recent activity on Jun 28, 2017
2 Answers
3.9 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Jun 22, 2017

Hi everybody,

I'm having second round next week and would like to get some ideas to ask at the end.

I already know who the interviewer is going to be so I thought about using it to my advantage.

Would something like this be a good question or to personal?

"I was researching your profile on LinkedIn and I was really impressed how international your cv was, was that something you always wanted for yourself?"

Any inputs would be wonderful

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Vlad
Expert
replied on Jun 22, 2017
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

HI,

In most of the cases, you'll have no chance to research in profile. From what I've seen only Bain shares interviewers names.

The main objective is to have a good conversation and highlight your intellectual capacity and curiosity. Thus:

It is ok to ask:

  • Questions that cause positive emotions and highlight consulting pros (e.g. Mck people)
  • Questions on the topics you are excited about (e.g. data science)
  • Non-business questions (e.g. team retreats)

It's not ok to ask:

  • Questions that can cause negative emotions (e.g. work hours)
  • Information you should learn before the interview (e.g. typical career path)
  • Questions that may show that you are unfamiliar with consulting work (Like are you specialized in strategy or operations?)

Be prepared and good luck!

Upvotes
Anonymous replied on Jun 28, 2017

Great response from Vlad.

I did want to clarify for the benefit of others: 100% of my first- and second-round interviews with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) were scheduled with disclosure of the interviewers' names complete with personal and professional biographies. It would appear then that Bain & Company is not alone in this practice.

These biographies in the case with BCG were always shared up to 48 hours in advance (sometimes longer), and I tailored all of my post-session questions for each to the information contained in their biographies, and to other information gleaned from third-party sources.

I will add that I never stated to my interviewers that I'd researched them. Personally, I feel this runs the risk of coming off as obsequious.

Upvotes
3
Vlad gave the best answer

Vlad

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School
429
Meetings
12,236
Q&A Upvotes
127
Awards
4.9
186 Reviews