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What was the most memorable case interview that you have ever given?

Bain & Company BCG Case Interviewers McKinsey
New answer on Jun 09, 2020
7 Answers
2.3 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Jun 07, 2020

Hi Experts,

Would like to know from you what was the most memorable case interview that you have ever given?

Thanks. :)

(edited)

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Anonymous replied on Jun 07, 2020

Hi there,

Too many memorable interviews - some great interviews and some catastrophically bad ones.

Great interview memory: I interview someone who previously worked in an NGO focusing on mental health, she told her story in a very engaging manner and she wanted to use the interview to ask a consultant (me) to come up with a fundraising plan to convince government entities to fund her cause for suicide prevention and the case interview became both of us structuring the analysis"how much does the government save by reducing the suicide rate by 1%" - great discussion. It was very refreshing to see someone that engaged and that driven for a cause.

Needless to say, she passed the interview :)

Best

Khaled

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 08, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

the most memorable in my case have been those with candidates with very peculiar background:

  • A former international pianist
  • Few former military professionals
  • A couple of entrepreneurs that look so successful that I had no clue why they wanted to join consulting

For all of them the “Why consulting” was a really genuine question with very interesting answers.

Best,

Francesco

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 08, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Good ones, many many! And it´s great when those people later join the team, you have kind o a connection!

However, most likely the juicy ones are the bad ones.

For me, a great one was when I asked "well, now that we have solved the structure, let´s focus on the math part. The client needs our help in..."

The candidate then cut me and said "well, I´d rather skip this part"

You can imagine the rest! :) :)

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Akhil Nemani on Jun 19, 2020

You can imagine the rest! :) :) -- No I can't. Could you please elaborate as to what happened next?

(edited)

Anonymous replied on Jun 08, 2020

One time a candidate explained to me that he was just looking for his internship to learn the MBB method and then he would use it after 6 months to launch his business and therefore he had no plan on consulting. Having entrepreneurial aspirations is completely legitimate, but the form was too clumsy. The candidate did not pass ...

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2
Anonymous replied on Jun 09, 2020

Dear A,

My most memorable interview and most ridiculous, strange one was with the company called "BBDO" in the begining of 2010th, where the interview actually stood up during the case and simply stand on the table, trying to fix the light. Probably for me, it was the most strangest and awkward situation I have ever experienced during the interview. And I needed to break it and apologize by told to them that "Sorry, it seems , that there is no natural feet betwwen myself and the company" ;DD.

Good luck,

André

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1
Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 09, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, I really enjoyed my first round with Bain, full of non-standard brain teasers, like: how would you organize efficiently a Guinness world record challenge to cover all the equator with A4 papers?

Best,
Antonello

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 09, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

I once interviewed a young woman in Central Europe who had worked for the press. While she was extremely junior, she managed to pitch (and get assigned) some incredible stories.

This included going undercover and interviewing ISIS fighters, following the campaign of a presidential candidate...driving with him, uncovering illegal Russian support for a presidential candidate, conducting a documentary on a guantanamo detainee

And she was under 25 years old...

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