Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Profile

Prerequisites

Good academic record

BCG places a high value on academics – the colleges or universities from which they hire are extremely limited in number and are only the best.

Extracurricular activities

Now that you’ve fulfilled the first requirement, the second one requires you to be unique. BCG receives thousands of applications, so there must be something that distinguishes you from the crowd. Your extracurricular activities will come into play here.

Experts advise candidates to pursue a hobby and excel at it. Have evidence of how good you are at your hobby. For example, if you enjoy scuba diving, why not become a trainer and use your certification as proof of your dedication? Off-campus candidates, on the other hand, face a different set of challenges. You should emphasize your work experience and the impact you had on the company.

Highlight your internships

Internships are also beneficial to your résumé. Your interviewers will be more impressed if you have a variety of internships. Students can also participate in internships at BCG. BCG encourages a variety of experiences and internships, particularly in distinct industries.

Develop skills/abilities

Aside from having a good academic record, diverse experiences, and extracurricular activities, these are the skills you should concentrate on:

• Analytical abilities
• Communication abilities
• Problem-solving abilities

Practice case questions

The interview questions are only case studies. It is critical that you must get these things right. Your other credentials will be meaningless if you are unable to correctly answer the case studies. Because the interviews will be based on case studies, practice as many as you can. 

Aside from how you respond to the case studies, the following aspects are scrutinized:

• Business knowledge
• Body Language
• Characteristics/ Attitude/ Personality
• Your Point of View

The process

The BCG application process consists of four steps: 

• resume and 
• cover letter, 
• online assessments, 
• first and second-round interviews.

The first step in the BCG application process is the same as it is in most other graduate job applications. BCG applications are simple and can be completed online. They require a resume, a cover letter, and some personal information. The cover letter must be tailored to BCG rather than being a generic cover letter with the company name changed.

The assessments include two tests: 

• the BCG potential test and 
• the BCG Pymetrics game assessment. 

These are the screening mechanisms they use to assess candidates’ quantitative abilities and personality traits.

The first-round interviews are similar to those at Bain in that they are usually with a junior consultant (3-6 years experience) and include a case interview. You will typically have two interviews, the first of which will begin with some fit questions such as

 ‘Why consulting?’ or ‘Tell me about a time when…’ etc and will be followed by a 45-minute case interview.

The second round of interviews is conducted by more senior members of the team, usually directors, junior or senior partners, and follows the same structure as the first round. These consultants will conduct a more thorough evaluation and make a final hiring decision.

Interview types

Across their network, BCG employs three types of interviews: case interviews, experience interviews, and written case interviews (also known as structured case interview). The case interview is the most common type of interview, but you should be prepared for all three unless the recruiter specifies the type of interview you can expect.

Case interview

BCG employs case interviews with the same weighting as other strategy consulting firms, and a candidate will typically go through four interviews before receiving a job offer. The case questions are based on real-life examples, and the interviewers will have worked on the problem themselves, so they can easily provide context and data.

BCG is looking to assess candidates’ ability to perform the day-to-day tasks that will be assigned to them. This is covered on their website:

• Problem-solving
• Thinking outside the box
• Analyses with structure
• Communication

Experience interview

The experience interview is typically combined with a case interview or written case interview, with the first 15 minutes of a 60-minute interview devoted to experience and fit questions. The questions are similar to other job interview questions, but strategy consultants will be looking for a specific approach to answering them. 

The key to answering these questions is to create a structure that can be used for all of them. By structuring your response, you demonstrate that you apply a considered approach to your answer even when discussing non-business-related topics.

Written (structured) case interview

The written case interview evaluates the same characteristics as the case interview and necessitates the same skills. Instead of discussing the case with the interviewer, you are given a large document pack (20-30 pages) containing all of the information needed to answer the case. The information is dense, and the time allotted to read and digest it is limited (10 minutes). This means you must find key pieces of information quickly, interpret data quickly, and structure a recommendation to present back to the interviewer under time constraints.

As with the case interview, there is no correct answer, and the important part of your answer is the consideration of trade-offs when making decisions and comparing the various strategic decisions that the business in question can take. The interviewer will put your ideas and recommendations to the test to see how solid they are and what steps you took to get there.

Case interview

The consulting case interview is the cornerstone of every strategy consulting firm’s interview process because of its ability to replicate the problems and challenges of the work they do. 

To perform well in a BCG case interview, you must meet the criteria outlined above, which can be accomplished through a structured approach to case interviews. A BCG case interview is structured as follows:

• Situation and problem
• Hypothesis validation
• Framework development
• Root cause analysis
• Mathematical calculation (sometimes)
• Creativity test (sometimes)
• Recommendation

The interviewer will outline the context and the problem to be explored at the start of the case. As an example, consider:

“How would you approach a high-street retailer’s request to cut costs by 30% in response to the Covid-19 pandemic?”

You’d then be expected to present an initial hypothesis about what the answer might be and explain your intent to prove or disprove it.

Following that, you will be expected to create a framework for your analysis and test it with the interviewer. If your framework is MECE (systematic problem-solving framework) and you properly explore it, you will find the root cause of the problem for the client (in this case, where costs can be reduced) and begin calculations if necessary.

When the interviewer asks you for an alternative to your findings or recommendation, for example, “Okay, the client says they do not want to close stores, how else can they reduce costs?” They may ask this question more than once, and it tests the candidates’ ability to consider alternatives, even if their answer is correct.

Finally, you will be asked to make a recommendation, which will require you to synthesize your findings and present a clear and concise proposal.

Additional Case Interview examples:

Foods Inc and GenCo case samples
Chateau Boomerang written case interview

Important tips – how to prepare for BCG case interview

Plan your schedule and try not to waste time

You could spend hours surfing the internet, trying to figure out what method to use to solve case interviews. And the more time you spend sorting through different points of view and disjointed resources, the less time you’ll have to devote to “real” preparation.

Instead, the best approach is to concentrate on mastering a single systematic approach to solving case interviews.

Sharpen your mathematical/analytical skills

To succeed at case interview math, you don’t need a perfect GPA or GMAT score. During your BCG interviews, however, you will be asked to perform precise mental math rapidly. To do so, you’ll need to understand the formulas for basic metrics like return on investment and break even point. It’s also beneficial to learn a few math shortcuts to help you answer problems faster.

Develop a consistent mechanism to crack cases

Solving problems you’ve never seen before is one of the most difficult aspects of interviewing with BCG. Each case can be challenging, and you’ll need to do well in several case interviews to obtain an offer.

As a result, having a consistent strategy for case solving is crucial. BCG employs candidate-led case interviews, which include the following types of questions:

• Situation
• Framework development
• Framework exploration
• Quant question – Data provided
• Quant question – No data provided
• Creativity question
• Recommendation

Rehearse/practice cases aloud

Although how you solve each case is important, your interviewers will also look at how you “communicate” your answers. It is critical to speak in a structured manner that allows your points to be clearly understood. The best way to improve your communication skills is to practice interviewing aloud, which you can do in three ways:

• Self-examination (out loud)
• Practice interviewing with your peers.
• Practice interviews with former interviewees.

Make an effort to learn from your mistakes

When preparing for a case interview, the quality of your preparation is equally as crucial as the amount of time you devote. It’s preferable to take your time with 20 cases rather than rush through 40. The best technique is to keep a journal where you can record possibilities for growth and specific things you did well in each scenario.

The notebook and self-evaluation will assist you in becoming more strategic (and efficient) in your planning. Going back and re-doing old cases is also a smart idea. A minimum of 30 hours of preparation time is likely to be necessary to succeed in case interviews. However, if you don’t plan ahead of time, it could take considerably longer. 

So take notes, plan ahead, and continue to practice!