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You want to have some familiarity with what types of cases management consultants usually work on before your interview. There are a lot of resources that you can tap into to build up this knowledge. Personally, I found a lot of this information in these three books: Case Compendium, Case Interviews Cracked and IIM A Consult Prep Book. These books were recommended to me by my BCG ‘buddy’, who was a current BCGer that I was put in touch with during my interview process to receive mentoring and support from.

Practicing solving cases by yourself is valuable, but it is even more important to practice with others. Having an actual conversation with someone provides you with a better idea of what the actual case interview will be like. It is also valuable to get immediate feedback from others, and have someone in your corner who is there to support you during what can be a stressful time!

Solving a ton of cases isn’t always the best way to prepare for your case interview. I found it more valuable, and less time consuming, to focus on making sure that I could thoroughly and effectively solve each of the cases that were presented to me. If you get too caught up in the number of cases you’re trying to solve, you can sometimes forget that the real purpose of your prep is to learn to solve cases well, not to present as many solutions as possible. My BCG buddy gave me some great advice about this. He told me to not do any cases before the day of my interview! I think this was really helpful for my mindset going into the interview. Instead of trying to cram in more practice, I spent the night before thinking of all of the cases I had already done and trying to internalize all of the valuable feedback I had gotten throughout my practice.

Ace the behavioral portion

In all of your case prep, it can be easy to forget that BCG interviews also include a behavioral portion. During this, you could be asked questions like “Why do you want to work here?” or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” In answering these kinds of questions, you want to be sure to relate your answers back to the requirements of the job. You also want to be honest when it comes to what your weaknesses are – none of us are perfect. Someone who likes to do everything on their own might say, “I find it difficult to ask for help, but I understand that it is important to learn new skills and manage my time effectively. To overcome this, I am doing xx things.”

Demonstrate that you have the qualities and skills of a BCGer

Communication and synthesis are key skills a BCG consultant must have. Oftentimes, we are in meetings with senior leaders from clients or our own Managing Directors and Partners. They frequently don’t have a lot of time to hear what you might have to say, so you need to make the most of that time by choosing the right words and being precise. You also don’t want to waste that time by giving your audience unnecessary information, which is why synthesizing is so key. Getting to the point of what you are saying and providing only the most important information will make your job as a consultant a lot easier. BCG recruiters also want to see that you are enthusiastic about joining, so be sure that is reflected in your mannerisms and answers

At the end of your interview, your interviewer will ask ‘Do you have any questions for me?’. This is a really critical time and gives you one more opportunity to show your enthusiasm about the role. In my interview, I asked ‘What are my growth opportunities at BCG over the course of my first 5 years?’ This helped to signal to my interviewer that I saw my future at BCG.

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