BCG Associate Consultant Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The trick here was to recognize that even though the firm had several hundred clients in each city, it was a few big clients that contributed to most of it's revenue and a distribution network targeting these few clients was the expected recommendation.
Some standard HR questions were asked, about what I would consider my most significant achievement, why consultancy etc.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The task was to explore possibility of synergy in this acquisition. The case was based entirely on common sense and elementary mathematics. The interviewer wanted me to write an equation showing how costs would reduce if two companies merge.
HR questions were about my strengths, weaknesses etc.

General Tips: 1.Work on your communication skills.
2.Consultancies look for "spikes" in your career. spikes are the areas in your resume where you have shown outstanding performance.
3.Practice the case studies in groups. Avoid technical jargon and frameworks.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The first interviewer asked me some standard stuff about Mood Indigo and my internship at ITC. He also later asked me about a course project I had mentioned in my resume and what impact it had. The case he asked me was one where there were different markets for a certain product, each with its own prices and size. I was asked to explain which market should the firm invest in and why. The second interviewer had a case about a tractor company in Maharashtra whose profitability was going down. He gave some data as I asked and one had to work his way to the fact that of lately the tractors being produced were not up to the mark. He had modified the case data differently for different candidates, so for someone else the case involved figuring out that the soil in Maharashtra was of a certain kind where a better tractor was required which a competitor was able to launch, etc.
Tips: I think at times I wasn't being myself, I normally solve cases aggressively and quickly come to a certain conclusion. But I was trying to be over careful and hesitating to state the obvious without thrashing out the case in full detail. I felt maybe the interviewer would have preferred me to stick to the former method. However, in the other company I felt exactly the opposite. Hence I think it really depends on the interviewer and the case in consideration, but my advice would be to try and be more & yourself than adopt some method suggested by seniors which you are not really comfortable with

College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Interview
Experience: I was not placed in this company but I would like to share my experience with you...!!!!
Asked resume based questions. I was a bit nervous as the interview began since this was the first one for the day, but the interviewer talked very casually and made me feel at ease.

CASE STUDY : An office furniture company, suffering from decrement in revenues. I was supposed to analyze the reasons behind it and suggest methods for improvement. I started with the regular profits = revenues-cost equation and analyzed all the aspects in the revenues side. After a while, I realized that I had forgotten about costs totally even though I had mentioned it earlier at the beginning of the case. So came back to cost analysis. The interviewer was helpful and provided all the needed information. The case went well and in the end on asking about the actual case he told me that my recommendation was close to what they had mentioned to the client.

HR QUESTIONS: Why not higher studies? Are you interested in doing an MBA?

Round: Interview
Experience: No details about the interviewer since the interview began as a stress interview but in the end did not turn out that way. Asked two resume based questions.

CASE STUDY: A wine company is experiencing decline in profitability for the past one year even though revenues have increased. They have hired you to provide ways to improve their profits. After analyzing this, the interviewer mentioned that she would want me to analyze the distribution channels. I started, but due to lack of knowledge I was not able to answer this part satisfactorily even though I enlisted different possibilities. In the she gave a couple of hints, but I was not able to grasp them. But I answered whatever I could understand of the situation. Then due to lack of time she asked me to wrap it up quickly and provide recommendations.

Round: Interview
Experience: CASE STUDY: An Indian manufacturer of heavy metal castings for turbines is looking to expand by doubling its production in one to two years. They hire you to suggest them a plan to carry out this expansion. The case went well. She agreed to most of my suggestions but there was a particular area she wanted me to analyze. So she kept asking me what else do you think can be done. At one point when I was stuck, I asked her that in what direction she wants me to think. When she told me, I took a minute to think about it and came up with the answer she was looking for to which she added more by herself. Then she told me to summarize and highlight my recommendations. Then she asked me why am I interested to join BCG in particular. Also during my campus stay what is the one thing I like the best and what I did not like so much and why? I was prepared for these questions so answered them comfortably.

Round: Interview
Experience: HR QUESTIONS: What do I want to do with my life eventually. Which activity on campus has allowed me to do it very closely. What is my most significant achievement till date and why.Asked about my family background. I was not prepared to answer this so I was speaking very randomly anything which was coming in my mind.

CASE STUDY: A small and simple bank has three products on the savings side, 1 year deposit, 2 year deposit and 5 year deposit with given x, y, z interest rates. Three products on the loan side similarly with different interest rates. Each product has 30 lakhs worth of circulation. The bank has to increase its profitability. How should it go about achieving higher profit?
During my preparations I realized that I am not good at finance and telecom sectors as compared to other sectors. So when this case of a bank came I became a little skeptical at the wrong point of time, still I started but whatever factors I mentioned the interviewer rejected them all at once. Then I took some more time to think but again
whatever factors I came up with he said no to them as well. Then he gave me a hint but I did not take time out to think on that. Instead came out with whatever was coming to me instantly. Then in my final recommendation, I suggested quite an impractical approach. I think this went against me significantly. But at that point, I did not realize what blunder I had made.

College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Interview
Experience: The interviewer was Rohit Vohra, Partner and Director.

Round: Interview
Experience: The Case Study was a ‘Market Entry’ problem. An office-furniture company wanted to enter into home-furniture business. I had to evaluate whether it should do so or not. I asked for some time to structure my answer. He was very helpful during the entire case study and guided me whenever I went in a direction where I wasn’t supposed to go. I also asked a lot of questions. The entire interview lasted for about 40-45 minutes. The interviewer was very pleasant in his manner and the interview went off quite well. After about 10-15 minutes, I was sent for my second interview.

Round: Interview
Experience: This interview was taken by Shweta Bajpai, Project Leader who was also the Recruitment Head. She was an IIT K alumnus. This interview took around 35-40 minutes.

Round: Interview
Experience: The Case Study was a ‘Growth Strategy’ question.
A metal casing manufacturer wants to double her revenues over the next 5 years. What should she do? I began by asking a few pertinent questions about the company’s product and customers. I then listed out a few growth strategies. She pointed out that she wanted more possible approaches. I pointed out a few but the general nature of our exchange was that the moment I would sum up a strategy, she would drop a hint for another. I would latch on to it and this process went on for about 2 or 3 times. She then asked me that in light of the initial question, which strategy would be best-suited for our client. I answered the same. I came out of the room thinking that I had messed up really badly because she had practically solved the entire case herself. I had a very strong inkling that that interview was my last with BCG. By this time, BCG people had started asking some of us to go if we had interviews with any other company which was a kind way of saying that you are not selected in BCG. I politely inquired one of the consultants whether I was supposed to stay or go. He checked with his colleagues and replied with a very warm smile that I was supposed to stay on.

Round: Interview
Experience: This interview was taken by Saurabh Tripathi, Partner and Director. He was also an IIT K alumnus, the President Gold Medalist of his batch. He was the one who had given us the PPT at Taj. Moreover, I also had the opportunity of having a long conversation with him because we were seated at the same table during dinner. He began the interview by pointing out the same. He then asked some very tricky and pointed PI questions:

Round: Interview
Experience: The Case Study that followed was again one of its kind, to say the least. It involved a hypothetical bank that had just 6 products: 3 kinds of fixed deposits (maturity period of 1 year, 2 years and 3 years) and 3 kinds of loans (again 1, 2 and 3 year maturity period). The rates of interests on the fixed deposits were 3, 4 and 5 % p.a. respectively and on loans were 5, 6 and 7 % p.a. respectively. The owner wanted to increase the bank’s profitability. What should she do?
I would be paltering with the truth if I don’t admit that I was a little taken aback by the question. I took some time and then asked him some questions to which he gave a very brief (though not curt at all) ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as an answer. In fact, during the entire case, he was busy on his Blackberry paying no attention to what I was doing. One of the first things that I asked was whether the objective was to increase ‘profits’ or ‘profitability’ because the technical definition of the two was different. He smiled (I think in appreciation) and replied that he wanted me to focus on ‘profits’. After that, I gave a few recommendations. He complicated the case further by saying that the principal amount of 1-year products was same. This constraint was applicable for 2-year and 3-year products as well. That is, the principal amount of fixed deposit and loan of 1-year was same, and so on.

Again, I gave a few recommendations. After a while, he said that he was in a bit of a hurry and that that was all as far as the interview was concerned. I felt as if nothing concrete had come out as the solution to the case. I asked him how I had done in the case. As was his wont, he answered with a very brief - ‘‘Given the time available, you did fine’’.
I was a little confused after this interview. I had no idea about the last case study. However, I knew that the PI part went off well. After about 10 minutes, I was asked to go and meet Saurabh Tripathi again. I went into his interview room and he gave me a job offer!

General Tips: Between July 2007 (when I joined the institute) and May 2011, I had considered and pursued IAS, MBA and research as potential career options at various points of time. But in May ‘11, I decided that the safer thing to do would be to take up a job and think about the various existential questions later. As far as my personal preferences go, I liked what I read about consulting. But being from a department where core companies are non-existent for all practical purposes; I was aiming for most of the non-core companies. I
was conscious of one thing though, viz. I did not want to work for a company that was catering to overseas
clients or to its own overseas office. The idea was that I did not want to join a company which was employing me just because I was cheaper than the Westerners. So, although after BCG, the second best choice for me in the first slot was Opera, I was not excited about it at all.
My entire preparation, especially the part related to resume and interview was done under the guidance of
Ashwini Dikshit (career counsellor, IITK). I think what worked for me was that I was quite organized in my
preparation. At no stage was I hurried into mistakes. By September, I had prepared the final draft of my 1-page resume. If you think you have a good profile and you can get a shortlist, then you should devote a lot of time to your resume. I would suggest that resume preparation should be started in summers itself. It is also very important to take help and guidance because there is a certain way to make a resume which does not come naturally to most of us. I prepared for aptitude tests by solving the CAT previous years’ question papers. If you are preparing for non core companies, one of the things which you should do is preparing for CAT. Most companies other than consulting firms and core companies, take an aptitude test (including the analytics-consulting firms) and contrary to the common notion, most of them ask English questions as well. Moreover, a good score in CAT will only open up options. I did not prepare for GD because out of all the companies that I was aiming for, very few had GD as a part of their process.
For case study preparation, I was a part of the Case Study Club of SPO which met around thrice in September October period. Apart from that, I practised with my friends. Some good casebooks in decreasing order of their usefulness are Case in Point, Indian School of Business’s casebook and Kellogg’s casebook. It is highly advisable to get hold of various IIMs’ casebooks if you can. While practising a case, the emphasis should be on what new you learn from that particular case. So, more than the mock case study sessions themselves, the analysis that you do afterwards is important.
For the Personal Interview preparation, I had prepared the answers for most of the commonly asked questions and more importantly had given around 5 mock interviews before December. One should sit and right down the answers of the various commonly-asked questions and go through these answers again and again to hone them. If possible, get these answers checked by someone experienced in interview preparation. The idea is not to memorize the answers, but to have a fairly good idea about what points you are going to cover. As a thumb rule, all companies are looking for ‘high energy’ and ‘low maintenance’ guys. Make sure, you sound like one!
Apart from the above mentioned preparation, I read ‘The Indian Express’ and ‘Economic Times’ regularly
(wasn't able to do it daily though) to get a feel of current and business affairs. One final pointer as far as placement preparation is concerned, DO NOT WORRY and do not indulge in useless placement-related gossips. They only eat away your time and energy.
I think what worked well for me in all the interviews was that I was listening very attentively to what theinterviewers were saying or asking. That meant that I was always answering the right questions and was also responding to the hints and clues which the interviewers were giving. In all the interviews, I had a good discussion with the interviewer. A lot of people say that a good interview is the one which is more of adiscussion rather than a question-answer session. By that definition, my interviews went off well. As I hadmentioned earlier, some people claim that the case study workshop which was held on November 16th wasevaluative. If it was so, then I would have got some extra points since I was able to do well in the case that I was asked.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Firstly they did resume-based shortlisting and I was selected.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I was little nervous and didn’t solve the case well. I even missed the workshop due to academic reasons which again proved a negative point in my case. Buddy interaction was good. My suggestions are show enthusiasm with your buddy (mentor) and take interest in everything. Their assessment starts right from the time they take you out for the dinner till your final interview.
Tips: 1. Show enthusiasm from the start.
2. Have good interaction with your buddy or even with seniors in BCG.
3. Show lots of interest.
4. Prepare well for the case studies.
5. They mainly ask strategy cases which are given in elaborate manner in "case in point". The best thing is to prepare in group 3-4ppl or in your wings on a regular basis.

College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Answer 1) No numbers were expected, no knowledge of broadband technology was expected either. The key here was not just an increase in users, but also an increase in the number of uses. None of the established frameworks really helped. The interviewer was very helpful and gave me cues when I was not making progress.

Answer 2) Again, no numbers, no data. I thought I really screwed up this one. I asked the interviewer if I had missed out some aspect, and he told me where I had gone wrong. Then we discussed this aspect for about a minute or so.

Answer 3) Always try to pick something with practical/industrial applications

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Answer 1) The interviewer told me exactly what he expected…he told me the four departments he wanted me to look at. I was to check for ‘synergies’ or the potential benefits of the acquisition for these departments. This case was a lot of fun. (Thanks to the interviewer mainly). Luckily for me, he was highly impressed and he told me that a third interview would not be necessary. 

Answer 2) He also pointed out that I seemed to have dabbled in a lot of things, and discussed this for a long time. It was a two-way discussion, and was a very comfortable conversation. By the middle of this interview, I knew I had to join this company.

General Tips: Sleep well, wear comfortable footwear (Girls, please stash away those high heels for post-job treats and NOT interviews, they almost killed me), don’t starve yourself. If you have back-to-back interviews, sit down for a minute between interviews and take deep breaths, it really helps. Now let’s cut the chase and get to preparation

PPT : Attend PPTs of all the companies that you are interested in. It will give you a good idea of the kind of people you’ll work with, apart from the work itself. Stick around after the PPT and talk to your seniors who are working with the company. Wait for the pizza, there’s always enough for everyone.

Resume : Don’t try and squeeze in too much into your resume. Going by the experiences of my batch, I think companies looked for well-rounded individuals and not necessarily DR1’s or managers and CGs. Needless to say, do not lie or exaggerate. It is disgusting, and in most cases, it will be obvious too.

Interviews: Please don’t prepare answers to the last word, but think about some common questions: strengths/weaknesses (a little introspection never does any harm) and of course, “Why consulting?” (or analytics, etc). Go through your resume and think about what you have learnt from each experience.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Motivation: A must for consultancies. Most seniors will have material on this. Don’t over-do this bit, but from personal experience, I can say that 3 days of case studies will do just fine. Do this in groups of 2 or 3. Don’t use any technical jargon/names of frameworks.