Boston Consulting Group Associate Researcher interview questions

I was contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn. After providing me with a description of the job, she interviewed me over the phone. She then scheduled an interview for me with someone in HR. Neither interview was complicated, just basic fit questions, resume walk-through, etc. The first in-person interview was more difficult and in two parts. First, I had to complete a 45 minute skill assessment that involved researching Proctor & Gamble, their top 3-5 competitors, and bench-marking them in a fictional report. It was straightforward, and they provided you with the information they wanted to find. The second part of the interview involved two associates who talked through a case about the pencil industry in Nigeria with me to analyze my thought process. They were both fairly friendly and engaging. When I got called in for the final round, however, I was given a stress interview by one person. She asked how I would analyze the cosmetics market in a particular country in Eastern Europe. In a stress interview, the interviewer acts critical, disinterested, and even condescending to assess your reaction to pressure, so I highly recommend preparing for that. I didn't expect it in an interview for a research position, and I think I was too thrown off and intimidated to get an offer.

I was set-up with an interview via a staffing agency. The interview consisted of 1 hour of a skills-based test and 1 hour of speaking with the hiring manager. It was fairly straightforward. The time was well-managed. The skills-based portion wasn't rigorously managed. I set a timer to make sure I adhered to the time limit. However, as I got closer and closer to the end of time I thought for sure they'd come and stop me. This never happened. To keep it honest, I stopped working at the end of the first hour and went to find the interviewer. I don't know if this was a "test" too but I would encourage you to manage your time. They won't do it for you and you may appear untrustworthy if you allow it to significantly run over.