Boston Consulting Group Principal interview questions

I am very sorry to write this review. BCG is probably one of the most well known strategy consulting firms. However, the way interview process is organized is a long painful ride at least where I interviewed. It is in my opinion interview process are rather long and disorganized. The interviewers and HR are not talking to each other , unaware of the exact profile. Interviewer says one thing, HR another, you end of talking to third person who has his own idea. Firstly, it takes forever to organize a meeting. Once this is done it is never sure with who it will be. It can always change last minute. Person who wants to hire you for his practice does not get to speak to you. Person who admits not to know anything about your business ends up talking to you. It is a simply waste of your time and their time. They use a case study at every level to test your skills which can be a overkill for someone coming with Industry experience.If they do not agree with your approach, thinking that is a reason enough not to go ahead. Kind of odd considering you not even going to work for them/with them. They are well aware that in real world of business there are different ways to approach a problem. BCG way may not be the right and only one. After all look at the world today, a lot of is to be thanked to people thinking the exactly same way to make a quick money. People may be friendly, well versed, intelligent but so is your guest. When one comes from consulting background he is used to multitasking. If that is used as a reason to reject , it is really a pity. I think the months I invested to interview, prepare was simply a waste of my time and theirs. I recommend to interview if only you want a consulting job with them, prepare very thoroughly the BGG way, they really do think in frameworks and you are expected to live by them to succeed. Interview typically last an hour , there will be 2-3 interviews. First half is getting to know you which should go fine if you did your homework. Second half is a case study. Pick on the hints they give and stick to it. Practice a lot BCG way. I did not find a BCG consultant to train me and I do not regret it. But if you want the job follow exactly the way they expect you to address the issue. if you do not , they will give find enough reasons not to go ahead with you.

Very tiring. Typically a mix of emotions as interviewers were friendly and professional. I kept asking of there is a specific skill set they are looking for and they said nothing about it. They mentioned they are looking for generalists. After more than 2 weeks of final interview they gave me the reason that they needed a specific skill set. Interestingly that was one of my strengths but the focus of the interview was on different skill sets. I provided them frank feedback that if they are looking for specific skill sets they should be transparent. My interview went extremely well and I found it a wierd reasoning. I have been in the consulting industry for more than 16 years now.