Online Application
The online application required a CV and an answer to a question about how the steps we’d take to provide financing for projects in the social impact space. I applied in late May/early April of 2022 as it was a program made available by BCG’s south east asia/Jakarta office exclusively.
The short answer was 100-words long so I really had to make sure that I was including all my thinking into that answer.
How to respond for success
I really wanted to make sure I highlighted 2 things: my critical thinking skills & commitment to social impact.
Having some experience in a consulting organization, I made sure to highlight that by adding more bullet points under that experience whilst cutting down on less relevant experiences (i.e. teaching debate students). Moreover, I made sure to highlight how debating has made me a strong critical thinker & be better at working with a diverse group of people - to highlight my strength in teamwork.
I made sure to highlight this upon chatting with a current BCG senior associate who talked about the project consultant program & how a large part of it involves working with a team.
Expect a 3-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Senior Associate Interview
A senior associate will message you via WhatsApp/email to schedule a 30-minute chat. It’s totally fine to propose a different time to call them (for instance, I was in the US while my interviewer scheduled our call to happen at 5AM EST. I asked if this could be rescheduled to 9PM EST instead and they were totally fine with it.
I prepared for this interview by reviewing approaches to market sizing questions & making sure I had a compelling story to tell during the fit section of my interview. Overall, this didn’t take much time at all - I mostly prepared during the day (a few hours before the interview) as I had practiced market sizing case interviews through my organization, London Strategic Consulting, and as the fit interview were rather standard questions about your CV and your journey leading up to BCG.
Example
Expect generic 'tell me a time when' type questions, otherwise be prepared to just have a conversation!
How to respond for success
It’s really important to check with the interviewer along the way if they think your approach is sensible, and if you’re assuming numbers within the right ballpark (i.e. 10 pounds for an average cup of coffee is probably not a reasonable assumption).
Additionally, remember to act professionally but to also treat it like a conversation. You’re not giving a speech - you’re walking through a problem with your interviewer. If they interject, it’s because they’re trying to redirect you so don’t be too hell-bent on justifying your approach if they question it repeatedly. Try to strategize and check with your interviewer if they think it’s an appropriate approach.
Expect a 1 month wait before being advanced to the next stage.
Final Interview
The final group interview consisted of an interview alongside 5 other candidates and a senior member from BCG interviewing us - typically a partner or a consultant/project lead.
The final interview took around 30 minutes - 1 hour (I believe mine was a little below 1 hour). You’re told to prepare your approach yourself, and you can totally have a different approach to other candidates (I, for instance, had a different approach to 2 other candidates). It’s up to you to explain all the steps in obtaining a numerical answer to their market sizing question. I prepared in a similar way to my previous, 1-on-1 interview.
Example
Questions really do differ, however in my case it was a market sizing question.
How to respond for success
My main advice here would be to be as structured and as concise as possible. BCG interviewers don’t like it when your answer is too long-winded or doesn’t get to the point quick enough.
Have a clear approach laid out, then get into your assumptions and a quick rationale for those assumptions, and finally get into plugging all the numbers in.
For market sizing questions, I’d highly suggest coming up with an approach that clearly outlines the formula you’re using for your answer.
Expect a 2 week wait before being offered a position.
Senior Associate Interview
A senior associate will message you via WhatsApp/email to schedule a 30-minute chat. It’s totally fine to propose a different time to call them (for instance, I was in the US while my interviewer scheduled our call to happen at 5AM EST. I asked if this could be rescheduled to 9PM EST instead and they were totally fine with it.
I prepared for this interview by reviewing approaches to market sizing questions & making sure I had a compelling story to tell during the fit section of my interview. Overall, this didn’t take much time at all - I mostly prepared during the day (a few hours before the interview) as I had practiced market sizing case interviews through my organization, London Strategic Consulting, and as the fit interview were rather standard questions about your CV and your journey leading up to BCG.
Example
Expect generic 'tell me a time when' type questions, otherwise be prepared to just have a conversation!
How to respond for success
It’s really important to check with the interviewer along the way if they think your approach is sensible, and if you’re assuming numbers within the right ballpark (i.e. 10 pounds for an average cup of coffee is probably not a reasonable assumption).
Additionally, remember to act professionally but to also treat it like a conversation. You’re not giving a speech - you’re walking through a problem with your interviewer. If they interject, it’s because they’re trying to redirect you so don’t be too hell-bent on justifying your approach if they question it repeatedly. Try to strategize and check with your interviewer if they think it’s an appropriate approach.
Expect a 1 month wait before being advanced to the next stage.
Final Interview
The final group interview consisted of an interview alongside 5 other candidates and a senior member from BCG interviewing us - typically a partner or a consultant/project lead.
The final interview took around 30 minutes - 1 hour (I believe mine was a little below 1 hour). You’re told to prepare your approach yourself, and you can totally have a different approach to other candidates (I, for instance, had a different approach to 2 other candidates). It’s up to you to explain all the steps in obtaining a numerical answer to their market sizing question. I prepared in a similar way to my previous, 1-on-1 interview.
Example
Questions really do differ, however in my case it was a market sizing question.
How to respond for success
My main advice here would be to be as structured and as concise as possible. BCG interviewers don’t like it when your answer is too long-winded or doesn’t get to the point quick enough.
Have a clear approach laid out, then get into your assumptions and a quick rationale for those assumptions, and finally get into plugging all the numbers in.
For market sizing questions, I’d highly suggest coming up with an approach that clearly outlines the formula you’re using for your answer.
