If you have an upcoming BCG final round interview, we have you covered.

 

In this complete guide, we’ll cover every detail of the BCG final round interview. We’ll cover the differences between BCG first round vs. final round interviews, the most commonly asked BCG final round interview questions, and valuable last-minute tips.

 

Before we get started, if you’re still feeling uncomfortable with BCG case interviews, we highly recommend going through our step-by-step  case interview course. These insider strategies from a former MBB interviewer have helped thousands of students land offers with as little as a week of preparation time.

 

BCG First Round vs. Final Round Interview

 

If you’ve already made it through BCG first round interviews, great job! That alone is an accomplishment to be proud of. While 30-50% of candidates typically pass BCG’s first round interviews, only about 15-30% will pass BCG’s final round interviews and land an offer.

 

Here are the major differences that you should be aware of between BCG first round and final round interviews.

 

More senior interviewers

 

While your BCG first round interviewers may have been consultants or managers, your BCG final round interviewers will most likely consist of senior managers and partners.

 

So, be prepared to be interviewed by people that are generally older and more experienced than your BCG first round interviewers.

 

Don’t be intimidated by the fact that your interviewers are older and more experienced. Instead, you’ll want to display more maturity and bring more enthusiasm to energize your interviewers.

 

Older interviewers typically appreciate more energy and positivity since they’ve been grinding for so long in their career in consulting.

 

Less structured case interviews

 

BCG final round case interviews are typically much less structured than first round interviews.

 

BCG’s first round case interviews are very standardized. Interviewers are given specific cases that were written to be given to all first-round candidates. This is done to ensure a fair evaluation process across all first-round candidates.

 

Since each BCG final round interviewer likes to use their own cases, BCG final round case interviews are much less standardized.

 

So, don’t expect to be given cookie cutter case interviews that are focused on common business problems such as profitability or market entry. Expect that you’ll be given at least one case interview on an unfamiliar topic.

 

Also, be prepared for case interviews that either have a ton of exhibits or case interviews that have zero exhibits and are solely focused on qualitative discussion. There is a huge range of case interviews for BCG’s final round interviews.

 

However, you should still try to use the same strategies and techniques that you used for BCG’s first round interviews. Those are what got you through the first round. So, unless you got lucky during the first-round interviews, expect that the strategies you used can hold up in BCG’s final round interviews.

 

Harder case interviews

 

Since BCG’s final round case interviews are less structured than first round interviews, expect that some of the case interviews may be more difficult than those given in first round interviews.

 

The math calculations may be a bit more difficult or complex. The qualitative questions that you are asked could be more challenging to answer. Lastly, you may also find that it is harder to reach a decisive recommendation or conclusion at the end of the case.

 

A higher standard for case interview performance

 

There is a significantly higher standard for case interview performance in BCG’s final round interview. Remember, you are competing against everyone that has already passed BCG’s first round interview.

 

So, at this point, most candidates in BCG’s final round interview process are quite skilled at case interviews.

 

While you may have gotten away with one or two mistakes in BCG’s first round case interviews, these mistakes may cost you an offer in BCG’s final round interviews.

 

So, it is extremely important that you feel comfortable and confident in your case interview abilities. You will need to nail every single BCG case interview in the final round in order to land an offer.

 

More emphasis on fit

 

While you may have only been asked one or two behavioral or fit questions in BCG’s first round of interviews, fit is more heavily emphasized in BCG’s final round of interviews.

 

After all, BCG interviewers not only want to identify candidates with strong case interview skills, but they want to find candidates who would make great team members on their case teams.

 

So, it is very important that you demonstrate that you are a team player that is coachable, easy to work with, and a pleasure to be around.

 

Interviewers will assess this by asking specific behavioral or fit interview questions to get to know you better. You may be asked to summarize your experiences, highlight your accomplishments, or explain your motivations.

 

We’ll cover the most commonly asked BCG behavioral and fit interview questions in the next section so that you know exactly what to prepare for.

 

BCG Final Round Interview Questions

 

Below are the most commonly asked questions in BCG final round interviews.

 

We highly recommend preparing answers to all of these questions in advance because there is a very high chance you’ll be asked these questions in your BCG final round interviews.

 

1. Why do you want to work at BCG?

 

During BCG’s final round interviews, interviewers want to know that BCG is one of your top choices. Ideally, they want to know that BCG is your #1 consulting firm of choice.

 

Interviewers ask the “Why BCG?” question so that they can avoid a situation in which they give an offer to a candidate that has zero interest in working at BCG. Interviewers only want to give offers to candidates that they think have a good chance of accepting a BCG job offer.

 

So, make sure that you prepare three specific and genuine reasons for why you are interested in working at BCG. You need to convince the interviewer that BCG is one of your top choices, if not your #1 choice.

 

2. Why are you interested in consulting?

 

BCG interviewers only want to give offers to candidates that will stick around in consulting for at least two years. It is a huge waste of time and money to train someone only to have them quit the firm after 6 months.

 

So, during BCG’s final round interviews, interviewers will ask this question to test if candidates actually know what they are getting themselves into.

 

The “why consulting?” question can easily separate candidates who clearly have done their research on consulting from candidates that are just applying to consulting on a whim or as a backup option.

 

So, prepare at least three specific and genuine reasons for why you are interested in consulting. You need to convince the interviewer that consulting is your top career choice and that you see yourself staying in consulting for at least two years.

 

3. Why do you want to work at this specific office?

 

Some candidates will apply to obscure or unpopular offices at BCG with the hopes that it will be easier to get into these offices than to get into popular offices such as New York or San Francisco.

 

It is not ideal for a BCG office to give an offer to a candidate who plans to transfer offices as soon as they are accepted into BCG.

 

So, during BCG final round interviews, interviewers might ask this question to assess whether or not you genuinely want to work in the specific office that you are applying for.

 

Prepare at least three specific and genuine reasons why you want to work at the office that you are applying for. The reasons can be either personal or professional.

 

For example, you might have family in the area or you might be interested in the industries that the office is focused on.

 

4. Tell me about yourself.

 

BCG interviewers might not have the time to look through your resume in advance of your BCG final round interview. So, they might ask this question to get a quick download on your background and experiences.

 

Therefore, you want to have a concise and easy to follow story that explains your background and experiences. You should open with a sentence that summarizes who you are and either your experiences or interests.

 

Then, you should quickly run through the major accomplishments on your resume.

 

Afterwards, you should explain why you are interested in working at BCG based on your background and experiences.

 

You should only spend 3-5 minutes covering these things, so it’s important that you practice so that your answer is not too short, but also not too long.

 

5. Can you give an example of a time when you solved a difficult problem?

 

BCG consultants solve difficult or complex problems all the time. Problem solving is one of the most important skills in consulting.

So, during BCG final round interviews, interviewers will ask this question to not only learn more about you, but to assess your problem-solving skills.

 

Pick an example to share that is either impressive, interesting, or unique. Briefly cover the context of the story so that you can spend most of your time covering your problem-solving skills and accomplishments.

 

This question is an example of a consulting behavioral or fit interview question.

 

6. Tell me about a time when you worked on a team.

 

In addition to problem-solving, teamwork is another super important skill that consultants must have. BCG consultants constantly work together in teams, sometimes spending all day with their teammates in the same room.

 

So, BCG interviewers will ask this question to not only learn more about you, but to assess your teamwork skills. They want to see that you work well in teams, have taken on leadership roles, and have also had experiences resolving conflict on a team.

 

Similar to the previous question, make sure to briefly cover the context of the story so that you can spend most of your time covering your team work skills and your accomplishments.

 

7. What’s your greatest weakness?

 

This question catches some candidates off guard. It is very difficult to admit that you have a weakness.

 

BCG interviewers ask this question to see whether you are humble or arrogant. They also want to see that you are introspective and reflective on your personal growth and development.

 

So, make sure that you pick an actual weakness. Please do not pick a weakness that is actually a strength in disguise! BCG interviewers will roll their eyes if they hear this from you.

 

In your answer, you’ll want to cover what your weakness is, provide an example of it, explain the steps you’ve taken to improve on your weakness, and finally share an achievement that you’ve made from working on improving your weakness.

 

This structure will help you come off as humble, introspective, and show evidence that you have a growth mindset and can adapt to feedback.

 

8. Why should we hire you?

 

This is another question that catches many candidates off guard. 
 
 During your BCG final round interview, interviewers may ask you this question at the very end. You should definitely prepare an answer for this because if you can’t answer this question, how can the interviewer make a case to extend you an offer?

 

We recommend that you have three specific reasons for why BCG should hire you. Ideally, these reasons are skills or qualities that BCG looks for, such as problem-solving, team work, or resilience.

 

You’ll want to provide specific examples to reinforce your points, but make sure that you keep your answer short and concise.

 

9. Is there anything else you’d like for us to know about you?

 

Some BCG interviewers will ask this question to give you an opportunity to talk about anything that you haven’t had the chance to talk about yet.

 

If you have an extenuating circumstance or compelling story, here is your chance to share it.

 

However, for most people, we recommend that you use this time to essentially answer the “why should we hire you?” question.

 

10. Do you have any questions for me?

 

This is the very last question that your BCG interviewers will ask you. They’ll try to give you an opportunity to ask questions about the firm.

 

This is your chance to demonstrate how excited and interested you are in consulting and in BCG.

 

We recommend that you ask specific questions about your interviewer’s background, career path, and specific questions about BCG that can’t be found online.

 

The more that you can get your interviewers to talk about themselves, the more likely your interviewers are to have a positive impression of you.

 

People love to talk about themselves. So, use this to your advantage.

 

BCG Final Round Interview Tips

 

While you probably won’t have too much time between your BCG first round and final round interviews, there are a few actions you can take to quickly improve your final round interview performance.

 

1. Work on feedback that you received from BCG’s first round interviewers

 

If you haven’t already, make sure to ask your BCG first round interviewers for any feedback on your performance. Perhaps you struggled a bit on the math or had difficulty creating a comprehensive framework.

 

During your final round BCG interviews, expect that your interviewers will continue to test areas that you didn’t perform well in during your BCG first round interviews.

 

So, you’ll want to double down on your first-round weaknesses and make sure that they don’t show up again as weaknesses in your BCG final round interviews.

 

2. Look up your BCG final round interviewers’ backgrounds

 

If BCG provides the names or bios of your final round interviewers, it can be helpful to look them up. There are several reasons for this.

 

One, understanding your interviewers’ bios may make you feel more comfortable and less nervous during your BCG final round interview.

 

Second, having some information about your interviewers may make it easier to have a conversation with them. You can ask specific questions about their background or experiences at the end of the interview.

 

Third, your interviewers’ bios may give hints at what your case interview may be focused on. For example, if you are interviewing with a BCG partner that specializes in retail, then you might have a good chance of getting a retail case interview.

 

3. Be familiar with your BCG final round interview schedule

 

BCG final round interviews typically consist of 2-4 interviewers. While most of these interviews will be heavily focused on case interviews, one of these interviews may be more heavily focused on fit.

 

It’s helpful to know whether all of your interviews will consist of a case interview and fit questions or if all of the fit questions will be consolidated into a single interview.

 

This can help you mentally prepare before each interview and know what to expect.

 

4. Get enough rest

 

The worst thing you can do for your BCG final round interview is stay up all night and practice case interviews or practice answering fit interview questions.

 

You need to get good sleep and rest in order to have the energy to survive your BCG final round interviews and perform at your best.

 

So, while it is important to prepare for your BCG final round interviews, make sure to give yourself enough time to rest the night before.

 

5. Bring your enthusiasm

 

This tip sounds simple, but it can really make the difference between receiving an offer and getting a rejection.

 

BCG, much like all other consulting firms, loves people that are enthusiastic and positive. These are the type of people that all consultants want to work with. These people bring energy into their teams and make the consulting job much more enjoyable.

 

So, make sure that you are smiling and having a great time during your BCG final round interviews. Stay positive, be excited, and bring energy.

 

This will make a lasting, memorable impression on your interviewers.

 

Land a Consulting Offer at BCG

 

Here are the resources we recommend to land a consulting offer at BCG:

 

For help passing case interviews

 

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.

 

• Case Interview Coaching: Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former MBB interviewer.

 

• Hacking the Case Interview Book (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.

 

• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

 

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

 

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course: Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.

 

For help landing more consulting interviews

 

• Resume Review & Editing: Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews