BCG, London, Summer Associate↓

Components

CV, Cover Letter, Online application form with additional questions, Online test, In-person test, Phone interview, In-person interview

Test: Format

Maths/Numerical test. GCSE standard. Can use a calculator. Online one with 20 questions and 40 minutes. In-person one with similar questions after invitation for interview.

Test: Most Difficult Part

• Time pressure

Test: How to Better Prepare

• Brush up on mental maths for speed

Interview: Format

A general competency-based phone interview with HR, followed by first round of 2 interviews and second round of 2 more interviews with more senior people. Each interview begins with personal questions followed by a candodate-led case study and time for questions at the end. The final round of interviews was more of a general chat about your interests e.g. I debated diversity in the workplace. The cases were a lot harder in the first round.

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• You have to lead the case and it can go in whatever direction you take it.
• Communication.
• Unconventional behavioural questions.
• Some tables are kind of complex in terms of the amount of information they contained.

Interview: How to Better Prepare

• Be comfortable leading the case and take it in the direction you think is necessary- be able to voice your reasoning and execute your ideas.
• Do more mock interviews.

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• Cases on different topics, but all focused on graph/table reading and doing some moderately complex numeric calculations
• How do you increase the profit of this oil plant? (Revenue and cost question).
• Here is a graph- what is going on and what problem does the company have?
• Out of the 4 cases: 1 product launch, 1 market entry, 1 profit problem, 1 decrease costs..
• Tell me about ... experience?
• Tell me about a time you successfully worked in a team?
• Tell me about a time when you've established credibility
• Tell me about a time when you've set ambitious goal
• What is a global issue you cared about.

McKinsey, London, Summer Analyst↓

Components

CV, Cover Letter, Online test, In-person interview

Test: Format

Problem Solving Test. Very different to other firms. You have to complete virtual games. There is no right answer, it just measures how you think.

Test: Most Difficult Part

• Impossible to prepare for as it measures personality traits and thinking skills

Test: How to Better Prepare

Interview: Format

Interviewer led cases. The Maths was not as difficult as other cases, but very simple. They ask you a question within the case, take a minute to brainstorm and structure your thoughts, then give an answer. Show creativity when brainstorming your ideas.

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• The personal questions required you to talk for e.g. 15 minutes about just one experience. In comparison, other companies will ask a range of questions on your CV. McKinsey only asks one per interview.

Interview: How to Better Prepare

• Practicing Mental Maths daily in the week before your interviewis really important.

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• You had to go into a lot of detail about e.g. a time you used teamwork. They focus on depth, not breadth. They focus on the one example you give and ask you about e.g. the challenges you faced, your thought-process at the time, what you learnt, how you planned your time.

EY-Parthenon, London, Summer Intern↓

Components

CV, In-person Interview

Test: Format

N/A

Test: Most Difficult Part

N/A

Test: How to Better Prepare

N/A

Interview: Format

Interviewer led and had a very rigid structure and questions.

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• They send you a practice case beforehand which is very similar to the real case. The case is in a booklet that you work through.

Interview: How to Better Prepare

• They want quick mental maths and the maths problems are harder than at other firms.

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• Mental maths practice.

Roland Berger, London, Summer Intern↓

Components

CV, Cover Letter, In-person test, In-person interview

Test: Format

In person test where they come to Cambridge. Includes data interpretation, critical reasoning, problem-solving. Several multiple-choice questions for each section under time constraint.

Test: Most Difficult Part

• Time pressure

Test: How to Better Prepare

• Practice tests under time constraint

Interview: Format

Two rounds. Each interview had one interviewer doing some behavioural/motivational questions followed by a case study.

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• Case studies in industries that I was unfamiliar with.

Interview: How to Better Prepare

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• Case were on very technical-topic (though technical knowledge not equired). There was one on conveyor belts and another one on water-fueled cars. Tested a lot of graph/table reading and numerical analysis. Looked at aspects such as market sizing, potential growth, segmentation of the business etc.
• Standard behavioural questions that dig into CV."

Plural Strategy, London, Summer Intern↓

Components

CV, Cover letter, Online test, Phone interview, In-person interview

Test: Format

40 minute online test with numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning sections

Test: Most Difficult Part

• Lots of reading for the questions

Test: How to Better Prepare

Interview: Format

Phone interview followed by in-person interview followed by assessment day

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• Market sizing required a lot of intuition

Interview: How to Better Prepare

• Practiced more market sizing

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• CV/experience
• Motivations
• Questions about the firm
• Consulting knowledge
• Intersting business news you read
• Case study on market size of online streaming market
• General business questions with some more competency-based ones.

Baringa Partners, London, Summer Intern↓

Components

Online application form with additional questions, In-person interview

Test: Format

N/A

Test: Most Difficult Part

N/A

Test: How to Better Prepare

N/A

Interview: Format

3 aspects of the AC: case study, fit and competency interview, and group exercise.

Interview: Most Difficult Part

• I struggled with the mathematical aspect of the case as the numbers they provided weren’t straightforward.
• It was also a bit of a mess with the group exercise as people tried to show off too much and it was hard to contribute meaningfully.

Interview: How to Better Prepare

• Practiced mental maths

Interview: Questions and Cases Received

• Case study asked me to calculate costs and revenues for a planned music festival. I had to calculate number of attendees, organise logistics, and plan for sustainability initiatives. Was provided with a prompt which I was given 10 minutes to read and then present my calculations and ideas.
• Competency and fit interviews were fairly straightforward. Why consulting and why Baringa Partners were asked.
• Discuss an interesting news article I’ve read.
• What I’m most proud of on my CV.
• Group exercise was an escape room and they assessed us on how we worked together as well as our ideas in solving a mystery."