1st round interview and math mistakes

Question

Hello,

Can you please help me evaluate my performace? Will I pass to the second round?

I just went throug the 1st round interview for Bain. I have done 2 cases with 2 Senior Managers.

First question: why consulting? why Bain? I was prepared so I gave the right answers and the interviewed looked satisfied.

Then started the FIRST CASE. I think the qualitative part went pretty well, I framed the problem effectively, changed my hypothesis when the interviewer added new information, recognized a revenue cannibalization problem and sinergies in other revenue areas. All in all, the interviewer looked happy with my answers. BUT the quantitative part was a little MESS. He put me some pressure the last 10 minutes and I started to make very stupid mistakes like not being able to make 1% of 50 million…..I just got very emotional for 10 minutes. I got right 50% of calculations, for the other 50% the interviewer got me through. Let's say that there were 11 calculations to make and I got right 5-6 of them…

At the end, I concluded the case in the right way, giving the right recommandations and providing appropriate next steps.

At the end the interviewer asked me how it was and I said that the qualitative part was well done and the quantitative part was messed up because of emotions. He said “Yes, alright”.

The SECOND MANAGER looked not very interested about time passing. He talked a lot about the firm and asked me if I had questions first, so we had a nice talk about opportunities at Bain and what differenciates the firm from competition. It was a very friendly talk that lasted something like 20 minutes.

So, the SECOND CASE lasted 20-25 minutes. He just asked me to help a friend to open a car parking business in the Milan (Italy) citycenter. Let's try to make a P&L.

Again I framed the problem well and started discussing assumptions about number of parking slots, price per hour, opening hours, occupancy rate…and provided a raw estimate of max revenues per year. We did not have enough time to go trough costs, but I am sure that I mentioned the most relavant ones in the qualitative part. I MADE NO MATH MISTAKES IN THE SECOND CASE. So at the end the P&L wasn't complete but the calculations and assumptions made since the beginning were fairly accurate and the interviewer had a very friendly approach to me from the beginning to the end.

My simple question is: will I pass to the 2nd round considering the overall perfomance?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi there,

As you might imagine, it's very hard to tell, but based on the info provided, if you do pass, it's going to be a borderline pass.

Don't imagine that you need to have a perfect performance in order to pass management consulting interviews. Not at all. In fact, I made several mistakes in my interviews and in fact my final interview probably was the worst.

What matters more is your ability to rebound after a mistake, to take a step back, reassess, and attack the problem from a different angle, while maintaining a positive attitude throughout the process.

You should be hearing back soon from the firm your interviewed with. I hope you get a good answer. If not, don't forget you can always deploy your exiting knowledge to apply to other roles.

Answer 2

Hey, there is no point speculating. Its very hard to predict the outcome here. Sounds like overall you did fine here. Dont try to anticipate what the interviewer should/shouldn't do. You job is to enjoy the interview, give your best and take it from there. I know this is not what you want to hear…

There are two important questions for you to consider:

Did you give your best?
Which areas you think you can do better next time?

As long as you continue to give your best, dont worry about the outcome. Let things happen. We all get hung up too often on the outcome and create unnecessary anxiety.

All the best and fingers crossed for you.

Answer 3

Hello there,

Seems like the decision to qualify for the second round will hinge what the second interviewer felt about you and your competence. Analytical errors such as the ones you highlighted sometimes become a complete no-go even when you ace the rest of the interview. In any case, as the coach above highlighted there is no point speculating. You should get the results in a day-or two. Make sure you ask for proper feedback from whoever calls you with the outcome of the interview.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Hello!

So hard to tell, but indeed there are some red flags unfortunately… fingers crossed, but it´s gonna be tight.

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 5

Hi Enrico,

thanks for sharing your experience.

Suggest you wait and see - there is no point speculating, as interviews, by nature, have a certain degree of subjectivity.

In general, strong, stable quant skills and composure are a prerequisite for MBB but also other consulting firms, so for your next interviews, suggest you double-down / come over-prepared on the Maths part.

Regards

Answer 6

Hello Enrico ,

I am in the same situation. Did you pass ?

Thanks