Final Round Interview Performance

Question

Hi! I had my final round interview for an MBB on Tuesday and 2 days later have not yet heard back. I would say I struggled a bit on my first case driving towards a recommendation. The recommender had to ask me additional questions about what I thought about exhibits. However, my second case seemed to be really strong in structure, quant, analysis, and the rec. I also felt like I clicked with my behavioral interviewer. I'm curious 1) if one subpar case performance outweighs a solid second case and behavioral performance, and, 2) if this 48+ hours waiting is a bad sign for my candidacy?

Answer 1

Hey there,

Alrighty, let's answer these one-by-one..

(1) Does one sub-par performance outweigh a second solid performance

This depends really, and can vary amongst recruiting principles / philosophies by MBB, region and interviewers. However, usually with MBB, you need to get the approval of both interviewers to move to next round or to get the offer. If one interviewer gives you a pass and the other one doesn't, then usually you don't progress.
However, if you did really well in one and not so much the other, the interviewer where you did well with could "bang the table" (i.e. strongly motivate) with the other and recruiting team to give you a chance and put more emphasis (or give benefit of the doubt) to where you did well. Then this becomes a very high judgement and discretionary call for them to proceed
It really will come down to:
- How you performed in both interviews overall and in each of the dimensions (quantitative, analytical, structuring, etc.)
- How strongly the interviewers felt about your performance and are going to stand by their decision or try motivate the other interviewer on their position
- The decision-making criteria, rules, and philosophy in that MBB's office on how dealing with interviewer feedback

(2) Is 48hr+ waiting time a bad sign

The short answer is no, not really. Consulting turnaround times these days can go longer, and the delays usually have nothing to do with your performance but other administrative blocks and other considerations that occur at the back end.
It could be a whole host of things, such as waiting for other candidate feedback to calibrate, confirming HR considerations, decision meetings with the interviewers taking long because of their tight schedules, etc etc. There are so many reasons - but in short on it's own, this is not a bad sign. (I've seen candidates wait 3 weeks after final round getting an offer)

On the first question, I just wanted to share some general principles and would caution about speculating. I guess now, there's not much we can do now.

But let's hope for the best! :-)

Answer 2

Congrats on making it to the final round!

None of us here will be able to give you any definitive answer, but it’s not over until it’s over. A few thoughts:

Your underperformance in some aspects of this “bad” case might have been offset by outperformance in others areas of that case and other parts of your interview (the other case, feedback from previous rounds)
Interviewers tend to think of your performance in relation to others who they have that case to — was is a very complex one?
Candidates often judge themselves more harshly than they should
The wait isn’t necessarily a bad thing — check in if it gets to a full week

Answer 3

Hi there,

1) If one subpar case performance outweighs a solid second case and behavioral performance

In general, all interviewers have to agree that you should pass. If they have doubts, sometimes some companies allow for an additional interview to clear them.

2) If this 48+ hours waiting is a bad sign for my candidacy?

Not necessarily, sometimes it might take up to one week to hear back after a final, even in case of a positive outcome.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 4

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on going through the entire application process!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions:

First of all, I would highly advise you to stop worrying about your performance. I am sure that you have done your best and now you just have to wait for the result, as hard as it may be. Despite what other coaches have said, no one can seriously answer the question of how your specific situation will be viewed.
Moreover, waiting more than two business (?) days for feedback is nothing to worry about either, especially in recent times when overall turnaround times have increased significantly. If you haven't heard back after 1-2 weeks, you may consider contacting the recruiter to inquire about the status of your application.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen