I am having my R2 Bain London Interview coming up soon, does anyone have any resources/tips on how I can prepare for it?

Hi James,

Q: I am having my R2 Bain London Interview coming up soon, does anyone have any resources/tips on how I can prepare for it?

A final round/ round 2 normally has the same structure as the first round (fit + case + your questions – although at Bain sometimes fit is done in a separate interview, different from the one with the case).

In a final round, the interviewers might:

1. Spend more time on fit and your alignment with the company.
2. Ask questions related to the areas of improvement for which you got feedback after the first round.
3. Not use a “standard” case. During one of my finals, I had one interview made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case.

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To prepare, you can work on the following:

1. Review your fit answers – they might spend more time on the fit part compared to the first round.
2. Work on the case areas they mentioned you could improve, if any (you can base that on the feedback they provided, if present).
3. Focus your case prep on the weakest areas. If you are tracking your performance, you can do drills for the areas where you are struggling the most / review cases where you made mistakes.

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Extra reading:

▶ How to Prepare for a Consulting Interview

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Good luck!

Francesco

Hey there,

Congrats on passing the first round!

95% of partner rounds are just as standardized as the first round. The reason why you read about freestyle partner experiences is that they deviate from what people expect, hence they post about it more frequently online, hence giving others the impression it is much more common.

Additionally, partner rounds are often perceived as more challenging, just because it's a partner sitting across the table rather than a more junior colleague. It is purely based on the impression and not on the content. :-)

If there are any deviations from the standard McKinsey interviewer guidelines, expect them to be in the following realm:

• Focus on one or two areas where you were perceived as not as strong in round one, which can be specific case questions or PEI stories
• Only doing a case, only doing PEI instead of both
• Doing two shorter cases in quick succession
• Challenging your answers more
• Not providing any time for you to think about the answer, making it more conversational
• Asking standard fit questions besides PEI

In any case, the most important thing is not to be startled by this and just keep working on the case or the PEI in a calm manner. In order to do that, have a look at the following two articles that I wrote:

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

Alternatively, feel free to reach out. I have created a lot of McKinsey-specific drills and practice programs as well as written the book The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview, which contains extra sections on the McKinsey Case and PEI. It's on Amazon!

All the best for your second round!

Cheers,

Florian

To prepare for your R2 Bain London interview, focus on these key areas:

• Top-Down Communication: Partners value clarity and structure, so ensure your answers are concise and organized.

• Unusual Cases: Be ready for cases that deviate from standard frameworks, and practice adapting to non-typical scenarios.

• Outstanding Stories: Prepare compelling examples and polished answers to explain why Bain is your ideal fit.

• Act on Feedback: Incorporate any feedback you received from earlier rounds to show growth and readiness.

Best,

Alberto

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Explore my latest case inspired by a real MBB interview: Chic & Stitch