What is ok to ask an interviewer during Q&A?

Question

Hi everybody,

I'm having second round next week and would like to get some ideas to ask at the end.

I already know who the interviewer is going to be so I thought about using it to my advantage.

Would something like this be a good question or to personal?

"I was researching your profile on LinkedIn and I was really impressed how international your cv was, was that something you always wanted for yourself?"

Any inputs would be wonderful

Answer 1

HI,

In most of the cases, you'll have no chance to research in profile. From what I've seen only Bain shares interviewers names.

The main objective is to have a good conversation and highlight your intellectual capacity and curiosity. Thus:

It is ok to ask:

Questions that cause positive emotions and highlight consulting pros (e.g. Mck people)
Questions on the topics you are excited about (e.g. data science)
Non-business questions (e.g. team retreats)

It's not ok to ask:

Questions that can cause negative emotions (e.g. work hours)
Information you should learn before the interview (e.g. typical career path)
Questions that may show that you are unfamiliar with consulting work (Like are you specialized in strategy or operations?)

Be prepared and good luck!

Answer 2

Great response from Vlad.

I did want to clarify for the benefit of others: 100% of my first- and second-round interviews with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) were scheduled with disclosure of the interviewers' names complete with personal and professional biographies. It would appear then that Bain & Company is not alone in this practice.

These biographies in the case with BCG were always shared up to 48 hours in advance (sometimes longer), and I tailored all of my post-session questions for each to the information contained in their biographies, and to other information gleaned from third-party sources.

I will add that I never stated to my interviewers that I'd researched them. Personally, I feel this runs the risk of coming off as obsequious.

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