- Fit questions come in three families: background ("walk me through your CV"), motivation ("why consulting, why us") and experiences ("tell me about a time when...").
- Every experience answer needs the same four parts: essential context, your personal contribution, the decisions you made and why, and the result with what you learned.
- A bank of six to eight real stories covers most experience questions. It is a starting point, not a guarantee: check it against the full list of themes and fill the gaps.
- For McKinsey, prepare two stories for each of the four areas McKinsey names: Connection, Drive, Leadership and Growth. BCG and Bain mix background, motivation and experience questions more freely, and interviewers vary.
- The follow-up questions decide how strong an answer is. Practise each story with someone who keeps asking "why?" and "what exactly did you do?".
Case practice can crowd out fit preparation. Interviewers need specific evidence in both parts. A fit answer is evidence, written down and compared with other candidates after the interview, and a vague story leaves the interviewer with nothing to write. This page lists the questions you are most likely to hear, explains what each one is really asking and shows, with fictional examples, how a strong answer holds up when the interviewer digs in.
The guidance combines what McKinsey, BCG and Bain publish on their careers pages, what candidates consistently report and the experience of CasePreparation's coach, Franco Borgonovo, who spent ten years at BCG, from intern to Principal, and interviewed and selected candidates as a global lead recruiter. CasePreparation is independent and not affiliated with McKinsey & Company, BCG or Bain & Company.
What the fit interview is and what it assesses
The fit interview, also called the behavioural (in US usage, behavioral) or personal interview, is the part of a consulting interview that is not the case. At most strategy firms it shares the same interview slot with the case: candidates commonly report interviews of 45 to 60 minutes, with 10 to 20 minutes of fit questions, a case of 30 to 35 minutes and a few minutes for your questions at the end. When a slot is short, the fit part usually shrinks to an introduction and one more question, and the case starts quickly.
The case shows how you solve a problem. The fit part shows things a case cannot: how you work with people, what drives you, how you react when something goes wrong and whether you would represent the firm well in front of a client. Interviewers often put it as a simple question to themselves: would I put this person in front of my client tomorrow, and would my team enjoy working with them?
| Family | Typical questions | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Background | "Tell me about yourself", "walk me through your CV", strengths and weaknesses | That your choices make sense and you can explain them briefly |
| Motivation | "Why consulting?", "why our firm?", "why this office?" | That you understand the job and want it for reasons of your own |
| Experiences | "Tell me about a time you led, disagreed, failed..." | How you actually behave, shown through what you did and why |
How interviewers record your answers
During the interview, interviewers take notes on evidence: the situation you chose, the decisions you describe, the reasons you give, how you answer their follow-up questions. Afterwards they rate you against the firm's criteria and justify the rating with that evidence. A clear, specific answer helps them write a strong justification. A general answer ("I'm a team player who communicates well") gives them nothing to write, however confidently you say it.
How long your answers should be
These are practical references, not rules. Watch the interviewer: if they want more, they will ask.
| Question type | Opening answer | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself | 60 to 90 seconds | Questions on one or two points |
| Why consulting, why this firm | 60 to 90 seconds | One or two challenges to your reasons |
| Strengths, weaknesses, short personal questions | 30 to 60 seconds | Usually a request for an example |
| An experience question | About 2 minutes (2 to 3 for a McKinsey PEI) | Follow-ups, often for longer than your answer |
How to structure any experience answer
Experience questions, the "tell me about a time" family, take most of the preparation. One structure works for all of them. Formats such as STAR (situation, task, action, result) say the same thing in other words; what matters is where you spend the time.
1. Essential context
Two or three sentences: where you were, your role, what was at stake. Only what the interviewer needs to understand your decisions.
2. Your personal contribution
What you, not the team, took on. Say "I" for your own actions and "we" only for what the group did together.
3. Decisions and reasons
Two or three key decisions, each with the reason you chose it and the obstacle you met. This is most of the answer.
4. Result and learning
What changed, with a number where one exists, and what you learned or would do differently.
Three habits make an answer easy to follow and easy to note down:
- Announce how many points are coming. "I did three things" tells the interviewer how to listen.
- Attach a reason to each action. "I met each team lead alone first, because they would not disagree openly in front of their director" shows judgement; "I met each team lead" only shows activity.
- Keep details in reserve. If you are unsure whether a detail matters, leave it out. A follow-up question on something you know well is an easy win.
Make the stakes explicit. When you lived a situation, its difficulty is obvious to you; to someone who was not there, the same actions can sound routine. One sentence on what would have happened if you had done nothing is usually enough. Do not exaggerate the stakes, though, because the follow-up questions test exactly that.
Background questions
These questions usually open the interview. They are short, but they set the tone, and every element you mention can become the next question.
"Tell me about yourself" and "walk me through your CV"
- What the interviewer wants: a reasoned account of your path, not your CV read aloud. They want to see why you made your main choices and why you are applying now.
- What to include: where you started, two or three turning points with the reason for each, and why you are in this interview today. "Walk me through your CV" invites slightly more detail on each step than "tell me about yourself".
- Follow-ups to expect: "Why did you leave that job?", "What did you actually do there?", "Why consulting now rather than two years ago?".
Only mention what you are happy to discuss in depth. The guide to "tell me about yourself" has full examples for different profiles.
"Why did you choose...?" and "why did you leave...?"
- What the interviewer wants: evidence that your decisions have a logic, even when the path is not linear.
- What to say: the reason at the time, in one or two sentences, and what you gained. A change of direction is fine when you can explain it calmly.
- Follow-ups to expect: "Would you make the same choice today?", "What did you not like about it?". Never criticise a former employer or manager; describe the mismatch instead.
"What is your main strength?"
- What the interviewer wants: one strength that matters in consulting, proved with a short real example.
- Which example to choose: a recent situation where the strength changed the outcome, ideally at work or in a demanding activity.
- Follow-ups to expect: "Give me another example", "When has that strength caused problems?". Choose one strength and defend it with more detail if challenged, rather than switching to another.
"What is your biggest weakness?"
- What the interviewer wants: self-awareness and evidence that you work on it. A weakness disguised as a strength ("I work too hard") suggests the opposite.
- Which example to choose: a real weakness that does not disqualify you for the job, a moment when it cost you something and what you now do about it.
- Follow-ups to expect: "How do you know it's improving?", "What would your team say?".
"I'm a perfectionist. I find it hard to deliver work until it is completely right, so I sometimes spend too long on details."
"I tend to hold on to work until I think it is finished, instead of sharing an early draft. Last year it cost my team two days, when my manager saw my market model only at the deadline and the scope had changed. Since then I share a rough version within the first quarter of the time available, and I ask one specific question with it. My manager now sees an early draft and a fuller version at the halfway point, and last month's model needed one round of changes instead of three."
The weaker answer is a strength in disguise and gives no evidence. The stronger one names a real habit, shows its cost, describes a concrete change and gives a way to check that the change works.
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
- What the interviewer wants: that you have thought about the job beyond the offer, and that your plan is compatible with the role.
- What to say: the skills and responsibilities you want to have built, and the kind of problems you want to work on. You do not need to promise to stay for ever, and you should not present consulting as a stepping stone.
- Follow-ups to expect: "And after that?", "What would make you leave?".
"What would your manager or colleagues say about you?"
- What the interviewer wants: your main strength again, seen from outside, and how honestly you assess yourself.
- What to say: one strength and one area for development, each with a short example, ideally from a real review or real feedback.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What would they say you should improve?", "Would everyone agree?".
Motivation questions
Motivation questions test whether you understand what consulting work is like and whether you want it for reasons of your own. Generic reasons (variety, learning, impact) are not wrong, but they only work when you tie them to something you have done or seen.
"Why consulting?"
- What the interviewer wants: two or three reasons, each linked to an experience that shows why it matters to you, and an understanding of the hard parts of the job.
- What to avoid: making prestige, salary or exit options the centre of the answer. Learning and exploration can be valid reasons when you explain them well.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What do you think a consultant does on a typical day?", "What will you like least?", "Why not a strategy role in a company?". For experienced hires: "Why now?".
The guide to "why consulting" works through examples for students, MBAs, career changers and technical profiles.
"Why our firm?" and "why this office?"
- What the interviewer wants: reasons that mean something to you, supported by conversations, work you know or experiences of your own. A useful test is to replace the firm's name with another; if the answer still works unchanged, it is too generic.
- Where the reasons come from: people you have spoken to at the firm, types of work that fit your background, the office's clients or practice areas, publications you have read and can discuss.
- Follow-ups to expect: "Where else are you applying?", "What did you learn from the people you spoke to?", "Why not one of our competitors?". Say openly if you are in other processes; strong candidates usually are, and the useful question is why consulting here would suit you.
The firm-specific guides cover each answer in depth: why McKinsey, why BCG and why Bain.
Experience questions: the "tell me about a time" list
This is where a story bank pays off. For each theme below you will find typical wordings, what the interviewer is looking for, which experience to choose and the follow-ups that come up most often. The wordings are written for this guide; real interviewers phrase them in many ways.
Leadership
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you led a team." "...a time you led people over whom you had no formal authority."
- What the interviewer wants: that you can bring a group to an outcome, set direction, involve people and deal with resistance.
- Which experience to choose: a situation where you made the key calls and people did not simply follow. Leading without a title is often a stronger story than leading with one.
- Follow-ups to expect: "Who disagreed with you, and what did they say?", "What did you delegate, and to whom?", "What would the team say about your leadership?".
Teamwork and collaboration
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you worked in a team that was struggling." "...a time you helped a colleague succeed."
- What the interviewer wants: how you behave when you are one of many: whether you listen, build on others' ideas and step in when needed.
- Which experience to choose: a team with a real problem (a missed deadline, a lack of trust, an unequal workload) and a specific move you made to help it.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What was your role compared with the others?", "What did you not do that you could have done?", "How did the others react?".
Conflict and disagreement
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager." "...a time you had a conflict with a colleague."
- What the interviewer wants: that you can disagree respectfully, understand the other side and reach a decision without damaging the relationship.
- Which experience to choose: a disagreement about something that mattered, ideally with someone more senior, where you changed your view at least partly or found a third option.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What exactly did they say?", "Were they right about anything?", "What is your relationship like today?".
Failure and mistakes
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you failed." "...a mistake you made and how you handled it."
- What the interviewer wants: honesty, ownership and a lesson that changed how you work.
- Which experience to choose: a real failure with a real cost, where the cause was at least partly you. Avoid stories where the failure was someone else's fault, and avoid failures so small they are not failures.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What would you do differently?", "How did you tell the people affected?", "When did you last apply the lesson?".
Persuasion and influence
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you changed someone's mind." "...a time you convinced a group to adopt your idea."
- What the interviewer wants: that you can influence through understanding and evidence, not pressure or hierarchy.
- Which experience to choose: a case where the other person had a reason to resist, and where you adapted your approach to their concern.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What was their objection?", "What did you say back?", "What would you have done if they had said no?".
Results and achievements
Typical questions: "What is the achievement you are most proud of?" "...a time you went beyond what was expected."
- What the interviewer wants: drive, ambition and initiative: a demanding goal you chose to pursue and reached through your own effort.
- Which experience to choose: a result you can measure or describe concretely, where the obstacles were real. It does not have to be at work.
- Follow-ups to expect: "Why was this goal important to you?", "What nearly stopped you?", "What would you do with twice the time?".
Difficult decisions
Typical questions: "Tell me about a difficult decision you made." "...a time you had to decide with incomplete information."
- What the interviewer wants: judgement: how you weigh options, risks and people, and whether you can commit when the data is incomplete.
- Which experience to choose: a decision with a real trade-off, where you can explain the options you rejected and why.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What other options did you consider?", "What did it cost you?", "Would you decide the same way today?".
Feedback
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you received difficult feedback." "...a time you gave feedback to someone."
- What the interviewer wants: openness to criticism, and the ability to give honest feedback without hurting the working relationship.
- Which experience to choose: feedback that surprised you or was hard to hear, followed by a visible change; or feedback you gave to a peer or someone senior, which is harder than feedback to a junior.
- Follow-ups to expect: "How did you react in the moment?", "What exactly did you change?", "How did the person react to your feedback?".
Learning quickly
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly."
- What the interviewer wants: how you approach the unknown, which matters in a job where every few months brings a new industry.
- Which experience to choose: a short deadline, a subject you did not know and a clear method you used to get up to speed.
- Follow-ups to expect: "How did you decide what to learn first?", "Who did you ask for help?", "What did you get wrong at the start?".
Adapting to change or ambiguity
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time the plan changed suddenly." "...a time you worked without clear instructions."
- What the interviewer wants: that you stay effective when things shift, set your own priorities and keep others informed.
- Which experience to choose: a change you did not control (a new manager, a cut budget, a move abroad) and the decisions you took to adapt.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What did you stop doing?", "How did you decide the new priorities?", "What did you find hardest?".
Stakeholders and clients
Typical questions: "Tell me about a time you managed a difficult client or stakeholder." "...a time you had to balance competing interests."
- What the interviewer wants: whether you can work with senior or demanding people whose goals differ, which is the daily reality of client work.
- Which experience to choose: two or more parties who wanted different things, and your role in reaching an outcome both could accept.
- Follow-ups to expect: "What did each side really want?", "Who lost something in the end?", "How did you keep them informed?".
Ask for a few seconds to think, then choose the closest story from your bank and say which part of it answers the question. Do not ask the interviewer which story they would prefer: choosing is part of what you are showing.
A full example with follow-up questions
The story below is fictional and written for this guide. It answers a conflict question, and also works for persuasion, decisions and stakeholders. Read the opening answer, then how the conversation continues.
"Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone more senior than you."
Essential context
"Two years into my job as a process engineer at a food-packaging plant, we were installing a new sealing line for a supermarket's private-label range. The plant manager wanted to start production in two weeks, to meet the retailer's first promotion. The trial runs showed that 3.1% of packs failed the seal test, against a limit of 1%. Failed seals mean product recalls, so I thought launching on time was too risky."
Personal contribution, decisions and reasons
"I did three things. First, instead of arguing for a delay straight away, I split the trial data by shift, because I suspected the failures were not spread evenly. They weren't: the day and afternoon shifts were at 0.5% and 0.8%, the night shift at 8%. The sealing jaws were starting cold in the night-time temperature of the hall.
Second, I took this to the plant manager with an option rather than a refusal: start on time with two shifts only, while maintenance fitted a pre-heater. The retailer's first order needed about 60% of the line's capacity, so two shifts out of three were enough.
Third, he worried that the retailer would hear we had a quality problem. So I wrote a one-page note for him to send to the retailer's buyer, explaining the start-up plan as a quality check, and offered to join the call."
Result and learning
"We started on time with two shifts. In the first month, about 0.6% of packs failed the test, and the night shift joined in week four after the pre-heater was installed. What I learned is that a disagreement goes better when I bring the data split in a way the other person had not seen, and an option that protects what they care about."
The opening takes about two and a half minutes to say. It deliberately leaves out how the seal test works, the cost of the pre-heater and who else was involved. Each of those is a possible follow-up.
How the conversation continues
These are the follow-ups an interviewer could reasonably ask, with answers that keep the story solid.
"What did the plant manager say when you first raised it?"
"He said the trials were always messy and that the line would settle once it ran continuously. He'd seen that on two earlier lines, so it wasn't an unreasonable view. That's why I went back to the data before discussing it further, rather than repeating that 3.1% was too high."
"What would you have done if he had insisted on three shifts?"
"I'd have escalated the failed tests to the quality lead and held the affected production until an approved control plan was in place. An extra sample check alone would not establish that every pack was safe to release."
"Was there anything he was right about?"
"Yes. The afternoon shift's failure rate had roughly halved between the first and the second week of trials, so part of the problem did go away with practice. I'd assumed every failure was a technical fault, and that wasn't true."
"What would you do differently?"
"I'd involve the night-shift supervisor from the start. He'd noticed the cold jaws weeks before, but nobody had asked him."
Notice what the answers do. Each one is short, specific and consistent with the opening. The third one concedes a point, which makes the story more credible, not less. Interviewers rarely expect you to have been right about everything; they expect you to know where you were not.
"As events lead of my university's finance society, I organised our careers fair. We didn't get as many firms as we wanted because of timing issues, but overall the event went well and I learned a lot about organisation."
"As events lead of my university's finance society, I promised our sponsor twenty firms at the careers fair. Six weeks before, I had confirmed eleven. I had started too late and relied on emails to graduate-recruitment inboxes, which rarely replied. I told the sponsor the real number straight away, then called alumni at nine of the missing firms directly; three came. We had fourteen firms on the day, six short of my promise, and the sponsor reduced its contribution. The next year I started outreach three months earlier and went through alumni from the start, and we reached twenty-two."
The weaker answer blames timing and hides the result. The stronger one owns the cause, shows what the candidate did when it went wrong, admits the cost and proves the lesson with what happened next.
Building your story bank: six to eight stories
You cannot prepare an answer for every wording. You can prepare six to eight strong stories that each cover several themes, and learn to choose the right one in a few seconds. Treat the bank as a starting point: once it is built, check it against the full list of themes above and add stories where coverage is thin.
- List ten to fifteen situations from work, studies, clubs, volunteering or personal life where you made a difference. Do not filter yet.
- Keep the six to eight strongest. A strong story has a personal role, real tension, decisions you can explain and a result you can describe.
- Give each story a main theme and note the other themes it can also cover.
- Vary the settings, so that your stories do not all come from one job or one project.
- Check coverage against the eleven themes: leadership, teamwork, conflict, failure, persuasion, results, decisions, feedback, learning, adaptation and stakeholders. Fill any gap with a new story, not by stretching an old one.
- Write the backbone of each story in bullet points, not as a script: context, your role, two or three decisions with reasons, result, lesson.
Here is what a bank can look like for a fictional candidate: an analyst in the second year of a job at a logistics company, who also ran a university society and a running club.
| Story | Main theme | Also covers | McKinsey area |
|---|---|---|---|
| The pick-error pilot: fixing a warehouse problem across two teams | Leadership | Stakeholders, persuasion | Leadership |
| The pricing model nobody trusted | Persuasion | Conflict, stakeholders | Connection |
| The careers fair six firms short | Failure | Feedback, learning | Growth |
| Learning SQL in three weeks for an audit | Learning quickly | Adaptation, results | Growth |
| Growing a running club from 12 to 60 members | Results | Leadership, initiative | Drive |
| The teammate who stopped delivering | Teamwork | Conflict, feedback given | Leadership |
| Recommending that we drop a supplier | Difficult decision | Stakeholders, integrity | Drive |
| My manager's feedback on my emails | Feedback received | Learning, adaptation | Growth |
The coverage check shows the bank's limits. For BCG or Bain this candidate is well covered. For McKinsey there is only one Connection story and three Growth stories, so the candidate needs one more Connection story (for example, winning back a customer after a delivery error) before the interviews.
How to rehearse
- Tell each story aloud and record it. Listen for the length of the context, the number of "we"s and the moment the reasons disappear.
- Time the opening. If it runs well over two minutes, cut context first.
- Practise with someone who interrupts. Give them the follow-ups listed for each theme and ask them to push on "why?" and "what exactly?" at least three times per story.
- Practise unexpected wordings. Ask your partner to read questions at random and choose a story within a few seconds.
- Rehearse in full interviews. Fit followed by a case, as on the day, so that your stories still sound fresh after 40 minutes of case work.
McKinsey's PEI: two stories for each of four areas
At McKinsey, the experience questions take a specific form: the Personal Experience Interview, or PEI. Candidates commonly report that each interview opens with a PEI of about 10 to 20 minutes on one area, followed by the case. Instead of several short questions, the interviewer explores one story in depth.
- Prepare two personal examples that show impact in each of four areas: Connection, Drive, Leadership and Growth.
- Choose experiences that genuinely mattered to you, and describe your specific role in detail.
- Share the challenges you faced and the specific actions you took.
- Lead with reasoning, not actions.
- Be ready for a conversation, not a rehearsed story.
Having eight stories in total gives you a backup in each area, in case a question is worded unexpectedly or a story has already been used in the same round. Franco's experience points the same way: the hard part of the PEI is rarely writing the stories, but being questioned in depth on them. Once you have eight good stories, time is better spent having each one probed than drafting a ninth.
Older guides use earlier labels, such as personal impact, entrepreneurial drive, inclusive leadership and courageous change. Your interviewer may use the current names, the old ones or none, so focus on what each area asks you to show. The two story ideas under each area below are fictional and only illustrate the kind of experience that fits.
Connection
McKinsey describes Connection as building trust that allows respectful debate, so that the client gets the right answer. Its sample question asks about a difficult situation with someone who held an opposing view.
- Example 1: You convinced a sceptical sales director to test a new discount rule by first rebuilding the analysis with his own team's data, so the numbers were his as well as yours.
- Example 2: After a delivery error, you won back an angry customer by visiting their site, listening before proposing anything, and agreeing a fix with your own operations team.
Drive
Drive is about overcoming obstacles and reaching demanding goals with resilience, creativity and judgement. McKinsey's sample question asks about working hard to reach excellence in difficult circumstances.
- Example 1: You set yourself the goal of cutting your team's month-end close from ten days to six. Your first approach failed, you changed it, and you reached seven days in the following quarter.
- Example 2: When the main sponsor of a student project withdrew a month before launch, you found three smaller sponsors and launched one week late instead of cancelling.
Leadership
McKinsey links Leadership to drawing on diverse thinking: understanding, empowering and motivating people. Its sample question asks about working effectively with people from different backgrounds despite challenges.
- Example 1: You brought engineers and sales staff together on a delayed product launch, without authority over either, by agreeing one shared list of priorities.
- Example 2: You led a volunteer team of twenty people of different ages and languages through a weekend food-bank collection, and changed the shift plan when half the drivers cancelled.
Growth
Growth is about learning constantly and being open to feedback and change. McKinsey's sample question asks about having to learn something new quickly to handle a challenging situation.
- Example 1: After a move abroad, you had three weeks to learn a new country's reporting rules before leading your first audit there, and you built a checklist your team still uses.
- Example 2: A review said you dominated meetings. You started asking for others' views before giving yours, and asked a colleague to tell you after each meeting how it went.
The McKinsey PEI guide goes further, with an annotated story, the follow-up families and the most common mistakes.
McKinsey, BCG and Bain: what differs
The same stories serve all three firms, but the format around them differs. The table summarises what each firm publishes and what candidates report. These are tendencies, not rules: every interviewer runs their part of the interview in their own way, and offices and roles vary.
| Aspect | McKinsey | BCG | Bain |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the firm publishes | PEI with two examples for each of four areas | A skills interview on experience, skills and motivation; five qualities | Behavioural interviews for some roles; the same questions for all candidates for a role |
| What candidates report | One story explored in depth per interview | A freer mix of CV, personal and situational questions | A conversational style, with motivation weighing visibly |
| Motivation questions | Usually brief; the fit time goes mostly to the PEI | "Why BCG" is often asked explicitly and probed | "Why Bain" matters; Bain says it looks for people who can explain it |
| Preparation emphasis | Eight stories, each able to survive deep probing | A story bank plus CV deep dives and a strong "why BCG" | Clear stories told as a dialogue, linked to Bain's values where genuine |
McKinsey
The PEI format is described above. Expect the interviewer to lead with follow-up questions for most of the time. A polished two-minute account is only the starting point. The McKinsey format is specific to McKinsey, so do not bring the same depth-on-one-story approach mechanically into a BCG or Bain interview, where you may get three or four shorter questions in the same time.
BCG
BCG describes the skills interview as a traditional interview about your experience, skills and motivation, and lists five qualities it looks for: Integrity, Intellectual Curiosity, Creative Thinking, Collaborative Mindset and Drive. In Franco's experience as a BCG interviewer, the fit part at BCG is less structured than at McKinsey and largely left to the interviewer. It tends to draw on three kinds of question: a deep dive into points on your CV, personal questions (strengths and weaknesses, where you see yourself, why consulting) and situational questions such as "tell me about a time you showed leadership". Candidates and former BCG interviewers also report that "why BCG" is asked often and followed up with questions such as "what else are you looking at?".
Bain
Bain says that some roles include at least one behavioural interview, that in others behavioural questions are woven into the conversation, and that it asks all candidates for a role the same questions, to reduce bias. When everyone answers the same question, answers are compared directly, so a vague story stands out more. Bain also says candidates may be asked to connect their experience to its values. Candidates commonly describe Bain's fit as conversational: answers that invite a dialogue tend to work better than long monologues. A conversational interview still needs clear, structured answers.
Common mistakes
These patterns come up again and again in practice sessions. Each is a common habit, not a rule about how any firm scores.
- The team's story, not yours. "We decided" throughout, so the interviewer cannot see what you did.
- No visible tension. The stakes are never stated, so sensible actions sound routine.
- Long context, short action. Two minutes of background, thirty seconds of decisions.
- A recited script. Word-for-word answers sound rehearsed and break as soon as the interviewer interrupts.
- Inflated numbers or stakes. They rarely survive the second or third follow-up question.
- A weakness that is really a strength. It signals low self-awareness rather than modesty.
- Criticising others. Blaming a manager, a colleague or a former employer makes the interviewer wonder how you would describe them.
- One story for everything. Using the same experience for several questions in one round makes your profile look narrow.
- Generic motivation. Reasons that would work for any firm, or prestige and salary as the main reason.
Questions to ask the interviewer
Most interviews end with "Do you have any questions for me?". This is a different exercise from everything above: the interviewer is no longer asking, you are. In a first round there is usually time for one or two questions; with a senior interviewer in a final round, the exchange can become a real conversation. Good questions show that you have thought about the job and are curious about the person in front of you.
Prepare five or six and choose one or two in the moment, depending on the interviewer and the time left. Avoid questions whose answer is on the firm's website, and leave salary, holidays and benefits for the conversation with the recruiter.
| Interviewer | Question that tends to work |
|---|---|
| Consultant or associate | "What surprised you most in your first six months, and what helped you adapt?" |
| Consultant or associate | "How did you choose your first projects, and how much say did you have?" |
| Manager or project leader | "What separates the new consultants who do very well on your teams from the others?" |
| Manager or project leader | "How do you give feedback to someone in their first year?" |
| Partner or principal | "Which client problems in this office do you expect to grow most in the next few years?" |
| Partner or principal | "What made you stay at the firm when you could have moved to industry?" |
"What is the culture like here?"
"You mentioned you moved from the energy practice to healthcare last year. What helped you get up to speed with new clients so quickly?"
The weaker question invites a generic answer the interviewer has given many times. The stronger one builds on something they said, shows that you listened and asks about a skill that matters in the job.
If time is short, one well-chosen question is enough. If you genuinely have none left, say that your questions were answered during the conversation, and thank the interviewer.
When coaching helps
Practice partners are essential for fluency, and many candidates prepare their fit answers well with them. Their limit is that they rarely know which details an interviewer would probe, or when a story sounds convincing but would not survive a third follow-up. An experienced interviewer can tell you which of your stories is strongest for each theme, where your reasoning goes missing and which questions you are not ready for.
That is what 1:1 coaching with Franco is built for. A session can focus entirely on your story bank and motivation answers, or combine fit and a case as in the real interview, and is followed by a written report with your priorities.
"Very pleased to say that I got the BCG offer! Really appreciate your help; your coaching made a big difference and certainly settled my nerves!"
A., BCG offer after coaching with Franco. One candidate's experience; results depend on each candidate and process.
1:1 fit and case coaching
Test your stories with a former BCG interviewer
Franco Borgonovo spent ten years at BCG, from intern to Principal, interviewing and selecting candidates as a global lead recruiter, and has conducted more than 1,500 interviews, over 800 of them for MBB firms. He is still an official BCG coach for new hires in BCG's Consulting Foundation Training.
- A realistic fit interview with follow-up questions, for McKinsey, BCG or Bain
- One session, US$249, to choose and stress-test your stories; packages of 3, 5 or 10 sessions add a progress dashboard, practice materials and email support
- A written report after every session; money-back guarantee if the coaching does not meet your expectations
Every session is with Franco. Send your story list and target firms in advance, and the session can start from your strongest and weakest stories.
Frequently asked questions
How many stories do I need for consulting fit interviews?
Six to eight real stories cover most experience questions at BCG and Bain, if each one covers several themes. For McKinsey, prepare two for each of the four PEI areas, so eight in total. Always check your bank against the full list of themes and fill any gaps.
Can I use the same story in two interviews?
Within one round, it is safer to use different stories, because interviewers compare notes afterwards. Your motivation answers, such as "why this firm", can stay the same in every interview.
How long should a fit answer be?
As a practical reference: 60 to 90 seconds for "tell me about yourself" and motivation questions, about two minutes for an experience story (two to three for a McKinsey PEI), then let the interviewer lead with follow-ups.
Is STAR enough?
STAR is a useful way to order a story, but it does not choose the story or supply the reasons. Choose a story with real decisions first, then use any simple order: context, your contribution, decisions and reasons, result and learning.
Can my stories come from university or my personal life?
Yes. What counts is your personal role, the decisions you made and the reasons behind them. A student society or a part-time job can produce an excellent story; a large project where your role is unclear cannot.
Should I memorise my answers?
No. Memorise the backbone of each story (the key facts, decisions and numbers) and tell it in your own words each time. Recited answers sound rehearsed and break when the interviewer interrupts.
Does fit matter as much as the case?
Firms do not publish how they weigh the two parts, and you usually need to do well in both. A weak fit performance can count against a strong case, so prepare it with the same care.
Your next step
List ten to fifteen situations today, keep the strongest six to eight and map them against the eleven themes. Then tell one story aloud to someone and ask them to push on "why?" three times. Where you hesitate is where to work next.
Coaching with Franco
Find out which of your stories will hold up
A realistic fit interview with follow-up questions, a debrief and a written report with your priorities. Start with one session, or talk it through for free first.
About Franco
Franco Borgonovo
Former BCG Principal · 10-year tenure · Official BCG coachFranco spent ten years at BCG, from intern to Principal, interviewing and selecting candidates as a global lead recruiter. He is still an official BCG coach for new hires, and today works one to one with candidates on applications, McKinsey Solve and interviews.
More about Franco →- McKinsey: Interviewing (careers page) · Personal Experience Interview: two examples for each of four areas (Connection, Drive, Leadership, Growth), lead with reasoning, a conversation rather than a rehearsed story; read 2 November 2026
- BCG: Interview process (careers page) · skills interview on experience, skills and motivation; five qualities BCG looks for; read 2 November 2026
- Bain & Company: Interviewing (careers page) · behavioural interviews by role, the same questions for all candidates for a role; read 2 November 2026