- "Tell me about yourself" asks for a reasoned account of your path: the choices you made, why you made them, and why they lead to this interview.
- A simple structure works for every level: a one-sentence headline, two or three choices with their reasons, and a short bridge to why you are here. About 60 to 90 seconds.
- Select, do not list. Leave out anything that does not explain a choice or show something relevant, and never mention something you cannot discuss in depth.
- "Walk me through your CV" or "your resume" asks for the same thing in chronological order, with a little more detail on each step.
- Link to your motivation in one or two sentences. Do not deliver your full "why consulting", "why this firm" and strengths in the opening answer.
"Tell me about yourself" is usually the first question in a consulting interview, and one you can prepare thoroughly in advance. Use talking points rather than a memorised script. Candidates still get it wrong in two predictable ways: they read their CV aloud, or they talk for four minutes. A good answer takes about a minute, explains the logic of your path and gives the interviewer two or three things they want to ask about.
The advice combines what interviewers at large consulting firms consistently describe, recurring patterns from coaching sessions and the recruiter's perspective of Franco Borgonovo, a former BCG Principal and global lead recruiter. All examples are fictional and written for this guide.
What the question is for
The opening question does three jobs for the interviewer, and knowing them tells you what to put in.
- It gives a first view of how you communicate. Can you summarise something you know well, in order, without getting lost? That is the same skill you will need with clients, and the same skill the case will test a few minutes later.
- It shows the logic of your choices. Interviewers want to understand why you did what you did, not only what you did. A CV shows the steps; your answer explains the thread between them.
- It gives the interviewer something to explore. Most interviewers pick one or two points from your answer and ask about them. Whatever you mention becomes possible material for the rest of the conversation.
In many interviews the introduction is short, because the case or the experience questions take most of the hour. That makes the first minute more important, not less: it sets the interviewer's first impression and the tone of the conversation that follows.
The same question in different words
The question comes in several versions. The core of your answer stays the same; what changes is the opening and the level of detail.
| What you hear | What changes | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| "Tell me about yourself" | Most freedom: you choose the order and can add a personal element | 60 to 90 seconds |
| "Walk me through your CV" or "your resume" | Chronological order, a sentence or two on each main step | 90 seconds to 2 minutes |
| "Briefly introduce yourself" | Headline and the most recent step only | About 30 seconds |
| "Tell me something that is not on your CV" | One personal fact or interest, with why it matters to you | 30 to 60 seconds |
"Walk me through your resume" is the usual wording in North America and "walk me through your CV" in the UK and much of Europe. They mean the same thing: go through the document in order and explain the moves. The interviewer probably has your CV in front of them, so do not repeat what they can read. Add what the page cannot show, which is why you made each move and what you took from it.
When the interviewer specifies a length ("in two minutes") or a focus ("tell me about your current role"), follow it exactly. Listening to the instruction is part of the answer.
A structure that works at every level
The structure has three parts. It works for a student with one internship and for a director with fifteen years of experience; only the content changes.
1. Headline (about 10 seconds)
One sentence that says who you are today: "I'm a final-year engineering student at Delft, specialising in energy systems."
2. Two or three choices (45 to 60 seconds)
The main steps of your path, each with the reason you took it and what it gave you. Choices, not a list of events.
3. Bridge (10 to 20 seconds)
One or two sentences on why those steps lead to this interview, and why now.
At a calm speaking pace of about 150 words a minute, 60 to 90 seconds corresponds to roughly 150 to 220 words. These timings are a practical reference. What matters is that the interviewer can follow you and still has time for the rest of the interview.
Why choices, not events
The middle part is where most answers go wrong. "Then I did an internship at a bank, then I joined a start-up, then I started my master's" is a list of events: accurate, but it tells the interviewer nothing your CV does not. "I chose the start-up over a bank offer because I wanted to own a piece of work from start to finish" is a choice with a reason, and it says something about you.
For each step you keep, ask yourself: why did I make this move, and what did it give me that I took into the next one? If you can answer both in a sentence, the step belongs in your answer.
Start from the present or from the beginning?
Both work. For "tell me about yourself", opening with your current position and then explaining how you got there is often clearer, because the interviewer knows where the story ends. For "walk me through your CV", the interviewer expects chronological order, so start from the beginning of the relevant part of your path, which for most candidates is university, not school.
What to include and what to leave out
A good introduction is mostly a selection exercise. You have far more material than fits in a minute, and the interviewer will judge what you chose to include.
| Include | Leave out | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The two or three moves that explain your path | Every job, course and project | A list hides the moves that matter |
| One achievement with a number, if it is relevant | Grades and awards already on your CV | The interviewer can read those |
| The reason behind each move | Long descriptions of companies or courses | They want your thinking, not the context |
| A short, honest line on a gap or change of direction | Apologies or long justifications | Briefly owning it is enough |
| A personal element, if it explains a choice | A list of hobbies | Personal details work when they say something about you |
| Why you are applying now | Your full motivation and strengths | Those come with the next questions |
Recent experience usually deserves more time than older experience. A final-year student can say more about their last internship than about their first year of university; an experienced hire can say very little about their degree. Older steps belong in the answer only if they explain a later choice.
Everything you mention can be explored
Every element of your introduction is something the interviewer may decide to ask about. You cannot control which one they pick, and trying to "plant" questions rarely works as planned. What you can control is that whatever they pick, you have something solid to say.
That leads to a simple rule: do not mention anything you cannot discuss for two minutes. If you say you "led a pricing project" in your internship, expect "what exactly did you do?", "what was the result?" and "what would you do differently?". If you mention founding a small business, expect questions on customers, numbers and why it ended. A detail that sounds impressive in the introduction and collapses under the first question does more damage than leaving it out.
Before the interview, go through your answer and, for each item, prepare:
- The two-minute version: what happened, what you did and why, the result.
- The number: the size, the result or the time involved, without inflating it.
- The honest weak spot: what did not work or what you would change, because experienced interviewers often ask.
Link to your motivation without giving three answers
The end of your introduction should explain why you are in this interview, because "why consulting?" and "why this firm?" often come next. The link should be brief. If your opening minute already contains your full motivation, your reasons for this firm and a list of your strengths, the interviewer either has to ask the same questions again or skip ahead, and your answer has become a three-minute speech.
"...and that's why I want to join consulting: because I love solving problems, I want to learn fast and I want impact, and I chose your firm for its collaborative culture, its digital capabilities and its global presence, and I think my analytical skills, my leadership and my international experience make me a great fit."
"...and the pricing project is what made me look seriously at consulting: it was the first time my analysis changed a decision, and I want that to be my job. That's what brings me here today."
The weaker ending tries to answer three questions at once and does none of them well. The stronger one gives one clear reason linked to the story just told, and leaves "why consulting" and "why this firm" for the questions that follow, where there is time to answer them properly.
If the interviewer combines the questions ("tell me about yourself and why you are interested in us"), give the introduction first and then answer the motivation part with the same structure you would use on its own: two or three reasons, each with proof. The guide to answering "why consulting" shows that structure with examples for every profile.
Example answers by experience level
The answers below are fictional and written for this guide. They show the structure applied to different starting points. Build your own from your own path: an answer borrowed from someone else will not survive the follow-up questions.
An undergraduate student
"I'm 22 and I'm from Rotterdam. I studied at a bilingual high school and then started my bachelor's in mechanical engineering at Delft, where I'm now in my final year with an average of 8 out of 10. In my second year I joined the robotics society. In my third year I did an exchange in Singapore. Last summer I did an internship at an energy company in the asset management team. I also like football and travelling. I'm now applying to consulting."
"I'm a final-year mechanical engineering student at Delft, specialising in energy systems. I chose engineering because I liked understanding how things work, but the moment that shaped my path came in my second year, when I ran the budget of the university's robotics team: I enjoyed deciding where forty thousand euros should go more than designing the parts. That's why I looked for a business internship last summer. I joined the asset management team of an energy company, where I built the analysis that showed two ageing turbines would cost more to maintain than to replace, and the plant manager brought the replacement forward by a year. That was the first time my analysis changed a real decision, and it made me look seriously at consulting. That's what brings me here today."
The weaker answer lists events in order, including details the interviewer can read on the CV, and never says why anything happened. The stronger one has a headline, two choices with clear reasons, one result and a one-sentence bridge. Every item can be explored. It is about 130 words, under a minute spoken.
A master's or MBA candidate
"I'm in the first year of my MBA at a business school in Barcelona, and before that I spent four years in corporate banking in Milan.
I joined the bank after an economics degree because I wanted to understand how companies are financed, and it gave me that. Over time, though, the part of the job I enjoyed most changed. In my third year I worked with a family-owned packaging company that wanted to borrow to build a second plant. To assess the loan, I had to understand whether the expansion made sense at all, and I ended up recommending a smaller plant, which the client chose. That conversation about strategy, rather than the loan itself, was what I wanted more of.
I chose an MBA to make that move properly, rather than asking for a transfer within the bank. This year I've worked on a consulting project with a food retailer and taken the operations and strategy electives. That's why I'm interviewing for consulting this summer."
Why it works: a headline that places the candidate today, two choices (the bank, then the MBA) each with a reason, a concrete episode that explains the change of direction, and a short bridge. About 170 words, a little over a minute.
A career changer
"I spent six years as a logistics officer in the army, and I'm now completing a master's in management.
I joined the army after a geography degree because I wanted responsibility early, and I got it: at 25 I was responsible for supplying a unit of about 600 people on a training deployment abroad. My most useful experience was an unglamorous one. Our spare-parts stock was always either too high or empty, and I rebuilt the reordering system from the usage data of the previous two years. Shortages fell by about half in the following year, and I realised that I enjoyed the diagnosis as much as the command.
I left the army to build on that, and chose a one-year master's so I could learn the business vocabulary I was missing. Consulting is where I can do that kind of diagnosis for different organisations, which is why I'm here."
Why it works: the candidate translates a career interviewers may not know into choices, a responsibility and a result they can understand, without jargon. The bridge says what carries over. About 150 words, a minute spoken.
Career changers often worry about how much to explain about their previous field. Explain enough for the interviewer to understand your responsibility and the result, and no more: ranks, acronyms and internal structures can wait for follow-up questions, if they come.
A technical profile
"I'm a software engineer at a logistics start-up in Berlin, where I've worked for three years on the systems that plan delivery routes.
I studied computer science and joined a start-up rather than a large tech company because I wanted to see how the product made money, not only how it worked. That paid off sooner than I expected. Last year our largest customer threatened to leave over late deliveries. I volunteered to join the account team, analysed six months of their deliveries and showed that most delays came from two depots with outdated time windows, not from our routing. We fixed the windows, and the customer renewed.
Since then I've spent about half my time on problems like that one, and I've found I'm more interested in why a business decision is right than in the code that executes it. That's why I'm applying for consulting rather than another engineering role."
Why it works: technical candidates are often expected to explain why they want to move away from technical work. This answer shows the shift happening through a real episode, with a result, and ends on a clear direction. About 150 words.
An experienced hire: "walk me through your CV"
"I'll go through it in order. I trained as a pharmacist, and after two years in a hospital pharmacy I moved into the industry, because I was more interested in why some treatments reached patients and others didn't than in dispensing them.
I joined a mid-sized pharmaceutical company in pricing and reimbursement, and over seven years I moved from analyst to leading the team for southern Europe. The defining project was a launch where we had to negotiate prices in four countries in the same year. I built the evidence for each payer, and three of the four reimbursed the product within the time we had planned.
Three years ago I moved to my current company as head of market access, with a team of nine. The role is now mostly running a function I know well. What I want for the next stage is the problem-solving part of my job across more companies and questions, which is why I'm looking at consulting, and at this firm's healthcare practice in particular."
Why it works: the CV is covered in order, but each step has a reason and the middle step has one concrete result. The candidate does not describe every role in detail, because the interviewer has the document. The ending explains why now in one sentence. About 170 words, just over a minute.
The 30-second version
Sometimes the interviewer asks for a short introduction, or time is clearly limited. Keep the headline, one choice and the bridge.
"I'm a final-year mechanical engineering student at Delft. Running the budget of our robotics team showed me that I enjoyed the business decisions more than the design, so I took an internship in asset management at an energy company, where my analysis led to two turbines being replaced a year early. That's what made me look seriously at consulting."
Write for the ear, not the page
An introduction is heard once, at the speed you speak. Sentences that read well on paper are often hard to follow aloud. A few habits make the difference:
- Short sentences, one idea each.
- Signposts: "I'll go through it in order", "the defining project was", "that's why".
- Round numbers: "about half", "a team of nine", not "47.3%".
- No acronyms or internal jargon the interviewer may not know.
- Your natural voice. If you would never say "leveraged synergies" to a friend, do not say it to an interviewer.
"Subsequently, having completed my bachelor's degree in economics with a specialisation in quantitative methods, I joined XYZ Bank's corporate banking division, where I was responsible for credit analysis of mid-cap clients across several sectors including FMCG and industrials."
"After my economics degree I joined a bank's corporate lending team. My job was to decide whether mid-sized companies could repay a loan, which meant understanding their business first."
The first version is a CV line read aloud: one long sentence, jargon and acronyms. The second uses short sentences and plain words, and adds what the CV does not say, which is what the job taught the candidate.
Do not memorise the answer word for word. Learn the structure and the key facts, then say it slightly differently each time you practise. A recited introduction is easy to spot in the first few seconds, and it sets a stiff tone for the rest of the interview.
The follow-up questions to expect
After your introduction, the interviewer often picks a thread. These questions are common, and each one is easier if your introduction was built on real choices.
| Follow-up question | What it tests |
|---|---|
| "Why did you choose X over Y?" | Whether your choices had real reasons |
| "Tell me more about that project. What exactly did you do?" | Your personal role and the depth behind the headline |
| "What was the hardest part of that role?" | Honesty and self-awareness |
| "Why are you leaving now?" | Whether your move is a considered one |
| "What's not on your CV that I should know?" | Whether there is a person behind the document |
| "I see a gap here. What happened?" | Whether you can address a difficult point calmly |
"Oh, that was a difficult period, I was looking for a job and it took longer than expected because the market was very bad and I had some personal things to deal with, so..."
"I left the bank to prepare for my GMAT and to help with my family's business for a few months, while my father recovered from an operation. I used the time to reorganise their stock management, which I can tell you about if useful. I started my MBA the following September."
The weaker answer sounds defensive and leaves the interviewer unsure what happened. The stronger one is brief, honest and factual, mentions something useful done in the period and moves on. You do not owe the interviewer personal details beyond what you are comfortable sharing.
Common mistakes
- Reading the CV aloud. The interviewer has the document; tell them what it cannot show.
- Too long. Three or four minutes leaves less time for the case and signals that you cannot summarise.
- A chronology without choices. Events in order, with no reason for any of them.
- Starting too early. School, childhood or a gap year that does not explain a later choice.
- A list of roles or achievements. Five items mentioned in passing are weaker than two explained.
- Mentioning something you cannot discuss. The interviewer may ask about exactly that.
- Giving every answer at once. Your full motivation, reasons for this firm and strengths, crammed into the opening.
- A recited tone. Word-for-word delivery sounds rehearsed and breaks when the interviewer interrupts.
How to prepare in one evening
- Write your headline: one sentence about who you are today.
- Choose two or three moves from your path that explain how you got here. For each, write the reason in one line and what it gave you in another.
- Write the bridge: one or two sentences on why this leads to the interview today.
- Check every item: can you discuss it for two minutes, with a number and an honest weak spot? If not, cut it.
- Say it aloud and record it. Time it, then cut until it fits in about 60 to 90 seconds.
- Prepare the variants: the 30-second version and the chronological "walk me through your CV" version.
- Practise with someone who interrupts and asks the follow-up questions above. Then practise your "why consulting" right after it, because the two often come together.
When coaching helps
It is hard to judge your own introduction. You know the context, so a vague sentence sounds clear to you, and you cannot hear which detail an interviewer would pick up. A practice partner helps with timing and fluency; an experienced interviewer can tell you what impression the first minute leaves, which item is likely to be explored and whether your answer to it is ready.
1:1 coaching with Franco covers the personal side of the interview as well as the case. A session can start with your introduction and motivation, with realistic follow-up questions, then move on to experience stories or a full case. Franco spent ten years at BCG, from intern to Principal, interviewing and selecting candidates as a global lead recruiter, and still coaches BCG's new hires as an official BCG coach in the Consulting Foundation Training. Every session is followed by a written report with your priorities.
"The way you pushed me on structuring and, especially, on communication made a huge difference in the final rounds."
P., McKinsey and Bain New York offers after coaching with Franco. One candidate's experience; results depend on each candidate and process.
1:1 interview coaching
Hear how your first minute lands with an interviewer
Franco Borgonovo has conducted more than 1,500 interviews, over 800 of them for MBB firms. Every session is with him, and it is built around your CV and your target firms.
- One session on your introduction, "why consulting" and "why this firm", with follow-up questions, US$249
- 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
Send your CV before the session, so the follow-up questions can start from what an interviewer would actually ask you.
Frequently asked questions
How long should "tell me about yourself" be in a consulting interview?
About 60 to 90 seconds as a practical reference, roughly 150 to 220 words spoken at a calm pace. If the interviewer gives a time, follow it. Have a 30-second version ready.
Is "walk me through your CV" different from "tell me about yourself"?
It asks for the same thing in chronological order, usually with a little more detail on each step. "Walk me through your resume" is the same question in North American wording.
Should I include personal information or hobbies?
Include a personal element only if it explains a choice or shows something relevant about you. A list of hobbies adds little; "tell me something not on your CV" is the moment for them.
Where should I start: university or my current role?
For "tell me about yourself", starting from your current position and then explaining how you got there is often clearest. For "walk me through your CV", start from the beginning of the relevant part of your path, usually university.
Should I mention why I want to join this firm?
Briefly, in one or two sentences at the end. Save your full "why consulting" and "why this firm" for the questions that usually follow.
How do I handle a gap or a change of direction?
Address it briefly and honestly, with what you did in that period if it was useful. Do not apologise or over-explain.
Can I memorise my answer?
Learn the structure and the facts, not the words. A memorised answer sounds rehearsed and is hard to adjust when the interviewer interrupts or asks for a shorter version.
Is it the same at McKinsey, BCG and Bain?
The question and the structure are the same. What follows differs: McKinsey usually moves on to its Personal Experience Interview or the case, while candidates report that BCG and Bain interviews often continue with motivation questions such as "why this firm".
Your next step
Write your headline, your two or three choices and your bridge tonight, in bullet points. Then say the answer aloud, time it and ask someone to pick any item and ask "tell me more". If you hesitate on any item, prepare it or cut it.
Coaching with Franco
Make your first minute work for you
A realistic interview opening 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.
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