Sponsor Spotlight Q&A With

What will I do starting in your industry/your organization?

At BCG, you’ll be a core member of the consulting team, contributing your hard work and perspective to drive impact from day one. You’ll receive incredible support as you go, including training, feedback, and mentorship to maximize your confidence and success as you acclimate to our challenging work and invigorating culture. This includes Consulting Foundations, an experiential training program that immerses you in the core consulting competencies, technical tools, and teaming skills you’ll need to ramp up at BCG. Plus, each day will present an opportunity for you to build relationships with clients as well as BCGers on your case teams, in your office, in our diversity networks, and across the broader BCG community. Our innate curiosity, complementary backgrounds, and shared values instantly connect BCGers close to home and around the world.

What does your organization / industry in general look for in new hires/students from MBA programs?

As always, we seek smart, curious individuals who have the drive, passion, and humility to embrace BCG’s culture and thrive within it. But now more than ever, the MBAs we hire will need the ingenuity and judgement required to find innovative solutions as we navigate these ambiguous times. To truly transform clients’ businesses, you’ll need an agile mindset that enables them to adapt quickly to change, harness new technologies, and seamlessly collaborate within and across BCG, BCG GAMMA, BCG Platinion, and BCG Digital Ventures.

Tell me about how much flexibility I’ll have in creating my career path? (For example, is there a set path, is it entrepreneurial, many options, few paths?)

We often say there is “one BCG, many paths.” This is because you’ll have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to your career, and an army of support to help you navigate your options, so you can choose the opportunities that most align with your needs and goals.
• Many BCG consultants start as generalists; this broad exposure—powered by our Personalized Staffing model—will help you establish the foundational leadership and technical skills on which you can build a strong career in consulting and beyond. And of course, you’ll also have the freedom to explore industries and functions where you may wish to specialize long-term
• Digital cases are available across BCG. But if you’re especially interested in doing digital work, you can join BCG as DigitalBCG consultant, which means 50% of your casework will be digital. Or, you can apply to participate in our digital rotation program, through which BCG consultants are embedded in BCG GAMMA, BCG Platinion, and/or BCG Digital Ventures for a hands on, year-long immersion
• You can also experience different cultures by working in one of our 90+ offices in 50 countries worldwide, whether it’s on a single case, through a more formal ambassadorship or transfer program, or a secondment with a BCG partner organization

This said, despite our size, scope, and numerous formal programs, an entrepreneurial mindset is highly encouraged and supported at BCG. A number of our current offerings arose from ideas and initiatives driven by individual consultants and teams. If you’re passionate about a particular goal or topic, BCG is an excellent platform for helping you make your mark.

Is it possible in this job / industry to make a successful career work alongside other activities and interests such as hobbies or family life? How?

It’s not just possible—we insist on it! We know our employees do their best work when they feel like their most complete and fulfilled selves. So we have a number or programs in place to ensure BCGers get the time and space they need to enjoy the things that matter most to them. A few (of many) examples:
• PTO stands for Predictability, Teaming, and Open Communication. Led by a dedicated, experienced BCG facilitator, this proven program provides a forum for sharing each team member’s progress and needs, and establishes a detailed, transparent roadmap of working norms, priorities, and time off goals, so that low-value work doesn’t consume high-value personal and professional time
• Flexibility@BCG offers you enhanced work options and the ongoing support to manage them. These include FlexTime (part time arrangements to reduce weekly work hours), Time for You (an 8 week leave many use to visit family abroad, learn a new language or skill, or take on an athletic endeavor), and FlexPaths, which enables access to a large selection of experiences to further your personal and professional development
• Our exceptional benefits and policies help BCGers and their families stay healthy and be well. These include unparalleled health care coverage, and generous time off programs and support for parents, including paid leave time, back up child care, adoption reimbursement benefits, and breast milk shipping. Employees also receive a fitness reimbursement, telehealth care options, access to expert counseling, and a subscription to the Headspace mindfulness app.

What kind of advice can you offer a new MBA admit who wants to work at your company? Tips for the process of landing an offer.

• Get to know us by following BCG and our leaders in social media, including on @bcg_life and LinkedIn. The content you’ll find there will provide insight into our work, thought leadership, and culture, and can inform conversations you’ll have with BCGers down the line
• When we do meet, we want you to be yourself. “Respect for the individual” is a core value at BCG, and we work hard to cultivate a culture in which people feel comfortable as their authentic selves. When prospective BCGers speak or act in a way that doesn’t come naturally to them, it minimizes these efforts and can even undermine their own success
• Finally, when interviewing with BCG, be sure to prepare – but don’t over prepare. Case interviews require diligent pre-work, but do leave room to ask questions and discuss different approaches. This curiosity and openness will serve you well at BCG!