CQ_ConsulTalks | Urvi Kanneboina | Bain & Company
Interviewer: Hi Urvi, I am Rishika from Communiqué.
Urvi: Oh, Hi Rishika. How are you?
Interviewer: I’m good. How are you?
Urvi: I’m doing good.
Interviewer: So first of all, congratulations for bagging an internship at Bain & Company.
Urvi: Thank you.
Interviewer: So first, I’d like to ask you what would be the relevant material and resources to understand the concepts of the sector consulting from basics to advanced?
Urvi: Okay. So for Bain, at least for how my interview process went, the resources I have referred to was Victor Cheng’s Case Interview Secrets.
The starting two parts will give you facts about things like fast calculations, estimation techniques, and how to structure your case properly. We had a guesstimate round, so I would suggest going around with guesstimate examples via online resources. There’s also a playlist, Aditya Agarwal’s Consulting Interview Case Prep, going through the starting 10 videos will give you a better idea on how to go about guesstimates. And if it’s for cases, you can just go through the whole playlist, it’s a 30-video playlist.
Interviewer: Okay. That’s great. So next, what was the general interview process of the companies that you interviewed? Can you please mention the number of rounds and the nature of the interview process?
Urvi: So I got into Bain via their True North Scholarship program which is open for women in their pre-final year of undergrad. It was a three-round process. In the first round cumulative, we had to submit our CV and a cover letter in the form of an essay on the concept of True North which was followed by an online assessment curated of aptitude and personality-based questions. Then the shortlisted ones had to face a guesstimate round and after that, the final round was an HR round with a senior.
Interviewer: Okay, thank you for the detailed breakdown. So could you please list on some of the questions that you were asked in the different rounds? For example, puzzles, technical questions, or any other discussion in general?
Urvi: Okay. So for the guesstimate round, everyone of us was asked different questions and had like different experiences. For this, the resources mentioned earlier should work and for the final interview round, I was asked a few situation-based questions, like giving an example of a time when you went above and beyond the Call of Duty or mention a time you didn’t want to be part of an organization and how did you handle it?
Um, then a few questions were based on why consulting and how it aligns with my interests and future aspirations. So for this round, I would suggest looking at probable questions beforehand and making a doc structuring your answers, think of times when you have created an impact, that is worth mentioning.
Interviewer: Okay. So, if someone would like to explore the consulting field through programs or any other initiatives before their internship season, for example, in their first or second year, what would you suggest to these people?
Urvi: Firstly, for consult you require a well-tailored CV and they look for spikes in it. So taking up internships, which you think would create an impact or set you apart from other candidates would be a good start, another section you can highlight could be your POR section, so if you have an opportunity to take up a governing or a head position, then go for it.
Also, get your extracurriculars all juiced up to give an impression that you have a well-rounded CV. And just be good at what you do.
Interviewer: Okay, that’s great! So, what are your final thoughts that you would want to share with the students sitting for internships this season? What can do from now on to maximize their chances?
Urvi: I would say, create a plan of action. Recognize the areas you are weak in, it could be either guesstimates or cases, or it could be around structuring your thoughts, or it could be your communication skills, and allot your time accordingly. There are numerous resources and a lot to cover, so prioritize your references properly beforehand.
Also for consult, form a group with your batchmates who are sitting for similar roles, practice guesstimates or cases, and have mock interviews. You can also take suggestions and help from your seniors. Another way to practice would be to look for major business decisions made by companies and try to use your case process to backtrack how they got to the decisions. Finally, keep your calm during the process because it can get awfully overwhelming.
Interviewer: Okay, that was insightful! Thank you for your time, Urvi. It was great talking to you.
Urvi: Thank you, Rishika.
