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CONSULT 360O

The Boston Consulting Group

WHY CONSULTING?

The primary reason for my interest in the Consulting Sector is the wide variety ofassignments. In addition, consulting offers good exit options and more flexibility

than other sectors. Working at Deloitte attuned me to this sector, though it wasntone of the major reasons for my choice.

GETTING THERE

Approach adopted for preparation:

MethodologyCase discussions formed the major part of my preparationfor the summer placements. I did a variety of cases, restricting myself to

Consult Club/Placecom material since these are pretty comprehensivesources. Also, looking for good cases outside these sources requires quite alot of effort. Group discussions are helpful since they provide you with

different perspectives to the same problem. We used to discuss 1-2 casesper week in a group of 2-4 people. I also practiced guesstimates and

prepared the HR questions which Placecom provides.

Was your preparation dedicated to Consulting only? Yes, I focused onConsulting only.

Time dedicatedI dedicated time for interview preparation during the lastmonth before placements. I did not follow any specific schedule but tried to

put in as many hours as possible (which happened to be about 4-5 perweek).

Useful courses Marketing (quite a few cases are based on marketing),Finance courses and maybe WAC (for structuring your approach)

THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

I had three interviews with one case study per interview. Each interview lasted for

20-40 minutes. The interviewers varied in hierarchy from Project Leaders toPartners. Usually, at least one interview is taken by a Partner.

The interviewers were very co-operative and tried to make me comfortable initially.Once they had explained the case scenario they judged the approach that I took, for

example, how well I was able to form the problem statement or how structured

KHUSHBOO GUPTA

Summer Intern

THE BOSTON

CONSULTING GROUP

(BCG)

Background:

B.Tech (Chemical)IIT Roorkee

Work-ex:

Deloitte (10 months)

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I did a variety of cases, restricting myself to Consult Club /Placecom material since these are rett com rehensive

CONSULTCLUB

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my approach towards the analysis was. The cases that the interviewers used were generally a project that they had

worked on, which meant that they were thorough with all aspects of the problem. Out of the 3 cases that I got, thefirst one was on banking; the next on the cement industry (on profitability) and the last one was on the distribution

network of a courier company.

One thing you think that turned the things in your favor

I think that they were able to gauge that I really wanted to pursue Consulting only. My enthusiasm for BCG in

particular could have also made a difference.

One thing that you think you could have done better

I think being calmer on Day Zero would have helped me (or rather anyone else) perform even better.

THE SUMMERS EXPERIENCE

Structure of the internship programmeI interned for 9 weeks in the Mumbai office working on a single project. The client we were working for was

based outside India and the nature of the project was such that I wasnt required to travel. The internship

programme was very well planned. It started with a 3 day induction programme where all interns were

introduced to the BCG methodology of solving cases and the tools used in the process. After this we were

assigned to our project teams. There was a mid-term review followed by the final review.

Project detailsThe project was 4 months long and I joined it when it was mid-way. The client was a pharmaceutical giant. We

were supposed to design a country/region wise strategy for roll-out of generic drugs and a final global

consolidation strategy. The project was a global one but was being controlled from India. The team was a mix of

Indians working from Mumbai and people of other nationalities working from other locations. The team in India

consisted of 2 Partners, 1 Principal, 1 Project Lead (who was my direct oversight), 2 Consultants and 2 Senior

Associates (from to top to bottom in the firm hierarchy).

Your roles and responsibilitiesI was responsible for studying the generic drug market conditions for a few countries that included New

Zealand, Australia and Japan. I also did a prioritization of drug molecules, COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)

estimation and Profit and Loss estimation for the global business of the client.Client exposure varies from case to case. Since the client was an international firm based out of another country,

I did not get an opportunity to interact with them face to face but frequent phone calls and emails were

exchanged.

I think being calmer on Day Zero would have helped me perform even better

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Work-Life balance

I had a decent work-life balance, working for about 11-12 hours per day. My weekends were completely free butthis is team and case specific in most consulting companies. BCG encourages interactions outside the office and Ihad fun at the welcome, farewell and Home Office Day parties.

Anything else that helped you in the internshipMy stint at Deloitte Consulting kept me in good stead since it had already introduced me to the consulting workenvironment.

THE SUMMERS EXPERIENCE

More about the company - BCG has 66 offices in 38 countries and serves companies in all industries andmarkets. The office strength in India is about 150 in Mumbai and 70 in Delhi. The India office is rising up the

ranks globally and a couple of global projects are being run from India.

Work-culture- Like any other consulting firm, BCG encourages teamwork and interaction among employees atall levels. It is easy to approach senior associates and consultants in order to gain insight into projects, discuss

career-related issues or future prospects.

Things that an intern is evaluated for at the firmAn intern is valued for his or her problem solving skills,communication skills, ownership of work demonstrated and the overall approach that he or she takes to the case

module.

MUSINGS

Reflection of your experience at the firmThe internship was a good learning experience. I was able to talk to a lot of people about the pros and cons of aconsulting career and lifestyle. This helped me in figuring out if I was suited for such a career and vice versa.

Suggestions for future batchesTalk to as many people as you can when you get into a firm. It is essential to understand the responsibilities

involved as well as the lifestyle that youll be choosing if you take up consulting as a career. During preparationtry to practice as many cases as possible in groups as this helps you in structuring and communicating yourthoughts/solutions well. The basic requirements are problem solving skills and they will improve with practice.

Practise as many cases as possible in groups as this helps in

structuring and communicating your thoughts/solutions well

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