Consulting fit interview questions by firm
What McKinsey, BCG, Bain and Deloitte publish about the fit interview, quoted and dated, the six question families candidates report, and why-this-firm.
Updated October 28, 2026
| Firm | What it calls the fit interview | In its own words |
|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | Personal experience interview (PEI) | Four themes (Leadership, Drive, Connection, Growth) with one prompt each; quoted in the PEI guide |
| Boston Consulting Group | Skills interview, plus a behavioral portion | “we will explore your experience, skills, and motivation for joining BCG” |
| Bain & Company | Behavioral interview or behavioral questions, by role | “we look for people who can explain why they want to join us specifically.” |
| Deloitte | Case and scenario interview; no separate fit page | “we look for answers that project clear thinking, practical judgment, and a professional demeanor” |
What do the firms say about the fit interview?
Less than the prep sites do. McKinsey is the exception: it names four themes and gives a prompt for each, quoted in full in the PEI guide. BCG’s process page has one sentence under its skills interview step:
In this traditional interview, we will explore your experience, skills, and motivation for joining BCG;
Bain’s interviewing page says the fit portion depends on the role and what it looks for:
Our interviews let you showcase your experience.
All interviews are designed to help you showcase the skills you'll need to succeed in the role.
We'll discuss your past experience—personal, academic, and otherwise.
In all cases, we look for people who can explain why they want to join us specifically.
We want people who are intellectually curious, entrepreneurial, and who find challenges exciting.
Deloitte folds fit into the case and scenario interview:
we look for answers that project clear thinking, practical judgment, and a professional demeanor
Read together: every firm asks about experience and motivation, McKinsey tells you the themes, Bain tells you that “why us specifically” is scored, and nobody publishes the questions. The families below are the ones candidates report across all of them.
The six question families, and what to pick for each
| Family | The question sounds like | Pick a story where | Stress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | A time you led a team through something hard | A team you moved without authority over all of it | The call you made alone, and what it cost |
| Influence | A time you changed someone’s mind | Someone senior or essential, and a real disagreement | What you found out they needed, and what you conceded |
| Drive | A goal you set and reached against the odds | A deadline and a reason it was unlikely | The three choices in order, and the one you reversed |
| Failure | A time it did not work | A failure that was yours, with a visible consequence | What you changed afterward, with a later example of the change |
| Teamwork | A conflict on a team and how it ended | Two people with incompatible plans, you in the middle | The conversation, not the outcome |
| Learning | A time you had to learn something fast | A skill you lacked, a clock, and a method | The method: who you asked, what you built, what feedback you took |
Six families, and most strong stories cover two. Four stories prepared to the four-beat skeleton (situation in two sentences, your task, actions with the reasoning first, result with a number) will carry a round at any of the firms above. The deep version of one family is in led without authority.
How do I answer “why this firm”?
Bain says it outright: the answer has to be specific. The shape that survives follow-ups has three parts, each one checkable. A person: someone at the firm you spoke to and what they said that mattered. A piece of work: a case, a practice, a publication of theirs you can describe in a sentence. A fit: the one thing about how they work that matches how you work, with your own example. Generic praise of prestige or training is the answer every candidate gives and the one the interviewer stops listening to.
What differs by firm, in practice?
- McKinsey goes deep on one story with many follow-ups and names the four themes. Prepare two stories per theme, the firm’s own advice.
- BCG runs the fit as its own step (the skills interview) before the case, and its interviewers remind candidates the case rounds also include a behavioral portion.
- Bain varies the fit portion by role and scores “why Bain specifically”; its interviewing page says some roles include a full behavioral interview and others fold behavioral questions into other interviews.
- Big Four advisory tends to fold fit into the case or scenario conversation and asks for judgment and demeanor; Deloitte’s page is the published example.
What are the common mistakes?
- The team’s story. “We” six times. The interviewer is grading you.
- Actions before reasoning. McKinsey asks for the reasoning first; it reads well at every firm.
- A rehearsed monologue. Stop after the situation and let them steer.
- No number at the end. “It went well” is not a result.
- A generic “why us”. A person, a piece of work, a fit, each one checkable.
Questions
What behavioral questions do consulting firms ask?
The firms do not publish lists. McKinsey names four themes with a prompt each; candidates across firms report six families: leadership, influence, drive, failure, teamwork, learning. Four prepared stories cover them.
Does BCG have a behavioral interview?
BCG’s process page describes a skills interview exploring experience, skills and motivation, and one of its interviewers notes the case rounds also include a behavioral portion.
Does Bain have a behavioral interview?
Bain’s interviewing page says some roles include at least one behavioral interview while others incorporate behavioral questions, and that it looks for people who can explain why they want to join Bain specifically.
How does Casepartner help with fit questions?
When a fit question lands in practice it shows a STAR skeleton: which story to pick, what to stress, how to end. With a saved story bank it names your own stories. The words are yours.