This contains further information on the GBC assessment, accessible only by staff.
The student got the sense that the interviewer was feeling frustrated because he had to come up with follow-up questions. There have been a few other reports of this type of atmosphere.
The interviewer would interrupt/not give the student a chance to elaborate if he paused, but if he used a transition phrase like “in addition…” or something, the interviewer would wait. This may be interviewer-specific, but still a good thing to keep in mind and study.
The interviewer explained that the test was divided into 4 sections and each section takes 4 mins.
Below is a full transcript of a GBC assessment from late 2017.
Note the follow-up questions in brackets, there are about 20 follow-up questions for about 9 test questions.
The grammar has been corrected by staff. The student's total average score was 1.90.
- 2.00 Comm Info
- 1.95 Delivery
- 2.34 Listen
- 1.80 Fluency
- 1.80 Vocab
- 1.89 GramSynt
- 1.50 ProNun
1. About my life / Familiar topic
・What was your best subject in the high school?
(Before answering, I confirmed the meaning of “best subject”.) I loved mathematics. (He asked what I studied at university.) I majored in biology. My main focus was on honey bee societies and the brain functions related to how they control their behaviors. (He asked what I meant by “the honey bee society”.) I think that they have a division of labor. Younger bees do the nursing, but the older ones go out and gather the pollen or meat. That was very interesting. And I focused on the division of labor in honey bee colonies and the mechanisms in their brains that allow them manage this division of labor. (He asked how long the honey bee’s life was.) Their life in only one month. So younger bees are one or two weeks old.
・What event has had the biggest impact in your life?
Interesting question. Let me see... That was... two years ago. My wife gave birth to a very cute girl... my daughter. Ever since, our lives have been changed. My hobby also changed to spending a lot of time with my daughter. (He asked what my previous hobby was.) My previous hobby was playing the violin and listening to classical music. (He asked what types of pieces I played.) I loved the violin sonatas composed by Bach and Brahms. (He asked how long I played the violin.) For about 20 years. (Did you play in a professional orchestra?) No, I just played as an amateur player. I joined some orchestras in Tokyo.
2. About my job
・What do you like most about your job?
I love my job, because I can deliver value to our clients. This is really exciting for me, because... oh, I’m sorry. I just realized I never told you what my job was. I'm a consultant. Every day, we think about our clients and work with them to build their next strategy. It's incredibly tough... There are so many tough questions we have to come up with answers for. I think that when I achieve the goal of a project, I feel a sense of accomplishment. And it feels so good to meet new people and build lasting relationships with my clients. (How long have you worked at BCG?) 5 years. (Why did you decide to join BCG?) That’s an interesting question. I think that one of the great things about BCG is that we focus on how much value we can give to the client. We have to be good listeners. We're dedicated entirely to achieving the goal of the project. Actually, I’m not really sure what makes us so different from our competitors. I just love... BCG’s level of commitment to the clients.
・What is the biggest hurdle in your professional life?
I think that... the biggest one was maintaining a good balance between my personal life and my professional life at BCG. As I mentioned before, I now have an adorable daughter who is the apple of my eye, but I didn’t have enough time to spend with her. So I was always struggling to secure time with her. It was such a huge challenge, because at that time, I was on the toughest project of my BCG life. But I did it, and it made me realize that the support and love from my family is very important for me.
・What was the quality of the best manager you had?
I think that there are two main characteristics of a good manager. Being highly motivated and being capable of sustaining a well-working team. Firstly, motivation is a very important factor in any type of work. But if I look at our work, consulting, each consultant has to try hard to find effective solutions for the challenging problems our clients face. This is especially true for a manager, since he or she is responsible for all areas of a project, so that person has to handle some stressful situations and make persuasive recommendations within a tight schedule. So he or she is required to be highly motivated. (Do you manage people?) No. Unfortunately, I don't. I’m the sub-leader of the current project I'm working on.
3. Complex business/ political topics
・How do you think about upcoming business leaders?
I think that it is very difficult to grow good business leaders in Japan because I don't think there is enough infrastructure to support startups and good business leaders. For example, there are very few venture capitalists, there are restricted monetary funds to support these kinds of startups. (Why that is restricted?) I think that there aren't enough people who take risks proactively. So, many banks do not lend money to such risk-averse people. (What about favor for young upcoming business leaders? I misunderstood...) I like Daisuke Iwase. Currently he is at the helm of Life Net life insurance. He is a good business leader because he has strongly changed the competition in the insurance industry. He released the cost structure of life insurance, that is unprecedented. He is trying to develop some innovative insurance products. I’d like to meet him. ・How Japanese government impriment success of immigration program? I think that it is very difficult for an immigration program to succeed because Japanese people are not yet ready to integrate. As a result, I think that the Japanese government should make some solutions to make Japanese people conscious about the issue. (they are interested in the immigration as a country cultures.) Immigration is the whole country's concern. [the meaning of the last sentence was a little unclear, please let Yumi or I know if this is not what you meant.]
4. Abstract topics
・What do you think is the greatest threat facing the world today?
Actually I’m worried about the threat of war from North Korea. That is the biggest threat in the world. (How do you think about the result of the situation?) The worst-case scenario would be nuclear war. (To be happened?) I think that all people will avoid the situation becoming that serious because no one wants to go to war.
・If you are required to join regular volunteer work, what would you choose?
I’d like to care for elderly people. As you may know, currently in Japan, elderly people make up a large potion of the population. There is a shortage of workers to support them. So I’d like to support them. (Did you work any volunteer works?) Unfortunately, no. But I’d like to try.
・Would you ever lie to some one?
Yes, of course. (What situation would you like?) To be honest with you, I didn’t buy an engagement ring for my wife. My mother gave me the ring and I gave it to her... But I couldn’t explain about that to my wife... (Is it mother’s old ring or mother bought it?) That was my mother’s old ring. (Some people wouldn’t like that.) Ya, thank you for your advice!