Treat it as a normal conversation with a slightly higher level of preparedness. Consultants often ask about your background because they are curious, not because a hidden interview has officially started.

You should still be ready for concise answers to why consulting, why the office, and what you are doing now. Those questions also help the consultant decide what advice is useful to you.

Answer directly, then keep the conversation two-way. A twenty-minute coffee chat should not become a five-minute monologue about your candidacy.

Before networking calls, prepare a thirty-second background summary and two short motivation answers. That lets you respond naturally without making every chat feel rehearsed. Keep the answer anchored in the actual decision rather than trying to satisfy an imagined recruiter rule. For more detail, see the consulting coffee chat guide and the consulting networking guide.

I would treat those questions seriously without turning the whole call into interview mode.