Now that the MBBs are open for Summer 2022 internships, I thought I'd make a thread so everyone's up to date. Does anyone know whether applying for the summer deadline rather than the fall puts applicants at some sort of advantage?
02 Jul 2021
Open to answering questions regarding MBB, recruiting, breaking in, day to day life, career choices, etc. Background Academic: MSc in Finance (Europe) - top GPA, public undergrad b-school (target locally) Internships: Summer analyst at MBB; Summer analyst at Goldman Sachs (IMD London); Off-cycle analyst at European Private Equity FOFs. Received full-time offers from all three Other: GMAT 730 WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.
05 Nov 2020
I am in a very privileged position to have received a McKinsey offer for the associate position in NA. Previously, I had attended the Bain summer program for advanced degrees but unfortunately bombed the final case interview and did not receive an FT offer. The recruiting manager communicated that I was placed on a pseudo-waitlist and that they will reach out to me at the end of August or early September. Now I am in a bind. I know it is easy to just accept the McKinsey offer and never look back, but Bain has always been my top choice and I really felt at home with all the Bainies during my
22 Aug 2020
I've recently received my offer to work at an IB (BB) on the West Coast, and my husband has just received his offer to work at McKinsey in the same city. We feel incredibly lucky to be based in the same location and are excited for what lies ahead. It's been near impossible to find any advice at all on how other people have made it work -- although we're sure it's been done before. Not looking for any rose-tinted pictures of idealism, but I'd love to hear about how anyone has weathered through the first two years with a high-achieving, barely-there, super-busy spouse, as a similarly occupied
14 Jun 2021
Hi friends. Recently left MBB after spending 2 years after college there. Always thought it was helpful reading Q&A when I was a student thinking about career-pathing, so wanted to offer this up. Busy in a new job, so will respond when available and might close this thread up early, but for now, please ask away. For context: Target college MBB big US office Based in the US Obviously please keep questions professional and I will try to provide as much insight as possible. Won't reveal anything though that is too personal. Still care about anonymity.
19 Sep 2019
Hey everyone! I've recently accepted an ACI offer with Bain in one of their main offices (non-NY). I absolutely love Bain, the people, and the office as well. However, I would like to end up in NY sooner rather than later to start my career. How feasible is it to transfer to NY within Bain after my ACI experience? Otherwise, for optionality, how do McKinsey/BCG view applications from a Bain ACI? Does this increase chances of an interview or hurt them? All help is greatly appreciated!
04 Sep 2021
Hey guys, Thought I'd start another thread for those of us APDs/ADCs (read: spent too many years in school) who are applying for full time positions either earlier this year in the Spring (BCG) or now during the Summer. Let's try to provide sufficient data so it's less confusing: Current location(Northeast/west/south)/institute(target?): Firm(s) applied (spring/summer): When did you receive an invite/rejection: Additional info (invite or no? when are they scheduling the interviews?): To start off: Current location: southeast + semi/non target Firm applied: BCG (spring) When did you receive an
01 Jan 2017
I spent 5 years working as an innovation strategy consultant at McKinsey in the Montreal office. During that time I worked on projects around the world on a wide range of innovation-related subjects. I also interviewed many applicants for associate and analyst roles in Canada and elsewhere. I'm now the founder of Juniper, a boutique consulting firm, and co-founder of Vocaprep, a case interview preparation website. Ask me anything!
20 Feb 2018
Hi! I'll be brief and please feel free to redirect me to the appropriate place if this is the wrong place. I have an offer at Firm #1. I have a final-round interview with Firm #2 on Friday. Firm #1 wants an answer BEFORE Friday, conveniently. Firm #1 does not know I'm applying to Firm #2. If I get Firm #2, I would likely take that offer (location). Both are MBB. The way I see it, below are my options. Please advise, any help at ALL is appreciated. Take Firm #1 offer and withdraw from Firm #2. Withdraw from Firm #1 and hope Firm #2 works out. Take Firm #1, renege if Firm #2 works out. Renege
16 Dec 2020
Hi, I'd love to hear some advice from folks familiar with MBB's recruiting processes. I'm currently at a target school on the west coast with a history of sending undergrads to SF MBB offices (particularly Bain). I'm not sure whether this is due to cross-coast recruiting disadvantages or many students' desire to stay on the west coast. After spending the summer in NYC, I'm fairly certain that it's the city I'd prefer to live in post-grad, but I'm concerned that my candidacy won't be as competitive for NYC offices as it would be in SF. Does anyone know if there are material disadvantages to
24 Jun 2021
One of my biggest pet peeves is people giving bad career advice. It drives me nuts when I see worn-out cliches like this being passed on to ambitious young professionals. ![The only place where success comes before work in the dictionary.][The only place where success comes before work in the dictionary.] … … Well, no shit you have to work hard to succeed. So how does that help you solve a real, day-to-day problem that's limiting your success? In short, it doesn't. Most of the well-meaning career advice you get from your mentors, your friends, and your Mom is useless for one of two reasons: *
01 Dec 2016
I am a sophomore at HYP, international. Have a 3.4 which is probably going to go down after this semester. I wanted to do consulting at MBB(Hoping for San Francisco) and I recently got an offer to work on a 5-month project in an international office for McKinsey(loads of networking). I honestly hate being in college so I was thinking would it be wise to take a leave of absence and work there? I have not been doing well in school because I have been disinterested so I thought this would be a good excuse to not do it. At the same time, friends and family are all super-critical about pausing
08 May 2019
I'm curious - McKinsey vs Goldman Sachs - which has better brand recognition? For the average Joe (non business/finance people) 1. In USA 2. In Europe 3. In Asia My impression is that in Europe (except for the UK), McKinsey has better recognition, while in Asia (HK/Singapore/China/India, not sure about the rest), GS does. The deal flow is quite strong in Asia nowadays, while the consulting industry has not caught up with the US/Europe. Not sure about the US. I guess it's GS? As the media may have been talking about GS a lot post financial crisis (so GS has better brand recognition, but in a
08 Sep 2018
Conventional wisdom here would suggest that you need to go to a M7/T10 school to give yourself a decent chance of making it to MBB, You can make it from a T15 school, but the chances are lower. However, I've noticed on LinkedIn that people from UW Foster (USNR #27) & UM Twin Cities (USNR #32) do make it to MBB (I'm not talking about sponsored MBB kids, but career switchers). Although it seems like they're always in the Seattle or Minneapolis offices. I'm not talking about 1 or 2. These schools seems to send a few grads to MBB every year. I know those are not Kellogg numbers, but what does that
15 Nov 2017
From my understanding, the recruiting process starts in the Fall with applications due in August/September. However, there are also July deadlines for undergrads seeking full-time consulting roles at least for McKinsey snd BCG. I have no idea when to apply. Will there still be August/Sept application deadlines as well? Should I go ahead and apply in July? If it helps, I'm applying to NYC, another competitive east coast office, and then probably a southern office that I think is maybe at least slightly less competitive. I'm a social sciences major (not econ) at a low/semi-target school, so I
29 May 2021
I am at a non-target (for MBB )school in the US but have prior strategy consulting experience. I have been granted interviews by all three - MBB, through a mix of cold emails to partners, alumni (at MBB) outreach and by directly writing to the recruiter. Interview process at M appears to be pretty much complete, and BB interviews are to occur over the next 3 weeks. The M interview went well but was not according to any plan that I have heard of earlier. Here's what happened - I ended up being interviewed directly by a senior level partner, who among other things, explained to me why management
20 May 2018
Hip hop artist Clyde Kelly Atkins (stage name is Clyde Kelly) quit his job at McKinsey so he would have more free time to pursue his music career and obtain a Wharton MBA at the same time. [quote] "You don't have anyone in your life that you sort of see on a daily basis. It's very transient," Atkins says of the young consulting lifestyle. "It's fun. I was excited to be doing that at that point in my life. But I also missed that I used to freestyle everyday. I had friends I would come home to and we'd kick raps at the end of the day. It was way different coming back to a hotel at the end of the
25 May 2017
In deciding between MBB, would you guys offer any insights about differences between the three firms or things to think about while making a decision? All three offers are from the same city. McKinsey vs Bain vs BCG If you've worked hard enough to secure an offer at all three firms then congratulations. These firms are the most prestigious in consulting. All of these firms offer great exit opportunities and pay. However these firms still have their individual strengths and weaknesses. Lets take a look at each firm in terms of pay at the first year associate level. The following figures are
30 Nov 2014
I'm a senior in a top school in Asia graduating in 2016. I've grinded through school, networked like crazy and completed internships in consulting, VC and Asset Management. I have an MBB offer in Asia (think Singapore/KL/HK) and a BB Equity Structuring offer in London. I need to decide between the two by end of January, and would really appreciate any advice on the pros/cons of either. In the long haul, I would like to end up in PE/value investing - where there's a mix of operational understanding and finance. The positive for MBB is the operational experience, but most of MBB Asia's exits are
29 Nov 2015
Hi All, I want to get some views from current / past consultants who have side hustled at MBB I am making the assumption that a lot of new consultants are not entirely sure about a career in MBB, and a lot come in with a degree of entrepreneurial aspirations If you were able too / not able to make it happen - can you share your thoughts? For instance, to email / check up on your side hustle - did you wake up early, do it while at work, or when you came back to the hotel. Were you able to use your work computer (did gmail work on it ? :) ) . Did you get to step out to make a personal phone call
02 Nov 2017
For the last year I have been doing consulting for a small boutique firm focused on Digital Strategy consulting. However, I have the opportunity to move up to a bigger firm. I'm currently in the process with Deloitte Digital's strategy practice (Digital Business & Strategy), and also BCG Digital Ventures. I also have a preliminary conversation scheduled with Digital McKinsey. I would appreciate hearing the perspectives of people here on these three groups. Specifically on the type of work, the future trajectory, career progression, etc. Note: not looking at Accenture or anything of the non
14 Mar 2017
I'm an MD currently completing a post-doc in pharma, applied as an ADC to MBB in the fall, made it to the decision round for MBB1 and MBB2. was waitlisted at MBB1, was asked to complete an extra decision round then waitlisted at MBB2, and was ultimately rejected to both though asked to reapply during the off-cycle in spring. Have any other ADCs applied during the off-cycle? - How was your experience? - How did the recruitment process and level of difficulty compare? - Did you experience any pushback in re-applying so soon? - What recommendations would you have for someone else going through
16 Jan 2019
Hello everyone, I have a first-round technical interview coming up. Have been told there will a 15-minute session on technical questions and then a 20-minute coding exercise on codepair. What kind of questions should I be expecting? Should I revise DP, search algorithms, trees and graphs or should I focus more or almost exclusively on SQL? Please someone help me. I am stressing a lot and am unable to come up with a plan to study. Please if someone knows how to go about help me. I shall be forever grateful. PS: I realize this a finance forum. I am posting here because it is a very well-known
09 Jan 2022
I will be attending a top European MBA program in September and am pursuing consulting post-graduation. In order to understand the benefits / disadvantages of different European geographies, I want to know the differences in all-in compensation. Where are Europe's highest (and lowest) management consulting salaries? If anyone has a URL to another WSO thread or website that has this information, please post. Thanks in advance for the help.
23 Nov 2016
McKinsey is interviewing at my school, and I was hoping to get a feel for my shot at an interview. I've previously gotten first rounds w/ Bain and BCG, but I hear McKinsey is more selective than even them. I was a summer analyst at MS, and I did get an offer. I've got a 3.6 and solid, but not spectacular, ECs at a semi-target. I've also got the diversity thing going, if that matters at all. I'm fairly certain that I can destroy the case; I just need the opportunity. Given that McKinsey has like a 3.7-3.8 gpa cutoff, should I expect to still get on the closed list, or should I just forget
19 Mar 2018
I have been working in big 4 audit now for just under 3 years and have obtained my ACA. My contract with my firm end of 2020, but auto-renews and makes me assistant manager unless I choose to decline the offer. I want to move into consulting, I have spoken to individuals who have worked in companies such as Mckinsey / BCG, and the work seems so much more interesting compared to the mundane life of finance audit. The pay is also seemingly more attractive there... Anyone have any idea how I can position myself to move into top tier consulting eventually and perhaps when would be the best time to
26 Dec 2019
I had my McKinsey screening interview today and I received a mail from a recruiter asking me for time to discuss my interview feedback tomorrow? specifically the mail asked for a "quick call with you tomorrow to discuss how the interview went" What does this likely mean? Do they usually discuss feedback with successful candidates? My guess is I think not, as successful candidates are usually told the next steps right? This has been a dream of mine and I do know that I'll know tomorrow. However, any light that you can throw on this matter can help alleviate some amount of anxiety! Thanks for
02 Mar 2018
Just heard back from the last MBB saying I am waitlisted and have to wait 2-4 weeks to hear if they have an offer for me or not. They never mentioned waitlist but just said they needed more time to get back to me. Any thoughts on what I can do to get off the waitlist at any or what the chances are? I'm from a target and high GPA, etc. I also do not have any offers from anywhere else at the moment. I was thinking of messaging my points of contact and the partners I interviewed with but I am thinking that might just be a dumb move since the partners are the ones who made the decision.
18 Oct 2021
What's going on with consulting recruitment? Haven't seen any summer analyst 2021 announcements on LinkedIn yet. Is interviewing already in full swing?
26 Nov 2020
We had mamamia post the same topic about Accenture vs. Roland Berger 3-4 times. He'd post, we'd give him feedback; he'd delete the topics over and over again, then ask the question again. Like he didn't want to hear what we said. So, I told him today he shouldn't be wasting people's time. Also note that my friends work at Roland Berger Asia and McKinsey (many offices). I'd love to find out who this guy is and get his offer rescinded. Sounds Singaporean (No offense to Singaporeans). Here's our future McKinsey BA here: Participants: wolfy and mamamia mamamia's picture mamamia Dec 9 2011 - 3:45pm New
09 Dec 2011
How do you view an MBB analyst program vs an investment analyst at an asset manager for a Pre-MBA candidate? Specifically, experience at a value investing shop managing close to $3Bn vs a vanilla MBB analyst gig. On the face of it, MBB has the edge with brand and exit ops, while the AM offers a better payout and learning. I'm trying to think along the lines of Learning, Exit Ops and feeders to MBA programs. Which is better and why?
29 Apr 2015
I'm new to this forum (in the posting sense - been reading it for a while), and was hoping I could get some advice. I have a friend that just got a job at Disney's Corp Strategy group and seems pretty excited about it. I have been pretty interested in Technology and Media myself for a while, but was planning on originally entering consulting to figure out what I wanted to do (I'm currently a junior thinking about career opportunities for next year). The disney job seems pretty exclusive and do some interesting work (Strategy & M&A work in Media). I wanted to see if you guys knew anything about the opportunity and how it stacks up against other opportunities in the consulting space such as McK/BCG/Bain.
03 Dec 2009
I will start with a couple assumptions and conclusions I have reached through my research and would greatly appreciate any corroboration or corrections you guys might have for me. Georgetown as a whole would be a low target to a high semi-target for the overall financial services and consulting sectors, correct? Now, what kind of recruiting/niche areas do MSB and SFS get separately? Most of the data and opinions I have seen point to SFS doing better with consulting and MSB doing better with IB. Is this apparent difference due to the preferences of the students in each respective college or
02 Apr 2016
Hey guys, I am a senior at a Public University which I think is a target and I have just found out that I got a first round at McKinsey and another at Bain and another at Accenture. I have recently started practicing cases - maybe 10 in total - and I am really awful at them. Any tips on how to prepare in less than a week for these interviews? I get super nervous and struggle with math - I am quite slow and tend to get lost in the details. I am being very honest here. Literally need any help I can get. I just want to stand out and do well.
30 Sep 2015
I managed to work my way into getting a interview at McKinsey. I've been scheduled an interview along with a problem solving test next week. I was wondering what the best way to prepare for this is. Any sites I should know? Are there sample tests around somewhere? Thanks!
02 Feb 2013
tldr: what's the MBB to PE interview process like? I've seen some WSO content on going from MBB to PE and the concensus seems to be that MBB to PE is possible. However, there doesn't seem to be much content on WSO regarding the actual interview process from MBB to PE. I'm curious what it's like and how (if at all) it differs from the IB to PE process. Especially with IB to PE recruiting happening so much earlier than in the past, have comparable changes happened with the MBB to PE process? Mainly curious about the process for PE deal teams (most comparable to IB to PE) but would love to hear
29 Jul 2018
Wall Street Mentor Dave provides a couple of quick tips for prepping for a case interview - specifically, he outlines how the use of paper, while often overlooked, can be key to your success. Dave was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Co., and while at Booth b-school, he received offers from BCG & Bain as well. We are offering mock interviews in consulting, investment banking, and private equity (50% off), as well as access to our Mock Interview Library. Email us to set-up a mock interview or consultation with a top mentor.
22 Aug 2011
So I just graduated from undergrad and accepted an offer to work at Google, in their Dedicated Client Services division (it's like account management with their big advertising clients)... And Google from what I've heard, read, seen and the reactions that I get from people when I tell them I'll be working there, has shown me that Google is an amazing place to work... Culture, perks, etc... But I have recently been presented with an opportunity to work at McKinsey & Co., which is also an amazing place to work. I interviewed with a ton of I-banks and BCG, and Bain during the fall, but ended up with a job at Google... So now that I have to make a decision between the two, the biggest thing for me would be which company has better exit opportunities??? I wanna make the best decision for my future and not just what looks good for now... Any thoughts?
07 Jun 2010
Apologies if this question seems a bit naive but wanted to get this forum's opinion on educating oneself on certain topics in order to hold better conversations with longer tenure colleagues. As a 22-year-old analyst I'm not super interested in or knowledgeable about luxury cars, cigars, watches, fine liquors, golf etc the list goes on. Have people faced this issue before? If so what did you do to address it, e.g. should I start stalking watch and car forums? I definitely don't mean to indicate that people in consulting firms only care about those things-most people are actually pretty down to
09 Dec 2014
Hi all, I recently finished the analyst program at MBB in a Tier 1 office (NYC, SF, Chicago, etc.). I was also recently direct promoted to the associate (post-MBA) role and accepted. I already have a BS and MS in Management/Operations/Finance/Engineering from a Tier 1 university (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, etc.). I am unsure about long-term plans, but they could be one of the following: a) Stay in consulting for a while - at least till team leader/manager level b) Go to in-house strategy for a larger company (e.g. Fortune 500, Big Tech) c) Go to bizops or general
30 May 2018
This past spring, I went through the recruiting process with McK for a summer internship and made it to the final round, but did not get an offer. Still, the partner who interviewed me told me that I did well and even took me out to lunch several weeks afterwords to give advice on how to do better in the future. I just got an e-mail telling me that McK wants to "stay in touch" over the summer and offered me a full time interview next fall. My questions are: 1) Where in the recruitment process does this put me? Will I start over in the first round? Will I go straight to the decision round? If it matters, McK DOES NOT recruit on my campus directly.
15 May 2011
Hi, I recently wrapped up my third year at a turnaround/restructuring consulting firm (Alix, Alvarez, FTI). I'm happy where I am. A McKinsey recruiter reached out to me last week about interviewing for an open Associate position in their Restructuring & Transformation (McKinsey RTS) practice. Has anyone had any experience with this practice? Is it viewed negatively compared to the generalist or strategy group? Any advice on whether a lateral move like this would be worth it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
22 Jan 2018
Recently I've been trying to break into consulting. I studied the sciences in college in pursuit of medical school and after careful consideration now want to go into healthcare management--for the obvious cost/benefits. I want to get into consulting to make headway and have been looking at the top consultancies--McKinsey, Bain and BCG. To make a long story short, after some networking I got a coffee meeting with the COO of Activision who used to work for Bain shortly and knows the managing partner in the LA office well. He forwarded my resume off to the managing partner in LA who forwarded it to the managing partner in Dallas--where I'm living at the moment. A recruiter got into contact with me and now I'm in talks for a possible opportunity.
01 Jul 2011
In case you missed our January 18th webinar entitled Recruiting and Working for McKinsey in LatAm, have no fear. The full recording of the webinar can be found below (free for only 24 hours when it goes into our video library). Do you want to a 1 on 1 mentoring session with Alberto? Click below: SIGN UP WITH ALBERTO All rewinds will be on Monday / Wednesday / Friday. And, as always, if you want to sign up to hear about upcoming webinars before they happen, sign up inside the post... SIGN UP FOR A 1-HOUR MENTOR SESSION WITH JACOB WALL STREET MENTORS Interested in one-on-one personalized help
23 Jun 2015
Hi, I found this 80-page document online (unfortunately post-interview) and, if it is not against the forum guidelines, I would love to share it with future BCG applicants on here. It contains extensive information on everything from the firm's general desciption to typical interview styles to what it is like working there. http://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~ugacademics/career/bo… Make best use of it;) + EDIT: Through this link you can access documents for many other firms as well, as Armistice pointed out: http://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~ugacademics/career/us…
09 May 2012
I am in the process of recruiting with McKinsey in the Middle East. My referral, who I am close family friends with and who's worked there for three years - he is also family friends with the partner at the office - assured me that he can get me an interview and that I'll get an offer as long as I kill it during interviews. I go to a target school on the west cost, have no experience with big name companies, and have a very low GPA (
03 Sep 2014
Hi everyone, I have offers from both the Bain and McK offices in London. At the moment, I don't know precisely what I'd like to do in a few years time. I'm thinking I'd like to stay in consulting and work my way towards Partner. This may, of course, change as I start work and have new experiences and find out more about exit opportunities. I wanted to reach out to you: Which is better in terms of opportunities it provides? What are the different exit opportunities available from each firm? Which would you take if you were in my position with the amount of knowledge I have now? And what are good questions to ask the people there?
20 Jan 2011
Hello, I was checking out the McKinsey website for APD application deadlines and found the deadline is July 2021 for PhD candidates graduating in 2021. Isn't this generally for students graduating the next year, i.e. in 2022? Firms generally have application deadlines the summer prior to the student graduating, and as far as I can see, BCG and Bain have stuck to this with both having summer '21 deadlines for consultant roles in '22. Has Mckinsey changed the timing this specific year or is there something I'm missing? Thanks!
13 Jan 2021
Hey guys! I'm wondering what is optimal profile for getting into McKinsey BTO (Business Technology Office) right out of college? Let me explain: I live in Central Europe, have a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering (lot of ICT subjects, ERP implementation internship) from the top technical university in my country, now I'm studying for my master's in Management at the same university, did a consulting internship at a Big4, had top leadership positions in a student organization, and I'm member of the university's consulting club.
10 Apr 2014
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