Familiy business experience in consulting

I've worked with lots of candidates coming from family business as a coach, and I also worked when in McKinsey with colleagues who came from family businesses. 

It's always seen as a good thing. 

Even though the scale of family business is smaller, consultants know that family businesses give you more hands on experience, more responsibility and more access early on. All of this leads to a pragmatic mindset that is super valuable in consulting. 

So showcase it as much as possible, and make sure to substantiate it with actual examples / stories.

If you have any specific questions about it, don't hesitate to reach out. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there, 

It's an impressive thing your grandfather has created! 

Yes, you are right - it will of course depend on how you frame it. That said, you can simplify the Consulting Recruiting funnel into 2 steps:

1. Getting invited to interview

2. Nailing those interviews and getting an offer

Obviously, your prior experiences may or may not prepare you in some way for step 2, i.e., make you better prepared to nail those interviews. However, practice and guidance will matter even more for that step. The hardest step is getting the invite for the interviews (that is honestly the largest drop in the recruiting funnel).

Again, prior experiences may or may not help you in this step, but regardless of that, there are other ways to improve your chances. Here are a few of those:

a. Networking / Getting a referral

For any of the firms you may be interested in, try to get yourself invited to a recruiting event (they have many). Then utilize that opportunity to connect with one or more of the employees of that firm. If you are successful, you may be able to convince them to refer you, which will markedly improve your chances to get an invite to interview.

b. Optimize your CV and write a great cover letter

As you accurately identified, framing matters a lot. There are tons of resources online (and now even AI tools) that can help you optimize your CV, and assist you in writing a killer cover letter to maximize your chances of landing the interviews. There are of course also coaches that can assist you in that, if you are so inclined.

c. Further bolster your experiences / CV

If you have the time / opportunity, you can further bolster your chances by identifying and joining certain "extra-curricular activities" - e.g., find a consulting club, or a non-profit advisory club that you could join that delivers impact to organizations. Many of these will be off-limits unless you are a student, but depending on where you live, there may be groups you can join - check it out.

Best of luck with your next steps!

Hope this helps!

Sincerely, 

Thor

Hi there,

Family business experience can definitely be an asset if you present it effectively. 

What firms want to see is that you created value and handled real responsibility, not that the role was inherited. Emphasize the business challenges you solved, how you improved processes, managed people, or contributed to growth. If you can quantify results or show that you earned your place through performance, it will strengthen your story. 

Many consultants come from family businesses, and when framed around initiative and tangible impact, it is often seen as a real advantage rather than a liability.

Best of luck!

hey there :)

You’re right, it really depends on how you frame it. Consulting firms generally value family business experience a lot if you can show clear impact, ownership, and problem-solving, especially if you improved operations, managed teams, or led initiatives. It only looks like nepotism if it sounds like you were given the role rather than earning it, so focus on concrete results and what you personally drove. With the right framing, it can be a real strength.

best, Alessa :)

Hi there,

Family business experience can actually be quite valuable, particularly for McKinsey as its been trying to expand its Family Business Practice in recent years. If you frame your experience around impact and ownership, for example, improving operations, driving growth, or leading initiatives, it’ll come across as strong entrepreneurial and leadership experience. You can also highlight the challenges of working with family to demonstrate emotional intelligence. There are definitely ways to frame this as unique strengths.