How to improve "why this firm?" question

Hey there!

I agree with you: the risk of being very generic is clearly there. Imho, there are three layers to a better "why firm X" answer:

1. The basics: the raison d'être of each Firm. Bain is perceived as more innovative, BCG as a first mover on ESG topics, McKinsey as the most rigorous, etc. 
   --> This is what the top-90% of candidates (basically anyone) mention
2. The office specifics: you are not just applying to a Firm, but (almost always) to a specific office. A few chats with MBB friends, alumni, etc will give you a perspective on the strengths of that office -- either by function (e.g., marketing, org strategy, corp finance) or by industry (e.g., banking, industrials, CPG). 
   --> This needs a bit more digging, so only a top-20% candidate typically mentions this -- e.g., "A friend at your firm mentioned that this company serves the top-5 industrial companies in France and most CSTs (Client Serving Teams) are based in this office. I feel this is a unique opportunity to apply my Mech Eng expertise and follow my passion". Notice how this can sound much more tailored to your profile!
3. The thought leadership of key firm leaders: every firm has thought leadership on specific aspects. The official websites of all MBB firms have a lot of content (articles, reports, even podcasts) where typically Senior Partners give their perspective on the challenges/opportunities for an industry or function. 
   --> This is something that very few candidates mention -- e.g., "I am really interested in the disruption happening in Private Equity, and your 2026 State of PE report was very exhaustive in explaining the three main risks looming over this industry. I know that Anne Doe leads the PE function and is considered a global thought leader on PE, and I would love to grow under her leadership".
   If you link this nicely to your resume and your preferred office/country, you can show you are someone who does their research.

If you lack details or don't have contacts at your target firms, keep in mind that coaches can help a lot! We have worked in this industry and we know how to create a bullet-proof story for your specific experience/interests :)

Hope this helps, feel free to DM me to continue our conversation!

Hi Andrea,

There are already some good answers here, but let me offer a slightly different perspective.

When I was interviewing candidates, if someone was strong, I automatically assumed they were also applying to McKinsey and Bain. I wasn’t expecting them to say my firm was “better” than the others.

So when I asked “Why this firm?”, what I really meant was: why consulting here vs other options (Tier-2, industry, etc.), not necessarily a direct comparison across MBB.

A solid answer, in my view, is something like:

• Start with the general drivers (steep learning curve, exposure to top clients, breadth of industries, etc.)
• Then add a personal layer: “On top of that, I had the chance to interact with a few people from BCG and really appreciated their enthusiasm and the collaborative culture they described; it’s an environment where I feel I would fit and perform well.”

That combination of rational + personal fit is usually more than enough; it doesn’t need to be over-engineered.

Hope this helps.
Franco

Absolutely — this is one of those questions that many candidates underestimate, and in reality it can make a big difference.

I spent many years at Bain, including as an Associate Partner, and I can say that the best answers to “Why this firm?” were never the most polished or the most generic. They were the ones that showed the candidate had genuinely understood what makes that firm different, and had reflected on why that difference mattered to them personally.

My advice is to avoid building your answer around things that are true of all top consulting firms: smart people, great clients, steep learning curve, strong brand, international exposure. Those points are not wrong, but they do not help you stand out, because they could be used for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or any Tier-2 firm with minimal changes.

What works much better is to focus on the specific values, culture, and ways of working that define each firm. Every firm has its own identity, and strong candidates show that they have gone beyond the website and really tried to understand it.

For example, in Bain — the firm where I worked for years — I always viewed it very positively when candidates referred to things they had heard from friends or former colleagues and connected those insights to Bain’s actual culture and values. Mentioning things like “A Bainie never lets another Bainie fail” or “At Cause” was often a strong signal. Not because candidates needed to recite slogans, but because it showed they had done the work to understand whether those values were truly lived inside the firm. Even better if they could say that they had spoken to people who confirmed those values were genuinely applied in day-to-day life, rather than just being part of the external branding.

That is the level of depth you should aim for with every firm. Your preparation should focus on identifying what is genuinely distinctive about each one across three dimensions: culture, professional model, and personal fit.

In short, the best preparation is not to memorize firm descriptions, but to collect specific proof points about each firm’s values and way of working, and then connect them to what genuinely matters to you. That is what makes the answer convincing.

Hi there,

Luckily, not only have I written an article on this, but I also have a video walkthrough!

Check out both here: Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question

When you answer, focus on why the first, but then flag lightly that the others don't have it at the same level.

Why x company
Start with a "mini" why consulting
Then have 2-3 reasons why x company is your target
Every "reason" needs to incorporate 1) That you know they value x 2) That you not only value x but have exhibited it and done it in the past
Be very very mindful of what they want you to want

Why BCG Specifically
People - Out of the box thinkers, creative, quirky, humble, kind, "nerdy"
Thought leaders - BCG Insights publications. Showcase speaking. Pushing the envelope on thinking
Mentorship - Assigned a staffing manager, a career development advisory, culture of supporting/help
Career Development - BCG Labs, continuous feedback, formal review every 6 months AND at the end of each project
Exposure - Generalist model, wide variety of projects
Home-office model - Ability to connect with local office/culture, but still travel

For a deeper dive on the mindset behind answering these well: search The Consulting Offer Blueprint on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

And if you want to work through your specific answers live, a coaching session is the most efficient path: book a session here

Hi Andrea,

This is a common challenge, and most candidates fall into the trap of giving generic “great people, great culture, great exposure” answers that could apply to any firm. The key is to move from broad to specific and personal.

A strong answer usually has three layers:

1) Specific evidence about the firm
Go beyond surface-level points. Tie your answer to something concrete like:

• A particular practice or capability (e.g. digital, private equity, public sector, etc.)
• A known strength or way of working (e.g. depth vs breadth, implementation focus, etc.)
• Recent projects, thought leadership, or client work that genuinely interests you

2) A clear “why this firm over others” angle
You need to show you’ve thought about trade-offs. For example:

• One firm may appeal because of depth in a specific area, another for breadth of exposure
• One may be more analytical, another more implementation-focused
• One may have a stronger presence in a region or industry

Be explicit about why these differences matter to you.

3) Your personal story and fit
This is where most people underdeliver. Link your experience and goals directly to the firm’s strengths:

• What you’ve done (projects, skills, industries)
• What you want next (type of problems, environment, career path)
• Why this firm is the best match for that trajectory

The goal is to make it feel like a natural alignment, not a rehearsed script.

A practical way to prepare is to:

• Speak to people at each firm and note real differences in how they describe their work
• Reflect on 2–3 specific reasons per firm that are genuinely distinct
• Build a slightly different answer for each firm rather than trying to reuse one template

Interviews are very good at spotting generic answers — the strongest candidates sound informed, selective, and intentional about their choice.

Happy to help you refine your answers for specific firms if useful

Best
Evelina

Most answers to this question fail because candidates research the firm instead of their own experience with it.

The best answers are personal. Not "McKinsey has a strong problem solving culture" but "I spoke to someone in the infrastructure practice and the way they described their work matched exactly how I think." That answer is yours. Nobody else can give it.

So the prep is simple but takes real work. Talk to people at each firm. Find one or two things that genuinely resonate and build your answer around those.

On telling firms apart: McKinsey is about breadth and institutional weight. BCG attracts people who love intellectual complexity. Bain is known for tighter teams and closer client relationships. Use that as a starting point to figure out what actually fits you.

The real question they are asking is: have you thought seriously about this, or are we just one of ten applications? Your answer needs to prove it is the former.

Andrea :)

You’re not alone, this is one of the hardest questions to make feel real. The key is shifting from “what sounds good” to “what is specific and provable”.

A strong answer usually connects three things in a very tight way: what you want, what you’ve experienced, and what is uniquely true about the firm. For example, instead of saying “great culture”, anchor it in something concrete like people you spoke to, a project type, or how teams actually work, and why that fits you personally.

For firms like McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company, differentiation often comes from nuances. McKinsey could be more about structured problem solving and exposure, BCG about thought leadership and innovation, Bain about team culture and results focus but only say this if you can back it with real interactions or experiences.

A simple test: if you can swap the firm name and the answer still works, it’s too generic. If it only works for that firm and sounds like your story, you’re there.

If you want, I can help you craft one answer that really stands out.

best,
Alessa :)

Great question — and honestly, you’re not alone. This is one of the hardest questions to get right because everyone gives similar answers.

The problem usually isn’t your content, it’s that the answer feels a bit “copy-paste.” Saying things like “great culture” or “strong people” is true, but it doesn’t help the interviewer understand why you would choose this firm over very similar ones.

What tends to work better is making your answer feel more personal and grounded in something real.

Instead of starting from the firm, start from yourself:
What actually matters to you in a consulting environment? Is it close mentorship, more ownership early on, exposure to certain types of projects, or a specific way teams work together?

Then connect that to something concrete you’ve observed about the firm — ideally from conversations, not just the website. For example, something you heard from consultants, how teams are staffed, how feedback works, or the type of work they emphasized.

The key is specificity.
Not: “I like your culture”
But: “After speaking with X and Y, I noticed how feedback is given very frequently on projects, which is something I really value.”

Finally, you don’t need to explicitly say “why not the others.” If your answer is clear and specific enough, that part becomes implicit. A simple line like:
“that felt more consistent here than what I’ve seen elsewhere”
is more than enough.

A strong answer ends up feeling less like a prepared pitch and more like a reflection:

“I’m looking for a place where I can develop quickly through close mentorship and real feedback. From my conversations with people here, I was struck by how intentional that feedback culture is on projects. That’s something I didn’t see as consistently elsewhere, and it’s a big reason this firm stands out to me.”

If it sounds like something you’d actually say in a real conversation, you’re on the right track.

That's a fantastic question, and you're absolutely right – it's one of the toughest to differentiate. Every interviewer has heard the generic "people" and "impact" answers a thousand times, and they're listening for something much deeper.

The reality is, what they're truly trying to understand is your genuine alignment with their firm's specific culture, approach, and strengths. It's not about reciting facts from their website; it's about demonstrating you've gone beyond that and found a personal connection. This is where networking is invaluable. Talk to as many people as you can at each firm, not just about projects, but about what they like about the firm, their team, their mentors, and how their specific firm approaches problems differently.

Once you gather those insights, weave them into your own story. For instance, if you hear that Bain has a particularly strong apprenticeship model, think about how that aligns with your past experiences and career goals ("I thrive in environments with hands-on mentorship, much like my experience leading X project, and I'm drawn to Bain's clear commitment to that structure."). Or if BCG is known for its collaborative, internal-mobility staffing, connect that to a time you sought out diverse teams. It needs to be less about what the firm is, and more about why this firm, specifically, is the right next step for you.

Hope that helps you refine your approach!

Andrea,

Two suggestions

1 Be genuine and yet diplomatic. If you like the firm because it's a big brand and pays well, be honest about that. But present it in a way that is constructive - what does that brand mean for you and what does it give you? 

2 Speak with existing consultants from that firm and get a sense from them as to what makes the firm great. Then you can quote those conversations.

If you're looking into improving your personal fit answers, this guide should come in handy:

• • Video Course: Master the McKinsey PEI

Best,
Cristian