Consulting Q&A - Stelle Fragen rund um Deine Karriere in unserem Consulting-Forum

Hello!

Consulting CVs should be one page, very to the point and summarized.

It´s not common practice to add the reference section, altough it would not harm either, of course.

Once you have it, you can post it here sanitized and ask the community for feedback!

Furthermore, PrepL has very good CV templates you can leverage. Everything here is invented, so best is to leverage resources and employ your time in preparation.

Hope it helps!

Best,

Clara

Dear Mehrasa,

Almost every consultant have a referral program, but they are vey careful with that and wouldn't recommend any person. Your documents needs to be polished and presentable for consulting.

First I would recommend you to build your own network, commucate with people, who potentially may help you and make nice communications with them.

If you need any further help or advice with networking, feel free to reach me out.

Best,
André

Hi there,

In general, after you ask the clarifying questions, you ask for some time to put down a structure and this comes before you get any other question from the interviewer. So yes, you need to be able to propose a MECE approach to the case right after the clarifying question.

I hope this help!

Mehdi

Hi there,

To improve your performance you have to practice more math. Besides the resources mentioned by André and Ian, you can also skim casebooks and do the math part present there with a time constraint.

In general terms I would recommend the following to approach a math problem:

1. Repeat the question – candidates sometimes do mistakes answering the wrong question in the math part
2. Present how you would like to proceed from a theoretical point of view (you may ask for time before presenting if you initially don't know how to approach the problem)
3. Ask for time and perform the first computations
4. Present interim steps to the interviewer to keep him/her aligned – don’t just say the final number
5. Continue with the computations until you find the final answer
6. Propose next steps on the basis of the results you found

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

Final round interviews are similar than the ones of the first round in format. The only minor difference is that Partners tend to give more importance to the fit part, so make sure your personal experience stories are compelling & well-tailored!

All the best,

Mehdi

Hi there,

Referrals only help you secure spot in Round 1. From there, it's only your performance that counts!

Mehdi

I haven't seen any guidelines on this. I my eyes, the best tactic for this would be to develop a hypothesis during the upfront discussion on the case. This does not need to be right at the end of the case.

You then lay out a framework and clearly state your hypothesis inlcuding a fitting cost break down. You can mention that this is what you want to start with, but you could also see other possible break downs if your hypothesis turns out to be wrong.

Usually when you get to that part, the interviewer will either tell you that the break down you have in mind is not avaialble, but they have a different data set - which then allows you to adjust your hypothesis, and also state that explicitly - or they will engage in a brainstorming that will lead you to the right break down naturally. However, this will not be based on a strict if-then-else guideline, but more on your general business judgement.

Hi A,

No, all the companies are still hiring, but their intake is very much reduced.

Best,
André

With these questions, they try to understand where you are and whether the fight for you (if you get an offer) is going to be competitive. This might e.g. affect the efforts they are spending on the conversion. It does not pre-empt any decision on the interview though.

Feel free to tell them openly that you are also involving at the other key consulting firms. They will not take this personal.

Hi there,

Working in an MBB would definitely open doors for you, but you will have to create your own path to land and offer from your target company. For this, I would advise you to do the following:

1. Network with Partners, Principals, Associate Directors who work with clients on these industries
2. Get staffed as much as possible in projects on those industries (even outside of your region, ask for a Cross-Office Staffing to build expertise)
3. Try to work on internal projects to contribute to publications, reasearches on those topics
4. Manifest your interest in those topics publicly (share on LinkedIn articles your firms published on those topics, etc.)

I hope this helps!

Mehdi

60-120 seconds. And you should practice this with a partner that keeps an eye on the time, as it is very difficult to estimate the time under pressure. You eventually need to get to a level of comfort with developing these frameworks that allows you to jot down the 20% of content that drives 80% of the answer reliably in a short time.

Of your max 2 min, spend a minute on the first level (the 3-5 branches). This needs to be MECE for a strong framework. Then the remainding 30-60seconds on just a few bullet points per branch underneath. These are not meant to be MECE, just a few starting points for a more in-depths analysis later.

Hi Anonymous,

The main principle is structuring your answer top-down.

In this case the actual length of your answer becomes even mostly irrelevant, since you can always easily react to your interviewers' implicit signals and stop anytime.

With that top-down approach he still always gets the full picture (as opposed if you would build your answer bottom-up).

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi there,

Just like everyone here, I would recommend you to wait a bit longer until the end of the week. If you do not hear from them by then, you can then send a thank you note for the HR and ask about when you can get updates.

Mehdi

Hi Anonymous,

Latest after 2 weeks it's definitely fair to inquire about your status in a friendly way.

However, I wouldn't email HR - better grab your phone and call them to get an answer!

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi,

For sure, the kind of clients they work with, the kind of work they do, and the salaries and working lives of their employees are all much closer to one another than to other firms.

Location:

However, as with any business, they remain the sum of their individual staff. This being the case, different offices will show some variation in terms of culture, focus, etc..

Skills:

• McKinsey has historically been very strong in strategy, organization and operation work, and has the larger footprint in the Education, Public Sector and Telco space. That said, by virtue of its larger size, McKinsey usually has the deeper roster of client relationships across most industries.
• BCG sells itself as focusing on corporate development, innovation and business growth.
• Bain has the deepest expertise in working with Private Equity funds and other principal investors.

Geography:

McKinsey leads in terms of overall size and reach, with over 9,000 consultants globally. This is followed by BCG, with7,000 consultants, and then Bain, with 4,000 consultants. By virtue of being considerably bigger than BCG or Bain, McKinsey boasts the most diverse footprint and larger office network. This disparity is most strongly felt in emerging markets, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, where McKinsey has built a much stronger local presence than BCG or Bain. Across Europe and North America, the differences are less pronounced, but it's wise to check the office sizes for your desired cities before making decisions (for instance, BCG is particularly strong in some German cities).

Culture:

The organization in McKinsey is a bit more traditional, formal and hierarchal, while BCG is flatter and more collaborative. Bain, on the other hand, is effectively a mix of both McKinsey and BCG, and the employee culture is a bit more "fratty". Of course, the three firms draw from the top schools worldwide - particularly top 10 business schools for their MBA hires - so there is a substantial overlap in the profiles of their hires.

In terms of travel, McKinsey has the most "global" approach. This means it's more likely for consultants from that firm to be staffed in projects based in offices other than their own. This is good if you enjoy the jet set lifestyle and accumulating airmiles - but sub-optimal if you want the stability of staying close to your home country. Regardless of firm, though, most consultants travel for four days a week, so it is simply a part of the job you will have to get used to.

Salaries, Career, and Opportunities:

In contrast to salaries, there are some meaningful differences in exit opportunities between the MBB firms. As the strength of particular firms’ networks vary across different industries, so your chances of breaking into those industries will vary as a result. Bain has the deepest network with PE and hedge funds, while McKinsey has broader connections with most traditional industries and public sector organizations.

Hi Joe,

It depends on the office. I am helping right now MBAs with interviews with MBB in the US, China and Malaysia.

In any case, recruiting is still affected by the COVID.

Best,
Francesco