McKinsey, BCG or Bain?

All MBB have broad practices. Some have a particularly strong reputation.

McKinsey: government, infrastructuree, technology/tech, healthcare, and education sector.

Bain: PE, finance, LBO, media/entertainment

BCG: consumer, financial services, government

Hey Anonymous B,

a certain element of this is luck, of course.

But networking and recruiting events really help. Also during the recruiting day, there is a reason why you meet a bunch of different interviewers - this is also for you to get a feel for the company.

At my old firm there were always a couple of juniors that joined the lunch break to mingle and ease the tension for the interviewees. They were not part of the "official" recruiting team, so the conversations with them were a bit more "off the record".

Also, most consulting firms offer recruiting events that go on for two or three days to even a week. During those you can definitely get a good feel for the company.

And last, but not least, there's a good old thing called the internet. There's so many forums and places like prep lounge etc.. After a bit of time you see some general patterns emerging - Roland Berger being tougher, McKinsey being a bit nerdier etc.. Of course don't take that information as gospel, but it gives some good indications what to check out during an interview.

Cheers,

Elias

Try to network with as much companies/consultants as possible via On-/Off-Campus Events, workshops, personal contacts etc.

You´ll fastly recognize that there might be (sometimes small) differences between the companies regarding the people working there and company culture.

However, sometimes the stereotypical consultant varies within one company even from practice group to practice group (e.g. the Restructuring/Corporate Finance competence center of Roland Berger is often said to be different from the others)

I would maybe add that it also depends a little bit on the country: Bain for example is relatively small in Germany, compared to their presence in the US. Here McK and BCG might have an edge in terms of local resources.

But I fully concur that in the end it's the people that count.

I networked with a lot of the MBB's and they ultimately said the same thing about why they choose their respective firms - the people. At the end of the day, the MBB does the same thing, they consult. I would say the MBB all consult in similar functions and they aren't better than the other in the industries.

Thank you very much guys! Great how you share your knowledge with us!

Hello, thank you for your response! So if it's the people that make the difference, how can I estimate the compatibility of each companies' people with myself?^^ So basically it's just pure luck right? ;)