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Is it easy to get an offer from McKinsey after short experience at ATK

Hi,

I'm an experienced hire. I spent 10 years in the industry with good career progress. I applied recently to MBB and few tier-2 consulting firms. I didn't manage to get to MBB but I got an offer from ATK (which seems to me like a very good firm). My n 1 goal is to end up in McKinsey. Does it make sense for me to start at ATK and retry McK in 1 or 2 years?

A bit more of a context: all MBB feedbacks were very positive. I failed in calculations (but surprisingly I got more "lucky" at ATK, probably as I was less stressed). MBB told me to better prepare case interviews maths and apply again in 1 year. I'm just wondering if it makes more sense to keep working (progressing and earning more money) in my industry one more year and try again? or take ATK offer and apply again to MBB in 1 or 2 years?

Thanks

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Top answer
Deniz
Coach
on Jun 18, 2019
5+ Years at BCG & Kearney Dubai & Istanbul | 600+ Trainees | 900K+ YouTube Views

Hi,

I have gone through the same situation about 5 years ago. It took me quite a few application rounds (three years) to get an offer from BCG. 

When I first applied during my third (last) year at uni, I wasn't even invited for an interview. Thus, I decided to do an internship at ATK over summer. 

During my masters, I applied for MBB again, and because of my relevant internship experience, I was invited to interview with McK and BCG. I reached the final round, yet could not get a job offer. Thus, I decided to take the full-time offer from ATK instead.

During 5 months, I was able to build my case around how much I enjoy consulting, and that I want to work for high profile clients and projects. And this time, I applied and was able to get an offer from BCG. 

I would highly advise you to take the offer from ATK, where you will learn the foundations of consulting. And if you desire to try again for MBB, you could try after 1 year or so. 

Best of luck!

Deniz

Deleted
Coach
on Jun 02, 2019
I will get you an offer|McKinsey Senior EM|Offers from MBB|100+ interviews at McKinsey|Recruiting Lead|Experienced hire

Hi,

I like the idea of venturing with ATK. But, I would go there with an open mind and not pre-decide that you will leave in 1-2 years. ATK is a great place and you might like the people/opportunities there. And after 1-2 years, if you still want to explore McKinsey, that option is always there. 

While you're at ATK, do what you're most passionate about and do it well. Getting great ratings and a couple of great projects under your belt can go a long way in your McKinsey interviews, if you decide to go that route.

Hope this helps!

Nirmit

Ian
Coach
on Jun 01, 2019
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi,

I don't love the word "easy" that you used. It will never be easy, even if you've flown a mission to the moon and back. ATK will, no doubt, help your odds. If you're serious about MBB, it's not a bad idea to get consulting experience for a couple of years, which you cna leverage in your future interview story to say "Hey, I've done this, and I know that 1) I like it and 2) You won't have to train me as much"

Good luck with your decision!

Vlad
Coach
on May 31, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Answering your main question - it's never easy:)

But you should go for ATK offer and then try again in one year. Why not?

Best

on Jun 04, 2019
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Anonymous,

landing an offer from McK is never easy but since you are coming from an industry role, ATK would definitely make sense as a choice at this stage:

  1. It would help to familiarize with the consulting world. You would be a lot more prepared to work in projects so far that you then manage to join MBB
  2. It would confirm to MBB you are committed to consulting. You would sound a lot more a “safe bet” and decrease the risk you would run away from consulting after few months.
  3. It would offer a good backup option in case MBB doesn’t work out. ATK is a solid second tier firm and offers good exit opportunities as well, although not as good as MBB.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Serhat
Coach
on May 31, 2019
BCG | Kellogg MBA |82% Success rate| 450+ case interview| 5+ year consulting | 30+ projects in ~10 countries

If you are targeting to end up at MBB, I assume that you want to do consulting. There are a lot of other factors like where are you currently working, what opportunities you have etc. but without considering those factors, it might be logical to start at consulting and try MBB again.

Cheers

Serhat

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