MBB Background Check

background check MBB
New answer on Jan 29, 2022
8 Answers
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Ella asked on Oct 21, 2020

I was just wondering what the process of an MBB background check is?

How far do they go into employment/educational history etc?

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Udayan
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updated an answer on Oct 21, 2020
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

What exactly are you worried about? It would be easier to answer that

They do a background check as far as I am aware and they check the following

Education

  • Your college(s)
  • Graduation date
  • GPA as indicated on your transcript
  • Major as indicated on your transcript

Note that you will have to provide a transcript to them

Work Experience

  • Name of company you worked at
  • Start data
  • End date
  • Your title when there

Best,

Udayan

(edited)

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Ella on Oct 21, 2020

Thank you for the reply, Udayan! This clarification is really helpful. It was mainly out of curiosity, but I suppose I'm considering my A-Level/high-school grades. I got a D in my AS-Level Mathematics course (due to extenuating circumstances) and I have historically left it off my CV. Do you think this will be a problem?

Udayan on Oct 21, 2020

Nope not at all you will be fine

Anonymous A on Oct 22, 2020

Hi Udayan, they have collected my trancipt when I applied to the role. Do I still need to submit one transcript after I got in? Thanks.

Udayan on Oct 22, 2020

It depends - if you submitted a transcript before graduating then usually you have to submit one post graduation as well for verification. If not then you should be fine

Mehdi
Expert
replied on Oct 21, 2020
BCG | Received offers from all MBB & Tier 1Firms | Supporting you secure your top tier consulting offer

Hi Ella,

This depends on the office you are applying to. I know some offices check the following:

  • Academic background: degrees, grades, etc.
  • Professional experience: full-time jobs, internships, etc.
  • Gaps on your CV: you might be asked to justify any gap exceeding 2 months on your CV
  • Criminal records: to see if you were convicted of a crime, but this does not apply to all countries
  • ...

The details of the background checks vary from a company to another one and from an office to another one. Some conduct extensive background checks, others have a light one, and finally some do not conduct anyone.

I hope this helps!

Mehdi

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Ella on Oct 22, 2020

Thank you for all this information Mehdi!

Ken
Expert
replied on Oct 21, 2020
Ex-McKinsey final round interviewer | Executive Coach

For McKinsey London, I'm not aware of an official process unless there are signs of concerns with a certain candidate. When joining, they may ask for a copy of your university degree for admin purposes but that's about it.

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Ella on Oct 21, 2020

Thank you for your answer, Ken!

Robert
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Content Creator
replied on Oct 22, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Ella,

At McKinsey there is no global uniform procedure on that - basically it varies by geographical region (unless there is reasonable doubt about something - then they will always check).

Basically you can think of it as verification of your academic and professional track record, checking the facts (from a legal perspective your former employers are also not inclined to tell a lot anyway, so there is no point in asking about subject-matter details).

Unless you obviously mis-represented something on your documents, nothing to worry about - more or less just standard procedure!

Hope this helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the upvote button below!

Robert

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Ella on Oct 22, 2020

Thank you, Robert! This information is a huge help. I haven't mis-represented anything on my CV, but I have left off an A-Level D grade (due to extenuating circumstances) and I'm slightly worried it will have a negative impact on my application having left it off my CV.

Clara
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Content Creator
replied on Jan 29, 2022
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Background checks are nothing to be worried about, as long as you haven´t lied (e.g., saying that you graduated from Uni X when you didn´t, or that you worked in Company Y 2 years instead of 6 months). Minor things, such as 1 month differences, etc. don´t matter. 

Most of the times, they are done by 3rd party companies to which the job is externalized. If they find any discrepancy, they contact you first and clarify it with you. 

For instance, with the MIT background check I had the issue that the external name of my Amazon job is not the same as the one Amazon uses internally -and that was the name given in the certificated that Amazon gives oficially-. It was easily solved by an HR doc that explained that both were the same thing. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

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Pedro
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replied on Dec 31, 2021
30% off in March 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

They will check if you worked where you say you did, during which dates, and possibly job title/rank. 

They will confirm your university attendance years, graduation year, and specific degree. Possibly grades.

That's it. Nothing else.

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Gaurav
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Content Creator
replied on Nov 05, 2020
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

Hi Ella,

The purpose of background check is to verify that companies and schools you have mentioned in yor CV is really true.

Do you have any further questions?

GB

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Ian
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replied on Oct 23, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi Ella,

If you're stressed I would encourage you not to be!

Background checks are basically to ensure that you are who you say you are.

Meaning, are your grades what you said they were? Did you really go to x school or work at x company? They essentially cross check your records with the databases of the various institutions in which you've been involved.

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Udayan gave the best answer

Udayan

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Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience
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