Case Interview Hub Blog

Job cuts, beached consultants, delayed promotions. The consulting industry has been in a slump since 2023 — and 2025 brought a fresh wave of layoffs. Former McKinsey consultants explain what's really going on at MBB and whether consulting is dying.

How do you actually get staffed on projects at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain? We break down the official models, the four factors that really determine where you end up, the "staffing black market" nobody talks about, and how it all changes as you get more senior.

Lilli is the proprietary GenAI tool of McKinsey. Lilli has the ability to access McKinseys "KNOW" database. "KNOW" is McKinsey's knowledge database where all the knowledge from years of projects work is cofidied and classified in an easily accessible way for McKinsey consultants. Lilli has direct access to the "KNOW" database and thus can access all the project knowledge of McKinsey. It makes it a lot easier for consultants to draft quick letters of proporsal or structure a p

People often think that the lifestyle of strategy consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain is glamorous. But is this really the case? The truth is that a lot of the glamorous elements of the job become tedious very soon. Flying business class and staying in 5 star hotels is nice. But doing this every week becomes tedious very soon because you spend half of your life in hotel rooms and in transit.

How does GenZ entering the workforce change consulting? McKinsey, BCG, and Bain are known for thier challenging work environment. From travelling weekly to the client to working long hours, often past midnight, every day. Do the MBB firms change because GenZ prefers a better lifestyle? We believe not as consultants are driven by clients. A consultant will not hire an expensive strategy consulting firm like McKinsey to have the consultants only work from 9 to 5.

Many people wonder what the difference in corporate culture at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. There are many wild claims out there that each MBB firm hires specific types of people. Or that they uses certain approaches unique to their: for example BCG uses adaptive problem solving and McKinsey is more structured. But this is all nonsense. In reality, the culture at McKinsey, BCG and Bain is very similar. This is driven by the fact that the MBB firms serve teh same clients and hire t

Regular trianing is a staple at McKinsey especially in the first year on the job. McKinsey offers many world-class trianing programs with the goal of speeding up the development of the juniors. Besides the mandatory training in the first year, there are many optional offerings like excel and powerpoint training. But there are also offerings to develop soft skills like team room presence and giving & getting feedback.

McKinsey, BCG, and Bain all hold many recruiting events. Many students and young professionals attending these events wonder whether they are evaluated. And the short answer is: Yes! But no worries, the large events will not be evaluated. But the small events with prior CV screening are evaluated. So make sure you make a good impression as your performance in the event will decide whether you will be invited to join one of the talent programs. For example McKinsey Firsthand o