Case Interview Hub Blog

McKinsey says no prep is needed for the Solve Game. Roughly 80% of candidates fail. Former McKinsey interviewers on what's actually in the 2026 assessment — Redrock, Sea Wolf, Sustainable Futures Lab — and a 20-hour plan that passes.

Can you prep for MBB case interviews without a partner and still get the offer? In short — yes, with caveats. Former McKinsey interviewers on what solo prep can build, what it can't, and a 60-hour curriculum that gets you interview-ready.

In 1926, an accounting professor started a firm. 100 years later, it designed the White House, invented the barcode, produced 70 Fortune 500 CEOs — and paid $1 billion for the opioid crisis. Former McKinsey consultants tell the full story.

Two candidates. Same university, same GPA, same case. One gets the offer, the other doesn't. Former McKinsey interviewers who scored hundreds of cases reveal the 7 patterns that separate a hire from a reject — often within the first five minutes.

How do you actually get into McKinsey, BCG, or Bain? Former McKinsey interviewers break down the full process — from CV screening to problem solving games to the final case interviews — and explain what each firm's process looks like step by step.

Fancy templates, generic buzzwords, and the completeness trap — these three CV mistakes get more candidates rejected at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain than anything else. Former McKinsey interviewers explain what goes wrong and how to fix it fast.

80% of candidates never make it past the CV screening at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. Former McKinsey consultants and interviewers break down the four-section structure, the impact-focused writing method, and the mistakes that get you rejected instantly.

How much does it actually cost to hire McKinsey, BCG, or Bain? Former McKinsey consultants break down the three fee models, actual per-diem rates by seniority level, and what a typical 8-week MBB project costs — with numbers from real proposals.

GenZ demands work-life balance, flexible hours, and meaningful work. Consulting demands 12-hour days, all-nighters, and results for $150K a week. Former McKinsey consultants break down where the cultures clash — and whether it can actually work.

Is a career at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain still worth it? Former McKinsey consultants break down the financial and non-financial benefits, the real downsides, and exit opportunities — so you can decide for yourself whether MBB consulting is the right move.

How can a 22-year-old advise Fortune 500 CEOs? Short answer: they don't — at least not alone. Former McKinsey consultants walk through what a typical week actually looks like, from Monday morning check-ins to Thursday evening flights home.

The McKinsey PEI gives you one question and 20 minutes to answer it. Most candidates aren't ready for that. Former McKinsey interviewers break down the 7 qualities being tested, the three types of questions, and how to build stories that stick.

You exited consulting for a better lifestyle. But nobody warned you about the freeloaders, the slow pace, the corporate politics, and the disappearing support systems. Former McKinsey consultants share the 6 things that hit hardest after leaving MBB.

How many hours do MBB consultants actually work? We break down three real sample weeks — a great week (54 hours), a typical week (67 hours), and a week from hell (100 hours) — plus the drivers and red flags that determine which one you get.

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 much do consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain actually earn? We break down salaries from fresh business analyst to senior partner — in both the US and Germany — and explain the "MBB salary trap" that makes it so hard to leave consulting.

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.

MECE is a core concept in strategy consulting and especially McKinsey, BCG, and Bain put an emphasize on structure, especially when it comes to the case interview. MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive. Mutually exclusive means that individual components are not overlapping. Collectively exhaustive menas that the components taken together cover the entire problem. When preparing for case interviews it is essential to understand and apply the MECE principl