Case Interview Hub Blog

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

To pass the McKinsey interview it is important to properly prepare for it. It is essential to know that the McKinsey case interview is interviewer-led and not interviewee-led. Additionally, it is crucial to prepare with authentic cases. There are many outdated materials floating around online with cases that are far from what you see in your actual McKinsey interview. Morever, memorizing 100s of frameworks is not the way t ogo. Instead it is crucial to be able to structure ca

McKinsey is known for the difficult case interviews but little is known about the evaluation scheme. The 3 dimensions analytical, conceptual, and quantitative thinking are tested in the case interview and the candidate is rated on a 4 point scale. To actually pass the interview, the candidate needs to show extraordinary performance in some areas. This is what McKinsey calls a "spike"

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.

The exit opportunities at the MBB firms (McKinsey, BCG & Bain) but also at Tier 2 firms (Strategy&, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D Little) are endless. The most common exit is definitely to corporates - especially to former clients. It makes perfect sense for clients to hire a consultant they worked with in the past as they have proof of their work. Other very common exits are to Private Equity and to start-ups. But there are also uncommon routes like politics or straight into retire

McKinsey, BCG, and Bain are notorious for the up-or-out principle. So the fact that people get fired if they don't progress in the career ladder. In reality, most people leave consulting on their own terms and only a minority is getting laid-off. So the up-or-out principle is a thing but it is rarely executed.