Updated May 6, 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant Most candidates treat Oliver Wyman as the “safety” firm if McKinsey, BCG, or Bain don’t work out. That framing costs them the offer. Oliver Wyman runs the highest quantitative bar of any major consulting firm, and its financial services practice serves roughly 80%…
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Bain & Company runs about 65 offices across 40 countries — the smallest footprint in MBB by design. Bain has historically prioritized fewer, denser offices over the McKinsey-style global expansion, and the firm’s culture, recruiting, and client work reflect that choice. Office identity matters more at Bain than at any other top-tier firm. Most candidates…
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BCG operates more than 100 offices in over 50 countries, and unlike its competitors, the firm has a clear cultural anchor: Boston, where Bruce Henderson founded the firm in 1963. That heritage still shows up in how BCG hires, where it concentrates its strongest practices, and which offices punch above their weight. Most candidates pick…
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By Dr. Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated October 5, 2026 Apply to McKinsey offices where your profile is scarce, not the one with the best skyline. McKinsey has offices in 130+ cities in 65+ countries, and every one of them hires against the same standard. What differs is how many people compete for each…
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Updated October 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The best free MBA casebooks for case interview practice in 2026 are the Yale Graduate Consulting Club 2024, MIT Sloan 2020, and Kellogg 2020 casebooks — but only 16 of the 47 casebooks circulating online are worth deep practice. The rest are outdated, repetitive,…
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Florian spent five years at McKinsey as a Senior Consultant and is a highly experienced consulting interviewer and problem-solving coach. Having conducted interviews with hundreds of candidates, he understands exactly what top-tier firms look for in successful applicants.
He founded StrategyCase.com to make top consulting careers more accessible by providing tailored, up-to-date insights into the recruiting process. Recognized as the most successful case and fit interview coach, Florian has helped his clients secure 700+ offers at MBB, Tier-2 firms, Big 4 consulting divisions, in-house consultancies, and boutique firms over the past four years.
He is the author of “The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview,” “The 1%: Case Interview Workbook,” and “Consulting Career Secrets”, all available on Amazon.
