By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 15, 2026 Your heart is pounding, your mind goes blank mid-case, and you are convinced that one nervous moment just cost you the McKinsey offer. Case interview stress is the quiet reason strong candidates underperform, and the 1-in-100 odds make every wobble feel fatal. Here…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant. Updated July 8, 2026. Case interview note-taking is an important skill to master as it directly influences your ability to think and structure. For most candidates, they turn into a scribbled mess that slows them down and breaks their train of thought halfway through the case. Interviewers never…
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Accenture, a leading global professional services firm, has announced plans to cut approximately 19,000 jobs over the next 18 months, citing rising costs and an uncertain economic outlook. This is the largest cut seen across the consulting sector, and it is expected to hit about 2.6% of Accenture’s 738,000 staff, who provide consultancy and outsourcing…
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Updated June 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The McKinsey Solve Red Rock Game is a 35-minute digital assessment that tests how you collect, filter, and analyze data under time pressure. It replaced the old Problem Solving Test and now sits as the first game in McKinsey’s Solve suite. Most candidates fail…
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Updated July 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The MBB consulting ban period (also called the “cool-off period” or “reapplication policy”) is the time you must wait after a rejection before applying again to the same firm. McKinsey enforces a 18-24-month ban. BCG enforces 12 months for undergraduate / Master’s candidates and…
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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.
