Author: Florian Smeritschnig

the image is the cover for an article about entering consulting with a non traditional background

Non-Traditional Background Consulting: How to Get In (2026 Guide)

Updated May 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant Roughly half of consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain don’t have a business or finance background. Engineers, lawyers, doctors, military officers, and academics together make up the majority of MBB hires once you set MBA recruiting aside. Firms aren’t reluctantly accepting non-traditional candidates —…
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the image is the cover for an article on the 80/20 rule in consulting

80/20 Rule in Consulting: How MBB Uses Pareto (2026)

Updated May 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The 80/20 rule in consulting means roughly 80% of business impact comes from 20% of the available actions, so consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain deliberately concentrate their analysis, recommendations, and client effort on the highest-impact 20% rather than analyzing everything. In practice, this…
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Market Sizing Case Interview: How to Ace Them in 2026

Updated June 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant A market sizing case interview asks you to estimate the size of a market, like the number of pizzas sold in the US each year or the annual revenue of EV charging in Germany, with no data and no calculator. You are scored on…
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the image is the cover for an article on mckinsey's alumni network

The Strength of McKinsey’s Alumni Network

All major consulting firms such as McKinsey, BCG, and Bain are making significant efforts to build and hone their alumni networks. Why? Before answering this question, I first want to address what an alumni network is. An alumni network of a consulting firm is a group of individuals who have previously worked at the consulting…
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the image is a cover for an article on the war for talent in consulting firms such as mckinsey bcg and bain

The War for Talent in Consulting: Trends & Implications

The war for talent in consulting refers to the intense competition among consulting firms to attract and retain the best employees. This competition is driven by the high demand for consulting services and the limited pool of qualified candidates. Only 1% of consulting applicants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain make it through the whole process…
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