By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant. Updated July 2026. The future of consulting is a shift in how the industry operates, not whether it exists. Under AI and client pressure, firms move to smaller and faster teams, value-based rather than hourly pricing, fewer entry-level hires, and a growing line of AI-strategy work. The core…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 15, 2026 Of the three MBB firms, Bain weighs personal fit the hardest, and candidates who treat the conversation as a warm-up walk out wondering why a clean case still got a ding. The Bain fit interview is the behavioral part of each live interview,…
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Updated May 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant MBB salaries in 2026 are remarkably similar across the three firms: a first-year undergraduate hire at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain in the US earns approximately $140,000 total compensation, climbing to $230K-$245K as a post-MBA Associate/Consultant, $280K-$290K as an Engagement Manager / Project Leader /…
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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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Updated July 2026 by Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant. At the case interview stage, roughly 10 to 15% of candidates who reach a McKinsey, BCG, or Bain interview walk away with an offer. Zoom out to everyone who applies, and the overall case interview success rate at MBB falls below 1%. Tier-2 firms 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.
