Updated November 2026 · By Dr. Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant BCG is raising entry pay on January 1, 2027. From that date, the US first-year base salary is $120,000 for Associates and $200,000 for Consultants, up $10,000 at both levels. Above them, Project Leaders start at $225,400 and Principals at $268,400. On top of base, every level gets an annual…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated November 2026 A case interview is a job interview, used by consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, in which you solve a realistic business problem out loud while the interviewer scores your structuring, problem-solving, analytics, math, business judgment, and communication. A single case runs about…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated November, 2026 The BCG one-way video interview is a recorded, asynchronous screen, run on the Spark Hire platform, where you answer about three behavioral and motivation questions on camera, roughly three minutes each, with unlimited time to think but effectively one take. You opened an email…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated October 5, 2026 The BCG Pymetrics test is a roughly 25-minute online assessment of 12 short mini-games (now a Harver product) that measure cognitive and behavioral traits like risk tolerance, attention, and memory, not business knowledge. In 2026, BCG still uses it in some offices, but…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated October 2026 The BCG Online Case is a 30-minute, chatbot-led case interview, nicknamed Casey, that you take remotely early in BCG’s process. You answer 8 to 10 questions (multiple choice, open text, a numerical fill-in, and a 1-minute video recommendation), you can use a calculator 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.
