Updated May 12, 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant Strong MBB-prepped candidates fail at L.E.K. with surprising frequency. Not because the firm is harder than MBB — the bars are different but comparable — but because L.E.K. tests for a specific mindset that doesn’t show up automatically in candidates trained for general…
Read more
The Kearney application funnel runs four stages and rejects somewhere between 95% and 98% of applicants depending on the office. Most candidates fixate on the case interview because that’s the most-discussed stage. The honest reality: the case interview rejects fewer candidates than the application screen and the Kearney Recruitment Test combined. Most rejections happen before…
Read more
Updated May 6, 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The Oliver Wyman application process averages one month from submission to offer, per Glassdoor-reported data. It includes four steps: CV plus cover letter submission, online numerical assessment, first-round interviews, and final-round Super Day. The single largest source of preventable rejections is the numerical…
Read more
Physicians are one of the highest-demand applicant pools at MBB. Healthcare is one of the largest practice areas at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain: payers, providers, pharma, and medtech together account for hundreds of engagements at each firm. Doctor to consulting transitions out of clinical practice walk into a recruiting environment that’s actively trying to find…
Read more
Moving from military to consulting is not uncommon. Military officers are the only candidate group with a fully-funded 10-week internship at all three MBB firms. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain each run a SkillBridge program, paid by the Department of Defense, structured as a real consulting engagement, and historically converting most participants into full-time offers. McKinsey’s…
Read more
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.
