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 consulting application process is highly competitive, especially for positions at top-tier firms, requiring meticulous preparation and strategy. Only 1% of top-tier consulting applicants make it through the MBB application funnel, 75% of which are already rejected at the screening stage. Getting into McKinsey, BCG, and Bain is not an easy task. The same applies…
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A consulting firm partner invited you for a coffee chat? Amazing! In this article, we show you how to make the most of this opportunity! What is a consulting coffee chat? A coffee chat is an informal meeting with someone in a consulting firm of your choice who can provide insights and advice on your…
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Securing a consulting referral is a crucial step in your application journey with McKinsey, BCG, and Bain (MBB). Candidates, who are referred are usually on top of the pile for recruiters and have a higher chance to make it to the next stage of the application process, such as the aptitude tests, or case interviews.…
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Crafting an exceptional consulting cover letter can significantly elevate your application in the highly competitive consulting industry. Statistics reveal a startling reality: only about 1-3% of applicants secure an offer from top-tier consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. This underscores the crucial role of a solid consulting job application strategy, particularly the cover letter…
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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.
