Updated May 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The MBB consulting ban period (also called the “cool-off period” or “reapplication policy”) is the time you must wait after a rejection before applying again to the same firm. McKinsey enforces a 18-24-month ban. BCG enforces 12 months for undergraduate / Master’s candidates and…
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The Kearney Recruitment Test is a typical consulting aptitude test, combining numerical, verbal, and other case skill assessments for you to pass if you want to work for Kearney. It is employed in a similar way as the McKinsey Problem Solving Game, the BCG Online and Chatbot Case / BCG Pymetrics / BCG Cognitive Test or the Bain SOVA / TestGorilla and…
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The Bain SOVA Test is one hurdle to pass if you want to work for Bain & Company. Bain has partnered with SOVA, a UK-based provider of aptitude tests to add an element to their recruiting process. Depending on the office it can be either a gatekeeper between application screening and the case interviews or is used in…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 16, 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…
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The BCG Pymetrics Test is an online assessment employed by BCG and developed by Pymetrics. It is used to evaluate potential consultants in their recruiting process. With the introduction of this game, BCG is in good company. A few years ago, rival firm McKinsey officially launched its McKinsey Problem Solving Game, a fully digital initial…
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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.
