Updated October 2026. By Dr. Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant A Bain internship usually means one of two paid programs: the Associate Consultant Internship (ACI) for bachelor’s and master’s students, or the Summer Associate program for MBA students. The ACI is for students with one summer left before graduation. In the US, Bain pays ACIs a…
Read more
Updated October 2026. By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant The BCG online assessment is whichever screening test your BCG office places between your application and your first interview. In the US, that means the Consulting Career Assessment (CCA) plus a 35-minute online case. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, it’s a 30-minute cognitive test with no…
Read more
Updated September 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant A consulting resume template for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain is a one-page, single-column document with six fixed sections: header, education, professional experience, leadership, skills, and one optional personal line. Every bullet on it follows the same pattern: action verb, what you did, quantified result. That structure…
Read more
Updated September 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant McKinsey vs BCG vs Bain. They pay within a rounding error of each other, recruit from the same schools, and open nearly identical doors. Pick McKinsey for brand and global staffing, BCG for AI and technology work, and Bain for team culture and private equity…
Read more
By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated September 2026 To become a management consultant, you need a university degree, relevant work experience, strong analytical skills, and the ability to solve a business problem out loud in a case interview. No license and no certification are required. The degree gets your resume screened. The interview…
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.
