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…
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Moving as a lawyer to consulting is not as common but easily possible if approached well. Lawyers are one of the cleanest fits on paper for management consulting. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain all have formal pipelines that recruit JDs alongside MDs and PhDs as Advanced Professional Degree candidates. For instance, roughly 30% of new McKinsey…
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Ex-bankers are a large experienced-hire pool at MBB. Roughly 15-20% of Bain’s experienced hires come from finance and banking, so the move from investment banking to consulting is not rare. McKinsey and BCG run similar numbers. The transition is well-trodden. Every senior partner in a Strategy & Corporate Finance practice can name half a dozen…
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Moving as engineer to consulting happens more often than people think. In fact, engineers are one of the largest non-MBA talent pools at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. Roughly 1 in 5 incoming MBB consultants holds an engineering degree. So if you’re reading this with an engineering or software development background, you’re not the underdog. You’re…
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Last Updated on June 30, 2026, Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Consultant A competitive strategy case interview (also called a competitive response case) tests your ability to determine how a company should react to changes in its competitive environment. Typical prompts include: At first glance, these look like a defined “case type.” They are not. Competitive…
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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.
