Management consultants are paid so much because they sell scarce, elite talent to solve problems worth far more than their fees. Firms price to the value they create, not the hours they work, and only about 1 in 100 applicants survives the hiring filter. I spent five years at McKinsey as a Senior Consultant, and…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant. Updated September 2026. Will AI replace junior consultants? No, not the role, but yes, much of the old entry-level task list. AI handles the research, data work, and slide drafting that once filled a junior’s first year and built their judgment. Firms still hire juniors, but they expect…
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Updated October 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant If you have a McKinsey final round coming up, you have probably seen the headlines. McKinsey is adding an AI interview, and half the internet is telling you to drop everything and learn prompt engineering. That advice is mostly wrong, and following it can…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated July 2026 Case interview success is not decided by how many hours you log or how many cases you grind. It is decided by how you prepare and how you think. Every recruiting season, two candidates put in identical hours, read the same books, and run…
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The best case interview books for 2026 are The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview (modern theory) and The 1%: Case Interview Workbook (realistic practice cases). Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng remains a useful starter, while Case in Point by Marc Cosentino is the book I’d actively warn you away from. Its framework recitation…
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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.
