By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 A written case interview hands you a thick pack of data — 20 to 50 slides — and roughly one to two hours to analyze it, answer several questions, and turn it into a short, defensible slide deck, which you then present and defend.…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant. Updated June 23, 2026. Ask anyone to name the top consulting firms and you get the same three back: McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. Yet most candidates cannot say what truly separates them, and that gap shows up in their applications and their interview answers. The Big 3 consulting…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 The McKinsey PEI (Personal Experience Interview) is the behavioral half of the McKinsey interview, and it counts for as much as the case. Most candidates spend 95% of their prep on the case and treat the PEI as an afterthought. That is exactly why…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 The SCORE framework is a five-step method for answering behavioral interview questions: Situation, Complication, Outcome expectation, Remedial action, End result. I developed it for the candidates I coach because the standard advice, STAR, kept producing the same flat answers: a situation, a task, some…
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Updated July 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant A consulting resume is a one-page, single-column document that proves three things McKinsey, BCG, and Bain screen for in under 10 seconds: structured problem-solving, leadership, and quantified impact. The screener reads the top third of the page first, looks for measurable results, and cuts…
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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.
