Avoid these mistakes when applying at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain

There are a million ways you can screw up your application to McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. Below are the most common we have seen, screening 100s of cover letters and resumes in McKinsey and afterward.

Please don’t repeat them. 🙂

Preparing your McKinsey, BCG, or Bain application documents

• Missing or faulty contact information such as phone number, email address, and potentially LinkedIn profile. Make sure it’s there and accurate.
• Phony spelling and grammar. Triple check everything as the resume/CV is your most valuable business card. Let a friend or the university career center read through it thoroughly.
• Outdated documents. Make sure the information provided in your application documents is current. Explain gaps in your resume/CV.
• Lack of highlights relevant to the position in the resume/ CV. List what targets you hit and what you achieved (ideally in some quantifiable manner).
• Applying with the wrong profile. You need to have the right profile to apply in the first place. This includes top grades, degrees from reputable universities, relevant work experience, international experience, and extra-curricular activities. If you don’t list them on your applications, chances are high, the automated system will put you on the rejected pile right away. It is very important that your CV shows a clear progression of responsibility and experience.
• Weak wording. You want to demonstrate your skills that would benefit the role you are applying for. Use action words to describe your tasks such as managing, leading, implementing, improving, decreasing, etc. Demonstrate both your people skills as well as hard skills. Show progress, promotion, and increased responsibility and initiative.
• Resumes/ CVs with a lack of formatting and/ or reverse chronological structure. Demonstrate your structured approach to everything!
• The resume/ CV is longer than two pages. Ideally, try to stick to one page but never ever go over two pages (unless you are a researcher with a long list of publications applying for some specific consulting research position). Consultants love concise and precise information. Make sure to double-check for unnecessary or redundant information. Stick to the three most important items per experience in your resume/ CV. Tell a concise story in your cover letter
• ‘Tweaking’ the odds. Stick to information that you can actually prove with supporting materials. Also, don’t list golfing as your new favorite hobby if you have never swung a club.
• The cover letter is a replication of the resume/ CV. Don’t just put the resume/CV items in longer sentences. Leverage the space you have in the cover letter to demonstrate that you are the right candidate based on certain experiences and skills referencing to the resume/CV.
• Use of empty phrases. Never just use phrases such as ‘quick-learner’ or ‘team-oriented’ without substantiating them with proof of experience.

Get the help you need to transform your consulting application into success.

Sending your application

• Applications sent as a mass (in bcc) to a number of different firms and recruiters. Make sure to tailor the documents as well as the email to each firm individually.
• Applications sent out for multiple positions within the same firm or for roles above your profile. Choose one and describe why you would be best suited for this position.
• Lack of formalities and niceties such as missing the salutatory address. Introduce yourself and let the interviewer know the purpose of the email or application.
• Sending .doc files. Make sure to convert your documents to PDF before sending.

How we can help you score a job in top-tier consulting

We have specialized in placing people from all walks of life with different backgrounds into top consulting firms both as generalist hires as well as specialized hires and experts. As former McKinsey consultants and interview experts, we help you by

• tailoring your resume and cover letter to meet consulting firms’ highest standards
• showing you how to pass the different online assessments and tests for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain
• showing you how to ace McKinsey interviews and the PEI with our video academy
• coaching you in our 1-on-1 sessions to become an excellent case solver and impress with your fit answers (90% success rate after 5 sessions)
• preparing your math to be bulletproof for every case interview
• helping you structure creative and complex case interviews
• teaching you how to interpret charts and exhibits like a consultant
• providing you with cheat sheets and overviews for 27 industries.

Reach out to us if you have any questions! We are happy to help and offer a tailored program to help you break into consulting.