McKinsey & Company is the oldest and most renowned management consultancy in the world. It has a broad network that can encourage entrepreneurship and offer more opportunities. In this article, we will explore the top 10 reasons to work at McKinsey, as well as the 6 reasons not to. McKinsey consultants are known for their hard work, both in terms of number of hours and intensity.
Working with McKinsey can be challenging, both emotionally, mentally and sometimes even physically. However, overcoming these difficult moments will ultimately make you a stronger person and an experienced professional. The variety of problem types, sectors and functional areas available in all contracts also provides great personal growth when it comes to developing and improving your business acumen. Working with McKinsey will also give you a great boost in terms of recognition.
Having the name McKinsey on your resume shows that you are intelligent, that you can work hard and that you have worked on challenging projects for leading organizations in the industry. This makes you an attractive candidate for many corporate opportunities when you decide to leave the Firm to take the next step in your career. McKinsey consultants are known to be among the hardest working in the consulting industry, so if you're looking for a quiet 40-hour workweek without working on the weekends, McKinsey isn't for you. After your first hires, you will begin to understand the predictive flow of a project and when additional effort will need to be made (e.g.
deadlines). However, in addition to these expected deadlines, McKinsey teams work diligently for their clients and are always “available” when new challenges and questions arise. It can be difficult to protect time during the workweek and even on weekends. When asked “Why do consulting?”, the interviewer can get an idea of whether you are dedicated to long-term consulting or simply to put a stamp on your resume and then turn the brand into another job after two years.
There are many ways to answer this question depending on your particular situation, but here are a few: indicate three reasons why you want to pursue a career in a consulting firm; use some personal reasoning such as your experience working with client-side consultants; talk about McKinsey consultants with whom you've had good conversations; explain how consulting provides a way to get more exposure to business experiences that have been stimulating; or mention how McKinsey's extensive functional experience helps them resolve many types of customer problems quickly and efficiently. When asked “Why interview McKinsey?”, it's important to really think about a narrative that can explain your career so far, as well as your decision to dedicate yourself to consulting and a specific company. This is because consultants often enjoy impressive exit opportunities thanks to industry prestige, diverse experiences, and high-quality alumni networks. Compared to other high-earning careers, management consulting offers a more reasonable work-life balance. But no company is perfect, right? So why does everyone want to work at McKinsey? Why is it the gold standard for consulting firms? MBB consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG and Bain) are the three most prestigious firms in the management consulting industry. They have the largest revenue and number of employees (although the consulting divisions of the big 4 accounting firms are larger).
McKinsey consultants adhere to a certain way of thinking and communication style, and you are expected to assimilate to the culture. The firm's consultants solve difficult business problems for their clients which is at the core of their business. In addition to excellent remuneration and great reputation, management consulting is especially attractive because of rapid, high-level and comprehensive personal development that lasts a lifetime.
