r/MBBConsulting

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in a chemistry background (still in college), but I’ve recently gotten really interested in strategy consulting and commercial due diligence. Not gonna lie, I didn’t even know this field existed properly until a few weeks ago, and now I’m kind of hooked on it. But I’m a bit stuck/confused and wanted honest opinions from people already in this space. Here’s my situation:

I don’t come from a business/econ background

I’m trying to self-learn things like finance basics, Excel, case studies, etc.

I still have around 1–2 years before I actually apply for jobs

I’m trying to build skills + projects on my own alongside college What I’m trying to figure out:

Is it actually realistic to break into strategy consulting without an MBA/business degree?

What matters more in hiring: degree or skills + case interview performance?

What should I focus on most if I only have limited time (cases, finance, networking, internships?)

For people who switched fields, what actually worked for you? Also if anyone here has gone into firms like McKinsey / BCG / Bain / Big 4 strategy / boutique consulting, I’d really appreciate hearing how you got there. I’m not expecting an easy path, just trying to understand what’s actually possible vs what’s just internet advice.

Hi all ! I got accepted to McKinsey NGWL Asia but I dont know how it works,or if this is even worth the time. If any one got selected in the same or have knowledge about it please let me know. Dm works too

**So You Want To Be A Consultant?**
**NETWORKING:**

You can be the best at casing but if you are not in contact with anyone at your firm **IN** the office you want to be located in, it will be much more difficult to land the role.

PRO TIP:

Set up meetings with the recruiter!

Get to know them! They're super nice and really want to help you land the role!

Set up meetings with people at your college (**preferably** incoming/past interns & incoming/recently integrated entry level FT consultant)

They will give you insights into how the firm operates from within (will give you the chance to say I love for the D.C office has xyz in the interview! This shows that you’ve researched!)

**GETTING THROUGH AI CV/RESUME SCREENING:** 
Look through the  internships’ full time description and use at **least 10** of the keywords they mention in your resume and **BOLD** them.

Also touch on **VERY** niche things about the firm and or office in your cover letter, it will surprise and excite your readers!

You can only know this by becoming confident in your networking skills.

**CASE INTERVIEW:**

Casing was super daunting to me at first and it took me a while to get comfortable speaking out loud in a room by myself and adjacently in front of someone else

Don’t waste time casing before **understanding** the math involved.

I wasted time casing without understanding the mechanics and the math which led me to make simple mistakes during cases

To beat this **LEARN THE FUNDAMENTALS FIRST** no matter how incredible you think you are!

You have to memorize equations so having a solid math foundation will enable you to succeed in understanding what the math is trying to do 

During the case **YOU** will have to explain to them why you are using a certain equation and why it is relevant to the case to walk them through the math so you need to make sure that you understand the math enough to explain it to someone else.

They want to understand your thought process that way you don’t solve for something irrelevant and if you do sometimes they will say let’s pivot but YOU need to control the case in typical interviews (besides McKinsey)

If you can go further than the question and say with time i would also look into xyz it shows that you’re thinking about everything!

Also make sure to connect each piece of the case together in each part not only at the end (though keep this literally to a sentence) and make hypotheses at EACH section!

Ex.

Given J&P’s historical growth, I hypothesize that the acquisition will achieve a payback period of \[X\] years. This math aligns with our requirement to break even ahead of the 3-year investor deadline, assuming a \[Y\]% realization of cost synergies. 

**Finally, do a great outro!**

They want to see that you’re good at synthesizing complex info.

PRO TIP- Always say what calculations or things you would do in the future if you had time based on your recommendation to the client

You have to gather **confidence** with your abilities to case in order to succeed!

Casing technically has no real “correct” answers, however, you have to arrive at a certain conclusion that aligns with the answer not necessarily at the end of each case question but **ESPECIALLY** by the end of the case.

To go from being a good case analyst to being great at casing, you **HAVE** to be **UNIQUE**!

Firms see so so so so so many generic frameworks and ways to solve problems during interviews it starts to become boring and mundane! You have to stand out by solving the problem in a unique way and **TYING YOUR EXPERIENCE** back into the interview

That is the absolute best piece of advice I got from a Bain consultant through this process

Can be about college, family, interests or extracurriculars they want to see that you’re enjoying the case 

**BEST WAYS TO LEARN:**

Watching, doing, learning from current consultants

For me really watching people case online and then solving the problems with them really helped me get comfortable with speaking out loud

Doing math and case exhibit drills  was another huge life saver for me

LAST but certainly NOT LEAST get a **casing shortcut book**!

Learn how to be unique and MECE in your frameworks, in you math and if your conversations with consultant

My casebook gave me so so so much confidence and I read it in a day because I was so excited and invested 

As your confidence grows so will your casing skills!!!

**Worst things you could do in a case interview:**

**STAYING SILENT**

This is by far the WORST thing you could do

The consultant cannot see our work, they can't understand your thought process and they can’t try to fix your mistakes

Make sure to NARRATE Everything

Show up late (Don’t go **overtime** in back to back interviews it’ll piss the next interviewer off)

I made this mistake very early on in my recruiting process! Don’t make the same mistake

Say I don't know

Consultants provide solutions or ask questions they don't give up!

Be Un-coachable

The interviewer is on your team! They want you to succeed so they will prompt you if you are going in the wrong direction

Let your pride subside and take their advice but if you have a good reason for your hypothesis stand your ground and explain but do not be egotistical. 

When to concede:

**You made a math error:** If they point out a calculation mistake, own it instantly. ("You are completely right, I dropped a zero there. Let me recalculate that.")

**They introduce new data:** If the interviewer gives you a new piece of information that breaks your current hypothesis, pivot immediately.

**Your logic has a fatal flaw:** If they point out a glaring blind spot (e.g., "Did you consider that our competitor holds the patent?"), acknowledge the great point and adjust your framework.

**PRO TIP:** If they end up being correct applaud their catch and say where you will pivot and why this will give you the correct calculation (like what it will help you find)

This will help them to see you in a role working as a teammate or someone they oversee.

Use generic frameworks

They will see over 1000 people like this and you will not stand out. This should be self-explanatory.

Not explain what the **Numbers** mean for the clients overall ask

Consulting is a quantitative game! The client wants to know what these complex calculations you're doing actually mean for the betterment of their company.

Not catching your mistakes if you made any!

They want to see if you understand the math and if you can understand where you may have went wrong

Not ask any questions

**BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW**
Be yourself! 

Highlight activities that you do that connect to the firm's explicit values on their website!

Show that you’ve researched and that you understand the firm culture (like I heard about xyz program and this really resonates with me because of my love for xyz)

PRO-TIP

Explain what you like in a particular office for that firm like annual things they do that you want to be involved in.

Follow the S.T.A.R framework for behavioral interview

Make sure to ask questions about the interviewer and what they’ve liked at the firm

I did this a bit when we had extra time so that I felt like the interviewer and I think that really enabled my behavioral BCG interviewer to like me (Ik because I moved onto the next round).

Send follow up thank you messages and gestures to stay connected and highlight something you liked learning about them and/or from them about the firm!

**So You Finished the Interviews!**
Reach out to both interviewers and thank them for their time and gesture to stay connected in the future

Go to recruiting events and reconnect with the recruiter

Get your face and name in their minds!

Somebody from McKinsey India or BCG India please tell me how lateral hiring pre-MBA works for the generalist front-end consulting teams at McKinsey India and BCG India?

I will have 3 YoE at a global management consulting firm (front-end). I also have a Tier 1 UG pedigree.

What would McKinsey India or BCG India focus on? Would they be too bothered about my UG CGPA not being 8.5+ despite exemplary performance at my current workplace?

Would also be down to compare real-interview cases! Pls dm with your casing experience + background

Ok sharing the interviewer research routine that's been carrying me through MBB rounds these years. Genuinely the only thing that's actually worked for me beyond casing prep

Before every round I go deep on whoever's interviewing me. Like, balls deep. Here's what I actually do:

• LinkedIn stalk. Not just current role at the firm. Scroll back like 5 years. Where they were before consulting, what practice areas they've moved through, what cases or industries they keep coming back to, what they post about. Sometimes their comments on other people's posts tell you more than their own content.
• Twitter/X. Find their handle and just read. Last 50 tweets, pinned stuff. A lot of MBB folks are quieter on here but the partners and EMs who do post will tell you exactly what they care about.
• Firm content and old talks. Just google "[their name] McKinsey/Bain/BCG" and check if they've authored any insights, articles, or podcast appearances on the firm site. Most senior people have at least one or two. Conferences too.
• Side stuff and pre-consulting life. Personal website if they have one, any nonprofit work, board roles, things they did before joining. Tells you a lot about what actually drives them.
• Dump it all into AI. I use Articuler ai and have it spit out a cheat sheet. Their practice focus, recurring themes, industries they obviously care about, stuff they probably hate. Saves hours.

You walk into the fit portion already knowing who this person is. Conversation just flows. The "why consulting why our firm" answers actually land because you can tie them to something specific about the interviewer's path. PEI/personal experience stories hit harder when you've picked them around what this person actually values. No BS 100%, pure charm and connection and rapport

Couple extra things I've picked up along the way:

• Use the deep stuff to understand them, don't quote it back. Big one. You're using this to read the room, not to flex that you found their old article on retail banking.
• If you do bring up something older, keep it super casual. "I was reading some takes on retail banking transformation and someone made this point about…" lands way better than "on the podcast you did 3 years ago you said…" (yeah I dropped a podcast quote on a Partner last round and he literally stuttered and was like "wait how do you even know about that" lol. went well overall but the man was rattled).
• In the actual interview, lead with the recent stuff. Their current practice, a recent firm publication, anything from the last year. Stuff they'd expect a prepared candidate to know. Keep the deep cuts in your back pocket.
• Don't memorize, just absorb it. Read the cheat sheet morning of and then close the tab. You want it in your head, not on your second monitor while you're casing.

Anyone else doing this level of prep for MBB? Or am I the weird one lol.

I joined an MBB about 5 months ago on a new consulting track track that is supposed to be longer-term and not up-or-out (lower salary), but my experience so far has been very frustrating.

I keep getting staffed into messy, mid-stream projects with little context, weak coaching, and almost no ownership of a real workstream.

I often do very serious analysis, propose a structured point of view, and then later find my work deleted or replaced without any explanation. Nobody tells me clearly what was wrong, what changed, or how I should improve, so it feels impossible to learn. Most of my team is in another city, I’m excluded from key discussions, and I often only see tasks after the real decisions have already been made. On paper I’m expected to perform professionally, but in practice I’m given limited context and treated like support capacity rather than someone being developed. What makes it worse is that more political or influential people seem to be able to rewrite the flow and override others without debate. I’m trying hard, communicating clearly, and delivering what I’m asked to do, but the environment feels opaque and discouraging.

At this point I genuinely can’t tell whether this is normal consulting, a bad team/setup, or a structural problem with my track. Has anyone experienced this kind of low-context, low-feedback environment, and how did you deal with it without burning out or losing confidence? One of my friends in the firm told me that just stick with that so when other people out you can take over the responsibilities, is it a good approach?

anyone who appeared for mckinsey dolve between 15th April to 21st april.,

hace u got any reply back either for rejection or selection?

Heyy I somehow managed to get an interview with BCG and I have no friends who are aspiring consultants. I really need someone to practice cases with; nobody on casecoach wants to practice with me because I have little experience with it. Would appreciate if anyone could hit me up to practice or even point me to an online group or discord server or something with people in the same boat as me! Thanks

Hi everyone,

I completed Bain’s online assessment this past Saturday and was wondering what the typical timeline is to hear back.

For those who’ve been through the process, how long did it take to get an answer? And is there anything I should be doing in the meantime?

Appreciate any insights!

Thank you

Does anyone know whether BCG is rolling or if the june deadline for summer 2027 is accurate? I am confused because I saw someone get an offer for New York already