mbb consulting cover letter

Consulting cover letter guide (for McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.)

Today we’re going to explain everything you need to know about writing consulting cover letters.

We’ll start by reviewing an example cover letter that got interview invitations from ALL the MBB firms (McKinsey, BCG, and Bain). 

And then we’ll explain exactly how you should write your own cover letter to land consulting interviews. Here’s a full list of the topics in this guide:

• Example cover letter

How to write your consulting cover letter

Consulting cover letter tips.

• The skills consulting firms look for

Consulting cover letter screening process

• Get help with your cover letter

Let’s get to it! 

Click here for a consulting letter/resume review with an ex-MBB consultant

Example cover letter (which got interviews at mckinsey, bcg, and bain).

Below is an anonymised cover letter from a candidate who got interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. So you can trust that this template works.

The image here highlights the different sections of the cover letter, but we’ll dive deeper into the text later, and you can also get a downloadable copy below.

Free download of the consulting cover letter example, here. 

In the next section, we’ll go step-by-step through each part of the cover letter and explain how to go about writing it. But before we dive in, please note the following points about the above template:

• A lot of people use this template. Get inspiration from it, but every sentence in your letter should be written from scratch.
• This cover letter might sound impressive. It's one of the best ones we’ve seen. But even if you have not achieved as much as this person, you can still get an interview.

With that said, let’s dig into the cover letter writing process!

As a starting point, this video provides a nice overview of the full writing process for a consulting cover letter. 

Now let’s break things down further.

1. Introduction

Example - Introduction

Mary Taylor - [email protected]

DD / MM / YYYY

Dear Sir / Madam,

I would like to apply for an Associate position at McKinsey in London.

This section is a formality. It should simply state the following information:

• Your name and email address. You can replace your email address with a postal address although those are not commonly used anymore.
• The date on which you are sending your letter
• The position, company, and office to which you are applying

Keep it short and sweet.

2. Why you? 

Example - Why you?

I started working as an Analyst at Big Finance in New York in September 2020 and was quickly promoted to Associate in a year and a half instead of the average four years. While at Big Finance, I advised a broad range of clients who constantly gave me positive feedback and regularly asked to work with me again. Before joining Big Finance, I graduated as the top student of my MEng in Chemical Engineering at Prestigious University in the UK. While studying, I received two competitive scholarships and awards. In addition, I developed my leadership skills as the President of the Prestigious University Consulting Club. High energy was essential to lead a team of 5 managing the club and growing the number of members by 20%.

This is your "GOLD MEDALS" section. It is the first section of your cover letter and therefore the most important one.

It should state the TOP 3 achievements of your life to date that are relevant to consulting. These achievements should be as unique and as memorable as possible. When your reviewer reads them they should think "Wow, that's impressive. I want to know more about this person."

To write this section you need to step back and ask yourself "What are the most impressive things I've done with my life so far?" This is not an easy question to answer. 

In our experience discussing this with a close friend can help. It's sometimes easier for them to quickly point out the impressive things you have done as they are an external observer.

In addition, notice how achievements are QUANTIFIED in the example above. Saying you have been promoted "in a year and a half instead of the average four years" is much more powerful than saying you have been promoted "quickly." You should quantify your achievements whenever possible.

This section is your chance to grab the reader's attention. If there's nothing impressive in it, they will stop reading and just scan the paragraphs. So don't miss your opportunity!

3. Why consulting?

Example - Why consulting?

There are several reasons why I want to pursue a consulting career. To start with, I know I will enjoy being a strategy consultant because I have already worked in a strategy team in the past. This was in summer 2019 when I was a Strategy Intern at Big Grocery Retailer in London. In addition, I think consulting is a unique opportunity to comprehensively learn about business management by working on a variety of company situations. Over the past two years, I have started building my business skills while advising clients on financial matters at Big Finance. I now look forward to learning more about companies’ management at McKinsey. Finally, I want to work in consulting because I truly enjoy interacting with clients. Throughout my work experiences I have built a successful track record of developing and maintaining relationships with clients including, for instance, the senior strategy team at Big Grocery Retailer.

Once you have convinced your reviewer that you have impressive achievements under your belt they'll be thinking: "Ok, this person is impressive. But do they REALLY want to be a consultant? Or are they just applying because they're not sure what to do with their career."

The third section of your letter should therefore answer the  "Why consulting?" question . But here is the thing about this question: There are some reasons to go into consulting that you should tell your reviewer about. And some reasons that you should really keep to yourself.

For instance, one of the mistakes candidates commonly make in their cover letter is to write something along the lines of "I'd like to spend 2 or 3 years in consulting to learn more about business in general and then decide what I want to do." This is a HUGE mistake. 

Consulting firms want to hire FUTURE PARTNERS. Not employees who will stay for a couple of years. You can watch the video below for more details about this.

The best approach for your "Why consulting?" section is to write about past experiences that really show you know what you are getting into. The perfect situation is if you have done an internship in consulting or in corporate strategy and have enjoyed it. If that's the case, this is the perfect section to write about it.

But even if you haven't done related internships, there are plenty of angles you can use to connect your past experiences to what you will do as a consultant. For instance:

• You might have enjoyed working with clients when you were in M&A or in Sales
• You might have enjoyed structuring and solving tough problems as an engineer

You should use these experiences to say that "working with clients" or "solving tough problems" is something you KNOW you enjoy doing; and you look forward to spending more time doing this as a consultant.

When they read this section, your reviewer should think: "Ok, this person is impressive AND they know what they are getting into."

4. Why McKinsey / BCG / Bain / Other?

Example - Why McKinsey?

McKinsey appeals to me for three reasons. To start with, the different people from the company I have met and worked with all told me they had truly enjoyed their time there. For the past two years, I have worked for Michael Smith, a former Engagement Manager from the London office, who now works for Big Finance. Additionally, I regularly read McKinsey’s reports on financial services and think the insights delivered by Sarah James and others in the Finance practice are truly superior to that of other consultancies. By joining McKinsey, I therefore think I would have an opportunity to work with and learn from the best consultants in the industry. Finally, the fact that McKinsey was selected by Finance Supercorp to shape its digital strategy also played an important role in my decision to apply. This was a first-of-its-kind contract in finance and it shows that while at McKinsey I could get the opportunity to work on truly unique projects.

If you have managed to convince your reviewer that you have an impressive background and that you really want to be a consultant, you have a VERY HIGH chance of getting an interview. 

The only question that's left for you to answer is: " Why McKinsey  / Why BCG? / Why Bain? "

Top consulting firms  have a lot in common. In most regions, they cover the same industries and work for similar clients. They also pay similar salaries, and the career path is more or less the same from firm to firm. So what should you write about in this section?

In our experience, the most efficient way to set yourself apart in this section is to write about three specific elements:

When you write "I've met with Michael Smith," or "I've read report X," or "I've heard about project Y," you are making an argument that's SPECIFIC enough for your reviewer to think: "Ok they've done their homework."

If you stay too GENERIC, your argument will be much less credible. For instance, writing something like "While at McKinsey, I'll be exposed to a broad range of industries which I'm excited about" is a weak argument because you could swap McKinsey for BCG or Bain in that sentence.

In fact, this is the ultimate test. If you can swap McKinsey with another name in your "Why McKinsey?" section you are not being specific enough. You need to work on your paragraph again and mention SPECIFIC people, reports, or projects that you find interesting.

5. Conclusion

Example - Conclusion

For all these reasons, I am very enthusiastic about the chance to work at McKinsey. I am available for an interview at any time and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Mary Taylor

The last section of the cover letter is a formality again. It should include the following elements:

• A sentence or two saying that you are enthusiastic and available for interviews at any time
• Your final signature

So how do you make it easy for your reviewer to put your cover letter on the "Accept" pile? We have put together the 10 tips below to make sure you can achieve this and avoid common mistakes.

Tip #1 Don't use a template letter

Writing cover letters is painful. But trust us, reading hundreds of them can be at least as painful. That's why you should make every effort to make your letter interesting and genuine. 

It's ok to get inspiration from templates such as the one we provide in this guide. But every sentence in your letter should be written from scratch.

Tip #2 Keep it to one page

One of the unwritten rules of consulting cover letters is that they should not be longer than one page. The trick to achieve this is to only select the MOST RELEVANT experiences from your  resume  and to summarise them. 

The points you decide to highlight should clearly demonstrate that you would make a great consultant.

Tip #3 Standard format and font

It's tempting to use an eye-catching font and format. But that's actually a bad idea. You only risk your interviewer thinking: "I've never seen this font, it looks really weird. Who is this person?" Your cover letter should stand out because of its content, NOT because of its format.

Tip #4 Not the time to be shy

Your cover letter is not the time to be shy. If you went to Harvard and have three Olympic medals, now is the time to say it! Most of us don't, and that's fine. But the point is that you should really push yourself to bring your most impressive accomplishments forward.

Tip #5 Network, network, network

This might sound surprising, but a big part of the cover letter is  how much networking you have done . Having networked with people from the firm you are applying for pays dividends for multiple reasons. 

First, they might recommend you to the HR team. But most importantly, these people will give you insight into what makes their firm UNIQUE. Then you can quote what you've heard in your cover letter (and name drop the person you heard it from) to show that you really understand the firm you are applying for.

Tip #6 Read, read, read

Unfortunately, networking is not always easy or possible. In these cases, your second best option is to read as much as you can on the firms you are applying for. You should read about the firm's projects, reports, and partners and find pieces of information you are really interested in. 

For instance, if you did your master thesis on electric vehicles, try to find who works in this area at the firm and what they have to say about it. And then mention what you have found in your cover letter.

Tip #7 One letter per firm

One question we often get is: "Should I write one letter per firm?" The answer is YES. But it's not as hard as it might sound. 

Every cover letter needs to answer three questions: Why you? Why consulting? And why this firm? The only paragraph you will need to change in every letter is the one about "Why this firm?" For each firm, you will have to do the networking and reading mentioned above.

Tip #8 Start writing early

Writing an outstanding cover letter is VERY HARD. Most candidates underestimate how much time it takes and start this process too late. You'll need to take a step back and reflect on everything you have done to date to highlight your most relevant experiences. 

This takes multiple iterations. Start early.

Tip #9 Get feedback

In our experience, great candidates all look for feedback and iterate on their cover letter until it's truly as good as it can get. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

It’s best to get feedback from peers or consultants. These people will be able to point out which parts of your letter they don't get or don't find impactful enough. If you’d like to have an expert review your cover letter, check out our team of  ex-consultant coaches .

Tip #10 Proofread multiple times

Finally, you should check and double check your letter for typos and grammar mistakes - multiple times. A cover letter is (not so secretly) a writing test and you should really treat it like one.

What consulting firms look for

To get multiple interviews at  top consulting firms , it’s extremely important to understand what those firms are actually looking for. 

The good news is that most of the leading consultancies are looking for basically the same skills. 

To illustrate this point, here’s what  McKinsey  and  Bain  say that they’re looking for in candidates, along with our own translation of what they mean:

There are also a few unofficial items that consulting firms will look for on your resume, and you can read about those in our  consulting resume guide .

Next, let’s talk about the typical cover letter screening process.

Screening process

Now let's talk about HOW your cover letter will be handled once you send it. Here's how it works.

Your application will be sent to a JUNIOR CONSULTANT who recently graduated from your University. They will score your documents based on a grid provided by the HR team. 

Consultants usually have to score 200 to 400 applications in about 2 weeks. And this is sometimes on TOP of their normal project. It's not uncommon for them to leave the job to the last minute and to have to do it on a Friday night just before the deadline.

Why is this important? The point we are trying to make is your application is part of 100 other applications. And the person who will review it will be tired by the time they get to your cover letter. If they don't understand something, they won't Google it. It's your job to make their job easy.

Why consultancies ask for a cover letter

There are two main reasons why consulting firms ask for cover letters.

First, partners bill several thousand dollars per day to their clients. The opportunity cost of interviewing you is HUGE for the firm. Put yourself in the shoes of a consultancy for a second. What are the top 3 questions you want to answer before investing money in interviewing a candidate?

• Have they demonstrated the skills needed to be a consultant?
• Do they know what consulting is and what they are getting into?
• Are they genuinely interested in working for our firm?

If you don't answer these three questions in a structured and impactful way, your chances of getting past the screening process are very low. This is why every cover letter should be structured as follows:

• Why consulting?
• Why this firm?

The second reason consulting firms ask for a cover letter is to test your writing skills. Consultants write all the time: emails, PowerPoints, Word documents, etc. They spend about 50% of their day writing. And a lot of the time their job is to summarise very large quantities of information in a succinct way.

This is exactly what you have to do in your cover letter. You have to a) look back on all your past experiences, b) select the relevant experiences to convince the reviewer that you are the right person for the job and c) summarise all these experiences in a way that's easy to read and digest.

Cover letters are a disguised writing test. Candidates who end up getting invited for interviews recognise this early on. Making a good impression on paper is way harder than making a good impression in person.

Are many candidates ready to invest HOURS in writing the perfect cover letter? No. That's the whole point. That's how you can set yourself apart. If you spend enough time making sure that your letter is as impactful as it can be, you stand very high chances of getting invited for interviews.

Another reason that it can help to have a cover letter is to explain anything on your resume that may look unusual to a reviewer, such as a time gap or a non-traditional background for consulting. 

Whatever your unique situation is, if you’re not confident in how your cover letter looks today, then we can help you. 

Get an Ex-MBB consultant to review your cover letter

The guide above, in addition to our guide on  consulting resumes , should go a long way in helping you craft documents that will get you interviews. 

But if you still feel you need additional help, we have a team of ex-MBB recruiters and interviewers who would be happy to provide feedback on your cover letter.

You’ll get feedback on how to immediately improve your cover letter, including what experience to focus on, how to optimise your phrasing, formatting, etc.

Start by browsing profiles for available coaches.

Writing your MBB cover letter

Updated: Sep 17, 2020

MBB firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) usually require a cover letter. They’ll read it immediately after reading your CV, provided your CV has captured the recruiter’s attention. Whether you are writing a BCG, Bain or McKinsey cover letter, these tips all apply!

One page, font 11 minimum, 3-5 paragraphes.

Cover letters require some work. The single question that they should answer is: What makes you a good candidate for management consulting? Your job is to link your experience, passions and drive with what consulting firms are looking for in a candidate.

Depending on your profile, they’ll be looking for slightly different things:

The fresh-out-of-school candidate (undergrad and grad)

If you just graduated and don’t have at least 6 months of work experience yet, you won’t have much business experience to share. Still, there are a few things you can do to make your cover letter stand out to management consulting HR:

Show that you’re a team player: talk about projects, especially those where you had a leadership role. Summarize context, challenges, actions and impact of the 1-2 most impressive projects.

Tip: It’s best to structure your answers in a STAR framework. Learn more about the STAR framework and other in-depth interview tips in the ZeroToMBB book.

Show that you’re passionate and driven: demonstrate your ability to start and see personal projects through. Talk about your motivations, the challenges you faced and how you have overcome them. Nobody wants to work with a boring teammate, so this is the place to really talk about what excites you!

Show that you’re a problem solver: take examples of technical or team-related challenges that you faced and describe the strategies you put in place to solve them.

Show that you’re willing to learn and be flexible: management consultants can work for very diverse industries and functional sectors. They work hard, and they are always on the road. If you’ve specialized in a technical topic, talk about your learning journey and mention any awards and recognitions. Give examples of your ability to handle a high workload.

Why you want to work in consulting: if you don’t come from business school, it might be less obvious why you want to switch to consulting. Typical reasons include: broadening your horizons, working with diverse people, or exploring the world of business. Offices in different locations serve different industries, so search online for the industries linked to the office you’re applying to, and see if you have relevant experience in it.

The 5-years-of-experience and/or MBA candidate

If you have some work experience and want to move to consulting, or are graduating from your MBA, the bar for the cover letter is high. Here are some of the topics to cover:

Show that you’re a leader: show a track record of leadership positions, with high impact projects and large teams.

Show your expertise in a business topic: management consulting firms are craving candidates with strong industry or functional knowledge. This is your time to tell what you know from your previous work and link it to how this will be useful as a consultant. Look at what industries your office is focused on, and if there’s no match, broaden your search to a regional level.

Show your business acumen: managing clients, working internationally, building financial models, managing budgets, having a track record of business impact, all these examples show that you are an experienced professional that could be put in front of a client with confidence.

Show that you’re passionate and driven: demonstrate your ability to start and see personal projects through. Talk about your motivations, the challenges you faced and how you have overcome them. Nobody wants to work with a boring person so this is the place to really talk about what excites you!

Looking for more details on what makes a great cover letter for MBB? Read more in the ZeroToMBB book , filled with end-to-end tips on how to ace the interview and land the offer.

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Consulting Cover Letter: a comprehensive guide

• Understanding Consulting Cover Letters
• Practicalities of Writing Your Cover Letter
• Section-by-Section Breakdown
• Quality Control

A stellar cover letter is going to be a basic pre-requisite if you want to land a top-tier consulting job at the likes of the MBB’s, Kearney, LEK, Deloitte etc.

More than half of consulting candidates are rejected based on their applications alone , before they ever make it to interview. This means that, for all the emphasis on case interview prep, your resume and cover letter between them are the single greatest determinant as to whether you land your dream MBB job or not .

Candidates typically have some realisation of the importance of applications, but make the mistake of devoting all their time to the resume alone as they assume it is the "important one". They assume that the accompanying cover letters are always fairly generic and/or are merely a formality that don't actually get read.

However, the idea that your cover letter is any less important than your resume is a hugely damaging misconception.

In fact, speaking to consultants currently involved with recruitment at MBB firms, we are told that cover letters have been becoming more and more important recently. This is for a couple of reasons:

• More and more resumes are coming in basically perfect (the proliferation of material like our excellent free resume guide has a part to play here). This means that cover letters are increasingly being focussed on as a way to differentiate top candidates.
• Cover letters are more indicative of your soft skills and personal fit with the office culture than a resume. Since firms are having particular difficulty finding candidates with the right social skills (especially post-Covid), cover letters become more and more salient in the filtering process.

To up the ante even more, add to this the fact that applications are increasingly read by AI tools as well. Whilst a human reader working in a hurry and skimming a document in a hurry might have simply missed an error, you can be sure the computer will pick up on any mistakes you make.

So, how do you get things right?

Putting together a decent consulting cover letter can be tricky and will probably take longer than you think. The demands are different and quite a bit more rigorous than for cover letters you might have written for other industries.

Luckily though, the strict demands on consulting cover letters mean that there is an equally strict set of rules to follow when writing them - as long as you follow these and put the time in to do things properly, you can reliably turn out an excellent document.

This guide will help you understand what it is recruiters want to see in a good cover letter and take you through the steps to draft your best possible offering. To make things as clear as possible, we discuss a template cover letter section-by-section.

Help is at hand!

Writing applications can be pretty daunting, especially with a dream job on the line.

Before we dive into all the complex nitty-gritty of how to turn out your cover letter, we should let you know that we have an editing service where a 5+ year experienced MBB consultant helps you draft your best possible resume and/or cover letter. You can read more here:

Explore Professional Editing

This isn't obligatory, but is a great option for those who feel overwhelmed and want some help to get things right, as well as for those who want the inside track in terms of optimising something that is already close to the mark.

This application editing can also be done as part of a broader mentoring package, where that same experienced mentor helps you through the whole consulting selection process, from networking, through to case interview prep. You can find out more here:

Learn More About Comprehensive Mentoring

1. Understanding Consulting Cover Letters

To write a good one we will first need to understand the demands it must meet. That is to say, we need to understand the function of the cover letter and precisely how it will be assessed.

Let's start by going through some important points:

1.1. Function of a Consulting Cover Letter

The basic function of a consulting cover letter is to tell recruiters three things:

• Why you are worth employing
• Why consulting is a perfect fit for you
• Why you are interested in the target firm in particular

As we will see later, a standard management consulting cover letter is broken down into three paragraphs, addressing each of these issues more-or-less separately.

In many ways, the demands of your cover letter sit between your resume ) and your fit interview (which you will be invited to only if your resume and cover letter make the cut).

A consulting cover letter helps demonstrate the same skillset as your resume and you will effectively be selecting a few of the key points from your resume to amplify in the cover letter.

However, the objective of this document is not simply restating the facts on your resume, but rather creating a persuasive link between your personal story and the job you are applying for. In effect, the main purpose of your cover letter is to show that you are a great fit for the job you are applying for across the board. As such, you need to convey your personality and your motivation to do the job - things that are not readily assessed via your resume alone.

These are exactly the qualities that are also assessed in your fit interview. Indeed, just as with the Additional Information section of your resume, the information in your cover letter is very likely to form the basis of questions in your fit interview - where your personality and motivation are assessed again. Thus, just as with the Additional Information section of your resume, when you are drafting your cover letter you should be keeping half an eye on how you would be able to work the items you select into compelling fit interview answers.

All this means that our article on the fit interview is especially worth a read as you get started on cover letter writing!

1.2. Motivation

Consulting is a tough life and the average consulting recruit only stays in the industry for around two years - which means that many of those applicants who are lucky enough to land jobs will have left within 12 months.

Beyond this, many of those entering consulting only ever intend to stay for a couple of years before bailing out into roles in private equity or internal strategy, becoming a start-up founder, or any of the other typical roles where consulting experience will enhance their career chances.

This constant loss of talent is a big problem for consulting firms, who don't want employees to disappear as soon as they have accrued the training and experience required to be genuinely useful to the company. In effect, firms want to ensure they get a positive return on investment on training you.

As such, recruiters will be trying to identify candidates who are genuinely in it for the long haul - who want to make partner someday and who have the necessary motivation to push them through the years of long hours and tight deadlines en route.

Of course, we realise that you the reader might well be one of the candidates who only really plan to stick with consulting for two years before parachuting out into another industry. Realistically, this is a perfectly sensible career trajectory and we're certainly not going to tell you not to do so.

However , if this is the case, your application and subsequent interview are really not the time to discuss it. If you have ever had any inkling that you might consider sticking around and making a long-term career in consulting, then this is the inclination to channel during the selection process.

We return to discuss your rationale for entering consulting in our section-by-section breakdown of the letter itself.

1.3. A Test in Itself

Your target firm uses your cover letter to learn more about you in a couple of ways. Obviously, they receive all the information you communicate explicitly - all the achievements and experience and positive character traits you tell them about. However, your cover letter is also used by the target firm as an implicit (but very real) test of your writing skills and other qualities. It is important to realise this dual function and keep it in mind during drafting.

At a basic level, using correct, industry standard formatting etc shows that you have the professionalism and diligence to find out and follow the rules. As we will discuss later, writing a letter specific to the firm you are applying to also demonstrates your commitment to that employer.

More directly, though, your cover letter is used by consulting firms as a test of your writing skills. Writing consulting cover letters is not an easy business - if it were, you wouldn't be reading this guide! Composing a good cover letter requires you to assemble a body of information, synthesise it and present it in a compelling form.

Importantly, this is a set of skills - summarising complex information into compelling prose and extracting key points in data - that consultants use every day. Your cover letter is one of the main ways firms check for your competence here.

Similarly, readers will be very interested in your ability to use your cover letter to market yourself. In effect, consultants must constantly sell themselves, their firm, and their recommendations to clients. Indeed, this is becoming a larger and larger part of the job as more of the analytic side of consulting work is automated. As such, the ability to communicate persuasively is a key management consulting skill.

1.4. The Reader

With any piece of writing, the first thing you need to consider is who the intended reader is. This is especially important for consulting cover letters.

During the application screen, as well as filtering by AI tools and HR staff, your cover letter will be placed with one or two hundred others and passed to a junior consultant (often a recent alum from your university) to assess. Generally, this will be piled on top of that consultant's normal workload and often they will end up with very little time to get through this mound of applications. As such, your reader will be tired, possibly slightly grumpy and in a hurry - probably only skimming what you have written.

Keep this reader in mind at all times and write in a way that makes their life easier. This means making everything as clear, easy to read and precise as possible!

2. PRACTICALITIES OF WRITING A CONSULTING COVER LETTER

So, we have a good idea of the basic job of a cover letter needs to do, what ground it needs to cover, and how it will be assessed. Now it's time to get down to business and actually get the thing written!

To this end, we'll look at a few practical points about how to meet the requirements mentioned above, before focusing one-by-one on the five main segments of a management consulting cover letter.

2.1. FORMAT - DOING THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE

Just as with your resume, formatting a consulting cover letter is really not the time to embrace your creative side. Failing to stick to the standard rules of formatting risks being rejected immediately, without your letter even being read.

The tired junior consultant tasked with plowing through a pile of cover letters is unlikely to be in the mood for a strange font or weird layout and will simply send your application directly to the bin.

As noted above, standard formatting shows that you are professional enough to take the application seriously and that you have bothered to find out what is expected from your cover letter. The best way to understand how you should format this document is simply to take a look at our examples below, which are formatted in a standard "safe" manner.

In particular, though, you should make sure your letter conforms to the following basic standard:

• Standard typeface at a normal size
• No longer than one printable page
• Normal size margins etc - no extreme formatting to pack more words on the page!
• Name, contact information, and date at the top, in the manner of a traditional letter - you can include a postal address if you like, but an email address is perfectly sufficient nowadays - and will save space
• Standard structure explained below - opening, three main paragraphs, closing

2.2. Content - Being Unique!

You might have to keep the format strictly in line with everyone else, but it is absolutely crucial that the actual content of your letter is unique!

Always remember that your cover letter will be part of a stack of 1-200 deep. The content needs to really impress the reader if you are going to stand out from the pack and earn yourself an invitation to interview.

To achieve this, you are going to have to draw on your most impressive achievements and experiences and then portray them in the best possible fashion, to really make your reader pause and take note, rather than toss your letter towards the bin with the others.

Content that is unusual is also helpful in making your application memorable and might prompt interview questions where you can be well prepared to shine. During an application process with so many competitors, it pays to have something unique to you - a USP - to differentiate you from your peers.

However, this will only add value if it is relevant to management consulting!

In our discussion below on how to introduce yourself and your abilities, we'll discuss how you can emphasize your personal "spikes" - which help make your cover letter more unique.

2.3. Be Specific!

Your letter needs not only to be unique, but also highly specific .

Many candidates think that they can save a bit of time by just writing a one really "good" cover letter and using that for all their applications without any modifications. This might be true (or almost true) of a good resume. However, if you think that the cover letter you wrote for McKinsey will be able to be used without any changes to for Bain and BCG as well, we can tell you now that that letter wasn't good enough to get you a job with any of those firms!

As noted previously, a major function of your cover letter is to gauge your motivation to stick with the company if you are lucky enough to be hired. Your recruiter wants to make sure that you are genuinely keen to work for their specific firm for the foreseeable future. Any suggestion that your cover letter is just a generic chunk of text sent out to everyone in scattergun fashion obviously makes this idea pretty difficult to maintain - and will see your application heading towards that bin in short order.

To avoid this, then, take the time to write a separate letter for each firm you apply to. In these letters, you should include content that is specific to your particular target firm. What is more, this specific content should not be something generic or some kind of empty platitude.

If the best you can come up with is an obvious truth - or even worse, a common misconception - you will betray only a very shallow level of engagement, and will only succeed in vexing your reader.

Instead, you should be able to make specific remarks which show genuine insight. This will clearly demonstrate both your commitment to and knowledge of the firm.

These points will be particularly relevant to the section of the cover letter where you explain your decision to apply to your target firm, and we will pick up this discussion again later in this guide. However, there is room for material specific to your target firm in all sections of your cover letter.

3. Section-by-Section Breakdown

Let's go through the different sections of a standard management consulting cover letter one-by-one.

We will give examples as to how you might approach each section - however, it is imperative that you don't simply copy from specimens that we or anyone else have written. The examples here are only a guide as to how you should approach the different elements of a cover letter, not components to be lifted as-is.

Your own cover letter needs to stand out from a very strong field. Think about it - how can you possibly stand out by copying others? Beyond this, though, any hint that you are just copying from another source will see your whole application rejected immediately.

On a similar note here, we strongly advise against using an AI chatbot like ChatGPT to write your cover letter. Aside from that tool not knowing enough about your own life experiences, interests etc to say something with the correct degree of specificity, you run the risk of sending in a cover with the same writing style - or possibly even the same turns of phrase - as everyone else who did the same thing. Indeed, recruiters across many industries are already getting used to spotting AI-generated applications .

As we noted earlier, there are three main questions your cover letter must answer - why you, why consulting and why that firm in particular. The three main paragraphs of your cover letter will answer these three questions in sequence.

Provided you are careful to link everything together properly, there is actually some flexibility to vary the ordering of these paragraphs. You will always introduce yourself first, of course, but you can then state why you are interested in the specific firm before you explain what drew you to consulting, or deal with these in the reverse order.

In the interests of simplicity here, though, we will just deal with why-consulting-in-general first, followed by why-that-firm-in-particular.

The following examples are taken from an entry-level cover letter from an applicant to Bain London - and the detailed content is obviously tailored to that office.

In contrast to the relative ease with which a resume can be repurposed, you will have to significantly change the specifics of your cover letter as you apply for different offices and firms. Obviously, our candidate below can't just send this off to Bain New York without changing quite a lot of content. Similarly, this won't work as a cover letter for the London offices of McKinsey, BCG or Deloitte a wholesale rewrite.

With all this said, what is crucial is that the overall structure and format is maintained. This will be the case whether you are a recent graduate, Ph.D. or MBA. Even experienced hire cover letters will maintain the same fundamental format - though there will be (even) more expectation on the quality of the content.

3.1. OPENING YOUR CONSULTING COVER LETTER

The opening to your cover letter is very straightforward and is pretty much impossible to mess up if you follow basic rules.

First, you should record your name, email address, and the date of sending. You can include a postal address if you like, though this is no longer a strict requirement and takes up a lot of space. Your first sentence should state the specific position to which you are applying at the relevant office and firm.

The only issue that should give you any cause for concern here is to Whom the letter is addressed. Where possible, you should be addressing the letter to a named person - usually the recruiting manager of the office to which you are applying. However, where you cannot find a name to address your cover letter to, it is perfectly acceptable to begin "To whom it may concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam".

Jane Wu [email protected] 05/05/2019

Dear Ms Douglas,

I am writing to apply for the Associate Consultant position at Bain and Company's London office.

3.2. Introducing Yourself

After this brief opening, proceed straight to introducing yourself. Don't be shy - this is not the time for understatement or modesty! Top consulting firms are looking for exceptional individuals. Here, you need to leave the reader in no doubt that you are just such an exceptional individual!

To do this, looking at all the information you assembled for your resume, ideally, you should recount the three most impressive achievements in your life so far.

Of course, do this with an eye to achievements that are particularly relevant to consulting (your golf handicap might be good, but nobody in the workplace cares). Also, realise that the things we are most proud of personally might not actually be the ones that are most impressive to others (your golfing probably isn't great anyway). Try to look at your resume as if you are reading one from someone else. Alternatively, ask a friend what stands out to them.

It's your resume's job to paint a balanced picture of you as a well-rounded candidate with all the skills required to excel in consulting. However, in your cover letter, it can be beneficial to emphasise one or two particular strong suits, where you are exceptionally gifted. These are what consultants call "spikes". What recruiters are really looking for is well-rounded, generally capable candidates with a few "spikes" that might be especially useful.

I have recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first-class BA/MSci in Physics. At Cambridge, I was consistently near the top of my year academically and won a number of competitive scholarships and prizes; including the award for the best final year research project. During my third year, I was selected as the best of a very large field of applicants to take part in a prestigious summer research project at MIT. I was also elected as a Student Representative for two consecutive years.

3.3. Why Consulting is a Good Fit

Your job here is to provide a strong narrative demonstrating why consulting is a good fit for you and why it makes sense at this point in your career as a natural progression from what you have done before.

This is much the same as what is required from your answers in any subsequent fit interviews you receive. As such, our article on the fit interview , as well as our more comprehensive fit interview course and/or lessons in the MCC Academy , are highly relevant here.

Now, as we noted above, it is important to remember that there are some reasons to get into consulting that your target firm will be happy to hear about and others that will very definitely not impress.

We're not here to judge your reasons, whatever they are, for wanting a consulting job. However, there are certain reasons that you should probably not highlight if you would like to actually get that job.

Some candidates are not sure what career they actually want yet and think consulting would make a good first step, exposing them to different industries and keeping their options open for the future. The worry, from a firm's point of view, is that these individuals will not be sufficiently motivated to actually stick with consulting when they come up against the stress and high workload that come with the job.

Alternatively, some applicants are fully intent, right from the start, on bailing out into another industry after two years - when a sufficiently long stint in consulting has given them transferable skills and boosted their opportunities elsewhere.

Many candidates actually state these kinds of intentions - though they will certainly not be hired! As we noted above, firms want to retain staff and are looking for candidates who are committed to consulting for the long term.

3.3.1. Proving You Know What You are Getting Into

Given how many recruits drop out, firms want to be sure that you know exactly what you are getting into when you apply . When you explain why you have decided that consulting is a great fit for you, you obviously need it to be clear that you are doing so with a real understanding of what the job entails.

Ideally, you will have done an internship in consulting or a closely related industry. Alternatively, you might be moving sideways from a parallel sector, such as finance or tech, having worked alongside consultants in past roles and observed what they do first hand. In either such case, it is clear that you understand the demands of the job.

However, many of you will fall into neither of these camps and won't yet have any first hand experience of the consulting world. If this describes you, be aware that there is a particular onus on you to demonstrate that you know what is required of a working consultant - and that you have what it takes to meet those requirements.

Don't dismay, though, as this is definitely possible - it just requires a bit more thought from you. Really, you are limited to a strategy of identifying key consulting skills and showing that you have already had significant past experience (and ideally achievements) demonstrating that you are capable and comfortable in these areas - and, importantly, that you enjoy this kind of work!

This is similar in principle to some of what you should have already done in bullet point form in your resume. Our resume guide is useful here in listing the relevant consulting skills and giving examples that demonstrate them. However, your cover letter differs from the resume here in that the focus will be less on technical skills and more on personal character. You also can't be so schematic as in your resume, but must weave everything into a compelling narrative that leaves your reader in no doubt that you are well suited to, and prepared for, the job.

3.3.2. Finding Things to Say

Some candidates feel the need to embroider their accounts when they explain why they want to be a consultant. Maybe they genuinely think that the only reason they have chosen consulting is for the high salary and exit opportunities. Since they can't include either of these (as discussed below), they then cobble together an insincere-sounding road-to-Damascus story about how they had an epiphany that they should work at BCG or Bain.

However, introspection on the reasons that informed your own decision making can actually be a great source of material here. You might not be able to explicitly state them just now, but there are probably better reasons than you think for your choices.

Think about what exactly it was that led you to believe that you could do a consulting job and why have chosen to apply to jobs in that sector, rather than going into something else. If you want to be totally pragmatic, remember - it's a lot easier to answer interview questions on something approximating the truth than a tissue of lies!

I believe that I would be particularly well suited to the Associate Consultant position as consulting would provide real intellectual challenges, but placed within contexts allowing me to make use of my strong interpersonal skills. As a student representative, I instigated "Student Week" in the Physics department. This was a week where time was given over so that students could organise their own conferences and workshops. In order to make this initiative a success, I faced two main challenges: creating a committed team and getting the academic staff's support. I began by offering all students a stake in shaping the week and created teams in charge of all aspects of an organisation, delegating responsibilities to team leaders. Most of all, this experience taught me how to motivate people, leveraging their potential impact and the rewards to be gained from positive results. In the end, the teams were able to invite an outstanding line-up of speakers. Presenting the week as a chance to promote the school in the media enabled us to gain the final approval of academic staff. Understanding the perspectives of multiple stakeholders and identifying what they really cared about enabled me to transform an ambitious plan into reality. I loved this experience and would look forward to employing a similar skillset as an Associate Consultant.

3.4. Why that Firm?

Now finally, you need to show that you are committed to the particular firm to which you are applying . This is a crucial part of demonstrating your motivation as well as a way of showing your diligence in doing your research before applying. Needing to address why you want to work at your target firm in particular is why you fundamentally can't just re-use the same letter for all your consulting applications.

So, how should you do this?

In practice, there are three main ways to generate firm-specific content:

3.4.1. Contacts and networking

Whilst you might not have seen consultants at work first hand, there is nothing to prevent you from meeting them at career fairs, networking events, and the like.

You can also reach out to consultants in your target office via LinkedIn and potentially even schedule calls with them. You can do this from anywhere in the world. An experienced consultant can also guide you in this process within one of our mentoring programmes

The very best cover letters will grow out of substantial networking with current or former employees from your target firm - ideally from the specific office to which you are applying.

The individuals you speak to might be in a position to recommend you to recruiters. Otherwise, though, they will definitely be very well placed to tell you what is really unique about the company in general or your target office in particular. This is a surefire way for you to be able to make your cover letter specific in a way that actually rings true to those who read it.#

Also, don't be afraid to drop in the names of your contacts where they are relevant (and where this is appropriate, of course). The recruiter might know the people in question and they will lend credence to your application.

3.4.2. Reading

Of course, this kind of networking will not always be feasible, and certainly not at short notice. If you don't have access to anyone who has worked for your target firm, you should be able to get access to some of their output in the form of reports and similar material. Being able to comment on these demonstrates your enthusiasm to work at the target firm, as well as your diligence and intelligence. Indeed, mentioning report authors is a good way to shoehorn in the names of company employees whom you have not actually met in real life.

3.4.3. Observations

Of course, you would ideally be able to write about the first hand experience of working alongside consultants at a company that was a client of your target firm. Otherwise, if you have done your research, you will be able to discuss a successful project in which you have not been involved, but have taken a particular interest (possibly in an industry in which you have experience). This should convey genuine interest and, at the very least, shows you really have done your homework.

An example of how to approach this paragraph is as follows:

Bain specifically appeals to me for a few reasons. At a more personal level, all of the individuals I have spoken to who have worked at Bain have loved their jobs and seemed like people I would relish working with. Recently, I spoke to Sarah McKinney and Benedict Philips from the London office at a networking event. Both were very helpful and encouraging of my application. In particular, I was very excited to be able to talk to Sarah about Bain's recent work with capacitor technology firm NuCell. This was a project I had become aware of via my physics background and was very impressed with the sophisticated but wonderfully elegant solutions that Bain implemented. This was a significant influence in my decision to move towards consulting in general and Bain in particular.

3.5. Closing You Cover Letter

As with the opening, it is easy to get your cover letter's closing right simply by following a few standard rules.

Closing a consulting cover letter really just follows the same rules as a standard formal letter. Note that technically the form of your sign off depends on whether the letter was addressed to a named recipient or not. If you did manage to address your cover letter to a specific individual at the target firm, you should sign off your letter "Yours Sincerely". However, if you addressed the letter "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To Whom it May Concern", then you should sign off "Yours faithfully".

Not everyone will pick up on this, but some certainly will!

I very much hope that I can be considered for an interview. If you have any questions about my application or would like to know more, please do not hesitate to be in contact by email or on +44 7933023234. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely, Jane Wu

3.6. An Aside - Blurring Boundaries

For the sake of clarity, we have given quite a schematic picture of how a cover letter is structured. In practice, the separation between the content of the three main paragraphs is often not quite as clear as has been shown so far.

This is something to bear in mind as you are writing. Certainly, it is not a problem that the content of the three main paragraphs somewhat bleed into one another. Indeed, it might well be that the optimal version of your letter gives you more bang for your buck in including points with more than one positive function.

For example, you might make mention of people or reports from your specific target firm in explaining why you chose to enter consulting in general. Simultaneously you will likely be able to include some impressive achievements, relevant to your initial description of yourself, in that same explanation as to why consulting was for you.

4. Quality Control

By now, you should have a completed document in front of you. However, this doesn't mean that you're finished!

Just as with the resume, quality control should be taken very seriously when you are writing your cover letter, and will almost certainly take longer than did writing your initial draft.

First, you should make sure you have followed all the rules we set out for formatting and structuring a consulting cover letter. This is the easy bit, after all, and you shouldn't be making mistakes here when it's something you can easily control for yourself.

The following checklist is useful to make sure that the major elements are in order. Thus, you must make sure that any management consulting cover letter:

• Does not exceed one page
• Is formatted sensibly
• Contains no spelling mistakes (double check names of the company, position, HR manager and your contact information)
• Mentions skills that are relevant to the job
• Has relevant examples to back up those skills
• Reinforces skills that are not adequately explained in your resume
• Explains how your skill set relates to the job you are applying for
• Is tailored to the target firm

Of course, to hammer the point home, it should go without saying that spelling, punctuation, and grammar should be perfect throughout - especially these days, where AIs will be reading applications thoroughly, besides harried humans skimming them.

In particular, though, you should triple-check spelling around the opening where you list your own contact information and state the name of the target firm and specific role. Imagine making the cut to for interview only to have your invitation dispatched to the wrong email address!

You wouldn't believe how many candidates we see making mistakes here - indeed, outside consulting, the former Graduate Recruitment Manager at City law firm Mayer Brown found that 20% of applicants got the firm’s name wrong. If so many high-end, detail-oriented lawyers can make that kind of mistake, so can you - check!

4.2. Feedback

As with any important piece of writing, you will want another set of eyes on your cover letter. However, a consulting cover letter is not quite the same as for a more "normal" job, and there is only so much that your classmate, your buddy or your mum is going to be able to tell you . These people might be able to help you with spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but not a great deal else.

If you have access to a careers adviser, they will certainly be more knowledgeable and be able to give you more specific feedback. That said, the very particular demands of consulting and how cover letters are assessed means there is no real replacement for someone with actual consulting experience .

As always though, real consultants are incredibly busy people and their time has a high price tag. You might be lucky enough to have access to a consultant who will help you out - perhaps a friend or relative or maybe one of your networking contacts who likes you enough to take the time to look at your application.

However, for those who aren't so lucky, there are still ways to get top quality feedback. MyConsultingCoach offers cover letter review and feedback , both alone on its own and in a package with resume review.

With this service, a deeply experienced MBB consultant mentor, with a minimum of five years at McKinsey, Bain or BCG, will provide the kind of granular, nuanced feedback you simply can't find elsewhere. You can read more here:

Explore Application Review

You can also have the same kind of 5+ year experienced MBB consultant do this kind of editing for you as part of a wider personal mentoring programme. Find out more here:

Mentoring Programmes

Of course, none of these services are strictly necessary, and this guide is here to help everyone. However, professional editing will help you close the gap with your competitors who have the advantage of pre-existing inside contacts.

4.3. Iterate

It is easy to become attached to what you have written. Especially after pouring time and energy into a document, constructive criticism can end up being taken personally and ignored. However, if you actually want to get a job in consulting, you need to swallow your pride and be prepared to make substantial changes if they are advised .

Once you have re-drafted the document, you need to cycle through the same stages of quality control again, always making sure that everything is formatted correctly with no typos and then getting decent feedback on what you have produced. To get the whole thing just right will likely take at least a couple of these iterations. Indeed, this is precisely why MyConsultingCoach's review packages all include three rounds of feedback as standard .

Finally, then, you will have completed your cover letter and be ready to submit your application. You can give yourself a pat on the back for getting everything so far done. However, you still have a lot more work ahead of you if you are serious about making it into consulting!

If you are interested in getting an interview at the likes of the MBBs, Kearney, LEK, Deloitte, or any high-end consulting firm, it is absolutely crucial that your cover letter is the very best that it can be .

To this end, we have given a detailed guide on how to optimise a cover letter, breaking down all the relevant sections. Examples were provided from a sample cover letter for a Bain London application, though it was explained that you should never simply copy from such example cover letters.

We encourage you to read further - starting with our resume guide - and to consider editing from one of our ex-MBB consultant coaches. However, what we have given you here is a very good starting point for you to carve out a great draft cover letter.

If you have followed this guide and ideally found someone to provide decent feedback, you should have every chance of being invited to interview. However, nobody is going to do well if they prepare for a consulting interview the way they would for a more "normal" job.

Management consulting interviews area very different beast to what you might be accustomed to elsewhere. You can read more about the characteristic consulting case interviews here here . Suffice to say, though, that a large volume of preparation is both necessary to so well and explicitly expected by the firms themselves . Putting together your consulting resume or cover letter might have seemed arduous or time-consuming, but what was just the tip of the iceberg!

In particular, you will need to learn how to solve case studies. You can start with our intro to case interviews , which links to other useful resources.

It's important to learn to tackle case studies the right way if you want to perform in the more demanding interviews at higher-end firms. The old-fashioned frameworks you will often find promoted online can be dysfunctional in more complex case studies. By contrast, we recommend the slightly more demanding, but much more capable, from-first-principles method used in real consulting work. You can find out more in the followng video:

To make your preparation as effective and time efficient as possible MyConsultingCoach has developed a comprehensive consulting interview prep course . This teaches everything you need to give your best possible showing in an interview. Included are all the mental maths, business and finance theory and logical principles needed not only to solve cases but to do so in a way that will impress the interviewer - the way a real consultant would . Also included is a set of lessons on how to address "fit" questions about your character and motivation to enter consulting.

Find out about our resume editing services

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Consulting Cover Letter: What You Actually Need to Know

The key to effective cover-letters is story-telling. Most people write cover letters like resumes, with cold, hard facts, and that’s the problem.

Cover letters are much more effective if they contain stories capturing the burning spirits of candidates. In this article, I’ll tell you how to install such stories seamlessly into your consulting cover letters, and land a case interview yourself.

Consulting cover letters – The basics

What are cover letters for.

Cover letters are documents accompanying resumes, to provide further insights into the qualities and motivations of a candidate, as well as portray who he/she is as a person .

In consulting cover letters, there are three essential qualities you must always display:

• Leadership skills:  the ability to influence people’s decisions.
• Achieving mindset : the continuous, relentless push for the best results.
• Analytical problem-solving:  the ability to solve problems in a structured, methodical manner.

Regarding motivations, there are two questions you need to answer:

• “Why consulting?”:  Do you really understand the consulting world, and how it fits with your long-term plans? Is there something unique in the consulting track to explain your choice?
• “Why this firm?”:  Out of all the consulting firms, why ours? There should be something uniquely attractive about this firm to you, isn’t there?

And last but not least, don’t forget to show that you have an interesting personality that fits with the firm’s culture.

Cover letters vs Resumes – What’s the difference?

Because so many candidates confuse between the two, then end up writing boring cover letters resembling “paragraph versions” of their resumes, I feed the need to differentiate.

There are four marked differences:

Cover letters go deep, resumes go wide

In cover letters, you should select one or a few most notable achievements, and describe them in detail to reflect your three defining aspects (values, competencies, motivations).

This stands in contrast with resumes, where you cram as many relevant achievements as possible into the space of one or two A4 pages.

Cover letters are “soft” stories, resumes are “hard” bullet lists

The content format of cover letters is much less defined, leaving room for a lot of creativity, unlike resumes which are almost always bullet lists of cold, hard facts.

Your goal as the candidate is to fully utilize that loosely-defined format and make your cover letter as attractive and memorable as possible.

Cover letters describe personality, resumes do not

A crucial role of the cover letter is to portray who you are as a person. Resumes don’t do that, they focus on your achievements.

Your personality does not only come directly through the contents, but also reflected in the style of the letter – so take time to make your cover letter more attractive, and you’ll make a better impression with the screener.

Cover letters touch on future plans, resume concerns mostly the past

In cover letters, you have to answer the motivation questions (why consulting, why this firm). In resumes, that aspect is barely mentioned.

The most credible answers to those questions connect the job with your future plans – as such, the cover letter is not confined to the past like resumes.

Understanding your audience

The vibe inside the screening room.

Busy, tiring, and boring – that’s the vibe inside the screening room.”

Picture this in your mind:

A junior consultant is in the office on a Friday night, going through hundreds of applications. He has to do this as a form of goodwill for the company, on top of his ongoing project.

Everyone’s application looks the same, following one set format; a somewhat extraordinary resume catches his attention, so he checks the cover letter to see if there’s anything interesting, only to be disappointed because the letter is an exact recital of the resume.

If you want to grab the screener’s attention and make memorable impressions, you have to break that negative vibe, using an unordinary cover letter.

Most cover letters are just listings of achievement and cliched motivation statements – they feel like unoriginal walls-of-text that offer nothing new – and that’s the exact reason why many screeners don’t like cover letters. Write an exciting story instead – the screener will love it.

Why they read your cover letter

There are two main reasons why the screener reads your consulting cover letter:

• He wants to know more about your motivations and personality because your resume is both impressive and interesting/unordinary at the same time.
• He wants to clarify some ambiguous points in your resume – this happens if you appear highly competent, but your writing is not clear enough.

In both cases, there’s no excuse to repeat your resume in a paragraph format and disappoint the screener. You have all the reasons in the world to present an attractive, detailed, focused narrative – tell a story and get your interview.

Both the background and the purpose of cover-letter-screening suggest that an innovative story-telling approach is much more beneficial than the common, formulaic, overly-formal cover letters.

Such an approach will definitely make your cover letter stand out from the heap of some 200 other applications. It helps you grab the screener’s attention, and impress him in a memorable way.

Additionally, it makes reading the cover letter easier and more enjoyable. The screener is already tired, so there’s no point in making his life harder.

Whatever the reason, as the cover letter is opened AFTER the resume, the implication is that you need to perfect your consulting resume first!

If you haven’t read it, here’s an A-to-Z guide to writing the perfect consulting resume , from a former McKinsey consultant and resume screener!

Consulting cover letter – Step-by-step guide

All these elements must be presented in a coherent storyline and concise language.

Keep in mind this is a consulting cover letter – as such, your story should be backed up by impactful, specific, verifiable results.

To write impressive, fact-based stories that demonstrate all three necessary aspects of the candidate, I advise you to follow these four steps:

Step 1 – Self-reflect for storylines

Search your memory for events, experiences, ideas… that can serve as a basic storyline – the backbone of your cover letter. For each storyline, consider the following six criteria :

• Uniqueness: The base story should be something unique to you. If it’s something common or universal, you won’t have the screener’s attention.
• Attractiveness: Your story should be attractive and entertaining – only then can you trigger the screener’s curiosity. Usually, it’s something “big” and impactful, but not controversial
• Positiveness: The story should have a positive “vibe” to it. If it’s something sad or negative, don’t include it in your cover letter.
• Qualities: All three consulting qualities (leadership, achieving, analytical problem-solving) should be illustrated in your story. Otherwise, consider that story irrelevant.
• Motivations: Your story should at least help explain why you’re applying, if not providing direct answers to that question. Firms don’t like to hire candidates without clear motivations.
• Personality: Make sure you exhibit a likable personality. On the other hand, if that story suggests negative traits (pessimism, short temper, cynicism, etc.) you have to modify it.

Let’s see if these storylines of my own could match the requirements:

“I escaped from a near-death experience during a paragliding session using my gliding skills.”

This is not something you hear every day, and near-death stories are often quite attractive, so you have those two boxes checked; and for now, there’s no sign of “bad” personality traits.

However, it’s a near-death experience, so it does have a negative vibe. Additionally, it shows neither consulting qualities nor relevant motivations.

=> This story only meets 3 out of 6 criteria. Out!

“I founded an entertainment business which attracted lots of attention, but ultimately failed.”

Not everyone is a startup entrepreneur, so this story does meet the “uniqueness” criterion. It’s relatively easy to draw attention with startup stories, and it’s easy to explain a consulting career choice from a former entrepreneur perspective, too. No negative personality trait is visible.

While being a business owner suggests some leadership and problem-solving experience, as well as an achieving mindset, a failure story like this might raise some questions on the “qualities” aspect; it also creates a negative vibe.

=> Overall, 4.5 to 5 out of 6. Not really the best storyline for a consulting cover letter, but usable with some modifications.

“I broke McKinsey’s code of conduct, convinced a client to pay their long-overdue service fees, and was celebrated for it.”

Is there anyone who doesn’t like those “breaking rules” stories? I’m quite confident this experience is quite unique and attractive. Because this is actual consulting work, it’s undoubtedly easy to point out all the important consulting qualities, as well as to provide a basis for my motivations.

However, this “breaking the rules” story may suggest rebellious tendencies, so if I’m going to use it I’ll again need some modifications.

=> This story scores 5.5 / 6. Quite good but I do need to be careful with it.

Step 2 - Add and classify details

Rack your memory and jot down everything related to your storyline; don’t worry about having too many details, you will be trimming the story later.

Pay special attention to the details best illustrating relevant qualities , motivations , and personality , because you will need to emphasize them.

Step 3 – Structure and enhance

Arrange the details of your story in a logical, intuitive structure; the most common method is:

1. Describe a notable, relevant experience using the problem-action-result structure to impress the interviewer with your qualities first.

2. Try to link it up with the present/future parts of your story (ideas, philosophies, plans) to explain your motivations.

Trim all non-essential and technical details, they do nothing but confuse the reader and bore them to death. Your story should be told in a way even your grandmother can understand.

Then, arrange and enhance the remaining details so that the story feels more dramatic, i.e the uniqueness and difficulty of the problem should be emphasized.

On a related note, consultants dislike lengthy cover letters – in fact, one A4 page is the maximum length – so there’s one more reason to start trimming.

Step 4 – Amplify consulting features

First, make all three key consulting traits stand out from your story – leadership, achieving mindset, and analytical problem-solving.

Then, make subtle references to consulting work using the industry’s terminology and concepts. Most screeners, being consultants themselves, will subconsciously appreciate this. However, avoid buzzwords and slangs found on the Internet, or you’ll appear superficial and unprofessional.

Consulting cover letter – Tips

To write the best cover letter, you must thoroughly understand the industry, its major firms, and even the very office you’re applying into.

To achieve such an understanding, there is quite a bit of research to do – and here are three tips for you to ease that process!

Tip 1: Networking

Successful networking goes a long way in the consulting recruitment process and in cover letters.

Firstly, management consulting firms are relatively publicity-shy, so having a connection within these firms allow you to gain very specific and authentic insights about the firm, the job, as well as the consulting world in general, helping you make better choices and deliver more convincing reasons.

Secondly, you may earn a referral ! The screening stage is harsh – it’s where most candidates are filtered out, both in absolute and proportional terms – and referrals help a great deal with that.

Remember to show your networking efforts by mentioning the names of consultants at the office you’re applying into, as well as their projects. The screener will know you really do care about the job, and you’ve done your homework.

Tip 2: Read consulting news

The websites of major consulting firms all have countless articles on current affairs as well as their own projects – read them frequently and regularly .

For one thing, those articles will deepen your understanding of management consultants and their work, helping you make better choices and explain them more effectively to the screener.

Additionally, reading consulting articles regularly will help you know more about the specific projects of each firm, which you can bring up in cover letters.

Tip 3: Build “cheat sheets”

A few ready-to-use “cheat sheets” containing all the important details on the consulting industry and major firms will significantly ease the writing process.

I recommend making three different groups of sheets – one for the consulting world in general, one for the firms, and the last one about the specific offices you’re applying into.

Be implicit and “smooth” when using these sheets. Make sure to sound as natural and seamless as possible when mentioning your references; avoid putting them at the focus of your sentences, but to use them as supplements to the main idea (e.g: I was awed by the network of experts supporting our project with McKinsey back in 2016).

Consulting cover letter – Visual format

Consulting cover letters are not the place for creative, colorful designs. Format your letters in a conservative, text-dense, black-and-white fashion – that’s how actual consultants do it.

One A4 page is the maximum length for consulting cover letters.

Inside the busy screening room, nobody has the time and energy to read a two-page worth of story, no matter how attractive it is.

If your cover letter exceeds that maximum length, trim away the less important details and shorten your expressions; you can also tweak your font size, spacing, and margins to squeeze the most content into one page.

Use formal, conservative fonts, such as Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, etc.

Keep your font size at 10-12. Larger text tends to feel somewhat “messy”, and they’re space-consuming. Smaller text, on the other hand, feels difficult and tiring to read.

Additionally, the typeface in your cover letter should match that on the resume.

Spacing, margins, and alignment

Use spacings of 1.15 between lines and 1.50-2.00 between paragraphs. Consulting cover letters are quite text-dense, so it’s important to use these white spaces to ease the visual strain.

Always align your text on the left side. Left-aligning is the standard in the United States, where most major consulting firms are based; additionally, left-aligning keeps the horizontal spacing between words even, unlike justified where that spacing varies considerably between each line.

All four margins should be equal at 1 inch. That should keep your letter neat and tidy while maximizing the amount of text on one page.

Other reminders

If you know who’s screening, address them by name. Otherwise, generic salutations are fine.

I’ve come across pages claiming it’s no longer acceptable to write generic salutations (“ To whom it may concern ”); however, in consulting firms where the screening process is assigned to junior consultants on an availability basis, you don’t always know who’s reading your letter, so such salutations are okay.

On the other hand, if you happen to be applying into a small, new office, and your networking efforts are successful, you may know your screener. In that case, refer them by name for a greater impact.

Replacement test

If you can replace the industry and the firm in your letter with something similar and it still makes sense, your tailoring is not enough.

Your motivations should be based on unique and defining descriptions – for example, McKinsey having the largest support network for consultants, or Bain being the frattiest among MBB consulting firms.

Non-unique reasons, such as “prestigious brand name” or “interesting projects” can apply to basically every major consulting firm out there, so they’re not strong bases for your choices.

Maintain formality

Use formal language throughout, and keep standard your heading and salutation.

Show your uniqueness and creativity only through the main content sections. Other “procedural” parts of the cover letter should always remain formulaic – see the sample section.

The language in the main paragraph should also remain formal, i.e no slang, no contraction, no overuse of exclamations.

Avoid short-term motivations

Don’t say you’re in for a 2-year learning experience, or your application will be heading for the bin very, very quickly.

It’s costly to turn fresh graduates into effective consultants, so firms don’t want candidates who will bail out just after they’ve become useful. They want people who will stay in the firm for as long as they can – they want future partners.

You might include long-term plans concerning other industries, but don’t give the impression that you’re bailing out in a few years. If that’s your plan, don’t even mention it.

Proofread and edit

Writing cover letters should be a long process of continuous proofreading, feedback, and editing.

It’s best to find a former/working consultant or at least someone who’s knowledgeable about the industry to help you out. Consulting cover letters differ from normal ones quite considerably, so generic guidelines won’t be of much use.

It’s also very helpful to allow intervals of at least a few days between writing and proofreading sessions; you will find it easier to spot errors if you proofread with a “fresh” mind.

Try to avoid format, spelling, and grammar mistakes at all costs. In consulting cover letters, such mistakes are much less tolerated.

Cover letter file format

Always send your cover letters in the PDF format (most screeners expect you to do so).

This file format will make sure your cover letter appears the same on every computer, and it minimizes the damage that may occur in the file transfer process (by contrast, DOC files are vulnerable to numerous errors).

Depending on the computer, PDFs may look cleaner than DOCs – one possible bonus point for appearance.

Still not sure whether your cover letter is good enough? Book a meeting with former consultants. Our coaches will show you how to make your resume stand out among thousands of candidates. 

Cover letter example

Now that you’ve learned the secrets to the best story-telling cover letter, let’s have a little exercise and help the First President write one to McKinsey, shall we?

(The content in this sample letter is largely fictional for illustration purposes)

George Washington [email protected] Mount Vernon Plantation, Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S.A July 4, 1789

To whom it may concern,

My purpose in life is to liberate the American people and lead them to prosperity. The revolution of the Thirteen Colonies was up against the largest military force in the world – the British Empire – at a four-to-one disadvantage – few if any country had come up against such odds victoriously. And that was the situation I was in, as the leader of the revolution.

Under my lead, the revolutionaries mobilized internal support from 2.4 million soon-to-be American citizens and external support from allies in France. This support allowed us to remain operational even after severe defeats, which would otherwise put an end to the revolution. After six years, the Colonies came out victorious and was recognized as the new United States of America. War is over, so my new task is to steer the newfound States towards economic prosperity – and consulting experience at McKinsey will help a great deal with that.

I happen to also run a plantation business – Mount Vernon by name – which was McKinsey’s client during our expansion project in 1785. I was extremely impressed by the highly structured and data-based approach that McKinsey consultants took to deliver their solutions, and even more impressed by the incredible network of experts that was backing our project.

Through Ms. E.M – the Engagement Manager for our project from McKinsey’s DC Office – I came to be aware of the firm’s expertise in the public sector – which was recognized as being the overall best among major consulting firms.

And for that reason, I realized a consultant position at McKinsey DC will give me invaluable exposure in the public sector, both from its projects and its vicinity to the country’s capital.

I will be looking forward to speaking with you in person, about how I can put my experience as a former head-of-state and an entrepreneur to work at McKinsey.

Sincerely yours, George Washington

Scoring in the McKinsey PSG/Digital Assessment

The scoring mechanism in the McKinsey Digital Assessment

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A Comprehensive Guide to MBB: McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Co.

A guide to get you started on your MBB applications, including what makes each consulting firm unique, interview tips, sample questions, and other expert resources.

Posted March 12, 2024

Featuring Taylor H.

Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Intensive

Tuesday, april 16.

11:00 PM UTC · 45 minutes

Table of Contents

Consulting has become an increasingly competitive industry due to its vast exit opportunities, incomparable work experience, and high entry-level salaries. The application process is complex and requires significant preparation.

Nowadays, there are many global management consulting firms and each has its unique advantages, values, and interview quirks. One of the most important questions that each consulting firm will want its applicants to answer is “Why us?” For this reason, we’ve put together a guide to help you stand out during your McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company (MBB) consulting recruiting.

MBB Similarities

At the high level, all of the MBB firms are essentially doing the same thing: helping solve clients’ most pressing problems and answering their most strategic questions. There are several other things that these three firms also have in common. First, the industries that they operate in are relatively similar. Second, historically, all firms required a substantial amount of travel; typically, a consultant would be at a job site Monday through Thursday and then back at the home office on Friday. Since 2020, the demanding travel schedule has changed significantly; right now, most consultants have a hybrid travel model, but we will see how things continue to evolve in the next few years. Third, the salaries for specific positions are roughly the same. And lastly, consultants at McKinsey, Bain, and BCG will all interact with high-profile companies and have access to very good exit opportunities.

The real specificities come at the regional level. Different offices will have different specializations and it’s important to understand what they are, and which one you want to work for so you can articulate it in your interview. Below you will find a breakdown of each firm, including what makes each different, company-specific interview advice, and general tips.

McKinsey & Company

Quick facts.

Founded: 1926

Revenue: $10.6 Billion

Employees: 30,000

Headquarters: New York, NY

Global Presence: 133 cities in 67 countries

What Makes McKinsey & Co. Unique?

McKinsey & Co. is a strategy consulting firm, meaning it helps clients with high-level initiatives like deals and acquisitions, market expansion, revenue optimization, cost minimization, and more. From early on, McKinsey emphasized the importance of functional expertise in specific industries. They hired individuals with deep knowledge and experience in a specific area in order to provide the best solution to the client. This mindset continues today and the firm continues to stress that regardless of location, McKinsey employees should reach out to one another to tap into expertise in order to best solve the intense problems they are hired to tackle.

Compared to the other firms, McKinsey spends much more time training its employees. Instead of trying to teach people what to do, it attempts to provide a set of fundamental skills that can be used to improve ways of thinking and problem-solving.

The feedback culture at McKinsey is another differentiator that is highly encouraged and used to help employees constantly elevate their work quality and professional development. At least 20 minutes will be put aside every two weeks for a feedback session, but informal feedback may be given at any point. Also, this is expected to go both ways, from head managers to entry-level business analysts and back up.

McKinsey is also committed to a national staffing model, meaning that employees out of any regional office can be assigned to work on a case in any city. So, while the regional concentration might affect which industry the projects are in, it does not necessarily impact where those projects will be located.

McKinsey Values

There are three main values that remain at the core of McKinsey & Co.'s processes: first, a culture that is “values-driven”; second, strategies that are built around long-term success; and last, an environment that brings in exceptional employees. The values that McKinsey remains committed to were in large part established by Marvin Bower, the Managing Director from 1950 to 1967. They include professionalism and putting the client’s interests first, improving clients’ performance significantly, and fostering a non-hierarchical, inclusive, and diverse meritocracy. McKinsey places a lot of importance on sustaining these values and has even demarcated an entire day—known as “Values Day”—for its employees to honor in June.

McKinsey Industries

• Advanced Electronics
• Aerospace & Defense
• Agriculture
• Automotive & Assembly
• Consumer Packaged Goods
• Electric Power & Natural Gas
• Engineering, Construction, and Building Materials
• Healthcare Systems and Services
• Financial Services
• Life Sciences
• Metals and Mining
• Oil & Gas
• Paper, Forest Products, and Packaging
• Private Equity and Principal Investors
• Public and Social Sector
• Real Estate
• Semiconductors
• Technology, Media, and Telecommunications
• Travel, Logistics, & Infrastructure

McKinsey Office Locations

• Washington DC
• Johannesburg
• San Francisco

Expert Advice

“I can't think of a better place to start your career than McKinsey. One of the biggest benefits is being surrounded by such a high caliber of talent from day one. I was blown away by how consistently impressive my colleagues and managers were: these people weren't just smart, but also incredibly kind, thoughtful, and professional. In addition to the hands-on training and mentorship you receive from your manager, you will also "learn through osmosis" by being exposed to sharp minds and creative thinkers day in and day out.

Comparing McKinsey to other top consulting firms, two big differences stand out. The first is McKinsey's size and scale. With thousands more employees than BCG or Bain, that also means McKinsey serves more clients in more industries across a wider range of topics than any other top strategy consulting firm. While some practices are comparatively deeper than others, you'd be hard-pressed to find a major company or organization globally that McKinsey hasn't served in some way, shape, or form.

The second key difference is the level of ownership you're given as an entry-level analyst. The team structure at McKinsey has four layers compared to BCG and Bain's five, meaning you're one level closer to your manager and the partner on your project. From a staffing perspective, a post-undergrad Business Analyst is treated exactly the same as a post-MBA Associate at McKinsey. That means that from day one, you'll have greater ownership, higher expectations, and more opportunity for impact, leading to a faster development trajectory than you'd get anywhere else.”

- Camden R. , HBS MBA, McKinsey Consultant and Recruiter

Interviewing at McKinsey & Co.

Anyone interviewing at McKinsey will have to pass several levels of screenings and interviews. It does not require a cover letter, so dedicate time to making sure your resume is in the condition to pass the first filter and land you an interview. If it is found satisfactory, you’ll move ahead to the Problem Solving Test (“PST”). If you pass that, you’ll have two rounds of interviews, both of which will consist of a case interview and a personal experience interview. Then, you will hear if you have received the offer or not.

The different things that McKinsey is looking for in its interviewees are quantitative and problem-solving skills, creativity, and communication. In the PST, you’ll be expected to outline and solve the problem in a structured and formulaic way, and you’ll likely be required to do mental math. The case interviews will test how you can brainstorm creative and strategic solutions to real-world problems. While you aren’t expected to have industry-specific knowledge, you are expected to understand basic business concepts. Finally, the experience and behavioral interviews will help determine your ability to communicate effectively. Because consultants must constantly interact with clients, communication and interpersonal skills are very important.

McKinsey’s Personal Experience Interview (PEI)

The PEI is McKinsey’s spin on the behavioral interview portion of the consulting application. The biggest difference is that rather than asking several different fit questions, McKinsey likes to dive deep into one question. For example, take one of the sample interview questions, “Talk about a time when you achieved something out of your comfort zone.” After you initially answer, instead of moving on to a different topic, the interviewer will ask a series of follow-up questions like:

• What impact did your achievement have?
• What did you learn from the experience?
• How will it benefit you in the future?
• How did your comfort zone change as a direct result of the achievement?

In the last few years, McKinsey has also begun to include questions on embracing change in the PEI interviews. Have personal experiences and talking points prepared on how you have successfully navigated change in order to do well on this topic. There are two other things to be aware of as you prepare for your PEI interview. First, be careful of repeating the same stories with multiple interviewers. Second, occasionally the interviewer will ask the applicant to give a different story/example about the same topic.

Tips for Success

1. Have talking points ready for each of McKinsey’s main interview topics: personal impact, leadership abilities, entrepreneurial drive, and problem-solving skills.   The first three will mainly be relevant for the PEI interview while the last one is mostly present in the case interview.

On its website , McKinsey makes it clear what attributes they want applicants to demonstrate. Rather than analyzing the entire persona, the firm cares about several specific things. Use this to your advantage by making sure you have excellent examples and talking points for these areas.

2. Prepare examples from personal experiences that demonstrate your skills.

In asking about personal experiences, McKinsey is looking to understand the accomplishments that go beyond what is listed on a resume. This also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate how you will thrive in the McKinsey workplace. McKinsey interviews will often ask follow-up questions in response to the experiences you discuss, so make sure you are prepared to speak deeply about the stories you are telling.

3. Don’t discount the importance of emotional intelligence.

During your case and behavioral interview portions, focus on your emotional intelligence, namely, how you understand why and how other people felt, along with how you used your EQ to make a positive impact.

4. McKinsey case and PEI interviews are interviewer-led; know this going in.

Rather than the candidate leading the interviewer through the case in an interview, the interviewer leads the candidate. The interviewer will choose which part of the case they want the candidate to focus on. In the PEI interview, this means that the interviewer is trying to help you say the right thing, without explicitly telling you what you need to say. Pay close attention to what they’re asking because it’s the best indicator of whether you’re on the right track.

Example Interview Questions

• Explain a challenging situation you encountered when working with someone with an opposing opinion.
• Tell me about a time when you worked to achieve something that was outside of your comfort zone.
• Share an example where you effectively worked with people from different backgrounds.
• Discuss a hypothetical situation with a client to help us understand how you structure tough and ambiguous challenges, identify important issues, deal with implications of facts and data, formulate conclusions and recommendations, and articulate your thoughts.

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Boston Consulting Group

Founded: 1963

Revenue: $8.6 Billion

Employees: 22,000 (2020)

Headquarters: Boston, MA

Global Presence: 90 cities in over 50 countries

What Makes BCG Unique?

More so than the other top consulting firms, BCG is known for its emphasis on giving back to the community and it is very involved in social justice, community service, and other similar initiatives. Several times a year, BCG designates a day for community service days on which it asks its employees to serve their local communities.

Mentorship and leadership development are also very important. Associates will receive a lot of support and resources from higher-level employees, and this starts before they even join the firm. Employees are encouraged to interact with others from all levels and offices of the firm, for personal support, mentorship, help with a case, and anything else. BCG is well-known for cultivating this collaborative atmosphere.

BCG Industries

• Aerospace and Defense
• Building Materials Industry
• Consumer Products Industry
• Financial Institutions
• Industrial Goods
• Infrastructure
• Media Industry
• Medical Devices and Technology
• Metals and Mining Industry
• Oil and Gas
• Power and Utilities
• Principal Investors and Private Equity
• Public Sector
• Transportation and Logistics
• Travel and Tourism

BCG Office Locations

Expert Insight

“BCG values individualism. There is a TON of diversity at BCG, in terms of race and gender but also in terms of geographic/educational/socioeconomic background, working style, personality type, and more. BCG does this extremely intentionally and really tries to emphasize that diversity and steer into it, pushing for people to bring their full self to work and to design the job in a way that will work for them (which manifests itself in things like project choice.

For example, my case gives me a couple of hours every night blocked off for bedtime with my kids. There is also a wide presence of strong, active affinity groups. Furthermore, BCG has a big system in place, known as PTO (predictability, teaming, and open communication), to improve project life with things like weekly surveys and anonymous interviews with a third-party “coach” where every team member can provide feedback on project sustainability, team norms, or anything else that could help improve a project. Obviously, consulting can be demanding and so I really wanted a place that actively sought to make case life sustainable.”

- David O. , BCG Consultant, Ex-LEK, Kellogg MBA

Interviewing at BCG

According to a new hire at BCG, here is what the recruiting process consists of:

• Pre-interview: Application (resume and cover letter) + Pymetrics ( AI assessment tool) test
• Round 1 interview: Online case (case robot) and 30/45-minute behavioral interview (usually live on Zoom)
• Round 2 interview: Two live interviews (usually on Zoom) — the first 30 minutes being a case and the last 15 minutes being behavioral

As an FYI, BCG tends to put a greater emphasis on charts and graphs, so make sure your quantitative and data analysis skills are polished.

Here are a few other tips for nailing your BCG interviews:

1. Don’t reiterate your resume.

As part of the behavioral portion, the interviewer will ask you about your background, ambitions, and motivations for trying to get into consulting. As you explain your previous experience, don’t simply restate what the recruiter can already see. Instead, use it as an opportunity to share more experiences that demonstrate your skills and capabilities.

2. Get to know the office that you want to work at.

More so than some of the other firms, BCG tries to build a cohesive office culture. As such, an applicant’s fit with BCG will depend heavily on the office they’re applying to. Take time to understand what makes the offices different by doing coffee chats with the people that work there, conducting your own research, and thinking about which one is best for you.

3. Own your unique skills and strengths.

As mentioned above, BCG prides itself on actively building a diverse environment. This doesn’t mean that you need to come from an unconventional background; it does, however, mean that you need to understand what you bring to the table and be able to articulate it to the interviewer.

4. Learn to thrive in uncertainty.

In the final rounds of interviews at BCG, it’s not uncommon to be given a brain teaser or twist to measure your ability to think creatively. In doing so, the interviewer is trying to see how you do in uncertainty. Expect this so that when it happens, you’ll know how to navigate it based on the frameworks and cases that you’ve practiced.

5. Be creative .

BCG deeply values creativity — both in terms of solving each case in a creative way and in how candidates approach cases.

Interview Tips from a Top Leland Coach

Also, make sure to check out these essential interview tips directly from Leland Coach Nick V. : "As BCG has implemented technology into its application process over the last two years, including the Pymetrics behavioral test and the online case with a chatbot, many candidates have been unsure how to prepare. After my personal experience in the first year of these post-COVID interviews and subsequent experience mentoring a dozen BCG interviewees in 2021, a few best practices have emerged:

• Don’t stress too hard about preparing for this — it’s a simple, logic-based, adaptive test of your responses in timed situations. Just get a good night’s sleep and be ready with good wifi.
• Don’t take too many risks on the test. Just keep that in mind going into your Pymetrics. A couple applicants who got offers at McKinsey and Bain didn’t get BCG interviews because their results showed they were too willing to take risks.

Online Case

• Practice all the “live” case interview skills — they are directly transferable. For example, choosing the 3 most important buckets to consider for a case becomes a multiple-choice question.
• Practice case interview algebra (esp. profitability) WITHOUT a case interviewer. Get used to typing in an answer to a black box and not knowing if it is correct.
• Record yourself summarizing recommendations in 1 minute or less (you’ll be videoed at the end of the case for this) and watch how you speak and sound."

- Nick V. , Expert Consultant for Aspiring Consultants

• Why do you want to pursue a career in consulting?
• Tell me about a time when you led your team to an extraordinary achievement.
• Tell me about a time that you worked on a team.
• Tell me about a failure and what you learned from it.

“One thing I like to share with prospective candidates is that as compared to other firms, BCG has a unique organizational structure. They like to take an academic approach to problem-solving, which is reflected in their hiring - they often hire PhDs and have relatively few Associates (post-college entry-level positions). This leads to a really interesting culture and is a great opportunity for Associates. Since there are fewer of them compared to other firms, they are given outsized responsibility. There is also less pressure around getting promoted from Associate to Consultant, and there are many great resources for business school applications.”

- Neha S. , BCG Consultant, Facebook/Meta PM, HBS MBA

Applying to BCG? Read this next: How to Get a Job at BCG--Interviewing and Networking Tips

Bain & Company

Founded: 1973

Revenue: $4.5 Billion

Employees: 10,500

Global Presence: 65 offices in 40 countries

What Makes Bain & Co. Unique?

Bain & Co. is the youngest and smallest of the MBB firms, but it makes up for this with innovative processes, high-risk and high-impact initiatives, and an emphasis on results rather than reports. Bain has implemented its clients’ results into its fee structure in order to make sure that delivering success is prioritized.

Bain runs on a local staffing model unlike BCG (regional model) and McKinsey (global model). It does so for several reasons, including minimizing unnecessary travel, promoting mentorship and apprenticeship programs, and fostering office cultures unique to each location.

There are more associate consultants (ACs) than consultants at Bain (a “triangle model”) which is different from BCG and McKinsey which operate more on a diamond model (fewer ACs, more consultants). Bain emphasizes that hiring and promotions are based on a meritocracy; in fact, ACs at Bain & Company often have the opportunity to be directly promoted to consultant after three years, without needing to get an MBA.

Mentorship is taken very seriously at Bain. Instead of being assigned a mentor, new associates are allowed to choose who they’d like to coach them. In addition, Bain provides a budget for building the mentor relationship with activities.

Finally, Bain has non-profit consulting and private equity branches that attract many applicants. The Private Equity Group (PEG) is a designated team that does due diligence services for big funds. Bainies can rotate in and out, getting exposure to private equity and setting themselves up for more competitive exit opportunities. Pro tip: make sure you write a strong cover letter when applying to Bain! A recruiter there let us know that they are essential to landing the interview.

Bain & Company Office Locations

• Los Angeles
• Rio de Janeiro
• Washington, DC

Bain & Company Industries

• Advanced Manufacturing & Services
• Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services
• Agribusiness
• Automotive and Mobility
• Consumer Products
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Forest Products, Paper, and Packaging
• Infrastructure, Construction, and Building Products
• Machinery and Equipment
• Media and Entertainment
• Private Equity
• Social and Public Sector
• Telecommunications
• Transportation
• Utilities and Renewables

Interviewing at Bain & Company

The Bain Head of Consultant Recruiting outlined what the firm primarily looks for during interviews and it includes problem-solving skills, an ability to lead, delivery of results, and passion. When brainstorming personal experiences to share, think through how they fit into these characteristics. Like the other firms, Bain requires a behavioral/fit interview, case interview, and potentially a written case interview. Written case interviews are mainly used in the US, UK, and Russia and are longer cases in which the applicant is given 90 minutes to do an analysis on a 20-page document and will then present five slides to the interviewer.

Opposite of Mckinsey, Bain & Company case interviews are primarily candidate-led, meaning the applicant is expected to present their framework and walk the interviewer through what they believe to be the correct next steps. You should step into a leading role, taking the initiative and suggesting the next steps. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for data. If it isn’t available, the interviewer will simply tell you that. Interviews will ask a market sizing question and you will need to make several assumptions and estimates to solve it.

1. Network, network, network.

The recruiting team talks to each other and it’s important to make sure that the people who will be reviewing your application know who you are. Get a warm intro and do practice cases. However, don’t ping all the Bainies at once, especially with the same template letter.

2. Start early.

When recruiting season rolls around, the associate consultants will already have the cohort of students/recruits that they’re working with and probably won’t have much time to meet and get to know new people. For this reason, start reaching out, doing practice cases, and building relationships with Bainies early on–months before the recruiting kicks into high gear.

3. Practice the most common types of Bain & Company cases and use frameworks.

Bain uses three kinds of case interviews much more than others: profitability, market-entry, and merger and acquisition cases. So, before interviewing for Bain, make sure you have a deep understanding of how to succeed in these types of cases. Frameworks can help with this by providing a structure that can break down more complex problems into digestible components. Also, it will make sure that you are organized at a high level before you dive into the details.

4. Treat the case interview as a real-life scenario.

Many of the cases used in Bain & Company's interviews are actual cases that past consultants have faced. When going through the case, don’t be afraid to make real-life connections. Maybe you saw an article about the industry you’re working in, or read a report on a recent related trend. Doing this shows the interviewer that you are cognizant of the effect that these cases have and their relevance to everyday life.

Advice from a Coach: Bain Networking and Recruiting

At Bain, it’s not about how good you look on paper. It’s about Bain placing bets on the most likely candidates to crush the interviews and accept the offer. What does this mean for you? Well, start networking and casing with employees BEFORE the gamut of students begins reaching out to the Associate Consultants. That means you should start at the beginning of May or June and have a cadence of cases every three or four weeks or so. Focus on improving your case interview skills and ask deeper and deeper questions about Bain. If you’re staggering case interviews with ACs, then you may be able to get one every week.

Also, don’t underestimate the importance of networking. Though everyone may tell you that a networking call or practice case interview is non-evaluative, from June on, that is a bald-faced lie. ACs are absolutely rating candidates. For the first networking chat of the summer, it’s best if you have a warm lead. That can come from your consulting club presidency connecting you with Bainies in an email, from students on campus that have gotten offers, or from friends that are also recruiting.

Here are a few of the common pitfalls that I’ve seen applicants run into.

1. Pinging all the Bainies at once, asking for time

Look, we talk. ACs have a team chat. If we get the same template letter asking for time, we will probably still give it to you, but it’s not the best route. Better to get warm intros and stagger, ESPECIALLY if one AC refers you to another Bainie.

2. The airport test

Every Bainie knows this rule, and it is this: “If you are stuck in an airport for eight hours with this person, are you going to enjoy that time or go crazy?” So don’t be a goober. Social grace, proper grooming, being thankful, etc. are all super important in a client-facing job, and the decision-makers can tell. I’ve told the school team to exclude students (even “dude” friends) that wouldn’t pass the airport test.

3. Not beginning early enough

Every AC has their cohort of students they are working with, and when August rolls around, not only are we knee-deep in client work (as new Bainies have been coming on and we need to train them) but we also get a ton of in-bounds to practice cases with. If it truly is your first time hearing about consulting (and you’re a ringer) then you get a pass, but otherwise, we simply don’t have the time to case with you.

4. Not attending on-campus events

Odds are that all the interactions have been virtual so far in the summer. This is normal and fine. But when Bain is on campus, go to the events and introduce yourself in person! Make sure they see your face, smile, and banter a bit. That personal connection is helpful.

- John K. , Former Senior Associate Consultant at Bain & Co and Member of the Recruiting Team.,

• What is a difficult decision that you’ve made in the past year?
• Tell me about a time when you changed the direction of a team.
• What is an example of a time that you showed initiative and leadership?
• What experience are you most proud of?

“I loved working at Bain! Bain really embodies what people development means - and genuinely tries their best as a firm to help you reach your goals. During my time with Bain, I've done externships, office transfers, and an MBA - and the process each time has been as smooth as I can hope for. I've also always felt that everyone, from staffing to managers to mentors, cared about my needs and goals and was always there to provide guidance and support whenever I needed it.”

- Jaye Z. , Bain & Co. in Singapore, GSB MBA, VC and Startups

Applying to Bain & Company? Here are some other resources to help you as you navigate the application process, written by our expert management consulting coaches:

• How a Disneyland Churro Helped Me Land a Job at Bain (and 5 Pitfalls to Avoid in Market Sizing Problems)
• How to Get an Interview at Bain & Co.

Bonus: Writing a Compelling Consulting Resume

The first screening step that all firms take to filter out applicants is a resume (and for some companies, a cover letter) review. For this reason, it’s extremely important to have a polished resume that highlights your achievements, showcases strong skills, and makes a compelling case for your candidacy. As you edit your resume, keep these tips in mind:

Consulting Resume Tips

1. Minimize white space, but don’t go overboard.

Consulting resumes tend to have less white space than other corporate resumes. Consultants are used to seeing lots of data and they expect to see your impact on a resume. Don’t go overboard by filling every possible space, but also don’t be afraid to add details. Don’t use a font size smaller than 10 pt. and keep your resume to one page, full stop .

2. Organize your resume in a professional, clear structure.

If you are a university hire, your resume should be organized into the following buckets (in order): first, education; second, professional experience; third, leadership and/or service experience; and fourth, personal and/or any additional information. Generally, it’s logical to put the experiences in reverse chronological order. Then, add bullet points based on relevance and impressiveness. If you are an experienced hire, your experience section should come first (instead of education).

3. Quantify, quantify, quantify.

While having a recognizable company will definitely add some prestige and validation to your resume, the most important thing that you can do is to show how you made an impact by quantifying your experiences. Doing so will show both that you are results-oriented (very important for consulting) and that you made a difference. For example, did you “increase revenue by x amount” or “cut operations costs by x%”? Also, focus on the outcomes unique to you, instead of points that anyone at the company could have said.

These tips came from Leland Coach Camden R. , an HBS MBA Candidate, and former McKinsey Consultant:

1. Show lasting impact: Consulting is all about creating a lasting impact for clients. Consulting firms want to see how you have driven impact at your school, in your work, and in leadership positions.

2. Focus on unique outcomes: Don’t waste space describing what anyone in your role would have done. Focus instead on unique outcomes that you enabled. Talk about what you did, how you did it, and the impact you achieved.

3. Include who you are as a person: The resume should provide a view not just into what you’ve done, but also into who you are as a person, including your background, strengths, and interests.

4. Prioritize your experiences: Prioritize the experiences you include. Depth is more valuable than breadth, so do not include every job you have ever had.

5. Share unique experiences: In your Leadership, Skills & Interests section, share truly unique experiences about what you have done and/or enjoy.

Consulting Resume Template

Here is Leland’s resume template. Once you’ve got a draft, work with one of Leland’s expert resume coaches to polish and perfect it.

Example Consulting Resume

This resume was provided by one of our experts for his role as an Associate Consultant at Bain & Co. Notice how every point is quantified and the impact he specifically made is apparent. Also, from reading the resume you get a peak of not just who he is professionally, but also as a person. This is important because the firms are not hiring a robot; they’re hiring someone who will be client-facing and needs a personality, not just a brain.

Where Can I Start?

Applying to consulting jobs can be daunting, but Leland is here to support you every step of the way. Here are several other articles to get you started:

• Five Tips for Breaking Into Management Consulting
• A Day in the Life of a Management Consultant
• Best 30 Free Resources to Get Into Management Consulting
• Top MBA Programs for a Career in Consulting
• What to Major in for Consulting
• How to Network for Management Consulting

For one-on-one, personalized guidance, work with one of our expert coaches who can advise you on consulting firms, run mock interviews, review your resume, and much more. See them all here .

Leland provides you with the content, community, and coaching that you need to build your dream consulting career and accomplish other ambitious goals. Sign up today to gain access to additional free resources, community events, small group classes, world-class coaching, and more.

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Career in Consulting

Consulting Cover Letter: a step-by-step guide (2024)

With a great CV, your consulting cover letter can open the door to scoring an interview and, ultimately, getting a job in consulting.

But it’s not that easy: less than 30% of applicants receive a call for an interview.

Thus, in this article, I’ll show how to write a persuasive and customized cover letter to move your job application to the top of the pile .

In particular, I’ll show you the exact steps you need to take to write a consulting cover letter that:

• Set you apart from the crowd
• Express your motivation to join the firm you are applying to

But first, let me introduce you to Paul.

Paul is a recent graduate from a business school in France.

He did two internships (one in Marketing and one in Finance).

Paul used the tips from this article to learn how to write a cover letter for a consulting job and landed job interviews in ALL the consulting firms he applied to . 

At the end of this article, you’ll see Paul’s consulting cover letters for McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, and Deloitte.

Also, you’ll find a consulting cover letter template to help you craft your consulting cover letters. 

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Get the latest data about salaries in consulting, what is a cover letter.

Along with your resume, a cover letter is an important part of your consulting job application.

It is intended to provide a more in-depth introduction, enhancing the information in the resume or CV, outlining pertinent qualifications, and showcasing some of your most noteworthy achievements.

A strong cover letter convinces the employer that your skills align with their requirements and demonstrates the following:

• Justifications for your qualifications for the job.
• An explanation of why you want to work as a consultant.
• Justifications for why you would be a good fit for their particular company.
• Your capacity for producing engaging, clear, and concise writing.

A strong cover letter should ultimately focus on “why should we hire you” and “what’s in it for us.”.

And for that reason, it’s worthwhile to take the time to write a strong cover letter .

What recruiters want

The consulting recruiting process is costly for top consulting firms. 

Do the math:

Multiply the time spent by a management consultant giving interviews by their fees.

You’d get an insanely high number.

Therefore, management consulting firms want to invite only candidates with a serious chance of making it.

To do so, they use two selection criteria. 

Selection criteria 1: do you have the right consulting skills?

ALL consulting firms essentially look for these 4 skills when screening your application documents (resume and consulting cover letter):

• Problem-solving : As a Consultant, you will be essentially a problem-solver. Thus, Consulting firms will assess the range of problems you had to solve and the impact you had.
• Leadership abilities : As a Consultant, you must get things done while working with others. Thus, Consulting firms will assess your ability to work in teams and create a climate where people are motivated to do their best.
• Personal impact : As a Consultant, you will need to gain the support and commitment of others. Thus, Consulting firms will assess your ability to develop relationships with people and influence someone to act upon your recommendation.
• Drive : As a Consultant, you will work on new consulting projects every 3x months. Thus, Consulting firms will assess how comfortable you are with new situations and your ability to perform outside your comfort zone.

Selection criteria 2: are you a good fit?

A career in consulting is not for everyone.

It’s demanding. 

And it can sometimes be stressful.

Therefore, management consulting firms want to assess your motivation to pursue a career in consulting.

And more specifically, a career in consulting in their firm.

To do so, they’ll assess if you’ve done your homework.

For instance, do you understand what consultants do?

And do you understand what makes them different from other management consulting firms?  

Related articles :

Your answer to the question Tell me about yourself must be consistent with the information on your resume.

Check this article explaining how to craft a superior answer to the question “ Tell me about yourself .” 

Also, read this article to learn more about the recruiting process at McKinsey.

Besides, I’ve written articles about the recruiting process at Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company .

How to write a consulting cover letter: your step-by-step guide

Good consulting cover letters tend to follow a tried-and-trusted format. 

One that’s set up in a way that lets you show off your accomplishments and what are your motivations to join this consulting firm in particular .

If you’re worried about sticking to the same format as everyone else somehow stopping you from standing out, don’t.

It’s what you say (or don’t say) that counts. 

Let’s break down how your cover should look.

Step 1: Add the header (mandatory)

To begin with, start your cover letter with the following information:

• Phone number
• Email address
• Date of sending

In addition, you can include the company’s name and address to which you’re applying.

Step 2: include the greetings (mandatory)

The greeting needs to display the right level of respect and professionalism.

If you have a name for the contact person, use it.

If you don’t know the contact person’s name, you can begin your cover letter with “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Do your best to find out to whom you’re writing to.

Look at the company website or LinkedIn page to see if you can track down the hiring manager’s name. 

Or  take the initiative to call the company.

Someone on the other end of the phone might be happy to tell you who does the hiring.

Step 3: write the opening paragraph (mandatory)

If you were to meet a hiring manager in person, you wouldn’t just throw your resume in their face and walk away, would you?

I’d like you’d offer a handshake and tell them who you are first.

This paragraph  is like a good handshake.

You want your first paragraph to be strong, succinct and make a great first impression .

In your opening paragraph , start strong:  show enthusiasm and show you want to come in there and make a contribution .

Hook the reader early with a first paragraph that makes them want to read.

You can use these guiding questions to craft the first paragraph of your cover letter .

• Which position are you applying to ? Consultant in the BCG Munich office 
• What are your personal qualities? Results-driven and eager to learn. 
• Who are you? What are your past and present experiences? A final-year student at HEC Paris who completed two internships in the Banking and Technology sectors
• What is your most impressive achievement? Experience in working with C-level management teams  

This is an important cover letter tip: 

Mention the position you’re applying to (Business Analyst, Senior Consultant, Associate, etc.)

Step 4: explain why you are a good candidate (mandatory)

Your management consulting cover letter must say why you’re the right person for the job. 

This is one of the most important consulting cover letter tips.

To do so,  you must  highlight the specific skills and experiences that make you an ideal candidate for consulting .

For instance, here is how Paul has highlighted his skills in his consulting cover letter.

Here are the four steps followed by Paul to show off his skills in his cover letter :

• Step 4.1: List your most impressive achievements and write a great resume.
• Step 4.2: Select three skills you want to emphasize.
• Step 4.3: Select three achievements that best illustrate how you used those three skills.
• Step 4.4: Highlight these three achievements in your cover letter. But don’t repeat your resume word by word; show your personality instead.

Step 4.1: List Your Most Impressive Achievements And Write A Great Resume

In the “Consulting resume: 11 steps to get interviews in 2023”   article, you have the exact steps you need to take to:

• List your most impressive achievements
• Summarize these achievements into compelling action statements in your resume
• Format your resume with a ready-to-use template
• Get inspired with (literally) hundreds of examples
• And much more…

So, start your cover letter… by writing your consulting resume !

Step 4.2: Select The 3 Skills You Want To Emphasize In Your Consulting Cover Letter

Choose the three skills you want to emphasize in your cover letter . 

For instance :

• Problem-solving : how you used your analytical and quantitative skills to solve a problem and had an impact
• Leadership skills : how you got something done while working with someone or a group of people
• Personal impact : how you influenced people to act upon your recommendations

Another cover letter tip:

Do NOT put three achievements in your cover letter that illustrate the same skills twice or thrice.  

If you do so, you will undermine your profile…

And lose an opportunity to show that you are a well-rounded professional .

Step 4.3: Select The 3 Achievements That Best Illustrate How You Used Those Skills

You now must have a great list of achievements and an outstanding resume. 

Now, it’s time to select which achievements you will highlight in your cover letter.

To do so, select which achievements best illustrate your experience in three chosen skills . 

To do so, choose three achievements you feel are your strong suits to focus on.

For instance, you can ask yourself :

• Which achievements are you most proud of?
• Where did you have the biggest impact?
• Which achievements were the most challenging?

Step 4.4: Highlight These 3 Achievements In Your Cover Letter. But Do NOT Repeat Your CV Word-By-Word; Show Your Personality Instead

Finally, highlight these three achievements in your cover letter. 

However,  your cover letter shouldn’t just rehash your resume . 

In other words, do not repeat your word-by-word resume.

Because this will give a weak impression.

Instead, use  the letter to tell a brief story , such as “my toughest sale” or “my biggest technical challenge,” and show your personality . 

That’s  how you will stand out from the rest .

It will make a HUGE difference if you show your personality when highlighting your achievements in your cover letter.

The secret to showing your personality is to tell the readers WHY these achievements matter to YOU .

For instance:

• WHY this achievement was important for you
• WHY this achievement, in particular, was challenging
• Why did you enjoy this achievement 
• WHY this achievement left a positive (or negative) mark on you 

Do you see the pattern here?

To make it personal, explain WHY a particular achievement is important for YOU .

There are four  reasons why a particular achievement can be  important for you : 

• You had to manage (or you were part of a team managing) something critical for your company. In other words, you had a huge impact.
• The situation you had to handle was very challenging : you had to deal with a tight schedule, you had few resources to reach your objectives, you were in the middle of stakeholders who were not aligned, etc. In other words, it was tough ! Think of these long hours spent at the office 🙂
• You had to do something for the first time : present something in front of the leadership team for the first time, face a specific problem for the first time, have to handle a crisis for the first time, have to manage a team for the first time, etc. In other words, you learned a lot. 
• Or a combination of these 3 things : critical x challenging x first time (I can imagine how stressful it was!!)

So, to conclude, when describing your achievements in your cover letter, make sure to cover these four critical elements:

• The problem you had to solve
• How you solve this problem (your action)
• The outcome (the results of your action)
• Why was this achievement important for you

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Step 5: explain why you want to join this firm (mandatory)

A well-written cover letter highlights your credentials for a job and proves your desire to work for this company in particular. 

The golden rule of applying to a job is showing interest in the firm you apply to . 

Explaining your motivation to join a company is what is most important for recruiters, according to a recent survey of 200 recruiters.

Why is explaining your motivations to join this specific firm so important?

Think of it from the consulting firm’s perspective: they want to hire someone who will positively impact the firm and its customers and someone who is a good fit.

The hiring process is very costly and time-consuming. 

Therefore, they don’t want to hire someone who will leave the company after 12 months .

Being specific when you express your motivations to join a consultancy is key.

It won’t impress the readers if you give general reasons that can be applied to other consultancies. 

Even worse,  it shows that you haven’t done your homework and haven’t done any research about the company .

Thus, do not write, “I want to work for McKinsey because it’s the market leader” or “I want to join the Boston Consulting Group because I’ll be able to work with smart people.” 

Note:  I’ll show you how to use these two (good) reasons yet sound specific . 

So, now let’s see  how to express your motivation to join this firm in particular . 

To begin with, let’s see what Paul wrote in his McKinsey cover letter.

Paul gave two reasons why he is interested in joining McKinsey & Company. 

Each of his reasons follows this formula :

Step 5.1: Start By Giving A Reason Why You Want To Join This Company

You want to join a top consulting firm for many good reasons .

So if you are asking yourself, “Why McKinsey?”, “Why BCG?”, “Why Bain?”, “Why Deloitte?”, Why Accenture?” or “Why any other firms,” you should consider the following reasons :

• The company’s culture : you think you’ll be a good fit with the company’s culture. For instance, the culture of excellence at McKinsey. Or the collaborative culture at Bain & Company. Another example: the diversity of profiles promoted by the Boston Consulting Group
• Its reputation : you want to work for a company recognized as a global market leader, such as McKinsey & Company. Or do you want to join a well-known advisor in a specific geography like Bain & Company in the Middle East?
• The company’s specialization : you can have a special interest in a topic or an industry and join a firm with expertise in that topic or industry. For instance, Simon Kucher & Partners for pricing, or Bain & Company for Private Equity. Or maybe McKinsey is the only consulting firm working with public entities in your region 
• Smart colleagues : you want to be inspired and work with people inside and outside the firm who will challenge your work and how you think. For instance, McKinsey is obsessed with working mainly at the CEO level
• The company’s size : you want to join a new (or a small) office and be part of the teams that will help develop that office. Or the office can be well established, but you want to join a newly created practice and want to help develop it
• The company’s international footprint : you want to have the opportunity to work in an international environment or to be relocated to an office abroad in a couple of years. For instance, some consulting firms have international staffing rules, whereas others offer only local staffing opportunities
• The career progression opportunity : you want to join a company that invests a significant amount each year to train their consultants. For instance, Bain is known to put a high value on training their employees

So, think of “Why do you want to work for this company?” or “What attracts you to work for this company?” and check which reasons make sense.

However,  if your cover letter mentions some of the previous reasons without any more explanations, your answer will sound very generic  (and weak).

For instance, if you write, “I want to work for a prestigious company and be surrounded by smart colleagues,” this can be applied to most consulting firms. 

That’s  why you need to add evidence that you know what you are discussing .

In other words, you must show that you did your homework and researched the company. 

That’s step 5.2.

Step 5.2: Then, Back-Up Your Reason With A Persuasive Source Of Information

To make your answer convincing, you must back up your reason with a good source of information.

Thus, you will show the readers that you are not applying to this firm for random but thoughtful reasons. 

To do so, there are three persuasive sources of information that you should consider::

• Consultants who work at the company you are applying to . Your interviewer wants to know if you have done your homework and have talked to anyone from the office you are applying to, or at least from the firm in general. In other words, networking is super important.
• Reports produced by the company, such as the McKinsey Quarterly or the BCG Insight. Tell them you read and found interesting a report or an article about a topic you like.
• Alumni with whom you have worked with . If you had the opportunity to work with alumni from the firm you are applying to, mention it. This shows that you have an idea of what working there looks like.

To conclude, back up the reasons why you want to join a company with one of these sources of information, and you’ll show the readers that you researched the company and thus demonstrate real interest .

Step 5.3: Finally, Explain Why This Reason Is Important For You

Now, it’s time to make it personal. 

As for your skills  (read again writing tip 6, “Show your personality in your cover letter” if necessary),  explain why this particular reason is important for you .

For instance, you can explain why working for a global market leader such as McKinsey is important:

You are excited by the opportunity to work on impactful projects. 

Another example:

You can explain why the focus of Bain & Company on having an impact is important for you: you need to have tangible results from your work.

Step 5.4: Repeat The Previous Steps 1 Or 2 Times

Try to give a minimum of 2 (and a maximum of 3) reasons why you want to join a particular firm.

Therefore, repeat the previous steps 1 or 2 times.

Step 6: say why you want to pursue a career in consulting (optional)

This section is optional. 

90% of the time, your management consulting cover letter should NOT include this section .

If you need to include this section, keep it short. 

My recommendation is a maximum of 3 or 4 lines.

And to do so, the process is simple.

First, select one or two reasons you want to pursue a career in consulting.

Here are some examples of reasons to pursue a career in consulting:  

Second, explain why this reason is important for you .

For instance, why is having an impact important for you?

Or why is working in an environment with a strong learning curve important for you?

Again, keep your answers concise.

Step 7: end with a call to action (mandatory)

This is your call to action.

Thank the readers for their time, and let them know you’re excited to be interviewed.

I would welcome the chance to discuss further your expectations and how my analytical, leadership, and communication skills can bring value to McKinsey.

Always be polite and respectful in your close.

Let them know how eager you are to be interviewed, but never make demands.

Step 8: add your consulting cover letter signature

Sign off your letter with a “Best” or “Best regards” (remember to include a comma), followed by your name.

You can use other phrases like “Yours sincerely,” “Kind regards,” or “Best wishes,” but “Best” or “Best regards” are the safest options.

Step 9: proofread and check typos

Now it’s time to polish your consulting cover letter to ensure it stands out.

Like your resume,  your cover letter is one of the few things in your life that needs to be perfect .

Thus, you must put the same attention to detail in your cover letter as Consultants do with their slide deck presentations.

In other words, perfection is the minimum standard your cover letter must pass to keep it out of the rejection pile.

Pay close attention to the following areas to make your cover letter bulletproof.

Imagine finding out that your application — the one you spent hours working on — was dismissed because of a few small spelling or grammar errors. 

That would be tough to take.

But it happens.

Hiring managers must review hundreds of resumes and cover letters.

And typos are one of the easiest ways to narrow applicants down . 

So, double or triple-check your cover letter.

When you’ve done that, have someone else read over it.

#2: Formatting Errors

Large blocks of text are hard work on the eyes, especially on a screen. 

Therefore, keep sentences short and limit paragraphs to three or four sentences.

Moreover, I recommend using bullet points when describing your most critical skills and achievements . 

Another thing to remember is that your cover letter and resume will be read together, so the two should be consistent in how they look. 

Thus, match the style of your cover letter to your consulting resume .

To help you, I have put a cover letter template at the end of this article.

In addition, you can find a resume template in this article .

#3: Any Trace of Copy And Paste

The  “I am writing to apply for the role of  [job]  at  [company] ”  example from a previous cover letter is classic copy-and-paste.

Anything non-specific or generic immediately has the hiring manager wondering how many other people you’ve tried to impress with your robotic writing . 

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use copy-and-paste templates.

It just means you shouldn’t make it obvious that you do.

#4: Too Many Words

According to a survey by Saddleback College, almost 70% of employers want a cover letter to be less than one page.

24% say that the shorter, the better.

Generally, your consulting cover letter should be less than 500 words and fit on a single page . 

Let me repeat because it’s important:

Your consulting cover letter must be on one page.

#5: File Name And Type

First, use the PDF format when submitting your cover letter to a consulting firm unless otherwise specified by the company or recruiter.

Besides, when assigning a file name to your cover letter, include your first and last name along with the name of the company you’re applying to in the name of the file, like “Sébastien Ritter Cover Letter McKinsey.”

Step 10: get your cover letter reviewed by an expert

To ensure your consulting cover letter is error-free, share it (with this article 😉) with your friends and ask for feedback.

But do not ask all your friends.

Instead, focus on these three people: a grammar champion, an HR person (preferably in the consulting industry, but non-consulting HR is fine, too), and a Consultant.

Step 11: complement your cover letter with a great CV

I recommend focusing your time and energy on your consulting resume before writing your cover letter. 

Because recruiters say they spend a maximum of 60 seconds deciding whether a candidate should be invited for an interview, they probably start by figuring out whether you have the skillset and education required for the job.

And that’s the purpose of the resume .

For instance, I recommend spending 80% of your time writing your CV and 20% writing your cover letter.  

Check this article that will help you craft your CV .

You’ll find a step-by-step guide, templates, and examples to help you craft a perfect consulting resume. 

My best consulting cover letter tips

In 2023, I analyzed 147 management consulting cover letters . 

As a result, here are my 7 best cover letter tips. 

And here is the best part:

You’ll also learn the most common mistakes to avoid at all costs. 

Consulting cover letter tip 1: Personalize your letter for each firm

Never send a generic cover letter.

This implies that you must create a new one for each firm.

Consulting cover letter tip 2: Simplify your letter

Clarify and condense your message.

Using complicated words and sentences would almost certainly fail to convey your intentions to the company, and the person reading the letter probably won’t bother with the rest of your application.

Consulting cover letter tip 3: Be specific when needed

Make sure to quantify your accomplishments.

For instance, elaborate on your marketing expertise in your cover letter by stating that you increased revenue to $10,000 while bringing in 200 more clients monthly.

Having specific personal information can help you stand out from other applicants.

Consulting cover letter tip 4: Omit unnecessary details

Let’s state the obvious:

You don’t need to mention your graphic design experience.

Personal information like accomplishments in leisure activities, interests, and hobbies are best left out.

Consulting cover letter tip 5: Show Your Value

When applying for consulting positions, it’s a common error for candidates to focus only on their individual accomplishments.

Cover letters with many “me memes” are frequently read by recruiters.

This means that rather than emphasizing how they can contribute to the company (and eventually become partners), many applicants concentrate on how they will personally benefit from the position in question.

In your cover letter, highlight how your skills will help the company.

Consulting cover letter tip 6: Remember that spelling counts

Grammar and spelling mistakes can indicate that you neglected to proofread your own letter.

Additionally, be consistent—do not represent a dash with “—” in one location and “–” in another.

Consulting cover letter tip 7: Give Yourself Time to Write a Quality Letter

A strong consulting cover letter takes time to write, just like consulting resumes do.

It’s important to consider your accomplishments and what sets you apart from others if you want to be successful.

Think twice before assuming you can create a quality cover letter in a single evening.

It necessitates numerous revisions, careful rereading, and prompt feedback.

Additionally, you must ensure that the cover letter complements your resume flawlessly and elaborates on your impressive abilities and experiences.

Four consulting cover letter examples

In the next 4 sections, you can find sample cover letters for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain & Company.

McKinsey cover letter (Undergraduate)

Now, you can see a first consulting cover letter sample.

That’s the McKinsey cover letter used by Paul. 

Please note that this Junior Consultant cover letter (or a cover letter for the Associate Consultant position) can also work for other positions. 

BCG cover letter (experienced hire)

Here is now a BCG cover letter from an experienced hire.  

Bain cover letter (Undergraduate)

Here is now a Bain & Company cover letter from an undergraduate student.  

Bonus: McKinsey cover letter from FirmLearning

Here is another McKinsey cover letter example from the YouTube channel Firm learning:

Do you want more consulting cover letter samples?

Then sign up for our free training !

In this free training, you’ll find consulting cover letter samples and tips on acing your consulting interviews at top management consulting firms.

And you’ll improve your problem-solving skills!

Consulting cover letter templates

Do not reinvent the wheel.

Thus, you can download free consulting cover letter Word or PDF templates to fasten the writing process .

These detailed templates will help you correctly outline your management consulting cover letter.

You can use these templates to apply to any top-tier consulting firms, including the following:

• Bain & Company
• Oliver Wyman
• Roland Berger
• Deloitte Monitor
• Strategy&
• E&Y Parthenon
• And many more.

If you need help writing your resume, these templates will help you.

Here is the Word template .

And here is the PDF template .

Besides, check this article to download consulting resume templates and examples.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a cover letter be.

Aim at 2–4 paragraphs within one page.

Do I need a cover letter?

I ALWAYS recommend adding a cover letter to your application .

Because a well-written cover letter will always distinguish your application.

If a resume shows your  Skills and Accomplishments, a consulting cover letter must show your Personality and Motivation.

In other words, a great cover letter is your chance to say something about yourself that you can not put in your resume.

And for securing your dream consulting job, any advantage you can gain over other candidates to land an interview is worth taking.

A good consulting cover letter is one such advantage.

This article helps showcase your personality and motivation in your consulting cover letter.

Also, here is what recruiters say will get an application rejected (source: careerbuilder.com ):

Not submitting a consulting cover letter is a risk of rejection . 

How to organize your consulting cover letter sections?

Short answer: the order of the sections does not matter much.

For instance, you can organize your management consulting cover letter like this:

• Why consulting

Or you can organize the sections of your management cover letter differently. 

There is no one-size-fits-all management consulting cover letter winning order.

Consulting cover letter: final words

I hope you found this new guide to writing a persuasive, customized cover letter for consulting jobs helpful. 

Now I’d like to hear what you have to say:

Which tip from today’s post was the most helpful for you?

Is it how to show your personality?

Or maybe it is how to express your motivation for a particular firm.

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

P.S. Are you looking for help?

If you want a team of experts by your side throughout the entire consulting recruitment process, check if we would be a good fit by clicking here .

Besides, check our clients’ success stories .

We’ve helped hundreds of candidates get offers at top consulting firms around the globe. 

The best part?

Those candidates had various backgrounds: MBAs, Engineers, PhDs, experienced professionals, etc.

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18 thoughts on “Consulting Cover Letter: a step-by-step guide (2024)”

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The only useful and structured cover letter writing article on the whole internet!

Happy that you enjoyed the article, Anthony 🙂

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I didnt realise how much i need this article, till i read it . Truly helpful , Thanks Sebastien 🙂

Thanks! glad you found it helpful!

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Brilliant brilliant work, Sebastien! Thank you very much. The best I have come across so far.

Thank you very much Samuel!

Wow, this paragraph is pleasant, my sister is analyzing such things, so I am going to inform her.

Great article to read, all the tips are great….

Thanks! I’m glad you like it

Ththank you very much for the article which was very interesting, just like the one about the CV!

However, I was wondering if following this structure in 3 adjectives and form could not be penalizing since many people have already followed your article?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Hi Thomas. Thank you for your comment, and I’m glad you’ve liked this article! Regarding your question, besides the structure described in this article, the content (the reasons why you are interested in a firm and why these reasons are important for you) will make your CL unique. Hope this helps, Sébastien

I never write comments like this on the internet but felt compelled to express my gratitude. This, and the resume writing article, are the most thoughtful and helpful guides I have ever read on this topic. Although I am a teacher in England (not an American consultant!) I found all the advice to be completely transferrable and have done a major overhaul on my CV. Thank you for being so clear and thorough in your advice – I have shared it with my colleagues and will continue to spread the word to anyone who needs CV writing advice in any profession.

Thank you Emily for the nice comment

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Consulting Cover Letter Tips, Hacks, Requirements & Examples

By: Author Will Bennett

Posted on Last updated: February 22, 2023

If you’re applying for consulting positions at prestigious firms like McKinsey, Bain & BCG, then you may be wondering how to write a consulting cover letter.

The best consulting cover letters connect your past experiences with the values of the company you’re applying to. The general format is to have an opening, 3 or 4 key paragraphs where you connect the company’s values to your own experience and a close.

But the devil is in the details. So let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

How To Write A Cover Letter For Consulting

A surefire way to write your consulting cover letter is to Google the values of your target firm and then use those values to show that your personality and past experience make you a perfect fit.

To do this, you’ll need to:

1. Google the name of the company you’re applying to (Example: Bain) and the word “values”. The top result will normally be a page on that company’s website where they list out their company values.

2. Jot down their top 3 to 4 company values.

3. Add each value to your cover letter as a bolded bullet point and, right after (or under) it, tell a to-the-point story of how you delivered on exactly that value.

4. Add an opening paragraph that expresses your interest in the company. Include one specific thing you like about that company. Be specific.

5. Add a closing that reiterates your interest.

And that’s it. This formula has helped consultants across the world land that coveted interview.

Tip: If you don’t find a “values” page in your initial Google search, try clicking around the company’s website until you find their recruitment page . There’s a good chance that they’ll list what they’re looking for on this page. Use those to craft your bullet-points.

Do Cover Letters Matter For Consulting?

MBB (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) companies have made cover letters optional. If you have a great GPA and graduated from an Ivy League school, and your resume doesn’t have any “red flags”, then you might get away with not having a cover letter.

As a general rule, cover letters help consultants get interviews. Your cover letter is your opportunity to tell the story that your resume can’t. A good cover letter can turn a mediocre application into an interview.

Keep in mind that, every day, consultants turn boring facts into convincing stories. It’s not enough to have the facts (your resume). You have to know how to turn the bland into the compelling. And if you can’t do that in your resume, then a consultancy might wonder if you can do it at all.

How Long Should My Consulting Cover Letter Be?

Recruiters for top consulting firms sift through hundreds of applications every day . So how long should your cover letter be?

Your consulting cover letter should be about a page long. You’ll want to write it to be long enough to be compelling but short enough to skim in a few seconds.

Your ability to sell yourself in a single page will be an important deciding factor on your suitability for the position you’re applying for.

Do McKinsey, Bain & BCG Require A Cover Letter?

McKinsey, Bain & BCG all state on their websites that they don’t require a cover letter but, keep in mind, a good cover letter could strengthen your application.

This is particularly important if you have any work gaps in your resume, or any red flags (like a low GPA).

How Do I Write A Cover Letter For McKinsey, Bain & BCG?

Writing a cover letter for McKinsey, Bain & BCG is pretty much the same across all 3 firms.

In all cases, you want to have a short opening paragraph, 3-5 paragraphs highlighting your strengths and how they’re linked to the company’s values, and a short closing paragraph. Focus on good, succinct storytelling while delivering specific numbers on the outcomes you’ve achieved.

What Should A Cover Letter For McKinsey, Bain & BCG Include?

According to Victor Cheng (author, ex-consultant & ex-recruiter for multiple top consulting firms), these are the 5 things recruiters look for:

1. Well-known employers or schools.

2. academic performance., 3. high test results in math., 4. proof of leadership and people skills., 5. notable achievements in your career (relative to the length of your career)..

Let’s look at each.

The company you end up working for has to sell you to their clients. If you’ve graduated from a top school, that’s an easy sell. If you’ve worked for a top firm, that’s an easy sell.

If you haven’t worked for a top firm, then you have to focus that much more on the other 4 criteria. (Or you need to get on an unpaid internship ASAP!)

Always put your GPA in your CV. If you don’t, they’ll ask for it anyway and write it in. A 3.5 GPA is like the bare minimum and recruiters and firms won’t really bother with you if you don’t seem smart.

Being good at Math is strongly linked to doing well at logical and analytics tasks. You don’t need a perfect score but higher is definitely better.

Being smart isn’t enough. You need to know how to work with people who may or may not dislike you. Your personality can’t get in the way of a client getting the results they want or need.

So you have to demonstrate times in the past where you were faced with a difficult situation and your people skills are what saved the day.

Focus on outcomes, not just responsibilities. Use numbers where possible. And focus on what’s relevant.

And balance it all against the time you spent working or studying. You don’t want to be the person who spent a few years at a firm or studying and did nothing outside of the ordinary. Every candidate studied. Every candidate worked. Focus on what you achieved that few (or no) other people achieved.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be miles ahead of your fellow candidates.

For more consulting career advice , click here.

Will Bennett is a Cambridge graduate. He worked as a Consultant and Senior Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in London. Will is the Founder of The Cambridge Consultant.

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How To Write A Consulting Cover Letter That Gets You An Interview

Table of contents.

As the recruiting season comes thick and fast, applicants worry about the ideal way to structure their resume and cover letter.

And for good reason. Employers look for personalized and thoughtfully written cover letters as one of the ways of screening applicants for positions that they are hiring for.

A bad cover letter can be a deal breaker, so it is one of the most essential things recruiters from top-tier consulting firms consider.

In this article, we will cover how to write the perfect cover letter for you to secure a role at a management consulting firm – from the Big 4 to MBB.

What is a consulting cover letter?

A consulting cover letter accompanies your resume and documents your personal motivation for applying for the role, why you’d be a good consultant, and your desire for joining the firm you’re applying to.

When is a consulting cover letter required?

A consulting cover letter is required by most consulting firms, including McKinsey, BCG, Bain, the Big 4, and boutiques. It is generally required for both full-time and intern positions.

The best way to confirm whether a cover letter is required is to speak to the recruiter or check the firm’s website. In most cases, the firm will require you to submit both a resume and a cover letter.

Why do firms ask for a consulting cover letter?

There are a number of reasons that firms require applicants to submit a cover letter, including:

• It gives an insight into the unique attributes of the applicant. Since a cover letter is a personalized essay of sorts, it gives firms a richer understanding of the candidate, compared to just the resume.
• Allows the applicants to describe their motivation to join the firm. The cover letter offers the candidate some free-form space to share their story and motivations.
• Separating the extraordinary from the rest. A resume constrains what a candidate can talk about. The cover letter, on the other hand, allows the candidate to focus on the parts of their experience and motivations that make them unique.
• It’s a sneak peek into your communication skills. As a consultant, you will need to convince and persuade your clients. Firms are looking to see whether you can use your cover letter to convince them to give you an interview.

How to structure a consulting cover letter

Paragraph 1. a simple opening.

The opening to your letter is the most basic and straightforward paragraph. Simply introduce yourself and state the role that you are applying for. Keep it short, sweet, and simple.

Paragraph 2. Why you are a promising candidate

This is where you get the chance to open up and show why you are the ideal fit. Don’t be shy, this is no time for understatement or modesty.

Start by researching the firm that you’re applying to, and the skills and attributes that they are looking for. For example, the McKinsey website talks about how they value leadership abilities.

Next, think about the most compelling personal or professional demonstration of that attribute. In the case of McKinsey, you want to find an example where you demonstrated strong leadership.

The most important thing about your examples is that they show outcomes and results. It’s not enough to show that you are a leader; you need to show that your leadership achieved something amazing.

If possible, you want to demonstrate 2-3 skills and attributes that you firm is looking for. Given that there is limited space on a one-page cover letter, it’s fine to show multiple attributes in one example.

Paragraph 3. Why you want to be a consultant

Now is your chance to demonstrate why you chose consulting as your career path.

All the top consulting firms want to recruit candidates who show a desire to work in high-stakes world of consulting. You need to show that you know what you are getting into, that you are ready for the challenge, and most importantly, that you are excited to work in consulting .

Although firms understand that most consultants exit to industry after a few years, don’t mention that in your cover letter.

Paragraph 4. Why the position and firm is for you

Now that you have covered why consulting is a good fit for you, it’s time to narrow down on the specific role and position that you are applying for.

Research the firm thoroughly and identify a few exciting projects, people, or reports that caught your attention. Talk about why those things impressed or interested you, and led you to want to work at the firm.

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Common mistakes while writing a cover letter

There are a number of common mistakes to avoid when writing a cover letter:

• Not being specific enough.  Firms can sniff a generic cover letter a mile away. Ensure that your cover letter is tailored to the firm you’re applying to.
• Not demonstrating the right skills. Although firms can be similar, there are small differences in the type of candidates they are looking for. Make sure that you demonstrate the right skills and abilities for the specific firm you’re applying to.
• Attention to detail . Ensure that your cover letter is clear and there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes. That would be a good demonstration of what they are not looking for!

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Do you have any examples for a successful mbb cover letter.

Would like to know more about structure and content.

Overview of answers

• Date ascending
• Date descending

In terms of the structure I would use the following (in paragraphs):

• Intro of who you are
• Why you (several reasons)
• Why "The Company" (Usually 3 reasons)

In terms of the content:

Why you is about your career path and extracurricular activities. Depending on your experiences either start from the first or from the last role (the later you are in your career the more sense it is to start with last one). You can mention a couple of your unique selling point and structure your lifepath around it. Add memorable projects or experience with high impact / cool brands / etc. that will stay in the memory of the reader.

Why "The Company" question can include the following arguments:

• Brand / positioning / market share in the region
• More clients / projects / expertise in the industry you are interested in
• More well-known stories of success in your city
• Your friends working there
• Your interactions with the other consultants before the interview
• Your prior experience of working with the Firm on a client side
• Office traditions
• Work experience with firm alumni

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Consulting Work-Life Balance: The Hours MBB Consultants Work

• Last Updated November, 2022

If you’re applying to consulting firms, then you’ve undoubtedly read about all the great reasons to choose a consulting career. You’ve also probably heard that finding work-life balance can be challenging, with long hours and a lot of travel. 

So it’s easy to wonder, but hard to find the right person to ask: What’s the lifestyle really like at the MBB firms (McKinsey, Bain, and BCG)? We’ll share what you can really expect. 

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• How consultants think about work-life balance
• MBB work-life balance: a typical day
• A typical week
• A typical year
• Consulting work-life balance over the long term

Let’s get started!

How Consultants Think about Work-Life Balance

It’s no secret that the working hours in an MBB firm are more intense than a “normal” 40-hour week. Project work is demanding, and consultants often find themselves working “overtime.” But by how much? And at what intensity? 

Well, that varies.

A consultant’s hours are impacted by the project timeline, the type of project, and the travel required – and, by how their manager and team manage work-life balance. 

Client projects with tight timelines (e.g., 3-4 weeks) are typically more intense and have longer hours than projects delivered over a longer period (e.g., 6 months). 

The type of project also impacts the working hours. For example, most consultants comment that due diligence projects tend to be more intense, whereas a strategic project for a long-time client might be a bit more relaxed.

Travel also impacts working hours. Travel is more prevalent in the US and Europe where consultants may travel weekly to work at their client sites. Bain, for example, has a local staffing model where consultants are mostly staffed on projects with local or regional clients; whereas McKinsey has a regional or global model where consultants can be staffed just about anywhere. 

It can be challenging, therefore, for a consultant to maintain full control over their schedule. Many teams implement norms that introduce some flexibility, such as agreeing to one work-free night a week or not working past a certain time. 

MBB firms, even pre-pandemic, recognized the importance of implementing work-life balance practices to improve staff satisfaction and ultimately retention. 

At the end of the day, the reality of project-based client work is that projects have peaks and valleys. Stay in consulting long enough and you’ll most likely experience a mix of intense projects and more relaxed projects. 

Bottom line, it’s important to be thoughtful about what you want out of work – we all know consulting is a high-growth career with great benefits, and at the same time, we all have different levels of tolerance for its intense demands.

Consulting Work-Life Balance: What to Expect in a Day

MBB consultants’ working hours usually range from 8 to 12 hours a day. On very rare occasions, this may spike to 16 or 20 hours, but this isn’t viewed as normal or desirable. 

Most consultants will have some control over their working hours. At the start of each project, teams discuss their scheduling preferences – for example, some people prefer an early start to evening work. Teams will also set boundaries for working time. Even if the aspirational goals aren’t always met, the manager knows what to solve for. 

Most of the time, you can expect to have some control over your evenings, and it’s expected that people have things they want to do after work: working out, having dinner with friends, spending time with kids, etc. And you won’t work all evenings – consulting teams are always aiming for a reasonable sign-off time, though they’re expected to be on call.

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What to Expect in a Week

MBB consultants usually work 50-60 hours per week, most of it concentrated from Monday to Thursday. There may be some 60+ hour weeks, but again this is not seen as a norm or goal – it’s usually driven by tight timelines, upcoming deadlines, or an especially intense project. 

Weekly hours may also be impacted by travel time, if your team travels to the client site from Monday to Thursday as many teams do. Typically, MBB consultants take it slower on Fridays. 

Pre-pandemic, MBBs normally had “office Fridays” to build office rapport. Obviously, travel changed during the pandemic, but most MBB offices maintained some form of social interaction time on Friday such as virtual get-togethers. 

A side note on travel: During the “peak” of the pandemic (2020-2021), most MBB offices were fully remote – remote-work policy in most offices was dictated by the country’s COVID-19 guidelines. As most countries emerged from the worst waves of COVID-19, some MBB offices opted to open the offices however it was not mandatory to work from the office or the client’s office. 

In 2022, with many country COVID-19 restrictions lifted, for the most part MBB offices opened and travel to client sites was also permitted (depending on country guidelines and client office guidelines). As of writing, most MBB offices are back to pre-pandemic operations, i.e., Monday to Thursday at client site and “office Fridays.” 

It’s also important to note that consultants do have some control over travel if there is a good reason, such as attending in-office training, recruiting commitments, or a major personal commitment. 

Weekend work at MBBs is more of an exception than the norm – though when weekend work does come up, it’s usually urgent and therefore tougher to be flexible on. Even though weekend work isn’t typical, many consultants choose to spend a couple of hours on Sunday preparing for the week ahead.

What to Expect in a Year

While long hours and travel time may make the consulting work-life balance seem daunting, over the span of a year you can expect a mix of more and less demanding projects. And, your utilization will never be 100% – that is, you won’t spend every possible hour in the year staffed on paid client work. 

When unstaffed (not doing project work), a consultant is said to be “on the beach.” During this time consultants typically work on internal projects such as writing proposals, which are less intense. There may also be times when a consultant isn’t needed at all for a few days. In that case, they need to be available, but don’t need to be in the office or at their laptop all day.

Consultants also attend formal training for 1-2 weeks every year or two. This is a great time to focus on professional development and networking within the firm. 

Finally, MBB firms offer competitive levels of vacation. When consultants take vacation days, these are almost always respected. Cancelling someone’s vacation or asking them to work during a vacation is seen as a last resort.

How much control can you expect over your staffing and other commitments throughout the year? While junior consultants have limited control over staffing, it’s good practice to be open about your priorities. These might be around the type of learning you’re seeking, your industry interests, or major lifestyle considerations such as a new baby. Your staffing manager will work with you to solve for those priorities over time.

MBB Work-life Balance over the Long Term

If you decide to stay in an MBB firm, your work-life balance will change with seniority. The more senior you are, the more control you have over your time and what you spend your time on, though it’s always a demanding career, especially for those who remain client-facing. 

MBB firms understand that everyone needs a breather now and then, and they offer options to get a change of scenery or slow down the pace. Examples of these programs include:

• Rotation in a practice area (helping teams that serve a specific industry or function)
• Rotation in an internal operational role (e.g., staffing, training, professional development)
• Rotation in a different office
• Unpaid leave (e.g., 2 months)
• Paid leave at a percentage of salary (e.g., 80%, depending on the office or firm policy)
• Externship opportunities where consultants can intern for a few months at a different company or at a nonprofit (this is mainly for junior roles)

In summary, consultants take a long view of work-life balance. While there might be intense times – especially when working towards an upcoming promotion – there will also be easier times. The MBB firms encourage their consultants to figure out what works for them, and work-life balance – at least within the bounds of what’s reasonable in a client-services industry – is seen as a worthy goal, not window dressing.

– – – – –

In this article, we’ve covered:

• Consultants’ view of work-life balance at MBBs.
• An MBB consulting lifestyle over a day, week, and year.
• How the consulting work-life balance changes with time.

Still have questions?

If you have more questions about MBB work-life balance, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s case coaches will answer them.

Other people exploring work-life balance at the MBB firms found the following pages helpful:

• Consulting Cover Letters .
• What is consulting?
• Q&A: How much travel is expected for a consultant?
• Consulting Exit Opportunities: What Is Life Like After McKinsey?

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