When should I apply?
We accept applications both for permanent position and for internships all year round, We rarely place job ads in the newspaper, so feel free to apply whenever it suits you. Many of our applicants send their application 6 to 12 months before they plan to start.

What should an application include?
An application should include a cover letter, a CV, and grades transcripts from high school and onwards.

Should the application be in Swedish or in English?
The application can be written in either Swedish or English.

How do I apply?
Complete our on-line application where you will be asked to fill in a few biographical core fields and attach your cover letter, CV, and grades transcripts.

How long is the application process?
From the time you submit your application, you should receive a decision within a week. Successful applicants will be invited to a first round consisting of three interviews. If the applicant passes the first round, a second round of interviews follows. The second round consists of two interviews. Normally, the entire interview process takes around two to three weeks, but if needed, both rounds could be scheduled on the same day. Results and feedback from the interviews are normally given the same day as the interview.

How often do you conduct interviews?
We typically conduct interviews one or two days a week.

In what language will the interview be conducted?
The interviews are typically done in Swedish, but can also be held in English depending on the interviewer.

Can I apply for a job in a foreign McKinsey office?
Yes. Some choose to apply for a job in another office, but in that case you should apply directly to the specific office. Visit mckinsey.com for a list of international offices and contact persons. Here, you will also find a link to the Web site of the specific office you are interested in. Please note that we do not accept a further application from you for the same role, to any office, within a 12-month period.

Can I apply even though I have worked for a few years elsewhere?
Yes. We welcome experienced hires, and you can apply regardless of which academic or professional background you may have.

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Who We Are and How We Are Organized

How many consultants work in the Sweden Office?
The Sweden office employs approximately 160 consultants. Including support staff, there are approximately 220 employees.

How many female consultants work in the Sweden office?
In the Sweden office, approximately 25 percent of the consultants are female and 4 of them are partners. This number is similar in other Scandinavian offices.

How many countries is McKinsey present in?
We have 90 offices in 51 countries and our consultants represent more than 100 different nationalities.

How is McKinsey organized?
McKinsey is a global partnership. In other words, the firm is owned by the approximately 1070 partners worldwide. McKinsey has a managing director, Ian Davis, who is elected among the partners, who sets the overall direction for the firm and is the head of McKinsey's administration. Each McKinsey office is lead by its partners, who make all the operational decisions regarding the office, e.g., regarding which projects to work on or how many new consultants to hire. Unlike many other consulting firms, McKinsey consultants or partners are not measured on revenue, but on the impact they help their clients create and on the ability to develop their colleagues.

What are the academic backgrounds of your consultants in Sweden?
Most of our consultants have a background in business or engineering, but we also have consultants with non- traditional degrees, e.g., medicine, biomedicine, and law.

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Our Daily Work

How long is a typical project?
The average project will normally last for around three months. This of course depends very much on the specific issue we are helping the client solve. Projects can be as short as two weeks (e.g., a strategic due diligence for a private equity player) and as long as twelve months or even more (e.g., large-scale transformation programs). On longer projects, it is normal that the team will gradually be changed over the course of the project to ensure that all consultants get sufficient learning opportunities.

Can you choose which projects you work on?
Consultants have a large degree of freedom in terms of which projects they work on. Consultants indicate their preferences on our "project market" on the intranet which is updated weekly with all new projects globally. Our staffing coordinators then match the preferences with the staffing need to the largest extent possible, in close dialogue with each consultant and the partner responsible for each project. Right from the start all consultants are encouraged to work in different industries and with different topics in order to build a broad experience base. Then after a couple of years, each consultant normally starts to focus on a specific industry and/or a specific functional area and start building a "spike" within this area.

Why do you never talk about clients?
McKinsey is based on a set of values, one of these values being that we adhere to the highest professional standards, and to McKinsey client confidentiality is a pivotal part of this. Our clients should never doubt that we will treat any information they give us with absolute discretion. Therefore, we apply the principle of never talking about which specific clients we serve or which topics we serve a specific client on, unless the client has explicitly agreed to this.

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Life as a Consultant

Is it possible to take a leave of absence from McKinsey?
McKinsey strives to offer consultants flexibility, and taking a leave of absence is one of the options offered. Every consultant can take a leave of absence to go traveling, extend a maternity/paternity leave, study, or just get some time off. The nature of our work, where projects normally last three months, offers great opportunities to find a suitable time to take a leave of absence.

Can I work part time?
McKinsey has developed a part-time program that can be used by all consultants when their family situation requires it (e.g., when having a child or if a family member/significant other is ill). Being on a part-time schedule could mean that you work only three or four days per week, or it could mean that you work five days a week, but for fewer hours. The exact form and duration of the part-time program is agreed on an individual basis between the consultant and the office.

Can I take maternity/paternity leave from McKinsey?
Of course. All consultants can take maternity/paternity leave.

Can you have a family while working at McKinsey?
Yes. Approximately 25 percent of the consultants in Sweden have children. As with any career job, it of course requires some planning to make it work, but people at McKinsey generally find that the flexibility the job offers in terms of working from home, etc. is a great help in making everyday life with their family work.

How many hours do you typically work per week?
There is no typical week at McKinsey. On average a consultant works 55 to 65 hours per week, but it varies from project, and project and from week to week on the individual project.

How is the social life in the office?
There is a great social life in the office. The average age at McKinsey is around 30, and there are several social activities, such as weekly Friday bars, office parties, office retreats, and various sports events. In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to get to know people in the office. In addition to this, all teams typically have a team event and/or dinner every now and then.

When can I start working?
We prefer that you start by attending a Basic Consulting Readiness course (a training course for all new hires), so your starting date depends somewhat on the course schedule. We have several of these courses each year, so in practice the starting date is quite flexible.

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Shaping a Career in McKinsey

How much internal training do you have?
All new hires will start out with a one-week training course (Basic Consulting Readiness). All non-business students will also have the opportunity to attend a one-week Basic Accounting and Finance course. During the first four to five years, all consultants spend two to three weeks per year on training and conferences, typically in an international setting with consultants from many different offices on the same course.

When and how do you specialize?
After a couple of years, some consultants choose to specialize in an industry or function (e.g., finance, retail, or telecom.) This happens based on which interests each consultant has in terms of knowledge building and working areas.

Do you have a chance of working abroad?
McKinsey offers great opportunities to work abroad for shorter or longer periods of time.

Is a transfer to an overseas McKinsey office an opportunity or a requirement?
It is an opportunity, which can be exploited after two to three years at McKinsey.

Is the work environment at McKinsey very competitive?
No. In fact, many people who join McKinsey are surprised to find how helpful everybody is. One of the strengths of McKinsey is that every consultant has his or her own "performance track" that he or she is evaluated against, and nobody can achieve a better performance evaluation by having "sharp elbows". In fact, a core part of the evaluation of each individual consultant is how good he or she is at helping and inspiring others.

What does it mean that you have an "up-or-out" policy, and how do people normally quit?
The up-or-out policy basically means that you constantly have to develop to be successful in McKinsey. The rate of development will typically go up and down over time for the individual consultant, as some development needs will be more difficult than others to meet, the pace is very different from person to person, and everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. But as long as you demonstrate that you have the potential to grow further, you can stay in McKinsey. Most people who leave McKinsey leave because they are offered a position where they find opportunities more appealing.

How long do people stay?
On average consultants stay three years with McKinsey in Stockholm.

What is the typical career after McKinsey?
People leaving McKinsey after three years typically get product/market manager positions in larger companies, or management group positions in small or medium-sized companies (business development). People leaving McKinsey after five to ten years often go directly to top management positions.

Is it possible to do a master's thesis with McKinsey?
Unfortunately due to our policies regarding client confidentiality, it is not possible to do a master's thesis at McKinsey.

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