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Do you want to know more about consultants at McKinsey & Company and how to apply?
Read some of the most Frequently Asked Questions, and in case they do not answer all of yours, please feel free to contact us and ask more.
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ABOUT MCKINSEY & COMPANY
What is McKinsey & Company, and how is it organized?
Read more »
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
When do I apply, and what should I know about the application process?
Read more »
OUR DAILY WORK
What is a consultant's work like in practice, and what is it like to work in a project team?
Read more »
LIFE AS A CONSULTANT
Can you have a family while working at McKinsey?
Read more »
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About McKinsey & Company
What is McKinsey & Company?
McKinsey is a management consulting firm that helps leading companies improve their strategies, organizations, and operations. We also help a diverse group of governments, institutions, and nonprofit organizations with their management challenges. Our clients include 100 of the top 150 global companies, touching every major industry. More than 80 percent of our work is with clients whom we've served before.
McKinsey has a dual mission: to help our clients make distinctive, substantial, and lasting improvements in their performance and to attract, develop, excite, and retain exceptional people.
James O. McKinsey, a business professor at the University of Chicago, founded McKinsey in 1926. Today, we have more than 100 offices in more than 50countries, and our consultants represent more than 120 different nationalities. McKinsey employs over 18,000 people, of which more than 9,000 are consultants; 67 percent of consultants are located outside North America.
How is McKinsey organized and governed?
McKinsey is a partnership, which means that its partners wholly own the firm. There are approximately 1,400 partners worldwide. Every three years, the senior partners elect a managing director who is a "first among equals" and who oversees the administration of the firm.
Each local office is led by its partners, who are guided by McKinsey's shared mission and values. Decisions that affect local offices—information technology investments, compensation policies, the election of new partners—are addressed through global partner committees.
All McKinsey personnel share strong professional values. There is a high degree of personnel exchange among offices as well as discussions across borders about McKinsey's strategy and future.
What type of consulting does McKinsey do?
We are a management consulting firm that helps corporate, nonprofit, and government organization clients achieve lasting and substantial improvements in performance. We concentrate on matters of concern to top management.
Our work focuses on strategy initiatives, major redesign programs, IT-enabled business solutions, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and productivity improvements.
We do not offer any of the following types of services: auditing, legal, or political advice.
What criteria does McKinsey use when accepting engagements?
Before accepting an assignment, we make every reasonable effort to ensure that, first, there are opportunities for significant benefits to the client and, second, the objectives are attainable.
As a rule of thumb, we accept only studies where the potential benefit to the client is several times the amount of our fee. However, because it is not always possible to determine in advance that such conditions do in fact exist, we agree that if at any time the client decides that the expected benefits are not likely to be achieved, he or she is free to terminate the relationship. Likewise, we want to be free to withdraw from an assignment should circumstances arise that, in our judgment, make the objectives agreed upon unattainable.
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The Application Process
What kinds of consulting positions does McKinsey offer?
We offer a business analyst position to candidates who are about to graduate (first degree) or who have a few years of work experience after graduation. Business analysts join the firm for two years, after which, depending on their performance, they may receive funding for business school.
We offer an associate position to people with advanced professional degrees (generally an M.B.A.) and sufficient work experience. If you have relevant professional experience instead of an advanced degree, you may apply for an associate position as an "experienced hire."
The Tel Aviv office does not offer any internships to undergraduate or postgraduate students.
When should I apply?
We hold two recruiting seasons a year—in the spring (application deadline generally April, with tests and interviews in May) and in the autumn (application deadline generally end of October with tests and interviews throughout November). You should apply as close as you wish to the relevant deadline. If you are studying, you should apply two to six months before graduating.
How do I apply?
Information about how to apply to the Tel Aviv office is available in the How to Apply section of this site.
If you wish to apply to a different McKinsey office, please contact the office in question. A list of international offices with contact information is available at www.mckinsey.com.
What are the interviews like?
Our recruiting process typically comprises three stages:
- Screening stage, where you will be asked to take a multiple-choice quantitative tests:
- A 26-question problem-solving test designed to simulate the types of analyses we do, which does not require prior business knowledge or mathematical ability and for which no calculators are allowed.
Review a sample test (PDF - 73 KB) 
- First round of interviews, including two interviews. Each interview comprises a verbal case study and a personal experience interview.
- Final round, including:
- Three or four interviews, in the same format as in the first round.
- A group exercise
Feedback from assessors will be given following each round.
What qualities do you seek in applicants?
Applicants are evaluated along several dimensions:
- Analytical and creative problem-solving skills—demonstrated by academic achievements (no absolute grade requirement), standardized test scores, and previous jobs; assessed through cases and the numerical analysis test.
- Initiative and leadership potential—demonstrated in work, school, sports, or project settings.
- Drive and ambition—assessed through discussions with applicants on topics they feel are important (e.g., hobbies, work achievements, and other activities).
- Interpersonal skills and interest in teamwork—demonstrated through qualities such as respect for other people, humility, curiosity, openness; assessed in interviews and through cases.
In application forms and CVs we look for analytical skills and significant experience and talents.
When can I start working?
We will decide, taking into account your preferences, upon a suitable start date (generally between February and May and then between August and November) depending on when you prefer to start, the office needs, study flow, and initial training dates.
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Our Daily Work
What is a consultant's work like?
There is no typical project (or "study," as we call them). We help clients in all fields and industries with issues that are of concern to top management, although our work usually addresses the client's strategy, operations, or organization.
Work is in done in teams (usually three to five consultants), and each team member has a clearly defined part of the project to work on. Our strength is in our rigorous problem-solving approach. We don't bring ready-made solutions but draw upon the team's creativity and intellectual ability to identify, structure, and address the client's unique challenges. All work is tailored to the specific business, industry, and competitive environment.
Individual responsibility within the team increases with experience. Newly hired consultants typically perform analysis on data provided by our research and information department or the client, conduct interviews and evaluate the results, and present their findings back to the team.
How long is a typical project?
Projects normally range from six weeks to six months.
Can I choose the projects I will work on?
Consultants can indicate their work preferences after reviewing an on-line database updated weekly with new project opportunities. Our staffing coordinator tries to match opportunities and demand in the best way possible.
Right from the start, all consultants are encouraged to work in a variety of industries and on a variety of projects (e.g., restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain management, etc.). After a couple of years, consultants are expected to start building specific industry knowledge or a specific skill. The opportunity to choose your projects increases with experience, in part because you know better what you want to specialize in.
Can you describe your work for clients in practical terms?
For each project, we put together a team of three to five consultants who work full-time for the client for the duration of the study, usually three to four months. The team is led by an engagement manager, who provides "thought leadership" for the group and is responsible for the day-to-day planning and distribution of tasks. The team is also aided by a team assistant, who provides secretarial and administrative support.
We usually include the client's managers on our teams, often working side by side with them in doing detailed analytical work. This helps ensure their commitment to the team's recommendations and builds their own skills and knowledge for the benefit of the entire organization.
To clarify and focus our thinking, we regularly step back from the detailed analysis and think about its implications. This allows us to report back to the client in regular (often weekly) progress reports and bring up issues requiring senior client input.
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Life as a Consultant
How much would I travel as a consultant?
The required travel varies with different projects, but all projects can involve some time abroad, conducting interviews, for example. Tel Aviv consultants also can be sent on short-term transfers to other offices that temporarily need consultants to staff their projects.
Is a transfer to a different McKinsey office possible?
Short-term project transfers to other offices are common. Longer-term overseas transfers are an option after two to three years in the firm. Transfers usually last about a year and are a sign of our "one firm" philosophy—our commitment to draw on the strength and expertise of McKinsey people all over the globe.
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