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Midway through a practice case, one of George Cary's clients did the math and said 90,000 when he meant 900,000. George didn't care.

After 5 years and 100+ interviews at McKinsey, George will tell you the right answer is the bare minimum.

The offer comes from how you got there and what the answer means for the client.

In this episode, he walks through the 3 case math mistakes that cost strong candidates the offer, even with the math right. If case math is the part you dread, all 3 are fixable with the system George lays out.

Resources:

• If you struggle with mental math, Black Belt pairs you with an ex-MBB coach who drills it with you until it's automatic
• Not sure what you need? Book 15 minutes with Katie and she'll tell you straight
• Build the recap, structure, solve and insight habit on your own with Case Foundations, MC's free case prep course

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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Divya spent 8 years at McKinsey. She sat down with Sanya, a senior at Penn, and ran a case with her, live.

Divya told her afterward it would've passed a McKinsey Round 1. 

Listen to learn how Sanya did it – built her structure, worked the math, and landed on a recommendation. 

Then Divya breaks down what worked and what she'd tighten up.

Resources:

• Bates White is hiring undergrad summer consultants for 2027 and economists for PhD candidates – apply here
• Want this type of feedback from an ex-McKinsey expert coach? Join the Black Belt program

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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Over half the firms in our latest consulting industry survey said demand is outpacing their ability to hire and deliver. Healthcare, energy, PE – the same story across the board.

The bottleneck is capacity. Firms can't staff fast enough to keep up with the work already in their pipeline.

And that reshapes the picture for mid-market firms getting squeezed from both sides and the candidates those firms are fighting over.

We cover:

• Why buyers want the full economics of AI before they sign – and what firms need to prove upfront
• How the Accenture-Google Cloud tie-up is pressuring independents from above
• What demand actually looks like in energy, PE, and healthcare right now

Resources:

• The data behind this episode is in our latest Consulting Market Outlook – download it free here
• Hear how Sendero's CEO is positioning in this market – read the full interview
• Want your firm featured in future MC research? Let's connect – book a call
• If you're targeting a firm that's scaling right now, book 15 minutes with Katie to map your approach

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Applications for the Case Competition World Cup close this Sunday, September 13, at 11:59pm PT. 

APPLY NOW

More information:

• Undergraduate Track, presented by Grant Thornton Stax
• Graduate Track, presented by Adobe

This is an opportunity to get in front of top employers, including Accenture, EY-Parthenon, KPMG, Kearney, Charles River Associates, OC&C Strategy Consultants, and more.

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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BCG is racing to hire forward deployed engineers – and the application window closes September 17.

This year's pay range for campus hires is $110,000 to $190,000, up from $110,000 to $160,000 last year. Same job, new title, $30,000 more at the top of the range.

Big Tech has cut entry-level hiring by more than half since 2019, opening a window for BCG to hire AI talent it usually couldn't afford. That window won't stay open forever.

But BCG isn't the only firm racing through it. McKinsey and Deloitte are already building similar teams.

Applications for both the AI engineer and AI scientist roles close September 17. If BCG's on your list, get moving.

Resources:

• BCG's actual postings, for the requirements: Forward Deployed AI Engineer and Forward Deployed AI Scientist – both close September 17
• The pay-band math and what it signals about BCG's business: read it on our site
• Every consulting firm's application deadlines
• BCG still filters on soft skills and executive presence as much as Python – Black Belt builds the interview skills the posting doesn't test

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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Deloitte, PwC, IBM, and 4,500 other companies use Adobe Experience Cloud products.

And they can't find enough people who know how to implement them.

Nick Hilton, Tyler Tu, and Brian Au from Adobe's Customer Experience Certifications team named the Adobe jobs they're struggling to fill: MarTech analysts, implementation consultants, solution architects. 

None of them require a technical degree – what they require is proof you can use the tools.

That's what Adobe is putting in front of graduate students this fall in the Case Competition World Cup Graduate Track.

The 50 teams selected get a sandbox Customer Journey Analytics environment and a real business problem to solve inside it, not documentation to read about. Plus a free Adobe certification voucher.

Free to enter. Applications close September 13.

Resources:

• Grad students, apply to the Case Competition World Cup – Graduate Track presented by Adobe by Sunday, September 13
• Start free with Adobe CX courses and certifications
• Students: Get 50% off your certification exam applied automatically at checkout (use your university email)

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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Langston got callbacks from McKinsey and BCG. His first instinct: 10 hours a day of studying for three weeks straight, a fast route to burnout.

He'd applied to MBB once before and gotten nothing. But this time, two interviews landed in his inbox.

Katie walked him off the cramming ledge and built a plan around the time he actually had. Three weeks is enough – if you spend it right.

Resources:

• If your interview is in 3 weeks (or 3 days), Black Belt builds your plan around the time you have left – the September cohort closes September 9

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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Paul Edwards has led more than 1,000 private equity deals. AI took the grunt work, and now Stax consultants are getting promoted faster.

He leads the PE practice at Grant Thornton Stax. Inside the firm, that's 3 to 4 more projects a year for every consultant.

But the one thing AI still can't do, he says, is teach curiosity. You either bring it or you don't.

That's the exact bar Stax is judging this fall in the Case Competition World Cup Undergraduate Track – free to enter, teams of 4 to 5. 

So if curiosity is what gets you hired, this is where you prove it. Applications close September 13.

Resources:

• Apply to the Case Competition World Cup – Undergraduate Track, sponsored by Grant Thornton Stax. Applications close September 13.
• Careers at Grant Thornton Stax.

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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Most consulting interviews let you drive the case. McKinsey doesn't.

McKinsey is one of the only firms that runs interviewer-led cases – the interviewer leads the case, not you.

So candidates who prep the way BCG or Bain expects walk in ready for the wrong format.

And the case is only half your score – the PEI (Personal Experience Interview) is the other half.

Ex-McKinsey coach Mark Di Giorgio breaks down why the interviewer-led format catches strong candidates off guard, how to build your PEI story bank, plus the 3-week prep plan when you don't have a lot of time left.

Resources:

• Join a Black Belt cohort to get paired with a McKinsey coach who's run McKinsey's actual interviewer-led cases from the inside

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• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
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Most candidates prep for the McKinsey PEI like a regular behavioral interview.

McKinsey built it to do more than that. One story, and up to 25 follow-up questions testing whether what you said the first time still holds.

That's why memorized answers fall apart under the PEI. Scripted stories crack under repeated follow-ups. The ones that hold up are built to survive being asked the same thing five different ways. 

In this episode, Namaan breaks down the four traits McKinsey scores in the PEI and how to build stories that survive the follow-ups.

Resources:

• Prep your PEI stories one-on-one with a former McKinsey interviewer through Black Belt
• Learn more about McKinsey's interview process

Connect With Management Consulted

• Create a free MC account or download the MC app (Apple, Android) to start your prep today
• Schedule a free 15min consultation with the MC Team
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• Join an upcoming live event – case interviews demos, expert panels, and more