Joining McKinsey as an experienced hire is not always a step up

Are you an experienced hire, preparing for consulting case interviews? 

If yes, this article may open your eyes to something very important.

My name is Kris Safarova. I was recognized among World’s Top 30 Management Professionals for 2023 along with Tom Peters, Philip Kottler, James Collins, and Gary Hamel.

If you are an experienced hire, you need to keep in mind that when joining McKinsey, BCG, or a similarly top-tier firm, many applicants, especially senior applicants, will take a salary cut. It may not be the majority but it’s a sizable minority.

A CPG (also known as FMCG) SVP coaching client once wanted to apply to McKinsey. She would have joined as a senior associate, and possibly, and this was a stretch, as an engagement manager. 

When we pointed out her likely McKinsey salary, and what she would lose in her stock options, it was a tough pill for her to swallow. 

It was even worse when we showed her, on LinkedIn, the levels at which engagement managers joined her CPG employer. 

They were all at a level below her. 

She was giving up a lot if she left. She needed to be sure of the decision. If she stayed with her CPG employer, she would be a regional product leader on the path to regional SVP within three years. She chose to remain at her employer and use our programs on StrategyTraining.com to talk, think, write, lead, and influence like a consulting partner without working in consulting.

To get sample training from strategytraining.com go to firmsconsulting.com/promo

Good luck with your interviews. Remember you are interviewing the firms just as much as they are interviewing you.

Read the article about Case Interview Prep Myths

Take care,

Kris Safarova