Client Testimonials

Bain Moscow PhD stays in the hunt for McKinsey

My MM was something of a doozy! I applied to McKinsey and received a PST invitation. I took the PST and did so badly that I was told I would need to wait 2 years to reapply! I was truly devastated. I planned on joining McKinsey through my whole career and pursued my MBA for an interview. Michael helped me place everything in perspective. He told me I had not prepared, had not read up on the PST and had no prior experience of the test. He felt the outcome was expected and I should not see it as a sign that I was not good enough for McKinsey. It was more a "sign of your laziness" – yes, he used those words! He told me the failure rate for the PST was highest among PhD candidates (I had a PhD before pursuing my MBA) because many assumed they could handle the test without preparation and simply failed. The happy ending is not that I managed to get into McKinsey. I tried reapplying but the office said no. I however did get into Bain, but this time was prepared better. With Michael’s help I hope to make another push for…

Client Testimonials

Yale PhD inspired to think beyond McKinsey

Michael! Thank you so much for choosing me and leading me so far in the training program. It has changed me permanently in two good aspects. First are changes from deep inside, in terms of career goals and inner confidence. Second is about my outside presentation. Let's start with the changes from deep inside first. I still remember when you asked me, "Do you want to be a CEO of a company," during the initial screening interview. I thought it was absurd. How could I or how dare I even think about going that far? Never ever! However, after the training, if you asked me today this same question, I would say, “Maybe...Yes. I think that is an intriguing idea.” Raising my inner confidence occurred because training with Michael was one of the few times in a week that I felt good about myself. No kidding! It is because I had been in a dark time in my career - due to the pressure to graduate from school and the uncertainty about my future career - and my confidence was decreasing. Michael helped me to realize my "sparkles" as well as "bad things" that I should improve. It is tremendously…

Client Testimonials

Scientist oncounter-intuitive BCG networking

While responding to the questionnaire for the strategic planning session, I realized there is a story I can share. It's personal, not professional, but perhaps still appropriate: One Sunday, a week before Christmas, I had been chatting with Michael intermittently while attending holiday functions. At one point I was sitting in my car, having left one party, but not yet on the road to the next party. A cold rain was smattering against my windshield as we chatted back and forth. Earlier in our conversation, I compared professional networking with romantic dating. Michael was quick to agree, and our conversation moved on, but this point stuck with me. The thought wouldn't leave my head. I have lived most of my life single, and never had much success romantically, but I have filled my life with unique and rewarding adventures, so I cannot complain. Being alone occasionally bothered me, of course, but it was something I had grown accustomed to. But over the last few years my confidence has grown exponentially - this is one of the reasons I believe I can make the transition to management consulting. Still; I had left my personal life alone, thinking that I would make…

Client Testimonials

PhD teamwork for McKinsey group interviews

I hope Michael will have a very special birthday and I was very happy to be asked to contribute to this book. My Michael Moment came in my second round with McKinsey. It was a group interview with 4 PhD candidates and I was terrified of my chances. I was at a weaker school and the other candidates were from Harvard, Yale and so on. I sent Michael an email asking for advice and this was his response: This is not a competition. If you see it as a competition you will fail. Your job is to help the team succeed. Every time you want to say or do anything, ask yourself if it helps the team succeed and makes the team feel better about themselves. If you can do both, you will get through. Also remember to build on a point and not dismiss it – this makes people feel worse about themselves. That is counter to McKinsey values of trust and support among colleagues. Just don’t abdicate your responsibility of politely guiding the team towards the right idea. It is my moment because I felt that I got the offer in this round and the rest of the interviews were…

Client Testimonials

Kim Kardashian takes PhD to McKinsey ME

Did you enjoy the program? If yes, how? I enjoyed the program immensely. The reasons are as follows: a. Structure: The way the program is structured is very helpful. The use of multimedia (podcast + videos) allows for full immersion in the program. I could listen to podcasts on the go, and watch videos on my own schedule to keep up with the program. The only thing that could make it even better, is the ability to download the pdf files and print them. Reading the manuals on paper is a lot easier, and does not require internet access. b. Coaching: I noticed that what my coach focused on during the session was very different than what the videos were teaching. This showed a proper understanding of my weaknesses and strengths by the coach, which I really found helpful. However, most of the time the two were so different that I could not apply the concepts that I learned from the video to my one-on-one sessions. This was frustrating at times. c. Availability of the coach: I could communicate with my coach anytime! This was great, since the process of preparation is lengthy and both intellectually and emotionally draining, and…

Client Testimonials

Unemployed PhD to BCG after 12 months

Did you enjoy the program? If yes, how? The program was enjoyable and very objective oriented. It took me 12 months to get an interview and I felt Michael was friendly and encouraging throughout the experience. I had a PhD from a "non-famous" Canadian school and was returning to Dubai to be closer to my family. Networking was not my forte and it was a major struggle to get into the habit of speaking to people. I suspect this is a common hurdle to most PhDs. It was even harder to put on a suit and go to a meeting. I was not working the entire time and I would be at home for 7 hours, speak to no one, and then have to go for coffee with a partner. I found it hard to start speaking when I had not been speaking to anyone for 7 to 8 hours. This constant to break in and out of networking mode was very hard for me. I knew my profile was a challenge because of my school and the office I was pursuing. A friend of a friend referred me to Michael and I reached out as a final attempt to…

Client Testimonials

PhD sacrifices Bain opportunity for BCG

Did you enjoy the program? If yes, how? Yes! I enjoyed the program since the training was very effective in getting me into BCG (I was rejected 9 months ago and was told to apply after 2 years but FC helped me network my way around this rule). My coach was very accommodating to my unique needs (90% of my sessions were done at night with me sitting in my car on the side of the road since it was the only time I had). I was given very detailed advice for my unusual profile (I was a foreign candidate pursuing a US office with relatively weak language and communication skills – I have a US PhD in engineering from a tier-2 school). Did the program meet your expectations? If yes, how? The program exceeded my expectations in every way. FC was very diligent and seems to have had very careful reasons for making different decisions and advising. This thoughtfulness was much more than I expected. I had about 3 discussions with Michael to understand my chances to get into BCG or McKinsey. He was nice and polite and very helpful. I was surprised that FC wanted me to go…

Fulbright Scholar PhD on confidence and McKinsey

Did you enjoy the program? If yes, how? As I said before the word ‘enjoy’ is not quite accurate, since it’s a training program and not meant to be fun, but meant to teach you skills, including by trial and error. I do think the program has been very very useful in several ways. Firstly, it has made the entire process much more clear to me. Without the podcasts, video’s and coaching sessions I wouldn't have understood much of the ‘game’ of networking, picking between different offices, working on my resume, securing an interview, preparing for the interviews, performing during the interviews, etc. Secondly, it exposed me to my own weaknesses and strengths. In academia those specific weaknesses were never very apparent and without being aware of them you cannot fix them. I also wasn't that aware of my strengths and by being aware of those, I knew how critical it was to play them up. Thirdly, the program not only increased my knowledge but also my self-confidence. That is so important during the entire interview process. Without confidence you cannot keep it ‘cool’ in your head, and show your best side. I wasn't sure I was going to be…

Client Testimonials

27 yr old Yale PhD pursuing McKinsey Germany

Felix is a 27 year-old PhD candidate at Yale and a candidate in Season One of “The Consulting Offer.” Felix discusses her experiences in the program. This interview was conducted at the end of session 21. What was it like practicing cases with Kevin Coyne, the ex-McKinsey worldwide strategy co-leader? In general, I enjoyed a lot talking with Kevin during the case training session. I think we used the time effectively, and the communication was smooth. If I need to rate the experience, from a 0-10 scale with 10 being the best, I will give it an 8.5. The difference leaves me to communicate better. More specifically, from the contents - there were lots of information plotted in the case in a clear and logical manner. Kevin made the case very compelling, like a detective story, and left it for me to discover. He would also give lots of hints for me to pick up, or not, to try to discover by myself. Then in the end of the case, the feedback from Kevin exactly revealed the complete detective story, and showed me how I was exploring each step and what I could have done better. He also showed me in a…