MBB Consulting: missions, recruitment process, salaries
This three-letter acronym stands for three of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms: McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group.
MBBs: what you need to know before applying
If you're interested in a career in strategy consulting, you've probably heard of these firms. Each firm has its own history, culture, and expertise.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Founded in Boston in 1963 by Bruce Henderson, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is an international strategy consulting firm. Since its foundation, BCG has grown at an extraordinary rate. Today, it has almost 21,000 employees, including 6,200 consultants, and global sales of $8.6 billion in 2020. Despite a series of mergers and restructurings, the firm has retained its brand, as well as its core quality principles and corporate values (integrity, partnership, social impact, added value, respect for individuals, diversity, customer first, strategic approach).
Bain & Company
Bain and Company is a world-renowned strategy consulting firm. Founded in 1973 by 7 BCG (Boston Consulting Group) alumni, Bain & Company now has 59 offices in 27 countries. Bain & Company complements its integrated, tailored expertise with a dynamic ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more sustainable results.
McKinsey & Co.
Established in France since 1964, McKinsey & Company provides strategic advice to help its clients accelerate their growth in a sustainable manner. Considered one of the three most prestigious firms in France, McKinsey is firmly rooted in the French economic landscape through its two offices in Paris and Lyon. The firm has recognized expertise in technology, crisis management and location studies for M&A transactions.
Read more: M&A: 2023 ranking of investment banks in France
The tasks of a strategy consultant
In a strategy consulting firm, the days of a strategy consultant are long and punctuated by numerous missions:
- Drawing up a business plan as part of a growth plan
- Analyze a target market as part of an internationalization project
- Calculating possible synergies as part of an M&A transaction
In short, strategy consultants carry out analyses on behalf of their clients. Here are the different stages of an analysis:
- Search for relevant information (on the client's premises or in the public domain)
- Compile this information
- Analyze the information
- Making recommendations - usually in the form of PowerPoint slides or Excel templates
MBB recruitment process
The recruitment process is highly selective and limited to just a few schools: HEC Paris, ESSEC, ESCP and emlyon (for business schools) and Polytechnique, CentraleSupelec, Mines Paris and École des Ponts (for engineers). Even if this drastically reduces the number of profiles, these three firms attract the best students in the country. In fact, the three firms are engaged in a war for talent to satisfy their recruitment needs.
BCG organizes three rounds of interviews. Each time, the pattern is the same. It starts with 45 minutes with a project manager or partner to understand the candidate's interest in the firm and his or her background. This is followed by a simplified case study based on a real-life situation. We strongly advise you to ask your interviewer questions!
At Bain, the first interview begins with a 30-minute test of the candidate's calculative and analytical skills. This is followed by a case study and an interview with a line manager. The other two rounds again involve a case study on a concrete subject.
In contrast, McKinsey organizes only two interviews. At the first interview, the candidate meets with two consultants for approximately 50 minutes. The second interview lasts 30 minutes and consists of a discussion with a McKinsey recruitment manager.
Read more: McKinsey and Macron: What's real and what's fake
MBB: strategy consultant salaries
Salaries at MBB can vary considerably depending on factors such as country, level of experience, position, and the candidate's specific skills. Salaries for junior positions, between 0- and 3-years’ experience, can range from €45,000 to €60,000 per year. For senior consultants, salaries can range from €60,000 to €90,000 per year. Consultants with over 8 years' experience earn around €130,000 or more per year. Finally, the salary of a partner (the highest-ranking associate) is between €130,000 and €1,000,000 a year. These are comfortable salaries, to which must sometimes be added variable portions of several tens of thousands of euros.
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