A consultingcareer with

McKinsey & Company

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Why McKinsey?

A challenging profession and a great place to work

By joining McKinsey you will become part of a great institution and work alongside someof the brightest, most exceptional people in the world.

Thanks to our unique client base, you will alsohave an opportunity to make a real difference tosome of the world’s most prominent companies

and organisations, and you will often have the privilege of viewing them from the

chief executive’s perspective.

Management consulting is an intellectually stimulating

and personallysatisfying profession.

Nowhere can you learn as much or as quickly. Not only will you gainexperience of a wide range of industries andbusiness problems, you will also enjoy the besttraining and development and you will have access, and the opportunity to contribute, to the latest management thinking around the world.

The London office is one of McKinsey’s largest,currently employing around 300 consultantsand 200 support staff, representing 30nationalities. Our established situation and thefirm’s global nature give London associates theopportunity to gain experience in diverseassignments both in the UK and abroad.

Your day-to-day work as an associate will be in a supportive and stimulating team environment.

While we expect you to give your best anddevelop fast, you will find you receive plenty ofencouragement and make a permanent networkof friends here.

Last but not least, the scope for individualenterprise at McKinsey is exceptional. Duringyour career with the firm, you could beinstrumental in developing breakthrough ideas,establishing new client relationships, helping to launch a new McKinsey office, or pursuingsome other interest or passion.

Contents

Why McKinsey?

What we do

A global firm

Working in teams

Your first two years

Unparalleled learning opportunities

Scenes from life at McKinsey

Pioneering management thinking

Helping to shape McKinsey’s future

Making career progress

Careers after McKinsey

The kind of people we are looking for

How to find out more

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What we do

Making a real difference to the world's leading organisations

McKinsey advises the world’s most prominentorganisations – large multinationals, nationalgovernments and charities – as well as somemid-size businesses such as high-tech and fast-growth companies.

We serve all business sectors including financialservices, retail, consumer goods,pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, transport,

energy, telecommunications,information technology and media.

For confidentialityreasons we never name our clients, but in theUK we work with the leading companies inmost sectors.

We focus almost exclusively on issues ofconcern to top management. Typically thismeans advising on corporate strategy andorganisation, but we also help clients reducecosts and increase productivity, and tackleissues in functional areas such as marketing,finance, manufacturing and distribution.

In the London office, we have recently helpedclients with issues including:

• European strategy for disease managementfor a pharmaceutical company;

• securing overseas growth options for a leading retailer;

• defining industry leading marketingcapabilities and developing a skill building

programme for a global consumer productscompany;

• major reorganisation and changemanagement for a media organisation;

• integration of two financial institutionsfollowing a merger;

• start-up and launch of a newtelecommunications company;

• high-tech growth opportunities for a largeindustrial firm;

• alliance strategy for a leading biotechnologycompany;

• identification of acquisition opportunities for one of the world’s largest principalinvestment funds.

We have also taken on a number of assignmentsfree of charge – for example, for the BritishAthletics Federation, the Lottery Heritage Fundand the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Our philosophy is only to accept assignmentswhen we are confident that we can bring aboutlasting beneficial change – part of our relentlesscommitment to our clients’ interests. Clientsalso value our fact-based approach – we getunderneath preconceptions and assumptionsand offer objective, independent solutions.

McKinsey is ideal if you want to gain experience of different sectorsand different business problems in a relatively short space of time. Before I joined, I had spent six years in brandmanagement, and I was ready to learnsomething new.

Coming from industry, my mainconcern about consulting was that onewouldn’t make any difference – I thought consultants made a presentation and then nothinghappened. What I have found reallyexciting is that in fact you have moreimpact working one-to-one with theright person than you do inpresentations. After each of my firsttwo assignments, I continued toperform a coaching role for themanagers implementing ourrecommendations.

What really makes McKinseydistinctive, though, is the sheer qualityof the people. Everyone seems to excelin something. There’s an amazing feelabout the place.

Nick Wilkinson joined in 1994, after working for a major consumergoods company in Europe and theMiddle East. Nick is married with twochildren under the age of two.

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A global firm

Opportunities to work across business cultures

McKinsey’s success with clients means we are growing at an average annual rate of 10%.Today we have 74 offices in 38 countriesaround the world.

Many of our offices are long established.Others, like Bangkok, Beijing, Budapest,Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur

and Santiago, have been opened in the past three years. The impetus foropening a new office comes notfrom some central directive

but from individual consultantswho take the initiative and succeed in establishing

a client base in a new country or region.

Some of our work crosses national boundariesand is undertaken by multinational teamswhose members are drawn from more than oneoffice. McKinsey is truly global, not just in itsgeographical reach but also in its underlyingphilosophy and its way of operating. Thismeans that an international team of consultants can come together for the first time and beworking effectively on the client’s problemsstraight away. In addition, consultants cancontact knowledgeable colleagues anywhere inthe world and benefit from their experience.

We encourage our best consultants to transferto other McKinsey locations during their career,whether just for one assignment or for a longerperiod – and we give them the practical support

they need to make the adjustment easier forboth consultant and family. Associates also have many opportunities to participate ininternational conferences and training sessions.

The consultants in Johannesburgstem from more than 15 differentMcKinsey offices around the world.When you start a new study, you maybe assigned a team with one personfrom Rome, another from SanFrancisco, another from Sydney. Eventhough they come from various placesand English may not be their firstlanguage, you find the team clicks intogear almost within minutes – thanks tothe shared values in the firm.

As a small office, we dependenormously on experts in other offices.I find when I leave a voicemail or anemail for someone, they respondalmost immediately and are evenwilling on occasion to get on a plane toJo’burg to share their knowledge.

Although office moves can take monthsto organise, in my case it couldn’t havebeen easier. I simply mentioned to thehead of the London office one day thatI might be interested in working inSouth Africa, and it was settled andorganised within weeks!

Jessica Knight is a partner, currentlyin our Johannesburg office on a long-term transfer (two years or more). At present she is leading our work inSouth Africa with a major retailer anda financial services group. She hasalso actively served several mediaclients in the country. Before joiningMcKinsey’s London office in 1991,she worked in a venture capital firm.She has three children aged under 6.

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Working in teams

A stimulating and open environment

Despite McKinsey’s size, an associate’s day-to-day working unit – the team – is humanin scale. For each client assignment (“engagement”)we select about three to six consultants withcomplementary knowledge and experience. As a team they can come up with much better,more creative solutions than one individualworking solo.

A McKinsey team typically includes an engagement director (who takes responsibility for overall direction and

quality of the work), an engagement manager (charged with

day-to-day management of the team including

coaching of team members) and one or moreassociates or business analysts.

Alongside the McKinsey consultants there aretypically some client executives on the team. By directly involving senior client members in our work, we can be sure of gaining a deeperunderstanding of their business situation,building their commitment to change andpassing on our expertise.

The atmosphere inside teams is open andhonest. Team members exchange ideas, createand test hypotheses about the client’s situation,and challenge each other’s conclusions. This exchange of ideas within a team is non-hierarchical: all members’ ideas are valuedequally, irrespective of their tenure.

Being on a McKinsey team is stimulating and rewarding, but it is also demanding.Consultants must be good both at logicalanalysis and at dealing with the human side of organisations. Team members may spendconsiderable time away from home – workingon client premises, travelling and putting inlong hours. For this reason, teams regularlydiscuss how to organise the workload so as to keep a balance between members’ work and private lives.

A McKinsey team leaving the office for an office training symposium in Oxford

From left to right:

David Ravech is a senior engagementmanager. He joined the firm’sMelbourne office in 1992 andtransferred to the London office fouryears later. Before McKinsey, Davidcompleted his Masters of Law atHarvard and practised law in Australia.

Engagement manager MonikaKubicova, originally from the SlovakRepublic, rejoined McKinsey after herMBA at Harvard. Monika holds aMasters degree in Mathematics fromUniverzita Komenského Bratislava.

David McDonald is one of the firm’spartners. He has been with McKinseyfor over eight years since his MBA atINSEAD. In addition to serving UKclients, David has spent considerabletime working in the US and Norway.

Ciara Donohoe is a business analystwho joined McKinsey after completingher BA in Economics at Trinity CollegeDublin.

Wura Abiola is an associate, originallyfrom Nigeria, who joined McKinseyafter completing a PhD onOrganisational Behaviour at ImperialCollege, London University. Wurajoined McKinsey in New York andtransferred to the London office a yearlater.

Alexandre Emery is an associate whojoined McKinsey in 1997 after his MBAat Kellogg. Prior to McKinsey,Alexandre worked for the French TradeCommission after completing his BA inPolitical Science at Yale.

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Your first two years

The chance to learn and contribute from the start

As an associate, you will have an opportunity to work on important issues and make a realimpact on clients almost from day one. After a short induction period, you will quicklybe assigned to a client engagement. This maylast several months, during which time you willremain full time on one team, getting to knowteam members well and often seeing the clientmake major changes with our support.

Often you will work on a discrete problem or subject within the

engagement and discuss your findings with the rest of the team. You will also be expected to

take an active part when the team membersput their heads together to generate ideas and hypotheses, focus the analysis and distilout practical recommendations.

In many engagements, you will have a chance to mix extensively with the client organisation,for example conducting interviews, helpingmanagers acquire new skills and explaining the team’s recommendations.

Whatever your early assignments, they will give you an opportunity both to contribute andto learn fast. During your first two years youcan expect to gain experience of diversebusiness sectors and client problems. Moreover,McKinsey gives you access to the latest thinkingworld-wide – you can tap into our excellent

information and research facilities or seek direct advice from other consultantswith relevant experience.

On my most recent engagement, we worked with the editorial andmarketing team of a large newspaper to help boost circulation and get the economics back into decent shape.Newspapers are hugely creative andcomplex products, and it was great funto help pull together a paper that is editorially and visually exciting aswell as economically viable. The bestpart though was seeing myself as an international football hero in thebanner headlines of our mockproduction runs.

I’ve greatly enjoyed the diversity of experience that McKinsey provides.Not only in terms of projects andindustries - I’ve worked in fourdifferent industries in the space of 10months - but also in terms of inspiring,energetic and exciting colleagues with an incredible range ofbackgrounds. It is this combinednetwork of experience and people thatis the real strength of McKinsey.

Ditlev Schwanenflugel graduated inLaw from the University ofCopenhagen in 1991 and worked as a lawyer in Copenhagen until 1995. He joined McKinsey as an associatein 1997 following an MBA from LBS.

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Unparalleled learning

opportunities

Expanding your skills through client work,coaching and relevant training programmes

The opportunities to learn at McKinsey areexceptional. Learning takes place both on thejob (in teams) and in training programmes.

In your first team, you may find that yousuddenly have to immerse yourself in anindustry or a problem that is unfamiliar to you.

Experienced consultants will always be ready

to help you get up to speed rapidly – McKinsey trains and evaluates its senior

consultants on their ability tocoach and develop the

people they work with.

During and after every client engagement, yourperformance will be evaluated and you will havean opportunity to discuss your futuredevelopment needs with a manager or partner.When you join, you will also be assigned a“development leader”– a McKinsey partner whowill be a continuing source of information andguidance as you move from one engagement tothe next. Subject to our clients’ needs,wherever possible your next assignment will bechosen to enable you to fill any gaps in yourknowledge or experience.

Between nine and 15 months tenure, associatesattend our two-week Introductory LeadershipWorkshop (usually in England or the US) where

you will get to know McKinsey people from allover the world. You will also be able to selectfrom a range of further training programmes,depending on your needs – for example,finance, communication or interviewing skills.

For those who do not have prior businessexperience or knowledge, (e.g. individuals withscientific, medical or legal backgrounds), thereis usually the chance to go on our one-month“mini-MBA”, an intensive course in businessconcepts and financial analysis.

Later on, as you progress to manager andbeyond, the training emphasis will shift towardscoaching and leading teams, negotiating thescope of new engagements, and maintainingexcellent relationships with clients.

In personal development, as in all aspects ofMcKinsey life, it is your own initiative thatcounts. While the working environment is verysupportive, nobody forces learning on you.Ultimately you must be clear about your owndevelopment needs and seek opportunities tomeet them.

After 10 years with one major oilcompany before joining McKinsey, my rate of learning had slowed down. I was ready for a change and wantedexposure to other industries.

One of the many new skills I have learnt at McKinsey is to be moreflexible intellectually – I’m more opento changing priorities and hypotheses.And although I already had experienceof managing people, I have continuedlearning at McKinsey – the firm is verygood at teaching how to coach andgive constructive feedback. Peopledevelopment is not secondary here –the investment made in you as aperson continues throughout your lifeat McKinsey, it is not confined to yourfirst year or so.

In return, I think what I brought toMcKinsey was my line managementperspective. That means I canempathise with client managers. I remember facing many of thefrustrations they now face, and thismakes it easier for me to put the team’s ideas over clearly and knowwhether our recommendations arepractical.

Keith Leslie spent over 10 years in business before joining McKinsey in 1993. He has four children under the age of 12.

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The McKinsey Olympicsbetween European offices

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Scenes from life at McKinsey

Car rally at the Summer Associate Retreat

James Bond Night

The gym at No.1 Jermyn Street

Consultant Retreats

Petra, Jordan

St. Petersburg

Office training symposium at Oxford

Village Day – an annualcommunity service event

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Opportunities to contribute to the latest thinking in a field that excites you

Pioneeringmanagement

thinking

McKinsey is widely recognised as being at theforefront of management thinking world-wide.By maintaining this position, we can both helpour clients make lasting and substantialimprovements, and build a great institution thatwill attract, develop, excite and retainexceptional people.

In the 1990s, McKinsey has led thinking about such issues as

technologicalinnovation, logistics,alliances and

acquisitions, vertical integration, organisationdesign and the role of the

corporate centre.

Each year we spend $50-100 millionon this research, much of which takes

place in 50-plus interest groups or “practices” –informal networks of consultants who areinterested in, and knowledgeable about, a particular field of management. In addition,McKinsey sponsors global research programmeson such topics as the corporations of thefuture, growth, performance measurement andthe fundamentals of strategy. In 1997, the firmspent $24 million on such programmes.

Throughout your career at McKinsey you cancontribute to this effort and continue buildingyour own skills – indeed, your evaluations will

take this contribution into account alongsideyour client work. Your involvement can takemany forms: a new consultant may, forinstance, be assigned to an existing research team, or might initiate some activity bypersuading a group of interested consultants tocome together. Apart from building an internaland external reputation, you will soon developa valuable personal network as you work withpeople from around the world.

Consultants disseminate their knowledge withinMcKinsey via regional or world-wide meetingsand conferences, as well as through one-pagebulletins and longer documents. Some findingsmake their way into leading businesspublications such as the Harvard BusinessReview, the Financial Times, The Economist, andthe Wall Street Journal, or into our own journal,the McKinsey Quarterly, which is sent out toabout 60,000 top managers around the world.Sometimes our research findings lead to books,such as Simplicity Wins, published by theHarvard Business School Press in 1995, or The Tao of Coaching, written by Max Landsbergfrom the London office. In all, McKinseyconsultants have published close to 100 titles,including In Search of Excellence, one of the best-selling business books of all time.

I had never really considered a career inconsulting for two main reasons: firstly, I thoughtthat one had to be a generalist consultant while mymain area of interest was marketing; and secondly,I had the impression that consultancies onlyrecruited people with MBAs. I was wrong on bothcounts!

Since joining McKinsey as a marketing specialist,I have been applying the knowledge I gained in theconsumer goods industry to a much broader rangeof sectors (such as pharmaceuticals and financialservices). At the same time, I have expanded mymarketing knowledge in areas such as marketingspend effectiveness, branding and buildingmarketing capabilities.

With a group of colleagues, I have been involved in real knowledge development, looking at howcompanies can increase their chances of success in the development of truly innovative products orservices. This has led to a diagnostic piece of workfor two major consumer goods clients which tries to identify how they could improve their approach tonew product development.

Another rewarding aspect of a specialist career atMcKinsey has been the flexibility it has offered me.Initially, I opted for a role where I worked withmultiple clients and teams across Europe, providingthem with advice and coaching on a specificmarketing topic. With this broad experience in hand,I recently switched tracks and started to leadmarketing engagements - in other words, more depththan breadth.

Nirmala Santiapillai has a PhD in Neurochemistryfrom Cambridge University. Prior to joiningMcKinsey in 1995, she worked at a globalconsumer products company as technical brandmanager within their beauty care R&D division. In her spare time, Nirmala enjoys travelling,playing the saxophone and singing on her Karaoke machine.

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Far from being arrogant, a lot of peoplejoining McKinsey are insecure about their abilityto consult clients on a wide range of issues.This isn’t surprising given that most of us cometo the firm with quite a narrow set of workexperiences. I remember being truly impressedat how effective a McKinsey team can be inquickly getting to grips with the issues a clientfaces and determining how best to tackle them.I was also surprised as to how quickly I felt thatI was adding real value to the process. This is ahuge source of motivation and job satisfaction. I can look back on four or five studies wherethe client has made substantial changes to theirbusiness and improved profitability dramaticallyas a result. In this process, the line betweenconsultant and client becomes increasinglyblurred and I invariably found myself deeplycommitted to the success of my clients on botha personal and a company level.

But formal client engagements are just one of the available avenues for initiative. A year ortwo ago it became clear to those of us in theLondon office consumer goods practice thatthere were many clients for whom the classicformula of solving the problem and detailinghow to implement the solution was whollyinsufficient - they simply did not have enoughhigh calibre people to drive the necessarychanges. Through the efforts of a small set of consultants, we have embarked on marketingcapability building programmes with a numberof clients with notable results. We pursued this not only because it was the right thing todo for our clients, but also because it wasinteresting and fun to try and build somethingfrom scratch.

Blair Crawford spent four years in retailingbefore his MBA at Harvard. In 1994 he was a member of the Scottish rowing team in theCommonwealth Games, and still trains severaltimes a week on the Thames at Putney. He is now a senior manager.

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Apart from helping the firm launch new interestgroups or practices, individual consultants canfind many other outlets for enterprise andinitiative. Associates in different parts of theworld have helped us develop new clients,reach out to community groups unable toafford our services, and establish new McKinseyoffices.

For example, Cindy Levy had an interest inworking in Israel, so she seized the opportunity

to manage a McKinsey team chosen to serve one of Israel’s major banks. The London office encouraged and

supported her, despite its continuing need for her banking knowledge at home.

Cindy’s stay extended fromthree months to a year, and at her suggestion, McKinsey took up further

issues concerning the country’s financial markets – leading to a face-to-face

meeting with the Israeli Finance Minister. Cindy has continued to work in Israel since

being elected a partner and is now one of the leaders of an initiative to develop an Israel office.

Similarly, Alberto Haddad had some keybusiness contacts in the Middle East–a part ofthe world where McKinsey had only limitedpresence and interest. Within a year of joining,Alberto succeeded in convincing a London

office director to lead a bid for a majorprivatisation effort in the region. Alberto workedwith two partners to help ensure that theyobserved all the necessary cultural codes and,despite strong competition, McKinsey won thecontract. Two years on, the firm has recognisedthe importance of the Middle East to ourbusiness, and Alberto has become the practicemanager for the region, helping to take ourefforts further and hoping to establish a localoffice in the near future.

London office individuals have also beenbehind several very practical initiatives recently– e.g. a campaign to recruit morepostgraduates, annual office wide communityservice days and office retreats (in Jordan,Greece, Sardinia and St. Petersburg).

Helping to shape

McKinsey’s future

A great institution built on individual initiative

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Before I joined McKinsey, I was working as a doctor in a veryspecialised field and my one nightmarewas that someone would name a cell inthe human kidney after me! It seemedI was learning more and more aboutless and less.

As a management consultant, I feel I have widened my vision and had animpact on companies and people. Myskills were directly translatable – here,as in medicine, diagnosis is all aboutfact-based problem solving in a highlypeople-intensive environment. But as a management consultant, you are onmuch more equal terms with yourclients – in fact, they know more thanyou about their particular company.

What is really clever and inspiringabout McKinsey, is the way the firmthrives on the energy and interests ofits people. For example, I gottremendous support from my fellowpartners when I recently wanted tohand a client engagement (which I hadinitiated myself) over to someone elsein the firm so I could return to the areaI now realise I really want toconcentrate on – healthcare.

Judith Hazlewood joined McKinsey as an associate in 1988 and is now aprincipal (partner). Before McKinsey,she worked as a hospital physicianand did an MBA at Harvard.

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When McKinsey talks of “attracting,developing, exciting and retaining exceptionalpeople”, it is not just a string of words or goodintentions. We truly encourage our consultantsto learn and grow continuously.

When assigning you to teams, we take intoaccount your development needs and aim

to give you every opportunity to extend your experience. During each engagement, the manager

and partnerson your

team give you support

and advice and, at the end, assess yourperformance – including your problem-solvingand communication skills, and your client andteam relations.

In addition, twice a year, a group of partnersreviews your progress and helps you set yourdevelopment goals for the next half year. If youdemonstrate that you have expanded your skillsand developed leadership qualities, you canexpect to progress quickly.

Associates generally manage their firstengagement after two to three years. Successfulconsultants normally advance to principal(partner) after a total of five to seven years atMcKinsey. This advancement is entirely onmerit – there is no arbitrary ceiling on thenumber of principals in any office.

To become a principal, you must demonstratethat you can develop and sustain relationshipswith business leaders, coach and develop less experienced colleagues, lead office-levelinitiatives such as recruitment or training,and develop the latest thinking in a businessarea. Advancement to director (senior partner)may be possible after another five to six years.

If at any stage in this career path, a consultantceases to progress, he or she is asked to leaveMcKinsey. This “up or out” policy appliesthroughout the firm, from associates to seniorpartners. It ensures that we continue tomotivate exceptional people and providesuperior client service.

Generally, consultants spend the first few years of their McKinsey career broadening their skills and experience to new industries and different business problems. By the timethey become senior managers, however, theyoften find themselves focusing on particularareas of interest in which they have built upa substantial body of knowledge andexperience.

Making career progress

Rapid advancement for exceptional individuals

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Many consultants who leave McKinsey do sovoluntarily because of the plentifulopportunities available to them outside thefirm. McKinsey’s reputation, our consultants’talents and the experience they gain in the firmmake them very attractive to employers.A consultant who leaves after a few years canexpect to move into a senior position in another

organisation. Some choose to pursue

entrepreneurial ventures. Some leave

and return later: Peter Foy spent a

few years running his own hotels,

William Vaughan-Lewis was OperationsDirector for a major advertising company, andMary Harris took two years working in media.

Those who leave at the level of principal orabove typically become company directors or chief executives, or heads of non-profitorganisations.

Alumni of the London office include:

• Sir John Banham, Chairman of Kingfisher,Tarmac and West Country TV;

• Dick Barker, President of Chiron Diagnostics,a biotech company;

• Norman Blackwell, Director of NatWestBank, previous Head of the Downing Streetpolicy and planning unit;

• Josh Bottomley, Head of Strategy for theFinancial Times Group;

• Justin Darlow, Head of Strategic Projects for British Airways;

• Carolyn Fairbairn, Strategy Directorat BBC Worldwide;

• William Hague, Member of Parliament,Leader of the Conservative Party;

• Nick Kirkbride, Managing Director of Virgin Cola;

• Katharine McClew Davidson, Vice PresidentGlobal Markets at J.P. Morgan;

• Christine Service, Director of BusinessDevelopment for Walt Disney TVInternational;

• Moti Shahani, Managing Director of E-Marketing (www.e-marketing.com), a webdevelopment company;

• Trevor Stirling, Strategic Planning Director at Guiness Ireland;

• Adair Turner, Director General of theConfederation of British Industry.

Wherever McKinsey consultants go, a strong bond remains between them and thefirm. Many maintain enduring relationshipswith former clients, and some becomeMcKinsey clients themselves.

Careers after McKinsey

Remaining part of the McKinsey network

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When you leave McKinsey, you see immediately how translatablemany of your skills are.The acceleratedlearning curve, and the fact that youhave been working for clients who lookto McKinsey for advice on their mostimportant corporate decisions, meansthat you’ve acquired an excellentfoundation to move into a major rolein industry . There’s also the quality ofMcKinsey people. To have had theopportunity of working with such aninteresting and challenging peer grouphas been a real pleasure.

Archie Norman left McKinsey to join Kingfisher as group financedirector. He is now chairman, Asda Group plc.

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Consulting at McKinsey is an exceptionallysatisfying and challenging career for people withthe right motivation and qualities.

We seek candidates with outstanding records ofacademic, managerial, professional or scientificachievement and the capacity to continue

developing and learning.

You should have drive and commitment, be comfortable with

numbers and logical reasoning, capable of

coming up with new waysof looking at business

problems, and good at sustaining team and client relationships and

communicating complex ideas clearly.

The majority of associates joining McKinsey’s London

office have an MBA from a leading business school. However, a significant and growing number of recruits do not haveMBAs. Instead they have several yearsexperience either in business (e.g. banking,accounting, marketing) or elsewhere (e.g. law,medicine, academia).

We recruit most of our associates as generalistconsultants, but also take on some specialists in fields such as information technology and energy.

The kind of people

we arelooking for

Exceptional individuals with both intellectual and interpersonal strengths

With my PhD in nuclearengineering, I’m considered a bit of arocket scientist compared with all theMBAs and experienced businessmanagers round here! Since I had noformal business education, I attendedMcKinsey’s mini-MBA programme inFlorida as soon as I joined. It wasabsolutely brilliant and has beeninvaluable to me in client situations.

I had offers from other consultingfirms, but I chose McKinsey primarilybecause I considered it to be the leaderof the industry and at the forefront of management thinking. My concernthat the atmosphere might be toocompetitive or unfriendly immediatelyevaporated after visiting the office andtalking to consultants – I found thatthey were not just smart but also veryfriendly people.

Artur Niemczewski graduated inMechanical Engineering from WarsawTechnical University in 1989 andwent on to do two postgraduatedegrees at the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology. He lists his interests as windsurfing, snowboarding androllerblading and says that when it iswindy outside he has to put extraeffort into concentrating on work.

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When I joined McKinsey 19 yearsago, it was a leap into the unknown –and in those days consulting wasn’teven considered very respectable. But I was attracted by the people and theobvious entrepreneurial opportunity.There was no ‘consumer goodspractice’ then in London. I was told‘come and help us build one’.

The first year or two were difficult.Without an MBA, I wasn’t familiar withthe latest financial and strategicthinking. It took me about a year and a half to figure it out (and to realisethat it wasn’t that much use anyway).

Somewhat to my surprise (and I’m sureto others’ surprise too), I survived andI’m still here. Although now managingpartner, I still see myself primarily as a consultant and strive to spend abouthalf my time working with clients.

It’s easy in a brochure to give theimpression that we are looking to recruit a certain type of person. In my view, though, what we reallyneed are distinctive individuals – withthe necessary skills – who want to be entrepreneurial and buildsomething.

Ian Davis has been head of the London office since May 1996.At McKinsey he has workedpredominantly for clients in theconsumer goods field. Before joiningthe firm in 1979, he spent seven yearsin sales and marketing in the paperproducts industry.

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“If you are now at business school, you areencouraged to attend our campus presentationsand also to speak to members of your class whohave spent time at McKinsey as businessanalysts or summer associates.

You may want to consider applying to oursummer associate programme yourself. Eachyear we give a small number of MBA studentsthe opportunity to gain first-hand experience ofconsulting by spending about 10 weeks with usduring the break between their first and secondyear of study. These individuals participate asfull McKinsey team members and receivecoaching and support from fellow consultants.Depending on their performance, summerassociates may be invited to return to McKinseyas permanent consultants upon completion of their MBA.

We also particularly encourage applicationsfrom people without MBAs who have excelledin business, academia or another profession.

Anyone who wishes to discuss how theirexperience might be useful to McKinsey isencouraged to contact us directly. During therecruitment process, you will meet a number ofconsultants to talk about consulting atMcKinsey.

Please send us your CV via post or e-mail:

MBA RecruitingorIndustry HireMcKinsey & Company 1 Jermyn StreetLondon SW1Y 4UH

LNMBA–REC@mckinsey.comorLNEXP–HIRE@mckinsey.com

For more information visit our websiteat: http://www.mckinsey.com

How to find out more

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McKinsey & Company, Inc., United KingdomIncorporated with limited liability in USA

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