Hiring situation in Germany for entry level positions

Hi,

The market for entry-level positions at MBBs in Germany remains competitive in 2024. But what I see is that superior interview performances still lead to offers pretty predictably.

And in fact, the only thing that is totally in your control is your preparation to ensure you present the best version of yourself. 

Remember, superior candidates are the ones who have built the skill of rigorous thinking instead of using a framework. In MBB interviews, rigorous thinkers will ALWAYS be preferred to framework addicts. 

So my advice would be to invest the necessary time and resources to learn from an experienced senior consultant (Project leader and upwards) how they structured case scenarios in REALITY.

Cheers, Sidi

_______________________

Dr. Sidi Koné 

Former Senior Engagement Manager & Interviewer at McKinsey | Former Senior Consultant at BCG | Co-Founder of The MBB Offer Machine™

Very little. 

I'm surprised to read the other answers. 

I have candidates who reached out to the German offices to apply now and were asked to wait until autumn. 

I would recommend you to do the same. 

Don't send blind applications. Make sure they are actually hiring for your target role. And that involves having a short chat or email exchange with the recruiter. 

The hiring situation changes rather fast, so it's good to get the most recent info straight from the source.

You might also find the following article helpful when preparing your application: 

• Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Best,
Cristian

Hi there and congrats on getting to round 2 with BCG! I'm sure you are already doing your best to be super well prepared. 

In terms of “are they still hiring”, short answer is YES. There is no hiring freeze in place for MBBs, and for sure not for BCG Europe. 

That being said, it is also true that it has gotten more competitive because the intake is expected to be somewhat smaller. 

As said, focus now on doing excellent on your upcoming interviews - you've already gotten very far! 

Good luck, 

Ariadna 

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the progress in the application process with BCG thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• I would highly advise you to ignore all the rumors you seem to have heard. While the consulting industry (as a result of all client industries) is not doing well in Germany either, it really doesn't matter to you if you were invited to the interviews.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming final round BCG interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

The situation is bad but not desperate.

I have candidates both for McKinsey and BCG Germany who are currently interviewing or have finished their interviews last week.

Also, McKinsey Germany opened a new batch of application slots in May.

All the best,

Florian

Hiring is still going on. It's slow, but going on. No hiring freeze, although some interview dates and entry dates are being delayed.

They are also interviewing less people. So if you have an interview and are on R2, you are in a good place. As such, don't worry too much. And if you have a good performance, you may get an offer asking you to start later rather than sooner. Not ideal but… still great :)

Hi there,

consulting firms don't usually just interview for show. You are already in the interview process which means that they are still trying to fill open positions. They would not put up a charade conducting interviews and binding consulting resources if they were not actually interested in hiring. 

So focus on what is within your control and prepare yourself for round 2 as best as you possibly can. After that, we'll keep our fingers crossed that you will get positive feedback.

Best of luck