Mckinsey Hiring Freeze

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the rejection. In terms of your question:

Q: Did McKinsey just implement a hiring freeze?

It seems they implemented hiring freeze – or at least, a substantial decrease in hiring – in some countries indeed. For standard rejections, they normally recommend to apply after 12-18 months, the fact they are referring to September seems to confirm that.

A few months ago, some of my mentees already started to have interviews postponed by a couple of months.

On the other hand, in other countries they are apparently still hiring.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about the rejection from McKinsey!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, it's important to note that there may be a slowdown in recruiting among most strategy consulting companies. While this might not be the case for your specific office, it is still worth mentioning.
• Moreover, it seems like McKinsey has stopped recruiting altogether, or at least has significantly reduced its recruiting activities. Given that the regular ban period after a rejection lasts for 12-18 months, and that they are referring you to September (i.e., just 7 months ahead), it seems like they have indeed stopped recruiting altogether at the moment.

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

Best,

Hagen

Hi,

I can confirm McKinsey put a hiring freeze on most roles in the US as of this week. I got a call from my recruiter yesterday to let me know. 

Hi there,

It depends on the office. 

Some offices have slowed down hiring (ME), whereas others have frozen hiring for Q1 or even full H1 (e.g., some European offices). I had several clients who had their interviews canceled.

In Europe there are currently 1,000+ consultants on the beach, hence it makes sense not to add more to that unfortunately (similar stats for all top firms).

Cheers,

Florian

Hiring is definitely slowing down. Consulting companies are not fully utilized meaning that existing staff is not deployed on billable projects. Consultant turnover is also lower as people are less likely to take the risk of switching jobs and becoming “the new guy” at other firms (who are often also the first ones to let go in cases of downsizing).

In a setup like that, hiring new people is not a priority for consulting firms. The exact situations likely vary by region currently but an overall trend is observable.

Hi there,

It does depend on the region, but yes, most companies are slowing down hiring.

Now, even during tough periods, people get hired. Things don't just stop completely!

So, control what you can: you.

Network extensively, aim for a referral, get as good a resume as you can, and apply to dozens of firms.

Hi there, 

It's not an official or a complete hiring freeze. Some offices are still interviewing and giving out offers to candidates.

They are just winding down hiring in line with the economic slow-down. 

The only thing you can do in this situation is to apply as broadly as possible. And also to make sure your application documents are as strong as possible.

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

The short answer is yes. I finished my final round in December, and was told by the recruiter they wanted to extend an offer, but they were in a hiring freeze and trying to assess their capacity needs. Just heard back from them today that they are still in a hiring freeze, but will contact me as soon as they have capacity. 

Hello, 

I was in the same situation, we’re you contacted by the recruiter again?