McKinsey Cover Letter Example

Looking to apply for a consulting position at McKinsey? Before you submit your application, check out our McKinsey cover letter example and 4 writing tips for help.

January 1, 2024

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McKinsey Cover Letter Template

To make sure everything looks professional, you need to format your cover letter properly.

Copy-paste McKinsey Cover Letter (Text Format)

FIRST AND LAST NAME

Email: your.email@email.com

Phone: (123) 456-7891

Address: Street, City, State

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yourprofile

[Today’s Date]

[Hiring Manager’s Name]
123 Company Address
Company’s City, State, Zip Code
(xxx) xxx-xxxx
hiring.manager@gmail.com

Dear [Mr./Ms./Mx.] [Hiring Manager’s Last Name],

As a long-term admirer of McKinsey’s consulting practices and commitment to excellence through mentoring and apprenticeship, I’m excited to be applying for the Associate position at the Boston office. My 6 years of experience in consulting, and recent MBA acquired at the University of California, Berkeley, have given me insights and expertise in supply chain management and finance that I’m confident will be valuable in helping serve McKinsey’s clients.

While pursuing my MBA, I published 2 articles on internal restructuring and streamlining supply chain management channels. In my current role at Protiviti, I work closely with a team of 5 consultants, identifying client issues and proposing solutions. Within 3 years, my team has assisted 30+ companies (including five Fortune 500s) in analyzing and solving problems related to strategic management, internal restructuring, and supply chain efficiency. Please accept the following as a snapshot of my key achievements thus far in my career:

Recommended and oversaw the restructuring and merging of 2 internal departments (total of 1000+ employees) to streamline business processes, resulting in a reduction of 30+ labor hours weekly, saving $300,000 USD annually in company salary expenses
Worked with clients to develop an online platform aimed at centralizing order processing. Eliminated $50,000 in company overhead (10% of total), and increased annual revenue by $200,000 along with company product offerings by 20% due to new ease of product accessibility for customers

Working as a McKinsey Associate would be a great achievement in my personal career and growth as a consultant. I’m especially interested in McKinsey’s growth in the French market. Being bilingual in both English and French, I’m extremely motivated to serve McKinsey’s French clients, further cementing itself as a valuable asset to French businesses.

I would love a chance to sit down with you in an interview to better discuss and demonstrate how my expertise and skills will be an asset to McKinsey and its clientele in solving difficult business operations challenges. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Additionally, I am currently located in San Jose, California, but more than willing to relocate to Boston for the Associate consulting position.

Sincerely,

Your name

How to write the best McKinsey consultant cover letter

McKinsey is one of the world’s top consulting firms, with reportedly less than 1% of applicants passing the company’s hiring process and eventually receiving a job offer.

If you want to be brought in for an interview, you’ll need to write a great McKinsey cover letter to accompany your consulting resume.

To help you get started, we’ve included 4 tips for writing a cover letter for McKinsey.

1. Read the job description before you begin writing

It might sound obvious, but reading the job description before you begin writing will help you craft a well-written, thoughtful cover letter that hits all the key points McKinsey expects of its top candidates.

McKinsey is a big consulting firm that receives hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants for a single position. To ease the hiring process, they use an applicant tracking system (ATS) software to screen for keywords that they expect to see in your cover letter.

If you don’t take the time to include McKinsey’s ATS keywords, your job application will be automatically discarded before it reaches the eyes of the hiring manager.

So, it’s important that you scan the job description beforehand to know what skill or experience-related keywords McKinsey is looking to see in your cover letter.

Don’t stop with your cover letter. You’ll also need to write an ATS-friendly resume to submit with your application to ensure it ends up at a hiring manager’s desk and isn’t automatically discarded.

2. Describe your motivation for working at McKinsey

McKinsey will expect you to explain to them why you’re interested in consulting and why you want to work for them, and the best place to do this is in your cover letter.

In the second and third paragraphs of your cover letter, focus on your motivations for working in consulting and the specific issues that drive you. This is also an excellent opportunity to tie in your previous college coursework or work experience and explain how it’s relevant to the work being done by McKinsey.

Here’s an example of our McKinsey cover letter, with our candidate’s motivation for applying highlighted:

An example of how to explain your motivation for applying on a McKinsey cover letter

3. Include your previous consulting achievements

Besides explaining why you’re motivated to work for them, McKinsey will want to know that you’ve got the experience and expertise to excel as a consultant.

A great way to show them that you’re the best candidate for the job is by including specific work-related or academic achievements in your cover letter.

When including accomplishments or achievements in your cover letter, list hard numbers so that the hiring manager understands exactly what impact you made at your previous employer.

Listing responsibilities and duties is great, but they’re less impactful to a hiring manager without numbers.

Here’s an example of two consulting achievements, with hard numbers bolded:

Recommended and oversaw the restructuring and merging of 2 internal departments (total of 1000+ employees) to streamline business processes, resulting in a reduction of 30+ labor hours weekly, saving $300,000 USD annually in company salary expenses

Worked with clients to develop an online platform aimed at centralizing order processing. Eliminated $50,000 in company overhead (10% of total), and increased annual revenue by $200,000 along with company product offerings by 20% due to new ease of product accessibility for customers

4. Use your cover letter to explain any inconsistencies in your application

Lastly, your cover letter is a great place to explain any inconsistencies, such as employment gaps, that appear on your resume.

You should also take the time in your cover letter to explain any other unique circumstances that apply to you, such as what office you’re applying to, or (if you’re located far away from the location you want to work at) that you’re willing to relocate.

Here’s an example of a McKinsey cover letter, with the applicant’s willingness to relocate highlighted:

An example of how to describe your willingness to relocate on a McKinsey cover letter