McKinsey Cover Letter Example

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.

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:

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: