Strategy Simplified
Strategy Simplified is here to demystify the consulting industry and help you land your dream job in management consulting. Hosted by the expert team at Management Consulted - the world's largest resource for consulting news and interview prep - each episode covers topics related to the consulting world, from interview preparation and case study techniques to networking strategies and industry trends. Whether you're just starting your career or looking to make a transition, Strategy Simplified is the go-to resource for anyone looking to break into the consulting industry. With actionable advice, insider tips, and real-life success stories, this podcast is the ultimate guide to simplifying your career strategy and landing your dream consulting job.
Episodes
Every McKinsey interviewee last year got at least 1 non-traditional case. Most candidates are still only prepping for standard business cases.
Namaan breaks down what's actually different about case interviews in 2026, and it's not just the case types.
McKinsey is piloting an AI-enabled interview round. Bain's also adding one this summer.
The bar on communication and presence just went up too, because AI raised t...
Energy consulting grew in line with the market for a decade. Flat. Unremarkable. Nobody paid attention.
That changed.
The market's now projected to grow 11% in 2026, and leverage for candidates with ops or technical backgrounds is higher than at any point in recent history.
Japheth sits down with Namaan to break down what's driving the boom. Spoiler: it's not just the data center buildout you've been reading abou...
The reality of MBB recruiting: 100 candidates apply. 15 get an interview. 1 gets the offer.
Most of the 99 who don't get it aren't underqualified. They just had a bad plan.
Kabreya Ghaderi, who coached hundreds of candidates and spent time at McKinsey, PwC, and Bridgespan, sees strong candidates still miss because their prep plan has a hole in it they can't see from the inside.
In this episode, Kabreya walks through th...
Ish Mawla ran a BCG case in front of a live audience. Real candidate, real pressure.
The case: a solar company in an emerging market watching its revenue fall while the broader market keeps growing. Aditya has to figure out why – and what to do about it.
Then Ish breaks down the whole thing – what Aditya did well and where he left points on the table.
Here's what stood out:
- Why your framework can work ag...
5 people just landed offers at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, and L.E.K. We got them all in one room and asked them the same question: what actually worked?
The real stuff – how many cases they did, how they networked, what they wish they'd done differently, and the misconceptions that almost cost them.
Aisha did 50 cases her first recruiting cycle and didn't get the offer. She did 25 the second time and got it....
Mitali Jalan was told she couldn't break into consulting as a chartered accountant. She was told it was unlikely she'd land Bain as an international MBA student. She got the offers anyway.
She worked at Deloitte India and Bain London, then sat on the other side of the table as a Bain interviewer. She's coached over 350 candidates and knows where people lose the offer.
The thing she kept seeing? Candidates who spent we...
Every week we hear the same question from candidates: Is AI going to gut consulting before I can break in?
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: The model is changing fast, and you need to know what's shifting and what isn't.
Arda Ecevit spent over 13 years at Deloitte, Strategy&, and Bain before co-founding NexStrat AI. He sat down with Namaan to talk about what AI is doing to consulting – and the parts of the jo...
Walter applied to consulting out of undergrad and didn't get an offer. Went into investment banking, got another shot a year and a half later, and still wasn't ready – too busy, not focused enough, cramming at the last minute.
So he quit his job to recruit full time.
That's an extreme version of the lesson, but the lesson applies to anyone working full time while trying to break in: you have less time than you t...
BCG interviews typically start 3–4 weeks after the application deadline – and deadlines are here.
Tauseef Charanya spent 10 years at BCG – half consulting, half building AI products globally. He's done 300+ interviews and has seen strong candidates miss offers for the same reasons, over and over.
In this episode, he breaks down the 3 mistakes that hurt otherwise solid BCG candidates, why doing ...
Most new consultants walk in with work style blind spots they can't see – and their managers notice before they do.
In this episode, Namaan – COO of Management Consulted – breaks down his framework for owning your first 90 days in consulting: how to identify your blind spots, read your manager, and carry yourself like someone who's been doing this for years.
You'll learn:
- What your manager actuall...
Energy consulting is growing 11% this year – the fastest-growing sector in consulting.
AI data centers are eating power faster than the grid can supply, the energy transition is still underway, and nobody has a clean answer for how to do both at once.
3 insiders from MC's 2026 energy ranking join the show: Sean Jump (dss+), Charlie Sorensen (BearingPoint), and Michael Einstein (Simon-Kucher).
You'll learn:
- Why...
Maile Dyer reviewed 400+ resumes as a Bain Manager. She was on the recruiting team, making the decisions on who got interviews.
And she kept seeing the same 3 mistakes: structure, content, and formatting. Most candidates miss at least one. A lot of them miss all 3 — and they never find out why they never heard back.
In this episode, Maile breaks down each mistake and tells you exactly how to fix it. Katie Neff j...
BCG just updated its Consulting Career Assessment (CCA) and most candidates approach it the wrong way.
In this episode, Katie – ex-BCG, Black Belt Advisor at Management Consulted – breaks down the revamped CCA across each section, so you know what to expect.
What most candidates miss: this isn't just a math test. BCG is measuring who you are and whether you are consistent in your answers.
You'll learn:
- W...
Everyone wonders what comes after consulting, but the exits aren't talked about.
In this episode of Consulting Unpacked, Jenny Rae (ex-Bain) breaks down the 5 most common exit paths – and why consulting opens more doors than almost any other career move.
Resources:
- Create a free profile + access the Job Board (1K+ jobs)
- Create a free MC account to access foundational resources and start building your consultin...
Sebastian is a Purdue junior with Bain interviews coming up. He ran a full first-round Bain case live – and after every section, coach Mitali stopped and told him exactly what worked and what he missed.
Mitali spent 5 years in consulting, including as a senior consultant at Bain in London. She's coached 350+ people into MBB and used to interview candidates herself – so she knows what Bain is looking for.
Y...
He got McKinsey and Bain interviews and practiced 30 cases with friends – but didn't make it past round 1.
Overconfident Ollie is a target school student with every reason to be confident. He joined Black Belt, made a plan – then mostly went at it alone.
His KPI was cases completed and when MBB's first round came, his floor wasn't high enough.
Katie and Japheth break down what went wrong, what's at st...
Daniel went from steel and automotive to McKinsey. His path wasn't conventional – and neither was his networking strategy.
Instead of casting a wide net, he built 2 deep relationships at the firm – mentors who helped him at every stage.
This episode breaks down what worked – and what the standard MBA playbook gets wrong.
- Why 2 deep relationships beat 30 surface connections in consulting recr...
Only 19% of McKinsey's new hires today are MBAs. In the mid-90s, that number was over 80%.
The # of spots available for MBAs is shrinking – the competition isn't.
MC coach Catherine Lee – ex-Deloitte, ex-BCG, Harvard MBA – breaks down 3 mistakes that sink most incoming MBAs before they ever reach an interview:
- Starting too late (fall semester is already too late)
- Treating prep like a sprint instead...
Laura Ackermann once worked with a hospital executive in his 50s – years of running a mid-sized US hospital – who wanted to apply for McKinsey's Associate position.
She was outraged.
Not at him – at how common the pattern is.
Experienced hires undervalue what they've built. They apply too low. Skip networking because it feels uncomfortable. Wait to start case prep because the timeline isn't obvi...
Bain told Jenny Rae on day 1 she'd be pushed out if she didn't perform. What they conveniently left out: almost everybody meets the bar.
Up or out isn't the brutal filter most people fear. In the early years, it's a deliberate scare tactic. The real pressure comes later, when you have to cross from analytical work into managing.
In this episode of Consulting Unpacked, Jenny Rae breaks down why up or out culture exists...
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