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A well-written BCG cover letter can make the difference between landing a BCG interview and getting rejected. Especially for borderline candidates, a clear and concise BCG cover letter can share your unique background and get yourself through the resume review stage.

I’m a former MBB interviewer and I’ve read hundreds of different cover letters. If you’re looking for a simple, step-by-step guide to writing the perfect BCG cover letter, then this article is for you.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover what BCG looks for in a cover letter, how to write a BCG cover letter, and insider BCG cover letter tips to help yourself stand out.

If you need professional help crafting the perfect consulting resume, check out our consulting resume review and editing service . Transform your resume into one that will land you multiple consulting interviews.

What is a Cover Letter?

A cover letter is a brief document sent with a resume to provide additional information about your skills and experiences. It introduces you to the employer, explains why you are a great fit for the job, and expresses your enthusiasm for the position.

A typical cover letter includes your contact information, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

• Contact information : Provides your email address, phone number, and home address so that recruiters can contact you
• Introduction : Introduces yourself and mentions the job you are applying for
• Body : Highlights your qualifications and how they match the job requirements, providing specific examples to demonstrate your fit for the role
• Conclusion : Expresses enthusiasm for the position and thanks the employer for considering your application

Cover letters are typically tailored to the specific job or company that you are applying to. They should be clear, concise, and professional.

Does BCG Require a Cover Letter?

While BCG does not require a cover letter for most of their applications, a well-written BCG cover letter can significantly help you get past the initial screening stage and land an interview. Including a BCG cover letter can help make your application stand out and make it easier for recruiters to get to know you better.

BCG receives hundreds of thousands of resumes and applications every year. BCG uses cover letters to help screen candidates and narrow down the list of potential candidates to interview. The BCG cover letter is another data point in your application profile.

Additionally, cover letters are occasionally read by BCG consultants that are interviewing you. Interviewers will sometimes read your cover letter to get to know you better before meeting you. Learning more about your background and experiences makes the interview easier to conduct and run more smoothly.

Regardless of whether you decide to submit a cover letter, make sure to spend the majority of your time crafting the perfect consulting resume . Your resume is by far the most important component of your application.

What Does BCG Look For in a Cover Letter?

In a cover letter, BCG looks for integrity, intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, a collaborative mindset, and drive. These are all skills or qualities necessary to become a successful BCG consultant based on BCG’s interviewing website .

Integrity is crucial for a BCG consultant as it ensures that all work is conducted with honesty and ethical standards. In your cover letter, provide examples that demonstrate your commitment to ethical practices, reliability, and trustworthiness. Highlight instances where you had to make difficult decisions that required a strong moral compass.

Intellectual Curiosity

BCG values candidates who show a passion for learning and a desire to continuously grow. Showcase your intellectual curiosity by discussing how you have pursued knowledge in your field and beyond. Mention specific instances where your curiosity led you to explore new ideas, take on challenging projects, or gain additional qualifications.

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is essential for problem solving and innovation. Illustrate your ability to think outside the box by describing experiences where you developed innovative solutions to complex problems. Provide examples of how your creativity has led to successful outcomes in academic, professional, or personal settings.

Collaborative Mindset

A collaborative mindset indicates that you work well in teams and can build strong professional relationships. In your cover letter, emphasize your ability to work effectively with others. Highlight experiences where you have contributed to a team’s success, facilitated cooperation among team members, or played a key role in a collaborative project.

Drive reflects your motivation, ambition, and determination to achieve goals. Demonstrate your drive by discussing your achievements and the efforts you put in to reach them. Mention specific goals you have set and accomplished, and how your perseverance and hard work have contributed to your success.

How to Write a BCG Cover Letter

There are five steps to writing the perfect BCG cover letter: the contact information, the salutation, the opening paragraph, the body paragraphs, and the concluding paragraph.

We’ll cover how to write each of these sections step-by-step below, including what information to include and examples.

1. Contact Information

At the top of your BCG cover letter, you should include your contact information to make it easy for any BCG recruiter to contact you. In order of priority, you should list your name, email address, phone number, and mailing address.

To make your name stand out, make sure to bold it and make the font size significantly larger than the rest of your cover letter.

Here is an example of how this should look:

[email protected]

(123) 456-7890

123 Main Street,  San Francisco, CA 94105

2. Salutation

Next, you should start your BCG cover letter with an appropriate and customized salutation.

Do not start your cover letter with “To whom it may concern,” as this salutation is not personalized and feels cold.

Instead, identify which recruiter is the primary point of contact for you and address the cover letter to that recruiter and their team. If you can’t identify the head recruiter, address the cover letter to members of the consulting firm’s recruiting team.

Here are a few examples of salutations you can use:

• Dear [Recruiter] and members of the BCG Recruiting Team,
• To [Recruiter] and the BCG Recruiting Team,
• Dear members of the BCG Recruiting Team,

3. Opening Paragraph

The opening paragraph of your BCG cover letter is the most important part of the cover letter. Most recruiters will likely only read the opening paragraph of your cover letter and skim the rest of the cover letter.

Therefore, you should spend most of your time making this opening paragraph clear, concise, attention-grabbing, and memorable.

The opening paragraph should consist of two sentences:

• A sentence summarizing your background and credentials
• A sentence summarizing why you would be a great fit for the specific role you are applying for

The first sentence of your opening paragraph should be a powerful statement that summarizes your areas of expertise and the number of years of experience. If you had to summarize your entire background and work experience into one sentence, what would it sound like?

This powerful opening sentence is used to grab the reader’s attention and introduce yourself in an impressive way.

The second sentence of your opening paragraph should summarize why you would be a great fit for the specific role you are applying for.

Do your research to ensure that you are using the correct job title since many consulting firms have different job titles for similar positions.

BCG’s post-undergraduate role is called Associate while their post-MBA role is called Consultant. Their undergraduate summer internship role is called Summer Associate while their MBA summer internship is called Summer Consultant.

The second sentence of your opening paragraph should list three reasons why you would be a great fit for BCG and the role. These three reasons will each become a paragraph in the body paragraphs section of your BCG cover letter.

What reasons should you select or pick?

Ideally, you should research the exact qualities or skills that BCG looks for and make these the three reasons you provide. We’ve done this research for you and highly recommend touching upon these skills or qualities:

• Intellectual curiosity
• Creative thinking
• Collaborative mindset

Here is an example of what an opening paragraph should look like:

I am a marketing professional with four years of experience working on digital marketing projects that have generated over $100M in revenue at Netflix and Amazon. I believe my problem solving skills, leadership, and passion make me a great fit for BCG.

4. Body Paragraphs

The next part of the perfect BCG cover letter are the body paragraphs. You will have three body paragraphs, one for each of the reasons you provided in the second sentence of your opening paragraph on why you’d be a great fit for BCG and the role.

These body paragraphs should best highlight your qualities and experiences.

Each of your body paragraphs should start with a bolded sentence that summarizes the entire paragraph. We bold the first sentence of each body paragraph to make your cover letter easier to be skimmed.

 Remember, most BCG recruiters are most likely going to be reading just your opening paragraph and perhaps the first sentence of each body paragraph. Therefore, take the time to make sure the first sentence of your body paragraphs are clear, concise, and impactful.

Ideally, you should include numbers in these summary sentences to quantify your achievements and results. However, you can also keep the summary sentence high-level and include numbers later on in the details of the paragraph.

After this first initial sentence, you can use the remainder of each body paragraph to describe the story or experience in more detail that the first sentence summarized.

Keep your body paragraphs concise. This increases the likelihood that the reader will actually read through the full cover letter. You do not want to have three large, chunky paragraphs.

Repeat this format and structure for each of your three middle paragraphs.

You can consider turning your three body paragraphs into three bullet points. This makes your cover letter easier to read or skim.

Here is an example of what a body paragraph should look like:

My relentless drive helped me develop a customer ROI model that saved Amazon $50M per year.  I analyzed over 500K customer data points to create a model forecasting customer value. I quantified how much the average happy customer was worth versus a neutral and unhappy customer. From this model, I discovered that Amazon’s recent customer initiative of giving credit to unhappy customers had a drastically negative ROI. I persuaded the CFO to stop running this initiative and use the budget for higher ROI projects.

5. Concluding Paragraph

The final part of the perfect BCG cover letter is the concluding paragraph. This final paragraph should be very short, just two sentences.

In the first sentence, summarize the three reasons why you’d be a great fit for BCG and the role. This may sound redundant, but it is helpful to take this approach to reinforce the key messages you are trying to deliver.

In the opening paragraph, you told the reader the three key points you are going to tell them in the body paragraphs. In the body paragraphs, you told the reader these three key points. Finally, in the concluding paragraph, you remind the reader of the three key points you just told them.

This is an extremely clear and effective structure that makes your cover letter clear and memorable.

The second and final sentence of your BCG cover letter should be a call to action. The entire point of the cover letter is to get the reader interested in your application and give you an interview.

Therefore, you’ll want to mention getting an opportunity to further discuss your skills and qualities in an interview as the next step or action item for the reader to take.

Here is an example of what a concluding paragraph should look like:

Due to my intellectual curiosity, collaborative mindset, and drive, I believe I have all the qualities to become a successful BCG consultant. I would love the opportunity to be extended an interview at BCG to further discuss my candidacy and fit.

BCG Cover Letter Common Mistakes

There are many common BCG cover letter mistakes that the majority of candidates make. Common BCG cover letter mistakes include: name dropping, lengthy cover letters, poor formatting, rephrasing your resume, lack of evidence for claims, typos and grammatical errors, and generic statements.

Name Dropping

Name dropping can backfire if not done properly. Simply mentioning the names of BCG consultants you've interacted with can seem superficial if it was not a meaningful interaction.

Instead, focus on articulating the insights or experiences gained from these interactions and how they have shaped your interest in BCG. Show that your connection to BCG goes beyond just knowing people. Demonstrate your understanding of BCG’s culture and values.

Lengthy Cover Letters

A lengthy cover letter can be a major turn-off for recruiters who sift through hundreds or thousands of applications every day. Aim for conciseness and clarity, ensuring every sentence adds value.

Highlight your most relevant experiences and skills succinctly, showing respect for the reader’s time while still conveying your enthusiasm and qualifications for the role.

Poor Formatting

Poor formatting can distract from your key points and make your cover letter difficult to read. Use a clean, professional layout with consistent fonts, spacing, and margins. Break up text into short paragraphs or bullet points to enhance readability.

Rephrasing Your Resume

Your cover letter should complement, not replicate, your resume. Avoid listing your past roles and responsibilities like you would in a resume.

Instead, use the cover letter to provide a narrative that connects your experiences to BCG’s needs and culture. Highlight specific achievements and how they demonstrate your fit for BCG and the role.

Lack of Evidence for Claims

Unsubstantiated claims about your skills or achievements can weaken your BCG cover letter. Always back up your statements with concrete examples.

Instead of saying you have strong analytical skills, describe a project where you successfully used data analysis to solve a complex problem. This approach provides tangible proof of your capabilities.

Typos and Grammatical Errors

Typos and grammatical errors can significantly hurt your credibility. Proofread your cover letter multiple times and consider asking someone else to review it as well.

A cover letter free of errors demonstrates your attention to detail and your commitment to presenting yourself professionally.

Generic Statements

Avoid using vague phrases or generic statements that could apply to any consulting firm. Tailor your cover letter to BCG by referencing specific aspects of the firm that appeal to you. Show that you have done your research and are genuinely excited about the opportunity to join BCG.

BCG Cover Letter Tips

To give yourself the best chance of landing a BCG interview, make sure to follow these BCG cover letter tips: tailor the cover letter to BCG, quantify your accomplishments and results, pick your best stories and experiences, use the opportunity to explain any red flags, keep it short and punchy, and get help from others.

Tailor the Cover Letter to BCG

Customizing your cover letter specifically for BCG is crucial. Research BCG's values, recent projects, and unique aspects of its company culture. Mention specific BCG initiatives or programs that resonate with your professional interests and goals.

A good test to see if your cover letter is tailored enough for BCG is to replace all instances of BCG in your cover letter with a different consulting firm. If the cover letter still makes sense and works, then your cover letter is likely not tailored enough.

Quantify Your Accomplishments and Results

Quantifying your achievements helps to illustrate the impact you've made in your work experiences and extracurricular activities. Use numbers and percentages to showcase your successes.

For example, rather than saying you improved sales, mention that you increased sales by 20% over six months. Quantifiable results provide concrete evidence of your abilities and make your accomplishments more compelling to the reader.

Pick Your Best Stories and Experiences

Select a few key experiences that highlight your skills and fit for the consulting role at BCG. Focus on stories that demonstrate integrity, intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, a collaborative mindset, and drive. You should pick stories that are the most impressive, unique, or interesting.

Well-chosen stories and experiences can make your cover letter more engaging and memorable, helping you stand out from other candidates.

Use the Opportunity to Explain Any Red Flags

Red flags that require explaining include having a low GPA, gaps in work history, and an unexplained office choice. Use your cover letter to briefly address these issues in a positive light.

• If you have a gap in your resume, explain how you used that time productively, such as by taking courses or volunteering
• If your GPA is lower than ideal, highlight any upward trends in your grades or additional qualifications that demonstrate your capabilities
• If you are applying to an office that you have no connection to, explain why you are interested in the office and why you’d be interested in staying in that geography for the long-term

Keep it Short and Punchy

A concise, well-structured cover letter is more likely to capture and retain the recruiter’s attention. Aim to keep your cover letter to one page, focusing on the most relevant and impactful information.

Use clear, direct language and avoid unnecessary jargon or overly complex sentences. By keeping your cover letter short and punchy, you ensure that your key points are communicated effectively and leave a strong impression.

Think of your BCG cover letter as a highlight reel of your professional and personal experiences and accomplishments.

Get Help from Others

You should have at least a few different people read your cover letter and give you feedback. Ideally, these people would be current or former BCG consultants. However, getting feedback from any current or former consultant, friends, colleagues, and mentors will still be greatly beneficial to you.

If you’re looking for some professional help to get peace of mind that your resume and cover letter are up to BCG standards, check out our consulting resume & editing service . Let us do the hard work for you to ensure that you have the best chance of landing a BCG interview.

BCG Cover Letter Examples and Templates

See below for a few examples of outstanding BCG cover letters.

BCG Cover Letter Example #1: Undergraduate student

You can download a template for this cover letter here:  BCG cover letter template 1.docx

BCG Cover Letter Example #2: MBA student

You can download a template for this cover letter here:  BCG cover letter template 2.docx

BCG Cover Letter Example #3: Working professional

You can download a template for this cover letter here:  BCG cover letter template 3.docx

Resources to Help You Break Into Consulting

Over 98% of candidates that apply to BCG get rejected. The BCG recruiting process is extremely competitive and selective.

However, don’t be discouraged. You don’t have to prepare your application and prepare for BCG interviews by yourself. Getting professional help from a former MBB interviewer can significantly improve your chances of getting a BCG job offer.

To give yourself a competitive edge over other candidates, check out our resources below:

For help landing consulting interviews

• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

For help passing case interviews

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.

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A Consulting Cover Letter that Lands Interviews: Our Complete Guide

• Last Updated January, 2024

Rebecca Smith-Allen

Former McKinsey Engagement Manager

The recruiting season is approaching fast, and there’s one thing you’ll need to get your foot in the door for an interview at a top-tier consulting firm: an impressive cover letter.

What should you talk about in your consulting cover letter?

How do you distinguish yourself from the tons of other candidates applying to Bain, BCG, McKinsey, and other top consulting firms this year?

If you’re asking yourself these questions, don’t worry! 

In this complete guide to writing a consulting cover letter, we’ll tell you exactly what points you need to address in your cover letter to put your best foot forward and land that interview.

We’ll discuss:

• What a cover letter is
• The RIGHT way to structure one
• The Red Flags that get candidates rejected and how to overcome them
• 5 Tips on writing an effective consulting cover letter

We’ll  also share:

• 2 cover letter examples that landed candidates interviews at the top firms.

Let’s get started!

Consulting Cover Letter – Why It Matters

What is a consulting cover letter.

The consulting cover letter is a separate document from your resume; it puts the work experience you outline on your resume into context to show why you’re a great candidate.

The WRONG Way to Structure Your Management Consulting Cover Letter

Most of the Internet articles on writing a cover letter talk about structuring them with the following sections:

• Why are you interested in consulting?
• Why are you interested in the firm you’re applying to?
• What makes you a good fit?

This is not the best way to approach writing your consulting cover letter. My Consulting Offer has helped hundreds of clients land interviews and get offers with top management consulting firms like BCG, Bain, and McKinsey.

We’ve even helped people who faced extra hurdles because they had low GPAs, majored in subjects other than economics or business, or attended non-core schools.

Our clients received interview invitations and job offers because our cover letter process works.

The RIGHT Way to Structure Your Management Consulting Cover Letter

Want to know the best way to structure a cover letter that has statistically been shown to get more interviews?

Watch this video before proceeding.

Now that you watched the video (Watch now if you haven’t yet because the impact of the rest of the article is only 10% of what it could be if you watch it). 

As you found in the video, the best  way to structure your cover letter is to Google the characteristics the consulting firm you want to work for seeks in consulting candidates and then show you have those characteristics .

Yes, you read that right. Go to the Bain Careers page and read about what they’re looking for in candidates. You’ll find it on this page . 

Every consulting firm has values they take very seriously, and that drive the candidates they target, so you will want to know what they are for each firm you apply to. 

As an example, Bain wants consultants with:

• Problem-solving skills
• The ability to lead
• Results delivered

You will use each of these to develop a paragraph or section of your consulting cover letter.

For each, choose a specific time from your professional or personal experiences that shows you possess that characteristic. 

If you have more than one experience that shows you exemplifying a characteristic, pick the strongest example.

Then, create a story that briefly explains the context around your example, describes the action(s) you took, and shows concrete results. 

Quantify the results of your actions whenever possible.

• Results delivered – When I took over as the leader of my sorority’s annual fundraising event for a local food bank, I wanted to make it even more successful than in prior years. Each year, we threw an event and asked people to bring packaged food products or a donation. I went beyond that by asking the college’s academic departments to collect donations from faculty and staff as well. Packaged goods contributions to the food bank increased by 50%, and financial donations increased by over 300%.

Proof the My Consulting Offer Cover Letter Structure Works

This strategy of showing how you’ve exemplified the characteristics the firm is looking for in applicants works particularly well if you are applying to management consulting firms from a non-traditional background. 

If you’re a student with a liberal arts major, in a non-MBA master’s degree or doctorate, or attending a non-core school, you should definitely use our approach. It shows the reader that you’d be an asset to their team and have what it takes to be a successful consultant at their firm. This makes them focus less on your non-traditional background.

One of our early clients was an undergraduate who’d spent his summers interning in Michelin-star restaurants in New York City because he aspired to run a Michelin-star restaurant as a career. 

He didn’t have high-level positions in these internships; he worked in the kitchens. He cut the tomatoes for the tomato soup and did similar food prep.

He wasn’t even in charge of making the tomato soup!

As graduation approached, he decided that while he knew all about the kitchen side of the restaurant business, he wanted to learn about running the front of the house. To do that, he looked into consulting jobs.

But he had no business experience.

In his cover letter, we developed stories about:

• Managing the kitchen effectively, even on hectic Saturday nights
• Managing chefs with many years more experience than he had himself
• Landing jobs at top-rated restaurants by showing up at the restaurants before they opened and networking his way in with perseverance

These stories showed he had the leadership experience, people skills, and drive needed in consulting, things that wouldn’t have been clear from his resume alone.

Why My Consulting Offer’s Approach to Writing Consulting Cover Letters Is So Effective

My Consulting Offer’s approach highlights the characteristics consulting firms value in applicants to develop your cover letter.

• You don’t need to explain “Why McKinsey/Bain/BCG?” because you’ve taken your bullet points from their firm career pages .
• Your stories explain why you’re a good fit.
• You can cover the question “Why consulting?” in just a sentence or 2 because you’ve demonstrated you understand what consulting firms look for in candidates through your stories. This question is especially important for applicants with non-traditional backgrounds or experienced hires. 

Just add a short opening, 1-2 sentences on “Why consulting?” and a short conclusion to these paragraphs, and your cover letter will be ready to submit. 

Mistakes People Make with Their Consulting Cover Letters that Lead to Rejection

There are red flags that can get applicants’ resumes placed in the “no” pile. These are:

• A gap in their work history.

A low GPA  can be a problem because management consulting firms target people who can solve tough business problems. But if your GPA  is low due to extenuating circumstances, such as a problem with your own or a family member’s health, or if you needed to work many hours each week to finance your education, firms will often overlook this.

Small offices at top consulting firms often have a problem. People choose them because they think they’ll have a better shot at getting an offer from the firm. But later, these same people want to move to a different office, leaving that office understaffed. 

If you’re applying to an office because you genuinely want to live in that city, tell the recruiters why you want to live there (examples: near family, proximity to outdoor activities, etc.) They need to see that you are not planning to try to transfer to another office or they won’t want to invest in you.

If you have a gap in your work history, a consulting firm might think you were fired and had difficulty finding another job. If health or another issue was the cause of the gap in your work history, it’s important to explain that.

If you have any of these or other red flags in your consulting application, take the time to explain them in your cover letter so that they don’t derail you from getting an interview.

Writing Your Management Consulting Cover Letter – A Step-by-Step Guide

• Opening – keep it short and sweet. Just introduce yourself and express interest in working for the firm you’re applying to, mentioning the specific position you want. Include your 1-2 sentences on “Why consulting?” here.
• Central paragraph 1  – As explained above, find what the firm is looking for in consultants from their Careers page and dedicate one paragraph to each characteristic.
• Central paragraph 2 – Create a story from your experience that shows you have that characteristic. You should include 3-4 stories in your cover letter.
• Central paragraph 3 – Quantify results whenever possible.
• Central paragraph 4 – Order these stories in the way that works to your advantage, with the strongest story first, the second-strongest last, and weaker (but still good) stories in the middle.
• Address any red flags.
• Express your interest again and close the letter.

That’s it! You now have an impressive cover letter.

5 Tips for Writing a Cover Letter that Lands the Interview

• Tip #1 – Start with the characteristics valued by the consulting firm you’re most interested in. You should tailor the cover letter for each firm to the characteristics they list on their Career page. You’ll find, however, that you can re-use stories because all consulting firms value leadership, drive, teamwork, and creating impact.
• Tips #2 – Pick the most compelling stories from your experience. You probably have multiple stories you could use for some values. Choose just one story. If in doubt, the one where you solved the biggest problem or where you had the biggest impact is probably the best. Don’t worry if you have another great story, you’ll get to talk about it in your consulting interviews.
• Tips #3 – Quantify results wherever possible. Showing that you increased revenue/ attendance/ donations by x% quickly and effectively displays you can get things done. Same with cost reductions or reduced time/effort to get work done.
• Tip #4 – Tighten your language to show your point as efficiently as possible. Never say more than you need to in order to make your point. Recruiters screen thousands of applications, and they appreciate communications that get right to the point. Consulting partners will also appreciate this skill once you’re on their team and drafting PowerPoint slides for client meetings. Keep your cover letter to one page. 
• Tip #5 -Use Fiverr or another service to ensure you have no grammatical or spelling mistakes. You only get one chance to make a good impression. Don’t send out a letter with a big mistake, especially if you can prevent it with $5. 

Consulting Cover Letter Examples

The best way to get a sense of what an effective management cover letter looks like is to read one. 

We’ve got 2 examples of letters that helped My Consulting Offer clients land interviews: one from an undergraduate student’s application to McKinsey and one from an experienced-hire candidate’s application to Bain.

Successful Consulting Cover Letter Example 1

Undergraduate consulting cover letter example, why is this undergraduate consulting cover letter sample effective.

This consulting industry cover letter written by an undergraduate is effective because it addresses key characteristics that McKinsey looks for in their applicants, as you can see   on their careers page :

• Personal impact
• Entrepreneurial drive

While it only calls out 2 of the 4 characteristics McKinsey is looking for, entrepreneurial drive and problems solving, these stories also showcase the candidate’s personal impact. 

The 3rd characteristic the cover letter calls out, teamwork/ collaboration, is also highly valued by McKinsey and other consulting firms. 

The entrepreneurial drive paragraph is effective because it shows this candidate works hard and overcomes obstacles that would stand in the way of other candidates.

The problem-solving paragraph is effective because it shows the candidate’s structured approach to solving a problem. It also shows this approach worked.

The collaborative story works because it shows that this candidate was able to make strong personal connections from a very young age and that they respect people from all walks of life.

The candidate makes clear with his/her stories that they understand what McKinsey is looking for and that they’ve demonstrated those characteristics.

Successful Consulting Cover Letter Example 2

Experienced hire consulting cover letter example, why is this experienced hire consulting cover letter sample effective.

• Problem-solving skills (addressed in Passion for Results and Lasting Impact.)
• The ability to lead (addressed in all 3 stories.)
• Results delivered (addressed in Passion for Results with quantified impact.)
• Passion (addressed in Drive & Character)

Each of the 3 stories in this cover letter presents the applicant as someone who has the characteristics top management consulting firms look for. 

Moreover, the 3 stories together demonstrate that he or she has “the whole package.” He or she isn’t smart but a poor team player or good at problem-solving but lacking the passion needed to get things done in a difficult, real-world environment.

The fact that the applicant could speak to all of the things Bain looks for helped them land interviews and then offers with multiple top firms.

What About Firms Like McKinsey, Which Don’t Require a Cover Letter?

Some management consulting firms, such as McKinsey & Company, have made submitting a cover letter optional. 

Should you bother to spend the time to write one if they don’t seem to care?

If your resume clearly shows you are a good fit for the consulting firm,  you don’t need to submit a cover letter. Things that would make you look like a good fit include:

• Attendance at or a degree from a core school where the firm recruits through on-campus interviews and hires consultants every year
• An undergraduate degree in business or economics or an MBA
• Leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills clearly demonstrated through work and volunteer experience on your resume

If your resume doesn’t clearly communicate that you’re a good fit for the management consulting industry and their firm, in particular, your application will be strengthened by including a cover letter. 

You should also submit a cover letter if you have been previously rejected from that firm so that they know you have taken steps to improve your application since last applying.

You’ll want to think about stories to use in your behavioral interviews   anyway, so if you’re unsure whether you need a cover letter, it’s safest to write one.

To see the power of an improved cover letter, watch this video on how My Consulting Offer helped Cynthia get invited for an interview at every consulting company she applied to.

Are you ready to write your management consulting cover letter?

We bet you are since you now know:

• What a consulting cover letter is
• The red flags that get candidates rejected and how to overcome them
• Our 5 Tips on writing an effective consulting cover letter
• Plus, you’ve seen 2 Consulting cover letter examples that worked

Still have questions?

If you have more questions about writing effective consulting cover letters, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s former MBB recruiters will answer them.

Other people who were writing their cover letter found the following pages helpful:

• Consulting Resumes
• BCG Cover Letter
• Consulting Networking
• Case Interview Prep : The Ultimate Guide
• Our List of  Top Consulting Firms and their company values
• The Non-MBA Master’s Student’s Guide to Landing a Consulting Job

Do You Need Help Writing a Perfect Consulting Cover Letter?

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For example, here is how we helped Tao land interviews at Bain, BCG, and McKinsey.

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How 800+ candidates have landed consulting offers at mckinsey, bain and bcg, 2 thoughts on “everything you need to know about the consulting cover letter”.

Thank you Davis for this powerful tool you shared. Really, I havent thought of cover letters telling stories or narrating how you used the needed skills and the value you added using them in your past roles. No wonder I have been getting rejections based on my red flags – not having to work with the big 4s or having multinational experience. All these does not matter as long you can demonstrate the skill set you used to add value in your previous roles which must be inline with what the prospective role needs. I really aporeciate this exposure and I look forward to getting calls from recruiters going forward as I apply your strategy to my cover letters subsequently. Thanks a lot. Esther.

Hey, Esther, We’re so glad the tips we discussed about writing your consulting cover letter were helpful! Good luck in your job search!

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