Kearney interviews are tough compared to regular interviews at other large companies. The questions are difficult and the interview format is specific to Kearney.
Of course, the good news is that if you prepare well, it can be pretty easy to do well at a Kearney interview. Weve put together this ultimate guide to maximise your chances of success.
Today, Kearney is among the worlds most prestigious consulting firms. It brought in $1. 3bn in revenue in 2022 and has around 4,200 employees globally, across 40 different countries. Kearney also ranked #7 in the top consulting firms to work for in the 2022 Vault Consulting 50.
In the past, the business was known as “AT Kearney,” but in January 2020, it changed its name and dropped the initials.
Interviewing at leading management consulting firm Kearney is a coveted opportunity. With offices in over 40 countries, Kearney is consistently ranked among the top strategy consulting firms.
Landing a job at Kearney can launch your career. But first, you have to nail the interview.
Kearney’s interview process aims to assess your strategic problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and overall fit for the firm’s intense, collaborative culture
Preparation is key to showcasing your capabilities and outshining the competition. Let’s take a look at the six most common Kearney interview questions – and how to craft winning responses.
1. “Why Kearney?”
This question tests your knowledge of the firm and motivation for joining, Kearney wants candidates who are truly excited about the company and consulting career path
Dos:
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Demonstrate a deep understanding of Kearney’s focus areas, values, and work culture. Mention specifics.
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Share why you are drawn to management consulting and this role. Align your interests/goals with Kearney’s strengths.
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Convey enthusiasm and passion for the firm. Kearney wants advocates who will represent them well.
Don’ts:
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Give vague, generic answers that could apply to any firm. Be specific about why Kearney appeals.
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Focus only on resume building, compensation, or status. Highlight interest in the actual work.
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Come across lukewarm or indifferent. This is your chance to show you’re a great culture fit.
Sample Response: “I’m very interested in Kearney because of your strong capabilities in operations and technology transformation – two areas I’m passionate about. Consulting runs in my family, so I’m drawn to the dynamic project-based work. And Kearney’s collaborative culture is a great fit with how I like to operate. Your global reach and diverse staff also appeal to me. I’d be thrilled to start my career at such a well-regarded, growing firm where I can work with top companies on critical strategic challenges.”
2. “Why Consulting?”
Kearney wants to understand why you are pursuing consulting over other options. They look for candidates driven by the work itself.
Dos:
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Convey your passion for solving complex business problems. Share how you enjoy analyzing challenges, weighing options, and driving strategies.
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Discuss how you are drawn to consulting’s fast pace, high impact, and variety of projects. Mention how you value intellectual stimulation.
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Align your skills/interests with rewards of consulting – wearing multiple hats, working cross-functionally, collaborating with smart teams, continual learning.
Don’ts:
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Focus only on resume building, compensation, or prestige of consulting. Highlight interest in the work itself.
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Give vague answers that could apply to any role. Tailor your response to consulting specifically.
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Come across as not fully committed to consulting as a career. Kearney wants long-term staff, not short-term resume builders.
Sample Response: “I’m attracted to consulting because I love diving into different businesses and solving complex strategic challenges. The client exposure, hands-on problem-solving, and cross-functional nature of consulting projects appeals to me. And I enjoy building relationships, collaborating with smart teams, and continually expanding my thinking. Consulting aligns perfectly with my skills in quantitative analysis, communication, and project management. I’m dedicated to consulting long-term and am excited by the continual learning opportunities.”
3. “Walk Me Through Your Resume”
This is a chance to highlight your most relevant experiences and accomplishments. But don’t just recite your resume – provide context and tell a story.
Dos:
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Spotlight experiences showcasing problem-solving, analytical thinking, leadership, and other key consulting skills.
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Provide brief context on your roles and organizations before diving into details. Give interviewers background they can’t glean from the resume alone.
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Pull out key statistics, results, and examples that demonstrate your abilities and impact. Quantify where possible.
Don’ts:
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Simply read your resume verbatim without adding any additional context or color. The interviewer has already seen your resume.
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Neglect parts of your background that are important. Even if not directly consulting-related, many experiences can highlight relevant strengths.
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Forget to mention key achievements, numbers, and examples that provide evidence of your skills.
Sample Response: “As an Analyst at XYZ Tech, I worked on a project to optimize inventory levels and reduce waste. First, I should mention XYZ is a $500M medical device company selling to hospitals globally. In this role, I built a forecasting model in Excel to set better inventory targets across 15 product lines. Through this model, I identified an opportunity to reduce overstocks by 27% while maintaining adequate service levels. Leadership loved the results, and we went on to implement inventory optimization across the full product portfolio, driving $8 million in working capital improvements.”
4. “What Accomplishment Are You Most Proud Of?”
Kearney wants candidates who have already made an impact. Share a meaningful success story highlighting skills like leadership, teamwork, creativity, and perseverance.
Dos:
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Choose an accomplishment showcasing capabilities relevant to consulting like problem-solving, leadership, strategic thinking, and analytical rigor.
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Keep your answer concise – provide brief context before delving into details of what you specifically achieved.
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Quantify your results and impact where possible. Numbers demonstrate the scale of what you achieved.
Don’ts:
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Select an accomplishment irrelevant to consulting. Find something applicable even if outside a professional setting.
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Focus on team results without being clear on your specific contributions. Quantify and emphasize your individual role.
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Give a vague, generic answer without specific details, numbers, and metrics demonstrating your excellence.
Sample Response: “I’m proud of the summer enrichment program I launched as Student Body VP in college. I identified an opportunity to help first-year students from disadvantaged backgrounds transition to college. I recruited a team of 10 volunteers, secured college funding, and designed hands-on curriculum to build key skills for freshman year success. We served 50 incoming students, and student feedback was extremely positive. Participants rated the program 4.8 out of 5 stars and freshman year retention increased 5% that year.”
5. “Tell Me About Something Not On Your Resume”
Kearney wants well-rounded candidates who bring diverse perspectives and experiences. Share an interesting passion or success outside work/academics.
Dos:
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Choose something personally meaningful that expands your profile – a unique hobby, talent, leadership role, or travel experience.
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Explain why this interest is important to you. Show what skills or values it demonstrates beyond your resume.
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Keep it professional. Avoid controversial topics and be mindful of cultural/generational differences in your audience.
Don’ts:
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Pick something completely trivial with no significance to who you are. Find a meaningful passion.
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Neglect to explain why the experience matters and what it says about you. Draw clear connections to your strengths/values.
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Go on too long or get too personal/inappropriate. Keep it workplace appropriate and tied to positive takeaways.
Sample Response: “Something I don’t get to feature on my resume is that I’m an avid salsa dancer. I train and compete locally, and it’s become a big part of my life. Dance has really brought me out of my shell and grown my confidence. Leading a performance forces you to project confidence even when nervous. That ability to feel anxious but deliver under pressure has helped me in work situations where I have to speak up and be decisive. Dance has also connected me to the Latin community in my city, which has enriched my perspective.”
6. “Tell Me About a Time You Led a Team”
Kearney prioritizes collaboration and wants to know you can lead teams effectively. Share a success story highlighting team leadership and relationship-building.
Dos:
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Pick an example demonstrating key leadership skills – setting vision, managing diverse perspectives, coaching teammates, collaborating to solve challenges.
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Set the context briefly before focusing on your specific actions and the results achieved. Quantify outcomes where possible.
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Showcase emotional intelligence and communication strengths in bringing out the best in your team.
Don’ts:
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Use an example where you did all the work individually with little teamwork involved. Focus on collaboration.
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Neglect to provide specifics on how you motivated and supported your team. Don’t just focus on outcomes.
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Choose an example where outcomes were mediocre or negative. Select an unambiguous win for the team.
Sample Response: *”As Project Lead on a supply chain study for Acme Retail, I led a team of 3 junior analysts. First, I set a vision for our goals and timeline to build alignment. I knew motivation would be low on this tough project, so I organized brainstorming sessions for new ideas and weekly happy hours to lift spirits. When conflicting perspectives emerged, I mediated compromises to unify the team. We worked tire
1 Resume and cover letter screening
First, recruiters at Kearney will look at your resume or application and decide if your experience fits the job opening. This is the hardest part of the process; 90% of candidates don’t make it past this point.
If you want to make sure your resume and cover letter are perfect for the job you want, you can use these free guides.
You can also get feedback from our team of former MBA recruiters, who will tell you what achievements to highlight (or not highlight), how to improve your bullet points, and more.
If your application is approved, youll face two first-round interviews of ~ 1hour duration.
Typically, each will be a case interview, but with the first 15mins dedicated to behavioural or fit questions. Your interviewers will be managers and associate consultants at Kearney.
If youre applying on-campus at a target school, then you may have your interviews in-person. Otherwise, the first round is usually done over the phone or through a video call.
After the first two interviews, there will be at least two more case interviews in the final round.
These case interviews may start with 15 mins of behavioural questions, as before. However, this time the interviewers will be more senior members of the firm – i. e principals and partners.
If you are an undergraduate, you might be asked to go to an Assessment Center for the final round of interviews. You will probably also have to give a group case presentation.
If you have an MBA or work experience, you’ll likely be interviewed at a Kearney office and have to give a written case presentation as well.
An in-person interview with a partner may also be given to both experienced and new graduates as a final check to see if they are a good fit for the firm.
This part will tell you how to get ready for all of your interviews so that you have the best chance of getting a job as a Kearney consultant.
Kearney interview process overview ↑
Below we outline the typical interview process if youre applying to join Kearneys “general consulting” path as a Business Analyst or Associate.
Kearney also has an Analytics team and a Technology & Engineering team. If you’re applying for one of these jobs, this guide will still help you, but you should be ready for some extra technical interviews.
Kearney has three main steps in its application process:
- Resume and cover letter screening
- Two first-round interviews
- Between two and four final-round interviews
These steps outline the typical process. However, the exact process can vary based on location and role. If you want more information on your specific interview track, it can be very helpful to ask your HR contact.
Kearney Case Interview Example – Driving Revenue and Impact in Women’s Soccer
FAQ
Is Kearney interview hard?
What questions to ask in a Kearney interview?
What does Kearney look for in candidates?
What type of interview does Kearney have?
Types of Interview Kearney has a single interview format across their network; experience/ fit questions followed by a case interview. The most weight is given to the case interview and you need to be prepared. Candidates that haven’t prepared for the case interview don’t progress to the final round.
What is a Kearney case interview?
Kearney case interviews are typically more quantitative and numerical than other consulting firms’. So, expect to perform math calculations during your case. Kearney case interviews are candidate-led, similar to BCG and Bain cases. This means you are expected to “drive” the case using the information provided to you.
How long did it take to get interviewed at Kearney (Seoul)?
The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Kearney (Seoul) Case Interview (2 rounds) –> Partner interview – Case interviews were not difficult than I thought though it may be challenging if you are not used to solve the case questions. Thoughs on switching from Kearney to Oliver Wyman?
How do I apply to Kearney?
Submit your resume and cover letter on Kearney’s online application system. Interview: Kearney typically has two rounds of interviews with 2-3 interviews in each round, depending on which office / geography you’re applying to. First round interviews are conducted in-person or through phone/video call. You can expect two 45-minute interviews.
