Why consulting? How to answer (with examples)

To answer 'why consulting?', give three reasons in under a minute: what draws you to the work itself, evidence from your own past that you are suited to it, and what you want to learn in the job. Back each reason with a specific moment from your life. Generic praise of consulting, such as 'smart people, variety, a steep learning curve', is what nearly every candidate says, so on its own it scores nothing.

The question usually comes early, often first, which makes it the interviewer's first sample of how you structure an answer. A crisp, signposted answer helps you before the case begins. A five-minute ramble works against you.

That is the whole method. The rest of this guide shows what interviewers listen for, how each part sounds when it is done well, and how to adapt it for your background and for each firm. 'Why consulting' is one of the 40 consulting interview questions worth preparing before your first round.

Behind 'why consulting?' sit four or five quieter questions. The interviewer is deciding whether you know what you are signing up for, whether you will still want it on a bad week, and whether you can say so clearly.

Notice that none of these reward flattery. Telling a partner that their firm is the best in the world is not evidence of anything. Showing that you have already done, and enjoyed, a small version of the job is.

1. The work: what pulls you in

Pick one or two features of consulting work, not of consulting firms. Good candidates: solving unstructured problems where the first job is finding the real question; working with data to change a decision; working in small teams under time pressure; seeing many industries in a short time; working directly with senior clients. Choose the one your own history supports.

2. Your fit: proof from your past

This is the part most candidates skip, and it is the part that persuades. Name a specific moment: a project, a job or a society where you did a small version of consulting work and liked it. One sentence of context and one of result is enough. 'In my internship I rebuilt the pricing model and the team used it to drop two loss-making products' beats any amount of 'I'm analytical'.

3. What you'll learn

Say what you want the job to teach you, and show you have checked it is true. 'Everyone I spoke to at the firm said they were pushed hardest in their first two years by giving client updates' shows research and realism in one line. Keep this about growth inside the job, not about the job you want after it.

Most weak answers fail in one of three ways: they are generic, they are about the wrong things, or they are too long. Here is each failure next to a fix.

The structure stays the same; the proof changes with your background. Lead with the experience that most resembles consulting work, whatever it was.

'Why this firm?' is a different question and deserves a different answer. If you could say the same sentence about a competitor, it isn't an answer. Use two specifics you have checked yourself and tie each to your own story. If you are still choosing between firm types, our guide to MBB vs Big 4 sets out how the work differs.

Keep a short note of each conversation: who, when and the one thing that stood out. You can store these against each firm in your application tracker, so the right detail is to hand before each interview.

Avoid culture stereotypes and rankings. Interviewers hear 'you're the most prestigious' and 'I've heard the culture is very collaborative' all day. And never quote a report you haven't read: the follow-up 'What did you think of it?' arrives fast.

A good answer invites follow-ups. These are the common ones, and how to handle them without undoing your first answer.

• Too generic. Reasons any candidate could give, with no proof from your life.
• Too long. Anything over about 90 seconds starts to bury your point.
• Flattery. Praising the firm instead of explaining your fit with the work.
• A recital. A memorised paragraph that collapses when interrupted.
• Mixing the questions. Answering 'why consulting' with reasons about one firm, or the reverse.
• Misreading the job. Describing consulting as mostly presenting to CEOs, when most hours go on analysis and drafts.

Say your answer out loud, time it and record it. If it runs past 75 seconds, cut the weakest proof. Then have a friend interrupt you halfway through with 'Why not banking?' and check you can get back on track. Pair it with the stories in our fit interview lesson: the proof in your 'why consulting' often becomes a full story later in the interview. At McKinsey, that story will be probed in depth in the Personal Experience Interview.

In most first rounds, 'why consulting' is followed within minutes by a case. Practise the two together with a case from the case library, so the switch from talking about yourself to structuring a problem feels normal.