Consulting recruitment assessments

Guides to consulting recruitment assessments

McKinsey, BCG and Bain all use gamified assessments, chatbot cases and aptitude screens as part of their hiring processes. These guides break down each assessment's objective, scoring rules, and the strategy that maximizes your score, written by consultants who've sat them. Use them alongside our McKinsey, BCG and Bain products.

Written by ex-consultants Updated for the 2026 formats Free 3-minute trial on every product

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McKinsey guides

McKinsey

McKinsey Solve 2026 changes

What changed and when: Ecosystem retired, the Sustainable Futures Lab added and then redesigned, and the 65, 85 and 95-minute invitations.

~8 min · Updated Nov 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

Ecosystem (food chain) guide

The retired food-chain game: where it stands in 2026, and the producer selection and 8-species logic, fully explained.

~9 min · Updated Nov 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

Redrock study guide

The 35-minute study and six cases, with a worked example of every stage: investigation, analysis, the report and its chart, and the cases.

~15 min · Updated Nov 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

Sea Wolf guide

Select microbes with the right traits to treat contamination across three sites. Set filters, categorize species, build prospects, and pick the final three.

~10 min · Updated Aug 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

Sustainable Futures Lab guide

Both 2026 formats keyed to your invite: the redesigned 30-minute, three-day team simulation on 95-minute invites, and the original 13-question version on 85-minute invites.

~12 min · Updated Oct 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

Sea Wolf simulation guide

How to use a realistic timed Sea Wolf simulation: 3-site workflow, scoring review, practice runs, and when to switch to the solver.

~8 min · Updated Jun 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

McKinsey Solve practice test plan

A one-week prep plan for Ecosystem, Sea Wolf, Redrock, and simulation practice, including what to review after each attempt.

~8 min · Updated Aug 2026 Read guide →
McKinsey

McKinsey Solve tips

Timing, scoring, and mistake-proofing tactics for the modules candidates are most likely to face in the Solve assessment.

~9 min · Updated Aug 2026 Read guide →
McKinseyConsulting

McKinsey's recruitment process

From application to offer: the full McKinsey hiring funnel, including Solve, case interviews, and the Personal Experience Interview (PEI).

~10 min · Updated Nov 2026 Read guide →

BCG guides

Bain guides

General consulting

Prefer to practise? Case Ace's Learn lane has three free interactive lessons: how a case unfolds, frameworks, and case interview math.

Practice with the solvers and simulations

Our pay-per-use tools implement the logic in these guides: solvers for optimal answers and a timed Sea Wolf simulation for realistic practice.

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