Hi I'm Jenny Rae LaRue, managing director of Management Consulted. And do
I have a treat for you today. I have been spending time in the depths of Glassdoor
looking at one-star reviews, and today I'm looking at McKinsey. And some of
these really sting. You know McKenzie is an amazing place to work. Pretty much one
of the most coveted places in the entire universe for people to be employed. And
and some of these you know there's there's truth in all one star reviews,
but let's just go through them because some of these are amazing. This one,
interesting! As soon as I was identified as voting for Trump it all went downhill.
This person's recap of what actually transpired seems kind of disturbing.
Probably not actually what went down but anyhow, "I was asked many times who I was
voting for in the 2016 US presidential election. And as soon as I finally said
Trump, I was isolated, singled out, and eventually ejected from McKinsey." Okay, that's
definitely not legal, but also I'm just I'm just really interested in if that's
actually what went down. "Discriminating against me because of who I voted for."
If that really happened you should file a lawsuit! But anyhow, also their pros are,
"A lot of great things trumped by one bad thing." Gotta love it. Another one, "Not
worth the branding. I worked at McKinsey and company full-time less than a year.
Pros: good brand name, met some cool colleagues,"
both pretty good pros. "Cons: Sweatshop hours for low pay. Obsessing over
extraneous details and Powerpoints when the actual content was fluff." That is
true, by the way. And then, "Terrible expense policy." I don't know where they
worked having an expense policy where McKinsey in comparison is terrible. You
basically expense anything in your life and have it pass through, so I'm not even
sure what's going on there. All right let's look at this one:
"Worked at McKinsey and company full-time more than three years. McKinsey is a
decent name to have on your resume, but that is probably the only Pro you'll
get from this organization." And this is real harsh. "This place is terrible. The
work is terrible. The lifestyle is terrible. The
management is horrendous. The pay per hour is no better than minimum wage. Zero
flexibility. Zero understanding. Zero respect for outside
responsibilities. They will lure you in with promises of personal development
and impactful work (in quotes), but it's nothing more than a lie to sucker the
next batch of recruits they can churn through, to make more money for the
partnership. Avoid this place at all costs."
There is a reason by the way why people only stay at consulting firms for
a couple of years. That right there, is basically the description of what goes
on, anyhow, kind of loved it. "Pros: Good brand
name. The only thing I got after working Mckinsey was the brand name on my resume."
By the way, everybody at BCG said that they loved the pay. Everybody at McKinsey
says they like the brand name. I mean if I had to choose between the two of them,
I'm just saying, you know, you might want to think about that. But anyhow, "Cons: I
had a terrible experience at McKinsey. I thought I had been doing a great job
because I got positive feedback all along. Especially about my analytical
skills. However when it was time for my performance review I was asked to look
for another company." Yikes! "As my problem-solving skills needed
improvement. When I said that I never got that feedback while I was working there,
(which by the way if you ever get that feedback don't say "I never got that
feedback", say "awesome, I'd love some specifics about what I can
do to improve". "What they said was okay but that doesn't change anything, if we
had told you that, you wouldn't have improved anyway." Yikes! That is a real
scary situation, but I'm guessing that it probably wasn't just one thing that this
person was dealing with. Here's another one for McKinsey. "If you like to travel
it may be good for you." The first Pro that mentioned travel- kind of
interesting. Also, "People judge you all the time." Oh these are the Cons by the way,
"People judge you all the time. You have to think twice to ask a question. A lot of
traveling." Okay I mean, if it's a Pro or is it a Con, maybe it can be both.
It's very existential of us if we
think about that. "A company where only extroverts can survive." Ah, that's sad! No stability
in your life and no work/life balance. If you want all types of people to join,
please value introverts as well." I feel like a lot of these are real therapy for people
when they write them. I bet they feel better, you know?
And then here's another one. A one-star. "I've been working at McKinsey &
Company full time. Positive outlook: Green. CEO: Green- however doesn't recommend.
(odd). Pros: Nice life, a lot of travel." I mean I think if you can say that you
have a nice life that's a pretty great review. But this is a one-star because:
"Long work time. Busy, very tight schedule." And the last one: [so] "This was not the
McKinsey advertised. The Pros: The work environment. Snacks. Catered lunches and
work events." I mean for anybody guys, that's ridiculous.
"Salary. [Okay, amazing.} "Benefits". Also then, "Cons: Lack of care to individual
professional development. Disorganized." Not a word that I've heard
used about McKinsey, but interesting. "Poor communication at many levels, No
transparency. Make your own McKenzie is a company line that could not be further
from the truth." That is kind of funny actually. "Mechanical, you feel like you're
a cog in the machine. Hierarchy and lackluster management with poor
communications skills." Not communication skills, "communications skills". Anyhow all
these reviews you guys, as you kind of keep going through these, you know I can
keep going there's even more, there's actually more for McKinsey in the one
star reviews than some of the other ones. Ultimately it all comes down to the fact
that you work a lot. They advertise that before you go in. You work less than
banking, but still, a lot. You travel. Fair. You know that before you come in, you're
expected to travel 100%, and the environment at McKinsey in
particular is very like, work hard and play eventually. But later in life. So
just know what you're getting into. You know, you should definitely not just read
the one-star reviews. But some of these have a lot of interesting truth in there.
They talk about the reality of how you actually pay attention to what's going
on, inside consulting firms and also how you know how to succeed. Have fun!