What Are The World’s Biggest Consulting Companies & How Can You Work For Them?

In today’s world, business school students can find career opportunities in diverse areas ranging from biotech to accountancy to artificial intelligence. Yet, consulting remains the most popular post b-school career path, drawing the interest of around half of prospective students. 

What is it that makes consulting so popular? It’s an industry where employees get opportunities to travel, use an array of different skills, and work on high-stakes deals for important clients. 

Business school grads working for top consulting firms cite the opportunities to work on diverse projects, specialize in areas they’re passionate about, and be part of a high performance culture. 

As of 2024, the market size of the global management consulting industry is valued at more than $1 trillion. Within the industry, some of the biggest consulting companies rank among the main employers of business school grads—those interested in working in the sector will be familiar with the likes of McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, and EY Parthenon. 

So, which of the biggest consulting companies employ MBA and business master’s grads? And how can you land a role with them? 

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The Big Three: McKinsey, Bain, BCG

The Big Three consulting firms—so named because of their reputations and prestige—are composed of McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). 

The Big Three are multinational firms that operate on a global scale and wield a broad array of specialist expertise. BCG, for example, is home to more than 30,000 employees who work on projects with highly prestigious clients across the globe in industries ranging from education to finance to healthcare.

Annual rankings of the best consulting firms to work for typically place the Big Three at the very top of the list. Each year they hire vast numbers of business school graduates—278 students from the INSEAD MBA alone joined the Big Three consulting firms in 2023.

McKinsey in particular has a reputation as one of the most prestigious employers in any industry and hires waves of graduates from a number of target schools across the globe, including the likes of Stanford, Harvard, and IESE. 

How to land a job with the Big Three 

Landing a role with one of the Big Three is a competitive affair. Recruiters at the firms typically look for hires who are eager and able to learn quickly, can bring diverse viewpoints and problem solving skills, and have the potential to lead. 

Embarking on a career with one of the Big Three after business school is about being well-prepared and making use of all the resources available to you while studying. 

“It's very self-driven,” explains Rachel Enright, engagement manager at McKinsey and former MBA at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “I found the consulting club helpful for laying the groundwork and just understanding the kind of skeleton to expect of a case interview.” 

If you successfully land a role with one of the firms, you’ll enter a rigorous and demanding environment where a lot is expected of you in terms of workload and output. You should take a similarly diligent approach when navigating the recruitment process.

“A big part of doing well in interviews and getting offers is just putting the time in yourself to identify what areas of the case or the interview process come more naturally to you, and what are the weaker points," adds Rachel.  

READ: Consulting Salaries For MBA & Master's Graduates

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The Big Four: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC

Confusingly, alongside the Big Three consulting firms there is an entirely different group of world-renowned firms that operate in the consulting space. The Big Four accounting and professional services firms are best known for their work as auditors of the majority of the world’s major companies—including 100% of the Fortune 500—however they also boast significant consultancy practices. 

The group is made up of Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC. The Big Four differ in structure to other multinationals, as each of the firms is technically a vast network of smaller professional services companies that operate across the globe under a shared global entity. As such, they dwarf the likes of Bain and BCG in terms of size: Deloitte, for example, has a headcount that exceeds 450,000 employees. 

However, consulting comprises just one part of the practices that each of these firms offers on a daily basis, alongside audit, tax, and legal services. Three of the firms boast specialist strategy and management consulting arms that conduct the bulk of their consulting services. These are: EY Parthenon, Deloitte Monitor, and Strategy& (PwC). 

How to start your career with the Big Four

Among the world’s largest employers, as well as the biggest consulting companies, the Big Four are regular recruiters of business school graduates. Among the most recent graduating class at University of Michigan Ross School of Business, more than 60 students gained recruitment into the firms. 

To land a consulting role with the Big Four, you need to be able to function within a demanding, high performance environment. 

“You deal with different strong personalities, because I think it takes one to break into this industry,” says Kseniia Kastusik, senior associate at Strategy&. 

As already highlighted, the Big Four firms count many of the world’s largest and most prestigious companies among their clients. Getting hired also therefore requires you to be able to show you have a diverse range of skills and the ability to navigate the demands of client projects. 

“You need a lot of soft skills in consulting; because you work with clients, you work with different people, you don't have a fixed team, you have a new team for every project, so you need to be good with people.” 

‘Tier 2’ consulting firms: Oliver Wyman, Kearney & more 

As well as the Big Three and the Big Four, you can also find a range of leading ‘Tier 2’ consulting firms worldwide that employ MBA and business master’s graduates and even offer similar earning potential. 

Some of the most renowned and biggest consulting companies outside the Big Three and Big Four include: Tata Consultancy Services, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, Alvarez & Marsal, Accenture Strategy, and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. 

While hiring fewer recruits each year, these firms remain competitive and landing a role requires a similar approach to recruitment at the likes of Bain and Deloitte. 

If you’re looking for a route into the global consulting industry, these large firms—as well as smaller boutiques—should be on your radar, says Christy Gunville
managing director and consulting sector lead at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Career Center. 

“The competition is high to secure a role in the consulting industry so I recommend that students expand their aperture and consider a broad range of firms, as well as corporate opportunities that will also allow them to build relevant competencies that could translate well for a subsequent pivot into the field,” she says. 

For more info about what it's like to work in consulting, the perks and salaries you could gain, and tips on how to successfully become a management consultant, download our BusinessBecause Consulting Guide