To be eligible for a McKinsey Achievement Award, you should be an early professional with fewer than five years of work experience or a current student working toward a graduate or undergraduate degree. We welcome applications from all universities and disciplines, including law, medicine, and engineering, as well as PhD, MBA, and Master’s degrees.
Eligibility
You may apply to only one award globally, therefore we encourage you to apply to the award most relevant to you. You should select an award within a location where you have lived or where you speak the local language.
Application process
During the McKinsey Achievement Award application process, you will be asked to complete a short online form where you will select up to two locations and/or business functions or industries with which you have a connection or interest in. You may want to choose an office in a location where you’d like to work should you decide to apply for a role with McKinsey in the future.
In June, we will get in touch with you regarding the outcome of your application. Selected applicants will be invited to a short phone or virtual interview so that we can hear more about your experience and accomplishments and answer any questions you have about McKinsey.
Award recipients will be notified at the beginning of July.
We are no longer accepting applications for the McKinsey Achievement Awards.
Application requirements
Your CV in English (two pages maximum) listing your most recent education information, including grades and confirmed future-education plans, including the anticipated start and graduation dates. Your CV should detail your work experience, including part-time jobs and volunteer roles, as well as extracurricular activities and achievements.
A brief essay (250 words maximum) about your proudest or most interesting personal achievement. Please include the obstacles you overcame to reach this achievement and why it is important to you.
Academic transcripts, depending on office selection:
- Offices in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden require academic transcripts from high school onward
- Offices in Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland require university transcripts
- For other offices, academic transcripts are not required
2021 McKinsey achievement awards
McKinsey is committed to supporting talented individuals from underrepresented groups and sponsors many programs throughout the year, with the McKinsey Achievement Awards being only one of them. Not all McKinsey locations and/or business functions/industries sponsor the McKinsey Achievement Awards, as they run other diversity and inclusion initiatives locally.
If an award relevant to you is not offered in your location, or you come from an underrepresented group for which we do not sponsor an award on this occasion, please review other opportunities we offer.
To learn more about upcoming initiatives, follow our social-media channels (Real Life at McKinsey, McKinsey Women, or McKinsey on LinkedIn) or our global careers website for information about other events, initiatives, awards, and roles, and see our Career/Upcoming Events tabs on our offices’ websites.
Upcoming events and initiatives
The McKinsey Achievement Awards are just one of our many programs to help individuals get to know McKinsey better. Follow the Real Life at McKinsey Facebook page and subscribe to our Careers blog for more information about our people and upcoming events and initiatives.
McKinsey Recruiting Events and Initiatives
Whether you’re an experienced professional or a recent graduate, working with McKinsey could be a challenging and rewarding next step in your career. We invite you to get to know us at an event in your region.
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