The best advice that I can give is to choose your engagement manager wisely (if you're given the option to choose). If you get a good engagement manager, then you will have an extremely rewarding time at McKinsey. If your manager is bad, then he (or she) will work you to the ground and you'll hate your job.

A lot of our alumni go off to Fortune 100 or Fortune 500 companies. McKinsey does a great job at leveraging the alumni network to further business development. The McKinsey name is known throughout the business world. You will be respected at any place you decide to go after McKinsey.

McKinsey has a strong brand and businesses around the globe know the name. However, McKinsey is not immune to an economic slump. When the economy is not doing well, McKinsey is not a pleasant place to work at. You will be cut from the company if you are underperforming. Even though the work is always challenging and fun, you will always feel the pressure and feel the stress.

I worked as a Supporting Staff at McKinsey. I definitely felt a big difference in how we were treated and how the consultants were treated. Even though we all pretty much worked the same amount of hours, the Consultants were seen as the real "bread winners". As staff, we do receive company perks, but the actual difference in "feel" of the job (between us and the Consultants) is extremely different. We are made sure to "feel" as a supporting role only while the Consultants are made to "feel" special.

The firm is all about giving feedback. Every time you work on a project, interact with a client, or finish a task, you will be given a full review and you will know exactly what you did right and what you can improve. Listening to the feedback is very important because if you take it in and demonstrate that you learned on your next project, then you will be immediately rewarded.

The company is very tied to the economy. If the economy is doing well, then you will feel absolutely great at work. Your pay will increase, perks will increase, and employee morale is very high. During an economic downturn, you will get cut if you are one of the lower performing people. This is a very stressful job, but it is well worth it because the work that you do is amazing and the things that you will learn is unrivaled.

I no longer work at McKinsey. The hours were rough, the work was stressful, and it was one of the toughest times of my life. However, it was well worth it to be in the McKinsey Alumni network. I am very well respected in pretty much any industry that I get into and my peers in the Alumni Network are very impressive and resourceful. If I had to go back, I would definitely do it all over again.