Depends on how long you want to stay in for . I ' m in for the long term , and therefore sustainability metrics were quite important for me . They all work long hours , but more than necessary additional travel is just going to make that even more . Therefore , I had , to the contrary of many graduates , minimized travel pretty high up . If you do well , you can progress at all firms quite quickly , although McK is probably a little bit ahead here with their Direct To Associate for extraordinary performers . Next , given that you want to ' work on interesting stuff ' check out the capabilities and industries the offices you ' re going for are strong in . If you want to do public sector stuff you might want to avoid Bain , whereas if you want to do PE work , they might be your perfect fit . Lastly , the people you work with is a very , if not most , important aspect . Can you sit in a room with them for 60 hours a week months on end ?