Vault’s Verdict

According to insiders, Kearney has a vibrant culture that’s characterized by a balance between entrepreneurship and a dedication to collective success. They laud the firm’s commitment to work-life balance, its extensive opportunities for working abroad, and its fair, meritocratic promotions and performance evaluation processes. 

Kearney employees have more good things to say on the compensation front. Their salaries and bonuses are competitive with much larger consulting firms, and Kearney offers a wide range of fringe benefits, ranging from gym memberships to mental health support.

The main drawback to working at Kearney is the firm’s size. It’s too big to be a boutique, but not quite as large as its biggest competitors. This means that Kearney has to strike a balance between personal touch and scale, which, admittedly, insiders say it manages quite well. 

Firm Culture

• “The entrepreneurial culture provides a lot of room to explore.”
• “The firm supports my pursuit of the work I aspire to deliver for our clients, in the locations our clients need.”
• “You have flexibility and are treated as an adult who can make their own decisions about the best way to work.”
• “The capacity to choose your work and your path within the firm ensures high motivation and a sense of purpose.”

Quality of Life

• “We make a charter for each project that ensures the team is given time to breathe between challenging milestones. We also recognize everyone’s wellbeing, which means not only watching our team members’ performance but also their mental health.”
• “Kearney expects consultants to travel when needed, but far less than some of the larger firms. The balance of travel and home time is one of the reasons I chose to return rather than proceed with another firm.”
• “It’s a fast-paced job that’s hard to balance with a young family, but there’s also a lot of flexibility. Leadership and clients tend to be understanding.”
• “I feel supported as a mother to limit travel where possible, and I have some flexibility in hours across projects. However, within projects the hours can be long and inflexible, which makes long-term sustainability a challenge.”

Career Development

• “Global mobility is very easy, and global projects are quite common. I have done three across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific in the past two years. Internal transfers are also very easy.”
• “I think the promotion is fair and merit-based. I have the power to push for a promotion. I also have access to senior leadership for helpful advice and guidance. The training opportunities for juniors are good, with some overseas [in-person] training as well.”
• “Kearney has provided me with excellent training opportunities, both within my role as well as roles beyond my own. I learn a lot every year.”
• “Others are very generous with their teaching, mentorship, and support. The ability to transfer across offices and practices is extensive.”

Compensation

• “The best aspects of our compensation are the competitive salary and performance bonuses, access to personal wealth creation vehicles such as venture capital opportunities, and equity options for junior staff.”
• “Our pay is very good, and we have equal base pay at all levels.”
• “The firm offers bonuses for exceptional performance.”
• “The firm offers fresh snacks, a focus on wellbeing, online meditation and yoga classes, private health insurance, gym memberships, and wearable tech to encourage and promote personal fitness.”

Community Engagement

• “We have a dedicated committee for DEI initiatives, with regular all-staff awareness sessions. The company is transparent on its efforts to close the gender pay gap and improve its gender diversity.”
• “Kearney’s diversity is reflected in the broad range of ethnicities, educational backgrounds, and prior work experiences of its staff. The firm … has supportive LGBTQ+ strategies to encourage everyone to be their best self at work.”
• “The firm is making a strong push on DEI with visible targets and active efforts to address these issues.”
• “We have a DEI taskforce led by passionate individuals, and they’re trying to do even more.”

Business Outlook

• “We have a broad range of relationships across industries, plus an improving macroeconomic environment for investment and growth.”
• “Kearney is global, yet nimble. Our smaller size enables us to innovate faster and more efficiently than our larger competitors.”
• “The market is still down, but we’re still growing.”
• “We enjoy a broad portfolio with strong client relationships in all our major sectors. We continue to hire and enjoy year-on-year growth.”

Hiring Process

• “[In my unit,] we have three rounds of interviews, with two interviews per round. There’s usually a case study in each round, plus behavioral and fit questions.”
• “We try to ensure the interview process is as quick as possible. For junior roles, [my unit] usually has two interviews with a more junior consultant and another with a senior staff member, such as a principal or partner. We follow up on all interviews, regardless of the result.”
• “Kearney is looking for individuals with a track record of superior performance in academics or business, with spikes of excellence in leadership. We prefer people with a history of active service to the community.”
• “Kearney is very proud of its culture.  We are known for being collaborative and down to earth (and not being jerks). Therefore, don't underestimate the fit aspect of your interview.”

Interview Questions

• “Expect to see a market size calculation and have a discussion about strategy, such as a plan to increase sales or reduce costs.”
• “We ask candidates to interpret graphs to test their ability to make insights based on limited data and pay attention to critical details.”
• “Expect to see business context questions designed to test your quantitative skills, interpret visual data, synthetize data, ask probing questions, and present at an executive level.”
• “We use case studies based on our recent work in industry development, AI transformation, and manufacturing strategy.”