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Consulting cover letter template

A consulting cover letter is one page in five short paragraphs: who you are, why consulting and this firm, your best story with a result, one more piece of evidence, and a close. Many firms make it optional, but some Bain offices ask for one, and when you send it, it is read as a sample of your writing.

1Opening
Who you are, the role and the office. Two or three sentences, no warm-up.
2Why this firm
Why consulting, then someone you met or something you did that points to this firm and no other.
3Best story
A problem you solved: what you did yourself and what changed, with a number.
4More evidence
Leadership or teamwork, or what the resume can't explain, such as a change of field.
5Close
What you would bring and a thank you. One page in all, about 250 to 400 words.

Example letter

275 words

An undergraduate applying full time. Invented applicant and firm.

About the right length for one page.

Dear Northbridge Partners Recruiting Team,

I am a senior at the University of Michigan studying economics, and I am applying for the Associate Consultant role in Northbridge's Chicago office. For the past two years most of my time outside class has gone into solving problems for small businesses, and I want to do that work full time.

Two conversations made Northbridge my first choice. At your campus event in September, Dana Lee described a first-year consultant on a hospital project presenting her own analysis to the client's finance chief. When I followed up, Dana told me the Chicago office staffs new hires on both health care and consumer work in their first year, which is the range I want before I choose a direction.

As project lead in our student consulting club, I worked with a family-owned bakery chain that was losing money on catering. I built a cost model order by order and found that deliveries under $150 lost money once driver time was counted. I proposed a $150 minimum with a delivery fee below it. The owner adopted it, and catering margin rose from 4% to 11% the next quarter.

I also work 15 hours a week as a shift lead at a campus café, where I schedule eight student staff. When we kept running short on Friday mornings, I compared two months of sales with the schedule and moved one shift from the afternoon. Our wait times at the busiest hour fell, and overtime hours dropped by a third.

I would bring the same habit to Northbridge: start from the numbers, then check them with the people closest to the work. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely,
Priya Shah

Write your own. The example is there as a guide.

Who you are, the role and the office, in two or three sentences.

Someone you spoke to or something you did. It should not fit another firm.

A problem you solved: what you did yourself and the result, with a number.

Leadership or teamwork, or what the resume can't say: a change of field, a gap, a move.

What you would bring and a thank you. Two sentences.

What consulting recruiters look for

The firms say the same three things, on their own careers pages.

  • A reason that fits this firm

    BCG asks you to explain what motivates you to apply to BCG, and to avoid standard phrases, and says you can mention it if you met at an event or fair. Bain Australia asks the letter to say why you want consulting and Bain.

    From BCG Switzerland, Bain Australia

  • What changed because of you

    Bain's recruiters ask candidates to show what changed because they were involved, not to list responsibilities, and count university projects and activities as well as jobs.

    From Bain careers blog

  • Clear, short writing

    McKinsey calls the application, cover letter included, its first and primary evidence of your written communication. BCG asks for no more than one page with a clear structure.

    From McKinsey, BCG Switzerland
Do you need one?What McKinsey, BCG and Bain say

  • McKinsey

    Not required for most positions and programs. Its advanced degree page adds: unless you want to explain an unusual circumstance or a reapplication.

    From McKinsey careers blog, advanced degree tips

  • BCG, United States

    Not required for Summer or Full-Time applications. You can add one under Other Documents.

    From BCG US associate FAQ

  • Bain

    Not needed for Associate Consultant in London, but some offices may require one, so check each office you pick. Optional for the undergraduate programs.

    From Bain London FAQ, undergraduate programs

Three short examples

Written by us for invented applicants and an invented firm. Open one to read it.

MBA, summer associateA former teacher in her first year of an MBA

Dear Northbridge Partners Recruiting Team,

I am a first-year MBA student at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, applying for the Summer Associate role in your Atlanta office. Before Fuqua I taught math for five years and ran scheduling for a public high school of 1,200 students.

I want to consult because the best part of my last job was a problem nobody owned. Our school lost a third of its tutoring hours to room conflicts. I mapped every booking for a semester, found that two clubs held rooms they never used, and rebuilt the schedule with the department heads. Tutoring hours rose 40% with no new rooms. Maria Ortiz, who spoke at our consulting club, told me Northbridge's education practice does this kind of work for school districts, and that is where I want to start.

I would bring a habit of finding the number that settles an argument and the patience to bring people along. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Ana Ruiz

Undergraduate, summer internshipAn engineering junior with no business internship yet

Dear Northbridge Partners Recruiting Team,

I am a junior studying mechanical engineering at Purdue, applying for the Summer Business Analyst internship in your Chicago office.

My route to consulting started on our solar car team, where I led the eight-person battery group. We were over budget by $6,000 in March. I priced every part against two suppliers, cut one test rig we could borrow from another lab, and closed the gap in three weeks without missing a race date. I enjoyed that problem more than the engineering, and when I met James Park at your campus info session, he described the same work for manufacturing clients.

I have no business internship yet, so my evidence is the team: a budget, a deadline and people who did not report to me. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Ethan Cole

Experienced hireA hospital operations manager moving into consulting

Dear Northbridge Partners Recruiting Team,

I am an operations manager at a 400-bed hospital in Denver, applying for the Consultant role in your health care practice.

For six years I have fixed operations from the inside. Last year our emergency department's average wait reached four hours. I tracked a month of patient flow, found that beds sat empty for an average of 90 minutes after discharge while cleaning was called by phone, and moved the call into the discharge order. Average waits fell to two and a half hours within a quarter, and the change spread to two sister hospitals.

I am moving to consulting to solve problems like this across many hospitals, not one. Your practice's work with regional health systems is the closest match to what I have done. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Marcus Bell

Common mistakes

Most weak letters go wrong in the same five places.

  • Opening

    I am writing to express my strong interest in the Associate position at your prestigious firm.

    Name the role and the office, then who you are, in two sentences.

  • Why this firm

    I admire your collaborative culture and commitment to excellence.

    Name a person you met, a practice or a project, and what it showed you.

  • Evidence

    As you can see on my resume, I was responsible for market research.

    Tell one story the resume can only list: what you did and what changed.

  • Length

    Two pages covering every job since high school.

    One page, about 250 to 400 words, five short paragraphs.

  • Firm name

    A letter to BCG that says how much you want to join Bain.

    Check every firm name and office before you upload. The builder flags a firm that is never named.

Then say why this firm out loud

The paragraph you wrote on why this firm is the first fit question in the interview. Practice it with an AI interviewer that asks follow-ups.

Practice your fit answersExample answer: why consulting

Questions people ask

Do consulting firms require a cover letter?

Usually not. McKinsey does not require one for most positions, BCG does not for US Summer or Full-Time applications, and Bain London does not for Associate Consultant. Bain says some of its offices may require one, so check each office you apply to.

Should I write one if it is optional?

Write one when you have something the resume can't say: a change of field, a gap, a move to another country or a reapplication. McKinsey names unusual circumstances and reapplications as the reasons to send one.

How long should a consulting cover letter be?

One page. BCG asks for no more than one page with a clear structure. That is about 250 to 400 words in five short paragraphs.

Who should I address it to?

A named recruiter if the posting gives one. Otherwise “Dear [Firm] Recruiting Team” works, and is better than “To whom it may concern”.

Can I use AI to write it?

To polish it, yes. BCG says AI can help you prepare but your voice is what matters most. McKinsey allows AI to polish a resume and does not allow exaggerating or creating achievements. Keep every story your own.

Can I send the same letter to every firm?

Change the why-this-firm paragraph for each one. The evidence paragraphs can stay the same if they fit the role.

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