A deliberately small firm, and a deliberately quiet one
Mars & Co publishes that it has "about 100+ consultants in its seven offices," across Stamford, San Francisco, Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore. It was founded in 1979 by Dominique Mars and serves clients "on an industry-exclusive basis," working with a very limited number of clients worldwide.
That scale explains the recruiting. There is no online test published anywhere on the firm's site, no assessment vendor, no practice cases, no videos and no deadlines. What Mars & Co does publish is a single application page, and it is honest about what happens next.
What the firm says about its process
Applications go directly to your preferred office, with a resume, academic transcripts (unofficial copies accepted) and a cover letter. The firm then runs "several rounds designed for us to find out more about you, your skills, and your career ambitions," using "a combination of case studies and questions regarding your educational and professional experience."
Interviews are conducted by senior staff. Mars & Co encourages candidates to reach out separately to junior staff for a view of the culture, which is an unusual invitation and worth taking up.
An undated firm-authored recruiting document for the US Senior Associate Consultant role (treat it as historical material rather than a current spec) describes up to three rounds: one phone interview covering background and interest in consulting, then two on-site rounds with two or three consultants asking case questions alongside general ones, with the final round including lunch with the team. Applications there are reviewed on a rolling basis.
The hiring bar, stated plainly
Mars & Co says it looks for "high achievers as demonstrated by superior academic performance at leading universities and colleges," and that all consultants need proficiency with analytical techniques, spreadsheets and databases. Foreign language ability helps but is not required.
The firm recruits heavily from quantitative backgrounds, describing a preference for "undergraduate degrees in highly quantitative fields such as engineering, mathematics, economics or one of the physical sciences."
Entry levels
Three published entry points, each mapped to a qualification:
- Associate Consultant for undergraduate or graduate degrees, typically STEM.
- Senior Associate Consultant for a PhD in a STEM field, or a relevant master's plus work experience.
- Consultant for an MBA from a top-tier business school plus meaningful prior business experience.
Above those sit Senior Consultant, Project Manager, Vice President and beyond. Mars & Co states that "there is no pre-determined promotion schedule at any level within the firm, people are promoted as soon as they can successfully handle a more demanding role," and that it only promotes from within.
How to prepare
With no test and no published practice material, everything rests on cases and on the interest question. Given the firm's quantitative recruiting profile and its use of case questions across several rounds, the useful preparation is volume: enough live cases that structure and mental arithmetic are automatic before a senior consultant is watching.
Official sources: Apply to Mars & Co · About Mars · Career path · Why Mars & Co · Offices