I had an offer from Oliver Wyman, and I'd put it firmly in the group of strategy firms just below MBB: smaller, doing very similar work, and in some sectors as strong as anyone.
Where Oliver Wyman stands out
Oliver Wyman is particularly well known for financial services: banks, insurers, asset managers. It started as a firm for the financial sector and still has one of the strongest practices there. That gives you a better answer to "why Oliver Wyman?" than "because it's nearly MBB".
If you're interested in both banking and consulting, this is one of the firms where the two overlap most. A finance internship on your CV is genuinely relevant here, more than at a generalist firm.
What the CV should show
The same three things the top firms screen for, done well:
- Leadership with scale and a result.
- Problem-solving: a problem, what you did, what changed.
- Drive: something you started or pushed further than you had to.
And for Oliver Wyman specifically:
- Quantitative comfort. Its work is often analytical and numbers-heavy. A statistics module, a data project or a modelling bullet earns its place.
- Interest in financial services, if you have it. Not required, but it helps.
The interviews
Expect case interviews, sometimes with a written or group element, and fit questions. Prepare the same way you would for MBB: lots of live cases with feedback.