Author: Taylor Warfield, Former Bain Manager and interviewer

Last Updated: July 24, 2026

 

KPMG Chicago recruiting runs through the firm's Aon Center office, which hires across Audit, Tax, and Advisory using a rolling application, an online assessment, and two to three interview rounds. This guide breaks down the Chicago office, the roles it hires for, the full hiring process, current pay by level, and exactly how to stand out.

 

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Key Takeaways

 

KPMG's Chicago office hires thousands of professionals across Audit, Tax, and Advisory, and you break in by applying early, passing the online assessment, and clearing the case and behavioral rounds.

 

• KPMG Chicago sits in the Aon Center and employs more than 2,900 professionals across Audit, Tax, and Advisory

 

• The process runs application, online assessment, a first round, and a Super Day, usually over about four weeks

 

• KPMG recruits on a rolling basis, so applying the week roles post beats applying near the deadline

 

• Advisory Associates in Chicago average around $111,000 in total pay, based on 2026 Glassdoor data

 

• Interns convert to full-time in the city where they interned, so target a Chicago internship for a Chicago career

 

• Fit weighting is high at KPMG, so prepared behavioral stories matter as much as clean case structure

 

How does KPMG Chicago recruiting work?

 

KPMG Chicago recruiting follows a structured path. You apply online to a specific Chicago role, complete a gamified online assessment, then move through a first-round interview and a final Super Day. Most candidates face two to three rounds that mix case interviews, a written case, and behavioral questions over roughly four weeks.

 

The single most important thing to understand is that KPMG hires on a rolling basis. The firm reviews candidates as they apply and keeps going until each role is filled, so the application you submit in week one of the cycle is read before the one you submit near the deadline.

 

You can also hold only two active applications at a time. That rule forces you to be deliberate about which Chicago roles and practice areas you target, rather than spraying applications across the firm.

 

In my experience coaching candidates into Big 4 firms, the people who get Chicago offers treat the office as a specific target, not a fallback. They research the practice area, name the Chicago office in their materials, and apply the week roles open.

 

Where is the KPMG Chicago office, and what does it do?

 

The KPMG Chicago office sits in the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph Street, Suite 5500, in the East Loop overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan. According to KPMG, the firm opened its doors in Chicago in 1904 and now ranks among the city's oldest and largest professional services firms.

 

The office is large. KPMG reports more than 2,900 professionals and 314 partners and managing directors in Chicago, serving roughly 1,100 publicly and privately owned businesses across the area. That scale means more open roles, more practice areas, and more interviewers than almost any other KPMG location outside New York.

 

KPMG delivers Audit, Tax, and Advisory services from this office, and it runs one of its Ignition innovation centers inside the Aon Center for client work on data, AI, and business transformation. For a recruit, the takeaway is simple. Chicago is a flagship office with deep client demand, which keeps hiring steady year after year.

 

What roles and practices does KPMG Chicago hire for?

 

KPMG Chicago hires across three service lines: Audit, Tax, and Advisory. Advisory is the consulting arm and the most relevant if you want case-style problem solving and client strategy work.

 

Within Advisory, the Chicago office staffs a wide set of practices. The table below shows the main ones and the kind of work each does.

 

Practice area	What the work involves
Strategy	Growth, market entry, and corporate strategy projects that look most like classic management consulting
Deal Advisory and Strategy	Mergers, acquisitions, and due diligence work, the highest-paid advisory track in the office
Customer and Operations	Supply chain, procurement, and operating model redesign for large clients
Technology and Cyber	Cloud, data, AI, and cyber security transformation, a fast-growing part of the Chicago office
Risk and Regulatory	Financial crime, controls, and regulatory compliance work, often for banking clients
Human Capital	Workforce, organization design, and change management engagements

 

Entry titles follow your degree. Undergraduate hires enter as Associates, while MBA and master's hires usually enter as Senior Associates, and each step up the entry ladder adds meaningful starting pay. If you want the most strategy-heavy work and the top pay band, aim for the Deal Advisory and Strategy practice.

 

What is the KPMG Chicago interview process?

 

The KPMG Chicago interview process for advisory and consulting roles runs two to three rounds over about four weeks. Expect a mix of behavioral questions, a case interview, and a written case exercise as you move through the rounds. The exact sequence varies slightly by practice and role, but the structure below holds for most Chicago advisory hires.

 

1. Application: submit your resume and unofficial transcript through the KPMG careers site for a specific Chicago role, which takes about ten minutes
   
   
2. Online assessment: complete a gamified test that usually runs around 25 minutes and scores cognitive and behavioral traits rather than accounting knowledge
   
   
3. First round: two roughly 30-minute interviews, one focused on a case and one on behavioral or fit questions, often virtual through KPMG's interview portal
   
   
4. Super Day: two to three back-to-back interviews with managers and partners, and for many advisory roles a written case where you build a short recommendation from a data packet

 

The behavioral weighting at KPMG is higher than at most strategy firms. Many candidates report that fit, motivation, and stakeholder skills carry as much weight as analytical ability, so your stories need to be as sharp as your structure.

 

On the analytical side, KPMG case interviews lean on standard profitability, market entry, and operations structures rather than highly novel problems. The cases often blend strategy with operations, which mirrors the firm's actual advisory work. If you want to learn case interviews quickly, my case interview course walks you through proven structures in as little as 7 days.

 

The written case is the component most candidates underprepare for. You typically get a packet of 20 to 40 pages and 45 to 60 minutes to build a slide or two with a clear recommendation, then defend it in a short discussion.

 

How should you prepare for KPMG behavioral questions?

 

Prepare for KPMG behavioral questions by building a bank of 10 to 15 specific stories and rehearsing them out loud. KPMG interviewers will grill your resume line by line and ask why you want KPMG, why consulting, and how you handled conflict, leadership, and failure.

 

Structure each answer with the STAR method so your story stays tight under time pressure. Lead with the situation and task in one or two sentences, spend most of your time on the action you took, and close with a concrete result.

 

Your answer to why KPMG needs to be specific to the firm and to Chicago, not a generic Big 4 pitch. Name the practice area, reference the office's client base, and connect it to something real in your background.

 

Because fit carries so much weight here, polished stories are not optional. My fit interview course covers 98% of consulting behavioral questions and shows you how to turn your experiences into answers that land. You can also work through a full fit interview walkthrough to sharpen your delivery.

 

When should you apply to KPMG in Chicago?

 

Apply to KPMG Chicago as early in the cycle as possible. The firm posts most early-career internship and full-time roles in late summer to early fall, often around August and September, for the following year, and reviews them on a rolling basis until they fill. Waiting for a deadline is the most common way candidates miss out.

 

The table below shows a typical recruiting calendar for KPMG Chicago early-career roles. Experienced hires apply year round, since those roles open as teams need them.

 

Timeframe	What happens
Summer	Update your resume, network with Chicago professionals, and set job alerts so you see roles the day they post
August to September	Internship and full-time advisory roles post for the following year, and the strongest candidates apply immediately
Fall	Online assessments, first rounds, and Super Days run, with many offers finalized before winter
Year round	Experienced hire and off-cycle roles open on a rolling basis as Chicago teams add capacity

 

There is one rule that changes everything about timing. KPMG designs its internship program to convert high-performing interns into full-time hires in the same city where they interned, and location changes are not guaranteed afterward.

 

So if you want a full-time KPMG career in Chicago, the cleanest path is a Chicago internship the summer before. Mapping your applications to the broader consulting recruiting timeline helps you line up KPMG alongside the other firms you are targeting.

 

How much does KPMG pay in Chicago?

 

KPMG pay in Chicago is strong and rises sharply with each promotion. A KPMG Advisory Associate in Chicago averages about $111,000 in total pay, based on 2026 Glassdoor data, and an Advisory Manager averages roughly $227,000. The table below shows reported Chicago figures alongside national bands for the levels Glassdoor does not break out locally.

 

Level	Typical total pay	Source
Advisory Associate (Chicago)	~$111,000, most between $88,000 and $143,000	Glassdoor, 2026
Senior Associate (national)	~$130,000 core, up to ~$200,000 in Deal Advisory and Strategy	Glassdoor and Levels.fyi, 2026
Advisory Manager (Chicago)	~$227,000, most between $187,000 and $280,000	Glassdoor, 2025
Senior Manager (national)	~$250,000 total	Glassdoor, 2026
Director and above (national)	$335,000 to over $1,000,000 at Partner	Glassdoor and Levels.fyi, 2026

 

One detail most salary pages miss is the practice gap. KPMG's Deal Advisory and Strategy track pays a premium of 15 to 25 percent above core Advisory at every level, so two people with the same title can sit in very different pay tiers. Ask which practice an offer sits in before you compare the dollar figure.

 

For a full breakdown of bonuses, the strategy premium, and how the firm stacks up against the other Big 4, see the detailed KPMG consulting salary guide.

 

How hard is it to get into KPMG Chicago, and how do you stand out?

 

Getting into KPMG Chicago is competitive but achievable. Glassdoor rates the overall KPMG interview difficulty at 2.82 out of 5, which is lower than MBB, yet the Chicago office still draws a large, strong applicant pool because of its size and pay. The tips below are what separate offers from rejections in my coaching experience.

 

Tip #1: Apply the week roles open

 

Because KPMG reviews applications on a rolling basis, timing beats polish. Set alerts in the summer and submit within days of a Chicago role posting, since seats fill before the nominal deadline.

 

Tip #2: Make your resume Chicago-ready

 

Your resume needs quantified, impact-driven bullets that survive a line-by-line grilling in the interview. If you want expert eyes on it, my resume review service gives unlimited revisions with a 24-hour turnaround.

 

Tip #3: Network into the office before you apply

 

A short conversation with someone in the Chicago practice you want gives you a referral and real detail for your fit answers. Learning how to network with consulting professionals the right way turns cold applications into warm ones.

 

Tip #4: Tailor your cover letter to the practice

 

A focused cover letter that names the Chicago office and the specific practice area signals genuine interest. Generic letters that could be sent to any firm get filtered out fast.

 

Tip #5: Prepare cases and stories together

 

Most candidates over-index on one side and underprepare the other. Run timed practice cases with a partner and rehearse your behavioral stories out loud, since KPMG tests both in the same round. One-on-one interview coaching with a former Bain interviewer is the fastest way to fix the gap.

 

KPMG Chicago recruiting rewards candidates who treat the office as a deliberate target, apply early, and prepare cases and behavioral stories in equal measure. Your single most important move is to start preparing now and submit your Chicago application the moment roles open.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Is it hard to get a job at KPMG in Chicago?

 

Yes, KPMG Chicago recruiting is competitive, though the case portion is more approachable than at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain. Glassdoor rates the overall KPMG interview difficulty at 2.82 out of 5 based on thousands of reviews. The harder part for most candidates is the behavioral side, since KPMG weights cultural fit heavily.

 

How long does KPMG's hiring process take?

 

KPMG's hiring process usually runs about four weeks from first interview to offer for advisory and consulting roles. Glassdoor data across thousands of interviews puts the average at roughly 28 days. Experienced hire timelines can move faster, with a short gap between the interview invite and the first round.

 

How much does an entry-level KPMG consultant make in Chicago?

 

A KPMG Advisory Associate in Chicago averages about $111,000 in total pay, based on 2026 Glassdoor data, with most packages between roughly $88,000 and $143,000. Pay rises sharply with each promotion. KPMG's Deal Advisory and Strategy practice pays a premium of 15 to 25 percent above core Advisory at every level.

 

Does KPMG Chicago require a case interview?

 

Yes, most KPMG Chicago advisory and consulting roles include a case interview, and many add a written case in the second round. Audit and Tax roles are almost entirely behavioral. Advisory candidates should prepare profitability, market entry, and operations cases alongside their behavioral stories.

 

When does KPMG open applications for Chicago roles?

 

KPMG posts most early-career Chicago internship and full-time roles in late summer to early fall, often around August and September, for the following year. The firm reviews applications on a rolling basis until each role fills. You can hold a maximum of two active applications at a time, so choose your Chicago roles carefully.

 

Do KPMG interns in Chicago get full-time offers?

 

Yes, KPMG designs its internship program to convert high-performing interns into full-time hires in the same city where they interned. That means a Chicago internship is the most reliable path to a full-time Chicago role. Strong intern performance and good relationships with the team are the main drivers of a return offer.

 

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