Glassdoor is your free inside look at McKinsey & Company Associate interview questions and advice. All 208 interview reviews posted anonymously by McKinsey & Company employees and interview candidates.
McKinsey & Company Associate Interview Questions & Reviews
Getting the Interview 208 Interviews
Interview Experience 181 Ratings
Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Interviewed in New York, NY Nov 2012 – Reviewed May 21, 2013 New
Interview Details – Recruited from campus, and made it to the final round. Didn't really have much of a chemistry with the partner, which is what I think went against me.
Interview Question – Describe a challenging situation in a team environment - it seemed like the partner was after something specific. Didn't really give him the "right" answer. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Reviewed Apr 25, 2013
Interview Details – Applied online first for the insight program, did not pass the phone screen for the insight program. Did the first around interview in New York office, written problem solving test first followed by two rounds group discussion.
Interview Question – the time for problem solving test is limiting, better to find a way to practice more Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Interviewed in New York, NY Jan 2013 – Reviewed Apr 17, 2013
Interview Details – Interviewed in New york. Was recommended internally. Had 3 rounds of interviews after 2 phone interviews. Strong learning experience. variety of typical mckinsey style cases. stumped on industry related questions from my background as those were unexpected. overall 7/9 interviews went extremely well however that wasnt good enough. Strong learning experience
Interview Question – what would you say to the CFO for a large american bank Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in New York, NY Jan 2010 – Reviewed Apr 5, 2013
Interview Details – Interview came over two days. Three interviews on the first day and two on the second. Each interview was thirty minutes of fit and a thirty minute case. The cases are manageable if you prepare. The fit interview is all about figuring out what your story is: why you want to do consulting and why mckinsey.
Interview Question – The cases are typical business cases that you can find examples of online. View Answer
Negotiation Details – No negotiation
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Summer Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Interviewed in Washington, DC Mar 2011 – Reviewed Mar 21, 2013
Interview Details – Interviewed first round with two different partners. Very difficult questions and they grilled you with multiple angles.
Interview Question – Cheese market analysis/turnaround. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Reviewed Mar 19, 2013
Interview Details – The first round of the interview process involved a data interpretation/quantitative exam as well as 2 simulated group case study sessions. The second round involved two back-to-back one-on-one with current associates. Each interviewer asked me two behavioral questions, then did a case interview with me. Prior to the second round, you are required to submit your regional preferences, which may be a bit of a strategy game to select offices/regions with openings for your skillset.
Interview Question – 'Tell me about yourself' Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Summer Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Reviewed Mar 13, 2013
Interview Details – Three rounds of interviews: the first is a standardized test of math and business skills. If you pass that, the next round consists of two interviews with associates or project managers. Then, the final round consists of three interviews with partners. Each live interview includes personal interview questions to assess fit, as well as a case study. Everything was very standardized and professional, and for the most part, interviewers were easy to talk to and very interesting, engaging people!
Interview Question – Nothing too unexpected. The personal interview questions really vary but McKinsey tends to focus on the same kinds of things, so it just takes practice. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Florham Park, NJ Nov 2009 – Reviewed Mar 8, 2013
Interview Details – Very well structured, explained well up front...application with grades, then two rounds of interviews as well as one in-house aptitude test.
Interview Question – A case on growing revenues for new innovation in laboratory equipment Answer Question
Negotiation Details – Very little negotiation - they do so much hiring it's hard to move their numbers..did get a little relo assistance.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Reviewed Feb 27, 2013
Interview Details – Many interviews, first 2 with engagement managers then 3 with partners. Was flown to NYC and paid all expenses. I did very good in the cases but lacked structure in both my behavioral and case answers
Interview Question – none, straightforward Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Summer Associate at McKinsey & Company
No Offer – Reviewed Feb 8, 2013
Interview Details – The recruiting process through my school was fairly straight forward. After being selected to interview, Mckinsey held a "power round" which consisted for 4 back to back interviews with individuals ranging from Assocate through Partner. Each interview was a combination of case and behavioral. There was no second round interview, and many people heard back about a decision the day of.
Interview Question – Tell me about a time you led a team through a difficult situation. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Worked for McKinsey & Company? Contribute to the Community!
Add Review Add Salary Add Interview Review Add PhotosWork in HR or Recruiting?
Interviews by Company
Salaries by Company
Flag this {0} as inappropriate
Would you like us to review something? Please describe the problem with this {0} and we will look into it.
Oops!
We're sorry but your feedback didn't make it to the team. Your input is valuable to us – would you mind trying again?
The difficulty rating is the average interview difficulty rating across all interview candidates.
The interview experience is the percentage of all interview candidates that said their interview experience was positive, neutral, or negative.
Your response will be removed from the review – this cannot be undone.
