McKinsey & Company Associate Consultant Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated May 14, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 16 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 16 ratings
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Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted May 14, 2012
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2011 (took 3 weeks)
Two rounds of interviews.
The first involved an intelligence test (which was difficult) and two one-on-one interviews, each of which lasted about an hour.
The second round involved a group interview with five other applicants, as well as three one-on-one interviews, each of which lasted about an hour.
In each one-on-one interview, I worked through a business case with my interviewer. The second round involved cases, but was more focused on the "personal" portion of the interview.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted May 5, 2012
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2012 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 2 months)
1. Resume screen
2.1 day - 3 * 1-on-1 interviews (Very average difficulty levels and extremely interesting & engaging interviews)+ 1 Problem Solving Test (Very intense and difficult - sad part is you never get to know your result) - Overall a draining process because of intensity of discussion and back-to-back interviews due to over-run discussions
3.Very supportive and stimulating Feedback & prep phase with an in-house coach
4.1day- 3*partner interviews (Very grilling but very interesting & even more engaging)
5. Offer
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Mar 15, 2012
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2012 (took a day)
2 interviews back to back. Each case and experience.
First interviewer was approximately 20 mins late and very inexperienced (also associate consultant, which according to my sources is highly unusual. usually interviews are conducted by engagement managers and higher) Case was pretty straightforward.
2nd round was with engagement manager that was very well skilled at guiding the interview and keeping the happy poker face. I rate interview experience as negative because the first interviewer was inexperienced and late.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Mar 7, 2012 — 2 of 2 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2012 in Washington, DC (took a day)
The day began with an hour-long multiple choice quantitative exam. The exam is standardized, and is used heavily as a screening process. It was a difficult exam, requiring full use of the time.
Following the exam, we had a small break prior to starting two consecutive group interviews. Each interview had three applicants and one associate. Associates read a case out loud and sometimes asked us to read a section of the case on our own, and asked applicants to work through the case out loud. Some aspects required calculations.
I was displeased by the quantitative skills exam, and pleased with the group interview format. Admittedly, my perspective is biased, as my current strength lies in the latter, not the former. Nonetheless, there are skills that employees can learn on the job, with quantitative skills being one of them. Many applicants don't have a financial background, yet can nonetheless offer great skills. I am a physician with clinical experience, significant publications in the biomedical literature, completing a second residency, and obtaining master degrees in public health and business administration.
To date, I've completed advanced quantitative courses successfully, including physical chemistry, linear algebra, differential equations, multivariable calculus (and three calculus courses leading to that), and so on. This was years ago, but clearly, if I was able to master these years ago, I can learn these quantitative skills o the job. Much to my surprise, then, it seemed rather shortsighted of McKinsey--of all companies-- to use this tool to screen applicants. They do so to their own detriment. Hard skills such as these are easy to pick up on the job. What is more difficult to pick up are more right-brained, creative problem-solving skills, which is my strength. Again, I am biased, but believe this argument is valid. Suffice to say, I've written off McKinsey, as well as any other company that uses such quant skills assessments; to me, this is a marker of shortsightedness that I want to have no part in.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 24, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 2 weeks)
I applied for an Associate Consulting role as an APD hire (advanced professional degree) and continued through the second round of interviews (out of 3) before being knocked out of the loop (or as my interviewer put it, "we decided not to pass you on"). As most applicants know, the first round consisted of an intelligence test followed by two case interviews conducted in a group setting. The second interview consisted of two one-on-one cases with two separate consultants.
My advice: practice, practice, practice, especially for the second round. I didn't, and it showed. I'm pretty certain that if I had put in at least a week of full-time prep, I would have passed the second round. Many applicants put in more than this; some put in less. I put in about a day (indicating insufficient commitment on my part) and got points knocked off for not fully addressing all potential factors that applied to the cases in question.
Interviewers were friendly, if a bit stiff. One strange aspect is that many of the consultants are in their twenties, even those with APDs. These people may have smarts, but they also may lack routine interpersonal skills that simply come with age. That said, if you're younger than your interviewers, they may be more skilled in this department than you, so it's not an issue. But if you're older, the interviewer-interviewee interpersonal dynamic can be odd - at least it was in my case, as I felt more socially comfortable than my interviewers while at the same time more dependent, given our respective roles.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 14, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 in Paris (France) (took 1 week)
1st round:
1 multiple-choice test - no stress for that, even if you dont finish it, it s pretty easy
2 face-to-face interviews with fit questions + case studies - note that already at this stage people were not that welcoming and cases were pretty challenging
2nd round:
3 more face-to-face interviews & case studies - same level of difficulty as in the first round
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
i didn't like the majoirty of the people I met
Everybody seemed so arrogant and unpleasant, that I accepted the offer from Bain, which is notorious to have a totally different culture
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 1, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 (took 2+ weeks)
It was nice. The individual was quite warm and interested in walking through my resume. I felt that there was a good rapport between the two of us, and was hearing a good amount of positive feedback. It was a typical case study, and yet I heard back from them with a 'no'. Was quite shocked.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Jan 11, 2011 — 1 of 2 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2010 in New Toronto, ON (Canada) (took 1 week)
The skill test itself is not very difficult at all, however their case interviews require knowing their format. I did not find the cases hard and in fact got hired at another consultancy but Mckinsey's feedback to me was to memorize their format and stick to it. It was less about the answers and more about knowing I had reviewed and studied their process intently, which admittedly I did not even look at except for the short webinar the weekend before. Practice and learn their process. Overall, a bit of arrogance from those I interviewed with leading me to question the culture though I cannot speak to it.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Dec 20, 2010 — 3 of 3 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Dec 2010 in Chicago, IL (took 4 months)
Applied online through the APD (advanced professional degrees - MD, PhD, Masters, etc) channel. Passed the initial resume screen and was invited to the IWIA (Initial Workshop and Initial Assessment). This consisted of a standard assessment test which was a 26 question test based on case studies. Challenging part was the 1 hour time constraint. (Test is similar to the online sample on McK's website). The second part was two group breakout sessions (3 candidates/1 McK consultant) that's meant to give an idea of how case study interviews work. Was repeated told that the outcome of the first round interview was SOLELY based on the assessment test, but opinions differ.
The second round was held at my local office. Consisted of three 1-on-1 interviews. Each interview consisted of initial chatting, a personal experience type question (e.g. name a time in your career that you were a leader and had to resolve conflict within your group, etc) and a case interview (standard consulting cases). Prior to the second round, we were asked to give preferences for our final office. Supposedly, there is a standard bar across all of McK, which if passed, you're advanced to the final round (regardless of office preferences). Once you get thru to the final round, your office preferences and the office's needs are matched up.
I got my first preference, the Chicago office. Similar to the 2nd round with three 1-on-1 interviews, but the only difference would be these interviews tend to be more senior members/partners in the office. That being said, the case interviews in the 2nd round were more formatted (interviewers have cases in front that they reference). The 3rd round partners tend to be more off the cuff, formulating their own case information as they go and they want to see you think on your feet.
Overall, I agree with previous posters that McK makes you feel like part of the team even during the interview process. In between each round, they offer plenty of support/feedback, opportunity to meet other consultants, etc. They sincerely appear to want you to succeed. They pick up the bill for travel/lodging and you get a glimpse of the glitz/glam of working for a company with their reputation. A key part of this process appears to be your ability to interact with interviewers and have a solid approach with case interviews so live practicing with friends, consulting clubs, etc., would be helpful.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Personality Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Nov 16, 2010
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2010 in Beijing, Beijing (China) (took a day)
I went as far as the second round interview for McKinsey. The first round was their standard assessment test with two group case studies at the end. I was told that the outcome of the first round interview was solely based on the assessment test. The group case studies were actually meant for the interviewees to get a sense of how the later individual case interviews would be (which was more than helpful for my case). The assessment test was very similar to the online sample test they post on the website. The only suggestion I can give is to practice your math and learn about some of the various sales definitions.
The second round interview for me was in Boston. I had two 1:1 interviews, which included both personality fit portion and case study portion. The two fit questions I got were:
1. Give me one instance that shows your leadership skills.
2. Give me one example that you resolved a conflict within a team.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Personality Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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