McKinsey & Company Interview Questions & Reviews
Overview |
| |
Salaries |
| |
Reviews |
| |
Interviews |
| |
Photos |
| |
Jobs |
| |
|
Updated Feb 12, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
|
Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 298 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
|
Interview Experience [?] Based on 298 ratings
|
See who your friends know who've worked at McKinsey & Company and could give you an inside look.
See who your friends know who've worked at McKinsey & Company and could help you prep for an interview.
| 41–50 of 298 McKinsey & Company Interviews | Sort by |
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 24, 2011
|
4.0
Difficult Interview
|
Overall Neutral Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
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.
More McKinsey & Company Associate Consultant Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 11, 2011 — 4 of 4 people found this helpful
|
4.0
Difficult Interview
|
Overall Positive Experience
|
Received and Accepted Offer
|
Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 3+ weeks)
I've initially applied online on the website, but apparently my application was "lost" by the office I ranked first in the process, and then tought I was rejected from all office. Two months later I discovered this fact, and applied directly to the office by email.
In 3 days I was contacted and scheduled for the PST in a 2/3 months (just missed one). But in the end this was good news because I trained a lot, using both online and paper resources: caseinterviews.com; Case in point; How to get into top consulting firms.
I cumulated 50 practice cases, 100+ hours of preparation, and GRE/GMAT training for the PST.
The test was very hard, time is tight and i had to answer a fair number of questions with educated guesses. But I guess the threeshold to pass the test is not so high.
Then I was called back for a motivational interview (eg tell me about a moment in which you demonstrated leadership) with a case, and then a little space for my questions to the interviewer, which are no less important!
Then the final round, with the same motivational + case format repeated 3 times in a day. Then I received the offer.
The only suggestion: be prepared, and think about every single word or assumption before it leaves your mouth! It should be inserted in a structure that you should have already presented to the interviewer.
And be relaxed and relatively friendly: they also want to check if they'd like to work with you till midnight without pick up a fight or get bored, or if you can meet a client and get along with him well without embarassing the firm.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
No negotiation: contract is very fair, and moreover it seems that any upward negotiation is just impossible, contracts are standard.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
More McKinsey & Company Business Analyst Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 13, 2011 — 2 of 2 people found this helpful
|
5.0
Very Difficult Interview
|
Overall Positive Experience
|
Received and Accepted Offer
|
Interviewed Sep 2011 in Boston, MA (took 4+ weeks)
All resumes and applications must be submitted online. If resume screen is passed, candidate proceeds to interviews. For Associate candidates who do not have an MBA degree, McKinsey administers a "McKinsey Problem-Solving Test" consisting of 20+ business-related conceptual and quantitative questions to be completed within one hour. Most common mistake on the test is marking the answer for question XX on the answer sheet for question YY (e.g. answer for 16 on line for 15). The test is very challenging and most candidates either rush through it or leave questions unanswered. Immediately after the test, there are two mini practice sessions where candidates are "coached" by McKinsey interviewers on how to do a business case interview. The "coaching" is not evaluative. Coaches and buddies are usually more junior McKinsey personnel, such as Business Analysts, Associates, Senior Associates, and Engagement Managers.
Candidates who pass the test are invited to attend telephone-based coaching sessions for round 2. Candidates who pass the test are also assigned a "buddy" who is responsible for answering candidate questions, putting candidates in touch with other relevant McKinsey personnel (e.g. people who work in a particular discipline in which the candidate is interested). Before the second round, the candidates are asked to state their "office preferences", i.e. what McKinsey locations they are most interested in. Recruiters recommend selecting only 3-5 locations and locations must be ordered (i.e. can't rank three locations as 1st choice - they have to be 1,2,3). After round one, the buddy also shares some initial feedback with the candidates: what they did well and what they should work on for the next round.
Second round of interviews typically consists of 2-3 one-on-one interviews and are typically conducted by more experienced McKinsey personnel (Sr Associates, Engagement Managers, and Associate Principals). Second round of interviews is conducted at a location close to candidate's residence to minimize travel costs. Each interview contains a case, and some interviews contain a personal experience section. Cases are very typical business cases that MBA students use to prepare for interviewing, however McKinsey looks for different skill sets in MBA and non-MBA applicants. Non-MBA applicants are not expected to be familiar with business jargon or frameworks, and it is ok to ask clarifications on terms that are unfamiliar. The interviewers have a very structured set of questions to go through with the candidate, and they may jump to next question in interest of time. Business cases have questions about general thinking / framing the problem, math, and analytical thinking. The personal experience portion of the interview is also very structured, and the interviewer may ask many sub-questions to really understand the situation, outcomes, and the candidate's contributions. Whether the candidate passes or not, McKinsey tries to provide objective feedback on interview performance. Feedback consists of what the interviewers thought the candidate did well, and what should be done better.
The third round of interviews is very similar to the second. The key differences are the seniority of personnel and format of interviews. The third round interviews is conducted at the office in which the candidate hopes to work, and are typically conducted by Associate Principals, Partners, and Directors (most senior partners). The format of the interviews can remain the same as round two, or it can include group interview, a "day in life at McKinsey" interview, or focus only on personal experience without the case. There are usually 2-3 one-on-one interviews in the third round.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
McKinsey normally has only a standard offer for all starting associates regardless of location (salary and benefits are the same throughout the US). Starting date is negotiable. I am not aware that any other aspects of the offer are negotiable. McKinsey organizes a "new offeree" dinner, gathering, or weekend (depending on location/office).
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Skills Test and a Background Check.
More McKinsey & Company Associate Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Consulting at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 12, 2011 — 3 of 4 people found this helpful
|
2.0
Easy Interview
|
Overall Negative Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 2 weeks)
OK, my interview with McKinsey confirmed what the middle management in Fortune 100 companies already knew . i.e. McKinsey is far removed from the reality of business. They are generally capable of convincing gullible Sr. Management on a strategy but those strategies are rarely implemented. That's the reason why boutique agencies are becoming very popular.
When I started interviewing I was given an impression that McKinsey is putting lot of emphasis on implementation of its strategies that's why a bug push to hire experienced managers from the industry. So now when I go to interview what they do - they make me interview with a guy who hardly has any real world experience who comes up with a ill defined business case. This interviewer probably trained on a perfect way of handling case interviews, had no real clues on how situations like what he described are handled in the successful and real companies. It was clear he was looking to get to a solution for the case that he was familiar with rather than look into areas that are beyond his comfort level. I gave him a good framework of how similar situations I have handled in my successful experience with Fortune 100 companies, which clearly he could not understand. I dont think its his fault, he clearly joined McKinsey straight from college 2-3 years ago with no industry experience. Its the fault of the system that Mckinsey created. If they continue like this, I am sure many more boutique and specialized agencies will grab business away from McKinsey.
I think more to save his face he gave a bad review and I was told that I need some more experience in the field that they are looking for. This is coming from a guy with no industry experience and 2 years in McKinsey to someone with 10+ years of successful career progression in two large well known organizations. When the HR told me that they would like to speak with me again in a year, I should have said don't waste my time anymore, I missed that opportunity. Buy I say that now, Mckinsey, thanks but no thanks....
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
More McKinsey & Company Consulting Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 21, 2011 — 0 of 1 people found this helpful
|
3.0
Average Interview
|
Overall Negative Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Oct 2011 (took a day)
The first interviewer is relatively nice, so I did well. But the second one was very tough, it took me a while to figuure out the maths. I probably screwed up..
Interview Questions
Other Details
I applied In-Person and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
More McKinsey & Company Associate Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 17, 2011
|
5.0
Very Difficult Interview
|
Overall Neutral Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Sep 2011 in Atlanta, GA (took a day)
I took the PST test. It was very very hard. I was suprised to get a phone call back for the next round.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Skills Test.
More McKinsey & Company Consultant Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 15, 2011
|
4.0
Difficult Interview
|
Overall Positive Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Oct 2011 in Cleveland, OH (took a day)
The first part of the McKinsey Interview process is not too bad. I took their test and then had two interviews. Each interview was 1/2 behavioral and 1/2 case interview
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
More McKinsey & Company Associate Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 14, 2011
|
4.0
Difficult Interview
|
Overall Negative Experience
|
Received and Declined Offer
|
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.
More McKinsey & Company Associate Consultant Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 15, 2011 — 0 of 1 people found this helpful
|
3.0
Average Interview
|
Overall Neutral Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Oct 2011 (took a day)
This was the first round interview in Mckinsey. It was a 60 min exam followed by 2 rounds of group case workshop with 2 different consultants. They claimed that the only thing the matters is your exam result, not your performance during the case workshop.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
More McKinsey & Company Consultant Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 10, 2011
|
4.0
Difficult Interview
|
Overall Positive Experience
|
Interviewed and No Offer
|
Interviewed Aug 2011 in Beijing, Beijing (China) (took a day)
I did the PST and only finished two cases, guessed the third, pass on to the second round. The group break out was more fun and more relaxed. Although they say it's non-evaluative but do your best as they do take notes of each person.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University.
More McKinsey & Company Consultant Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
RSS Feed for McKinsey & Company
Interviews
Embed
