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Updated May 10, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
Ratings are reflective of location and job title.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 11 ratings

3.7

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 11 ratings

Positive	91%
Neutral	0%
Negative	9%

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1.0

Very Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 2 months)

Each interview consists of about half an hour of on-the-spot problem solving and half an hour of talking about one particular experience from the candidate's past. The problem solving is centered on one business case; you are asked a series of questions which tend to progress rather naturally. For example, if you suggest, "I would ask the CEO for figures for sales for the previous 5 years", the interviewer may hand you a sheet with exactly that table. Equally, if you find yourself in a cul-de-sac, or if the interviewer feels you're going down the wrong tack, the interviewer will guide you toward a possible approach.
The interview feels like a collaboration; I felt like I was role-playing being an employee during each interview. I asked questions, and didn't necessarily try to "have all the answers".
In the final interview, instead of talking about an experience from my past, the final half an hour was in fact a role-play exercise: I was briefed on a situation, and had to improvise for about 20 minutes while the interviewer played the part of another character described in the setup.

I liked the fact that each "interviewer" was an associate or partner from the company. I honestly felt more attracted to the company through my experiences with the interviewers. The HR people set up the interviews, but the interviews felt like a "real" test of my skills applicable to the job. There were no buIIshit interview questions like, "Why did you apply?", "What is your weakness?", "What is a leader, to you?", etc. It was just hands-on problem-solving, and test in how you present yourself. Are you respectable, confident, quick-thinking?

Interview Questions

Talk about a time in your life where X happened, or you did X.

View Answers (1)

Negotiation Details

I did not attempt to negotiate it.

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

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

Decipher and do all possible calculations on a Waterfall graph

Answer Question

Was shown a video and asked to suggest improvements

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took a day)

1st Round: Problem Solving Test - hard but there's quite a low pass mark.

2nd Round: Two 1:1, one hour interviews in their London offices. Both were predominantly about a case study with about 20 minutes on a specific experience you had that demonstrated leadership and a time when I was challenged.

Heard back two days after interview. Feedback provided by phone a week later.

Final Round: Overnight stay in a hotel with interviews the next morning. three 1:1 one hour interviews with a similar structure as before.

Feedback provided on the phone a week later at the same time as hearing back.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time you were challenged

Answer Question

Tell me about a time you lead a team

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

5.0

Very Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2011 in City of London, England (United Kingdom) (took 4 weeks)

Very professional. First round consisted of two 1:1 interviews and each interview followed exactly the format the recruiters specified: Personal Experience conversation followed by one case study. The consultants and HR staff with whom I conversed were friendly, nice and easy to get along with. Prior to the First Round interview, candidates must take the Problem Solving Test, which consists of 26 multiple-choice questions that must be answered within one hour.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time you had to lead a team and you were challenged.

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Aug 2011 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took a day)

Two 1-hr Interview with consultants. After the meet and greet section, I was asked about my biography (ie past leadership experience, strength/weakness). Then I had 20-25min to analyze a case.

Interview Questions

Math questions on the spot

View Answers (1)

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

5.0

Very Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2009 in City of London, England (United Kingdom) (took 2 days)

I think it's quite easy to get the PST offer. And the PST didn't get rid of much of the candidates. The real difficulty is the interviews. I didn't get through to the third round, I got the feedback that I am too personalized about all the achievements and didn't give enough credits to other workers. It's a very good point and the experience is fascinating.

Interview Questions

How do you address the conflicts that you had in your group?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jan 2010 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 7+ weeks)

CV and cover letter followed by 2 rounds of interviews

CV and cover letter is all about key words, keep it short

interviews are about showing that you are presentable

Negotiation Details

no negotiation possible

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Background Check.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Mar 2010 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 2+ weeks)

I applied online and got a call for Problem Solving test. I have heard that for most of people, the test is too long to complete in time. I was able to finish couple of minutes earlier. You have to know basic maths and be careful while reading the charts, figures etc. You might want to avoid reading the detail description about the company at the start of each case. I am waiting for next round now.

Interview Questions

Questions on the case, one was about purchase power parity

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of an IQ/Intelligence Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2009 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 2 days)

This is a review for a BA problem-solving test and first-round interview. I passed the interviews and am now waiting for the final round one. I was interviewed in London.

The problem solving test was slightly harder than the example available on the website, but as long as you can estimate fast, know basic business stuff ("I didn't know what the formula for "profit" was! --> actual applicant...) and can do arithmetic decently you'll manage.

Interview itself very professionally organised - McKinsey London has the best corp HR I've ever dealt with: invited to interview 48 hrs after test, and once there everything was just perfect. They even pretend to care about you.

Was given a print briefing on the person interviewing me and off we went. First interview with a young American who clearly hadn't had enough sleep. He did his best to stay awake through the slog of the case study, but it went well. For the personal bit he was much more awake and I did my best to impress.

Second interview was also someone from a different office, more senior. More methodical, with a more numerate case study with which I felt I wasn't impressing at all, but apparently I thought wrong. He seemed much more at ease in the company and told me a bit about his projects after the whole scripted thing had finished.

When preparing for case studies, try to understand McK culture and then do it as methodically as they would. Sorted.

Currently pondering if I'll accept an offer from them. They really do seem to make you into a machine. But then, maybe that's good?

Interview Questions

Neither difficult nor unexpected, it all went like clockwork. But I guess... "Tell me about a time when you had a problem with someone in your team and what you did to resolve it."

View Answers (1)

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Nov 2009 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took a day)

Background review followed by question around one of their 3 competencies. Detailed probing around the example experience given. Followed by case study on the telecoms industry in a sub saharan country. Finished off with an arithmetic problem. Then repeated. First interview with associate, second interview with senior consultant.