McKinsey & Company Management Consultant Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated Jan 6, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 6 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 6 ratings
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| 1–6 of 6 McKinsey & Company Interviews | Sort by |
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Jan 6, 2012
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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 Oct 2011 (took 4 weeks)
First screen interview was great! Very cordial recruiter and very professional. The second round "case study" interview was bizarre. I was spot on with my quantitative analysis and other aspects of the case study. However, the interviewer played the "break him down" down game with me. As a former attorney I was not easily thrown off by the interviewer's attempts to get under my skin. And the more calm I remained, the more abrasive the interviewer became. Needless to say, despite my accuracy and professional demeanor, it was a no go according to her. Can't say I am terribly disappointed.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Oct 30, 2011
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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 (took 4 weeks)
Day 0: Attend campus recruiting session. Submit application to APD program (Advance Professional Degree- ie everything above a bachelors but not MBA).
Day 7(ish): Show up to local McKinsey office and take written test. 40-some questions in 40 minutes. All are case-based, lots of reading, no one ever finishes the whole thing. Then do three "practice" cases in teams of four with different consultants.
Day 8-9: Hear back and schedule 2nd round. Get contacted by "buddy" who answers question on process and lifestyle.
Day 12: Get contacted by partner in Cleveland office, get asked to consider putting Cleveland as top pick (hint, hint: it'll make you more likely to get an offer).
Day 13: Put San Francisco as top offer. Attend case workshop on campus.
Day 18(or so): 2nd round interview in local office. 3-4 case interviews 1-on-1 with different consultants/associates. Great conversation, interesting people.
Day 18-19: Hear back and schedule 3rd round in San Francisco.
Day 30?: Fly to SF, have dinner with non-interviewing consultants (most new and APD) in private room at restaurant. Everyone's friendly, helpful and encouraging.
Day 31(?): 3 1-on-1 with associates and a partner. Flub third interview, make math interview in 2nd one, nail 1st one. Lunch with other candidates (half are really cool and nice, half are giant tools).
Day 32: Fly home, get a bad call.
Overall I was impressed with the professionalism and courtesy shown to me at every stage. Frankly, as my first real interview I had no expectations of advancing and was happy to get a free trip to San Francisco, talk to some smart people, and learn a lot about business. Throw in the invaluable interview-mentoring (that helped me nail my interviews at a competing firm) and I see no downside to at least applying.
A few things stood out, especially after interviewing elsewhere. First, the almost OCD attention to detail. In an actual case, there's getting things right and there's getting things precise. McK has a reputation for automatically knocking candidates that make a quant error oof any magnitude. In my case, maybe it was enough (I multiplied by 2/3 instead of 3/2); but ultimately other firms are more concerned about seeing the nature of the problem and coming up with creative solutions. I clearly was good at math in all my other interviews, but that one mistake cost me. When the interviewer called to relay the bad news, he told me the vote was 2-to-1 for but that the math error cost me the spot, then he said it was a ridiculous reason to not hire me.
Second, the endless march of bureaucracy in hiring. I mean look at that schedule. An in-office test, practice sessions, three rounds of interviews. It takes a ton of time and puts some strain on you while waiting/prepping. McK needs to work on streamlining their process: at my current firm students take the test online, do the first round within a week, and then three days later do an in-office final with a decision by that night. Maybe it's the cache of McK, but for a firm in the business of finding efficiency, the process could use some.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Jun 6, 2010
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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 Oct 2009 (took a day)
The interview process was enjoyable. The consultants were friendly, professional, however, I do not think they were particularly looking to hire at the time. The office seemed to be in the midst of several transitions at that time, and so perhaps staff recruitment was not high on the priorities. The consultants and I connected afterward and they are very nice people.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Dec 30, 2009
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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 Nov 2007 (took 4+ weeks)
McKinsey's interview process is well structured and in general consists of multiple rounds of phone and 1:1 interviews. Non-MBA campus recruiting also involves a written test (multiple choice) that tests candidates' general business understanding and analytical skills. 1st round of 1:1 interviews are either on campus or in a McKinsey office that's close to the candidate's location. 2nd/final round interviews are with the specific offices that candidates are interested in joining. Each round of interviews involves 3-4 half-hour interviews with consultants at various tenure (more likely with partners in 2nd round). Typical 1:1 interview has 3 components: experience, case, and Q&A. There are plenty of information on McKinsey's website and other job boards about how to prepare for case interviews.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Offers are rarely negotiable.
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted Nov 3, 2009
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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 Oct 2007 (took 2 days)
- Resume screening process: need to come from target school with at least 3.5 GPA.
A good resume should highlight academic achievement, professional achievement, and leadership with roughly equal weight
- Pre-selection process: 60 minute written test consisting of roughly 30 questions of both reasoning, and quantitative skills in the form of business case. Very time constrained, a bit more difficult in terms of analysis than GRE or GMAT.
- First round: two case interviews with questions ranging from government turnaround and a company losing profits
Structure of these case interviews is: 45 min each.
first 15 minutes spent on behavioral/fit/leadership questions.
- 2nd round: three case interviews, with more or less the same structure
Then offer came two days later.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
Posted May 14, 2009
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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 Jan 2007 in San Francisco, CA (took 2 weeks)
Multiple rounds of case-based interviews. Each round was comprised of 2-5 one-on-one interviews with current McKinsey consultants, and each interview consisted of both fit/culture and business case questions.
With only a few exceptions, the case questions were based on actual client projects the consultants worked on. The cases ranged from telecom CRM strategy to ERP implementation valuation; all were tough in that the interviewers asked penetrating questions.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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