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McKinsey & Company Summer Associate Interview Questions & Reviews

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Updated Mar 21, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 15 ratings

3.9

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 15 ratings

Positive	73%
Neutral	27%
Negative	0%

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4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Mar 2008 in Atlanta, GA (took 2 months)

First round test a la GMAT followed by group case "discussion" (don't be fooled you are being rated)
Second round : three interviews : part case, part behavioral : relatively easy if you're any good.
Third round : three interviews : part case, part behavioral : It gets tougher.
Final round : four interviews, 4 hrs straight. Five to ten minutes in between interviews so stack up on the carbs before hand. I was on a roll but burned out in hour 3 and that was the end of me.
It was a very positive experience overall. They provided a mentor who called me once a week for case practice.

Interview Questions

Describe a situation where you successful resolved a team conflict.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and an IQ/Intelligence Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Feb 2010 (took 1+ week)

You are asked to go into the nearest MckInsey office to take a written test when you are granted an interview. After that you are schedule to interview and go over two cases, fairly standard.

The cases are not too difficult. They have some numbers and qualitative factors. If you practice enough you should be good!

Interview Questions

Describe how you work in a team

Answer Question

Other Details

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

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Feb 2010 in New York, NY (took a day)

I applied for McKinsey through the university career site. They responded to me fairly quickly with an offer for a first-round interview, which consisted of 2 45-minute long interviews and a written test. The written test was awful, but it must not have mattered very much. It's still unclear to me what they were trying to get at with it. If you have to take one, I would use the one on their website as practice to know what to expect, but don't put too much pressure on yourself for it.

Unlike BCG, McKinsey cases are very straightforward--at least, for first round. There were fairly obvious questions and answers in my case. The interviewers picked one thing off my resume for the fit part of the interview and really delved deep into it, probing for my thought process in a particular example story I told (I assume it's also to make sure I'm not fabricating the story in any way).

Second round was in the office and had three interviews. The office is great and the recruiters are very nice. I also like that they give you bios of interviewers so you know their background. The cases this time were less obvious, more vague, and I think they were really looking for though process and making sure you are able to consider a variety of factors, rather than your ability to solve a straightforward problem. The fit part was like the last one--very specific, very detailed. My interviewers were all incredibly friendly and I loved the atmosphere there. It was professional and also felt very cohesive.

My advice would be to have stories in mind for difficulties in anything you list on your resume, and also to really engage the interviewers in a conversation, rather than just giving them a spiel.

Interview Questions

(In talking about a time when I had to persuade team members to take a course of action they didn't want to) "So what was that conversation like? What exactly did you say, and what did they say in response?"

Answer Question

Other Details

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

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jan 2010 (took 3 weeks)

Applied through on-campus recruitment process. First round interviews consisted of two one-on-one interviews that were part behavioral and part case. The cases were typical McKinsey - just like what you see on their website. Don't underestimate the behavioral portion, as there is supposedly equal weighting on the case and the personal experience parts. Be prepared to "deep dive" on the real life examples you share.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time where you disagreed with someone and were able to convince her or him of your position.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Feb 2009 in Atlanta, GA (took a day)

Three rounds of interviews, including one by a partner. The cases seemed quite straightforward - fairly manageable numbers and structure. Seemed like the interviewers were looking for very specific answers to match their checklist of "approved responses"... but maybe that's just my imagination. The partner gave an older case, clearly one that he had used for several years and was quite familiar with.