I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Gurgaon, Haryana) in Dec 2008
Interview
Two interviews. On-campus interviews. Both were taken by senior partners/directors.
First interview was 40 minutes long - 25 minutes resume/background based questions and 15 minutes of a case study. I was grilled on my resume -quizzed on every achievement, bullet point, internship. Then there were the standard questions - why consulting, why mckinsey, which office.
Second interview was similar - case was from the interviewer's personal experience with a client.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Case study question - it wasn't a real case. i was asked to comment on the future of pharma industry in india since i had done a project on pharma. i was asked to structure how the industry is - big and small firms, big pharma and generic makers, where they are in the value chain etc. Pretty high level. The interviewer would interrupt me several times to challenge what i was saying/defend my position
Gave assessment. Waiting 1st round. But, here the assessment and resume are scored together to reach next round. Might take 1-3 weeks for invite. Assessment has only 20% - 30% weightage.
The recruiter was great! 2 rounds of 5 interviews, first was 2 associates, second was 3 partners. My first round, the interviewers spoke absolutely broken English and made it extremely difficult to understand what they are trying to say. My second interviewer was extremely rude as well. Honestly comes down to who interviews you and the case selection that will determine your fate
I interviewed at McKinsey & Company (San Francisco, CA)
Interview
Interview was a straightforward case study, and a McKinsey-specific Personal Experience Interview. This was difficult but I was able to prepare, so it was not too challenging after preparation. The team was very kind throughout the process and I was able to request information on the interview style ahead of time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a challenge and how you overcame it?