McKinsey Solve RedRock Study

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about the poor experience with McKinsey!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, unfortunately, it seems that new games and features of the McKinsey Solve are implemented too early often times, leading to situations like yours. Several coachees of mine have reported similar issues with the Red Rock study.
• Moreover, while you might provide feedback to McKinsey at the end of the application process, I would highly advise you to assess whether this would be helpful for you and whether critical feedback on the McKinsey Solve would always be received positively.
• Lastly, if you feel the Red Rock game in your specific situation was so heavily flawed that it impacted your performance, you might still consider being open and honest about your situation, which could potentially give you another chance to complete the pre-interview assessment.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

1) Did you all get the following? Ecosystem game, RedRock study

Starting from March 2023, all candidates I heard from had these two games. This is a change compared to the past as McKinsey was using Plant Defense instead. Additionally, the Redrock Study now includes 4 sections, the last one made by 10 cases, which was not present before.

2) Was I the only one who really felt that the RedRock study is yet to be developed / finalised?

Yes, the candidates that I helped got the same feeling. Also, for some the game crashed and they needed to retake it.

Some of the reasons why the game feels buggy actually can provide an advantage if you know a few tips in advance.

For those who want to know more about the new Redrock format, I just updated the Imbellus Solve Combo with 8 new videos on that as well, including all 4 new Redrock sections (they are already part of the package - the description will be updated soon). You can find the updated version below:

▶ McKinsey Solve Game Video Simulation

Best,

Francesco

Hi there, 

I've heard other candidates say the same thing. 

Once the recruitment process is finished, you could send them a quick email with the feedback. I wouldn't do so now, however. 

Hope the test went well!

And if you are still in the recruitment process with other firms, sharing with you here a guide on structuring - How to structure and answer brainstorming questions

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

I have been interviewing 6 people in the last two weeks who were going through the Ecosystem/RedRock combination.

While last year since September, only around 5% of the buyers of my Solve Game Guide had to take the assessment, I have seen an uptick in reports since the end Feb/early March.

Essentially, there are three main points:

1. The game is buggy, some even had several crashes and had to re-do it, going through the Imbellus support. The update apparently made also the Ecosystem UX more unstable.
2. The game got extended and on top of the Investigation/Analysis/Presentation stages, you now also have a quantitative reasoning part with 10 questions at the end (all to be solved in 25 minutes). This marks a clear departure from the gamified logic of the PSG.
3. The way the game was developed was always with live updates for candidates, yet new additions initially were never graded until they ironed out the details and did their cross-testing. I expect this to be the case here as well especially since it is still super buggy.

I have asked all my clients to reach out to HR and provide feedback right away. You do not want to have a bad testing experience ruin your chances and then give feedback after it is too late.

All the best and fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi guys,

I just completed the Ecosystem and Redrock game as well.

While Redrock didn't crash in my case, I still feel like the game mechanics are weird and distracting from the actual task. You are asked to use an on-screen calculator to compute your answers which are then saved in the game. This however makes it very hard to keep an overview of your numbers and how you got there, as you have to re-use some of them later in the game.

So I'm thinking if I had to take the test again, I might just do my calculations on paper in a nice and visually organized way, and just type in my final answers.

Any thoughts from others?

Hi there,

Yes, I am also hearing this!

I have a hunch that the RedRock study is not yet being used an assessment/filter but is rather being trailed in A/B testing.

Much like the initial Imbellus games were.

This is a hunch and I have not verified that. But, at the least, rest assured that if everyone else is struggling then you likely did not have to do “perfectly” in order to pass.