Do McKinsey case interviews vary by industry?

Hey there, 

The topics and content of McKinsey cases will vary based on whichever interviewer you get, and obviously this is completely out of your control. Each interviewer will pick a main case and some back-up ones, and the recruiting team will assign you to interviewers based on availability of whichever interviewers at the time. 

The only thing the recruiting team will do is make sure that you are not assigned interviewers that will give you the same case but they may not necessarily ensure that you get cases on a specific topic. That said, for Digital expertise roles, they do have a different set of cases and specific interviewers for that to test technical digital aspects more deeply. 

So you are likely to get a varied selection of topics for your case.

Remember, McKinsey's case philosophy is designed to test problem solving ability, so this goes to how you think and approach problems across range of industries and functions

All the best!

Hi there,

The core structure of McKinsey case interviews remains the same across roles and industries. Whether you're applying for a general Business Analyst position or one focused on Manufacturing & Supply Chain, the interview will test your problem-solving skills, logical thinking, and ability to communicate structured solutions.

That said, the content of the case might vary slightly to align with the role. For a Manufacturing & Supply Chain position, you may encounter cases that touch on operations, logistics, or efficiency improvements. However, you don’t need to be an industry expert - McKinsey evaluates your ability to analyze unfamiliar problems using a structured approach, not your prior knowledge.

Focus on mastering the case process itself, and don’t hesitate to review a few manufacturing or operations-related cases to build confidence for role-specific nuances. Let me know if you’d like any additional tips!

Best,
Oumar

Normally no. Cases are assigned to interviewers, and interviewers are assigned to you based on availability. If you belong to a practice, it’s common for someone from the practice to interview you. You might encounter a supply chain case, but it’s not guaranteed.

In any case, the case dynamics remain the same regardless of the industry.

Best,

Alberto

Hi there,

Q: Would the case interview portion of a McKinsey interview be different for Manufacturing & Supply Chain position vs. a regular Business Analyst position?

Not in its key components (e.g. structuring, graph analysis, math), however you will have a higher likelihood to get a case related to the practice (not guaranteed though).

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

No - they will be exactly the same.

The interviews are highly standardized and what is evaluated is problem-solving (among other things), not domain-specific expertise.

For more details, have a read: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

Let's break it down below as well:

1. The difference between a McKinsey case and a non-McKinsey case first and foremost lies in the interviewer-led format as you are aware. Every case you have in this case book can be asked from an interviewer-led perspective.

In the McKinsey interview you will have to answer three different questions types - broadly speaking:

• Structuring
• Exhibit Interpretation
• Math

While in candidate-led cases, they should arise naturally when you drill down into your structure, in McKinsey interviews, the interviewer will bring them up in succession.

2. The second big difference lies in the nature of questions asked at McKinsey. At the core, McKinsey wants to see creative ideas communicated in a structured manner, the more exhaustive the better.

As a result, McKinsey cases will usually be very creative in nature and not something that can be solved by looking at industry frameworks or industry trends.

Be aware that frameworks were applicable in the 2000 years, the era of Victor Cheng and Case in Point. McK has long caught up on this and the cases you will get during the interviews are tailored in a way to test your creativity and ability to generate insights, not remember specific frameworks.

3. The third big difference is how to answer the questions in a McKinsey interview. Since the interviewer guides you from question to question, you need to be in the driver's seat for each question and treat each almost like a mini case in itself.

Your goal should be to come up with a tailored and creative answer that fits the question. The framework should - broadly speaking - follow these three characteristics:

• Broad
• Deep
• Insightful

The firm wants to see exhaustive and creative approaches to specific problems, which more often than not do not fit into the classic case interview frameworks (or can be derived from industry drivers and trends) that were en vogue 10 years ago...

Again, this only applies if everything you say

• adds value to the problem analysis
• is MECE
• is well qualified
• includes a detailed discussion of your hypotheses at the end

As a result, you can spend several minutes, guiding the interviewer through your structure!

Now for Structure and Exhibit Interpretation, there is also no right or wrong answer. Some answers are better than others because they are

• deep
• broad
• insightful
• hypothesis-driven
• follow a strong communication (MECE, top-down, signposted)

That being said, there is no 100% that you can reach or the one-and-only solution/ answer. It is important that your answers display the characteristics specified above and supported well with arguments.

As for Math questions, usually, there are answers which are correct (not always 100% the same since some candidates simplify or round differently - which is ok), and others that are wrong, either due to the

• calculation approach
• calculation itself

The difference in format and way of answering a question is the reason why I recommend preparing very differently for McK interviews vs. other consultancies.

Now that you know about

• the different format
• the different question types and case briefs
• the ways to answer the questions

you can start using the cases you already have and approach them in a McKinsey-specific way. 

If you have any more questions, please feel free to reach out for some free guidance on how to come up with your own McKinsey-type cases on the spot.

Also, check out this answer I wrote on how the cases McKinsey posts online are comparable to the actual interviews: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/are-mckinsey-website-practice-cases-representative-for-what-will-come-10002

Cheers,

Florian