Just Completed McKinsey Solve

Question

Hello all,

I just wrapped up McKinsey solve. I have 3 questions:

1.) For the Ecosystem game, I had made a slight error in an animal I selected initially.

I had enough time to draw the tree and catch what I believe the mistake was and ultimately swapped in a new animal that (with the last bit of time) I was able to be fairly confident made the tree sustainable.

At the end I received a popup with three check marks next the tasks that were something along the lines of: 1.) Select animals 2.) Select Location 3.) Submit

Does this mean I generated a sustainable ecosystem OR that I merely submitted something?

I understand that other factors are taken into account, but as someone who does very little gaming, I am just glad I was able to put in something.

2.) I made it to the case study portion of Redrock with a good chunk of time to answer the questions (~15 minutes), so I allocated time to answer every question.

Unfortunately, on the final question my screen lagged out and I was unable to work and was eventually moved to a loading screen, then transported back with just seconds remaining. Ultimately, I didn't answer that question.

I reached out to tech support and was told to message my recruiter. I did that. I also clarified the issue in the post-solve survey.

I know they may ding me for using the whole time, but I am okay with that if the tradeoff was being able to understand, respond and double check my answers. Do you think they will consider the technical issues?

I am not a fan of having to complain about things, but it seems like this year a lot of folks have commented on technical issues.

3.) In some of the questions during Redrock, the language was not very accurate with respect to what they wanted. Without revealing details, one question in the analysis asked for a difference between two values (which was negative), but the report clearly wanted a absolute value. I reported the absolute value in the report, and clarified the issue in the final comments.

Would this be noted?

Hopefully it all works out in the end, but I am just curious if anyone knows if they actually look at the comments and actually take that into consideration.

Answer 1

Hi there,

From the outside, it's always tricky to make definitive statements because

of the process score that we don't know about
you might have missed something in your self-assessment that could also impact your product score

However, your experience is extremely typical of people who go through the game. It just does not feel very finished or polished and comes with some bugs.

Regarding your questions:

That's only an indication that it has been submitted
Yes, they have to take that into account
Do you mean they asked for a positive value even though the difference was negative? Could be a bug, a calculation mistake, or a misunderstanding on your part.

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the progress in the application process with McKinsey thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

First of all, the completion message in the Ecosytem game simply means that you have finished the game.
Moreover, if you have followed the instructions of the technical support, I assume that they will take into account the technical problems.
Lastly, the Redrock study is unfortunately ambiguous here and there. However, your approach sounds sensible. Ultimately, no one knows if you will pass or fail, so I would highly advise you to just wait for the outcome.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming McKinsey interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 3

Since you reach out to technical support and followed their instructions, they should be taking this into account.

Answer 4

Hi there! Sorry to hear about this complication. Basically, the way it works in practice is that your first option o... (read entire answer)

Hi there! Sorry to hear about this complication. Basically, the way it works in practice is that your first option office is the one that receives your application, and they de... (read entire answer)

Answer 5

Hi there, Exciting times! You’ve ask a couple of good questions. Let me try to answer them together. At some po... (read entire answer)

Hi there, Exciting times! You’ve ask a couple of good questions. Let me try to answer them together. At some point, the firm needs to take N number of applicants and disti... (read entire answer)

Answer 6

Hi there, I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions: First of all, almost all major strategy consulting... (read entire answer)

Hi there, I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions: First of all, almost all major strategy consulting firms allow you to indicate your location preferences when... (read entire answer)