McKinsey 2nd Round - Experienced Hire

Question

Hi All,

I applied to McKinsey as an experienced hire and I'm presently preparing for a 2nd round interview. My 1st round interview was over the phone but my 2nd round will be at a U.S. office. I have read that the McKinsey 2nd round interview could be more of a candidate-led format. For instance, I may be expected to initiate the creation of a framework before the 1st question is asked.

1. Can anyone shed more light on the format of the on-site 2nd/3rd round interviews at McKinsey?

2. I'm also open to experienced case partners who would like to practice McKinsey style interviews. Feel free to reach out to me at bashir.elabor@gmail.com.

Answer 1

Hi Bashir,

It greatly depends on with whom are you having an interview.

Engagement managers (1st round interviews if you think of phone interview as round 0) generally use Mck casebooks and normaly make interviewer-led interviews. In this case they ask you a) To make a structure (issue tree) b) to drill down in some branch of your structure and calculate something. Or they may even ask to analyze smth unrelated to the structure c) question on creativity (e,g, list 10 ways to increase revenues). However you should be ready for both type of interviews at this point
Partners and directors have their own favorite cases and mainly want you to lead. The key difference:

You ask clarifying questions in the beginning and make a structure
You lead the case through the structure you've prepared a) asking questions and trying to identify the root-cause of the problem in the branch of your structure b) making a transition to the next branch c) proactively calculating the data and making data-driven conclusion from the data they give you d) Making a conclusion when they ask you to finish a case

It may seem for you that these 2 types of cases are diferent, however the interviewer-led type is just a simplified version of the interviewee-led case. My advice is to always prepare in interviewee-led format so that you could solve both easily.

Answer 2

Hello!

Congrats for moving to final round!

As it has been outlined, its very similar, but :

Cases you can expect are more "free riding" - less organized than the ones your found in the 1st round or most prep pages
Stronger emphasis in the FIT part, as outlined before by other coaches.

If you are interested in deepening your knowledge and preparation on the FIT part, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

- Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200

- Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

- Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!

Answer 3

Dear Bashir!

Here is a fresh real-live MBB Case, which I think can be helpful for you. Its for Advanced level/the real one and used for final rounds:
Non-Profit Museum Revenue Increase
https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/interviewer-led-mckinsey-style/advanced/mbb-final-round-case-non-profit-museum-revenue-increase-219

Have you tried to solve it and would you like to practice it together?
What do you think - do you have any questions?

Cheers,
Gaurav