McKinsey : extra interview after my final interview

Question

Hi,

I’ve applied for experienced hire at McKinsey and took my ”final“ interview with a senior partner last week.

And this week I got a call from McK that there will be 30-min extra interview without case.

I thought that last interview would be final and a bit confused now - Why does McK want to have another interview and how should I prepare?

Answer 1

Hi Maynard,

Q: This week I got a call from McK that there will be 30-min extra interview without case. Why does McK want to have another interview and how should I prepare?

It depends on the reason why they asked for the extra round. Usually, this happens in two cases:

They are unsure about your performance in the final, and they want you to do an extra interview to cover possible doubts.
For specific roles, they might want you to have a chat with the person leading the division.

It seems your case might be #1, but just to cover the fit/PEI part, so I would prepare for that.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

it could be that they want to further explore a dimension that the previous interviewer didn't feel like he/she got enough insights on. It could also be driven by internal politics that the ultimate offer decision should not only be based on one partner's assessment.

Overall it's more positive than negative I would say. Because if they had massive doubts after the initial final round, they probably would have rather rejected your application than spend extra resources on your interview process.

Make sure you research what your remaining interview partner is working on and if they recently published any articles or white papers. That's usually stuff they like to talk about if the interview is not intended to have a case component.

Fingers crossed

Answer 3

Hi Maynard,

They like you!

They want to double-check that they should hire you. They want to hire you…(or else they wouldn't spend this time).

This is likely to be a chat with a senior partner, and should mostly be behavioral (talking through your background, experience, motivation, etc.)

You got this - almost there!

Answer 4

Hi,

It means that they want to check a specific doubt they have or maybe they want you to meet the partner in charge of the product line you're joining.

Just stay concentrated,

Cheers,

Alexandre

Answer 5

Hi there,

Congrats on passing the 2 rounds!

Happened to me as well, they just wanted to make sure all leadership was aligned and on-board. I received the offer few days later from the last partner I had spoken to :)

Good luck!

Aude Augias

Answer 6

Hi Maynard!

You're a borderline candidate.

This happens when they are not fully certain whether to give a candidate an offer or not and then they organise an additional round.

The main thing you should focus on until then is to work on the feedback provided after the previous rounds.

The good news though is that from all the borderline cases that I've seen, most of them convert into an offer.

Good luck!
Cristian

———————————————

Practicing for interviews? Check out my latest case based on a first-round MBB interview >>> CodeWave

Answer 7

Hi there,

This usually happens when they have some doubts about your interview performance in any dimension.

You can check how the recruiting process works from an internal MBB perspective here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mbb-hiring-hacks-behind-the-curtain-secrets

Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

Answer 8

Hi there, 1) I’ve picked one of the earliest dates for McKinsey’s first round interviews and was wondering how long I... (read entire answer)

Hi there, 1) I’ve picked one of the earliest dates for McKinsey’s first round interviews and was wondering how long I’ll have to wait to hear back to see whether I’ve got to the... (read entire answer)

Answer 9

Hi there, No news is not good news…good news (interview) is good news. No news is simply just that - no news! In gene... (read entire answer)

Hi there, No news is not good news…good news (interview) is good news. No news is simply just that - no news! In general, the longer the wait time, the lower the odds, BUT 2 wee... (read entire answer)

Answer 10

Hi there, First, remember that you might not have control over scheduling. For the most part, they get to decide when... (read entire answer)

Hi there, First, remember that you might not have control over scheduling. For the most part, they get to decide when they take place. Ultimately, I would apply (or have applied... (read entire answer)