Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

Anat

on Jan 31, 2024

Global

solve – McKinney's assessment game excel templet

Hi all!

If someone cares to share with me kindly, I'm looking for a free Excel templet/s. My assessment is scheduled for 4 days from now and it's crucial for me to succeed this!

Please if anyone can help with free resources it will be amazing!

Thank you!

6 Answers

2.4k Views

108

Be the first to answer!

Nobody has responded to this question yet.

Top answer

Alberto

Coach

on Jan 31, 2024

Ex-McKinsey Partner | Most experienced coach (15 years exp, +2.000 real interviews) | 95% success rate

Hi Anat,

You can check out the amazing product Francesco has created to prepare the McKinsey assessment game here:

https://psgsecrets.com/

Best,

Alberto

—

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

Contact coach

Ian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

Hi Anat,

I would recommend the paid simulations! They'll get you much much further than a random excel template!

(So you know I'm not biased, I gain nothing from this advice)

Contact coach

Florian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 500+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hi there,

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any free Excel Solver for the Solve Game.

All the best with the McKinsey applications!

Cheers,

Florian

Contact coach

Cristian

Coach

on Jan 31, 2024

#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Anat,

with all due respect, excel templates (free or not) are not crucial to passing the Solve game. What matters more is whether you've been practising the core skills that will be tested later on in the interviews as well.

Best,

Cristian

Contact coach

5 comments

Florian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 500+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

A good Excel template + an underlying strategy allow you to pass the first game in 15-18 minutes instead of 28+ minutes. The skills that are tested in the Solve, especially the Ecosystem Game have very little in common with the tangible skills that are evaluated during the McK Case Interview...

Cristian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Florian, if McKinsey wanted candidates to solve the game with cheat sheets, they would have issued them themselves, not created a market opportunity for coaches to sell them.

Florian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 500+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Interesting train of thought there for several reasons. Last time I checked, McKinsey and any other consulting firm are not overly fond of professional case coaches and preparation either. Secondly, once you decided to become a coach, was it not your goal and responsibility to help your clients throughout the whole process? It seems a bit odd to help with cracking cases and PEI stories (which is arguably the same as helping with the Solve Game), yet not consider any other obstacle in the process for your clients. If you don't want to give candidates the best chance to get into the firms throughout the process, why even bother? Lastly, you make it seem like Excel Solvers are worthless when in fact they can reduce the time for the first game by almost 50% AND help people systematically check their answers. I wanted to counter that misinformation.

Cristian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

There are plenty of candidates who pass without Excel Solvers in the same way there are plenty of candidates who pass without coaching. The difference is that case and PEI coaching actually help candidates develop skills, whereas Excel Solvers do (part of) the job on their behalf without improving their skills (and to the disadvantage of other candidates who do not have these Excel Solvers). Helping candidates with the test should mean training them on the core skills they need to succeed in the game. Not giving them a template to shortcut the actual assessment.

Florian

Coach

on Feb 01, 2024

1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 500+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

1+3. That's a nonsensical statement. Using the same argument you could also say that some people do not need to prepare for case interviews because it is possible to pass without preparation (yes, there are about 0.01% of naturals who manage to do that). Just from the numbers: Having a solver plus a structured problem-solving technique that helps with the approach to the game leads to a higher success rate for candidates than without having these tools at your disposal. Same as for case interviews. Working with a good coach who provides you with the right tools and techniques gets you a much better outcome than without. 2. If you are training the core skills and a proper approach for the case and PEI/fit, what you are doing, in essence, is also working with a lot of shortcuts, tricks, and tools in problem-solving and storytelling that would not be available for someone who has not worked for a specific firm or in consulting at all. Ideally, you should know what the firms are looking for and you prepare your candidates accordingly. Providing them with a structured approach to the different elements of case and fit that focuses on the right content elements, thinking techniques, and delivery (based on tools such as the real evaluation criteria and real scoring sheets - again not available to the outside world) is no different than an Excel tool for a game that facilitates problem-solving. As for the game itself, even McKinsey is moving away from this type of assessment and getting back to the roots of the PST with the introduction of the Redrock game. The latter is something that can be prepared for since it focuses on data analysis and computations (same as a case interview). However, curious how you are preparing your clients for the eco game because there is a 70-80% rejection rate, and the skills for this game are too far removed from any skill-building efforts. You completely missed all three points of my rebuttal. I'll leave it at that...

Hagen

Coach

edited on Feb 01, 2024

#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | most experience in consulting, interviewing, and coaching

Hi Anat,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation from McKinsey!

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

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any free MS Excel tools.
However, I'd be more than happy to thoroughly prepare your for the upcoming McKinsey Solve pre-interview assessment.

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

Best,

Hagen

Contact coach

Pedro

Coach

on Mar 05, 2024

Bain | EY-Parthenon | Private Equity | Market Estimates | Fit Interview

There are no free resources that I am aware of. You need to use the paid templates.

Contact coach