5 days left - McKinsey Interviews

Hi,

I completely understand your situation. This may not be what you want to hear, but there are no “cheat codes” that will solve these issues with no effort. However, if over the next 5 days you have time to invest in your preparation, you can still improve significantly.

Given the short timeline, I would recommend doing one coaching session as soon as possible with an experienced coach (I know I am biased on this, but I honestly think this is the best ROI decision you can make). A targeted session could diagnose these four issues, give you specific techniques, and translate them into focused drills for the remaining days.

A few practical suggestions:

1. Frameworks: Start from the specific question the client wants to answer. Ask yourself what must be true for the client to achieve the objective, then organize those drivers into three or four distinct areas. Focus on being relevant and logically sound rather than forcing a perfectly MECE framework.
2. Preparation time: One or two minutes is normally enough to create the initial structure, provided you are not trying to make it exhaustive. Write the objective first, identify the main drivers, and add only the most important subpoints. You can refine the structure as you learn more.
3. Exhibits: Ask for approximately 30-60 seconds to review the exhibit. Then communicate the main takeaway first, support it with the most relevant evidence, and explain the implication for the case.
4. Math: Before using the numbers, clearly define what you need to calculate and write the equation in words. Break the answer into intermediate outputs, keep track of units, and only then perform the calculations.

Best,
Franco

Hi there,

With only 2-3 days left, I would focus less on learning more frameworks and more on targeted drills. These are four tips I often recommend to candidates facing exactly these issues:

1. Frameworks. Reverse-engineer cases you have already solved.
Take a case you already know and look only at the initial question and the final recommendation. Then ask yourself: “What would I have needed to analyse to logically get from A to B?” Build the structure from there and only afterwards compare it with the actual case. It is a great way to train first-principles structuring without relying on memorised frameworks.

2. Speed. Force yourself to structure the same prompt three different ways.
Take one case prompt and build three different valid structures for it. The objective is not to find three perfect answers, but to train your brain to see that there is rarely only one “correct” framework. Over time, this makes structuring much more natural and faster because you stop searching for the framework the interviewer supposedly has in mind.

3. Exhibits. Use the 1–1–1 rule.
Before you start speaking, make sure you have: 1 key insight, 1 number that proves it, and 1 implication for the case. This prevents you from simply describing the chart and forces you to turn data into a business conclusion.

4. Math. Use dimensional analysis.
If calculation itself is not the problem but setting up the equation is, start with the unit of the answer you need and work backwards. For example, if you need revenue in €, think about which units multiply into €: customers × purchases/customer × €/purchase. This is a very simple way to derive the logic instead of trying to remember formulas.

Best,
Carlos

Hey there :)

With 5 days left, I’d focus less on memorizing frameworks and more on practicing the thinking process. There is no real “cheat code” for frameworks, but you can train yourself to start with the objective, then ask yourself what 3 to 4 questions you would need to answer to solve it. MECE comes naturally with repetition.

For exhibits, it is completely fine to take 30 to 60 seconds to structure your thoughts, especially if the chart is complex. For math, always start by clarifying exactly what you are trying to calculate, then work backwards from the required output and identify the inputs you need. This is much easier than trying to remember formulas.

With only five days, I’d prioritize live cases and specifically tell your partners to challenge you on frameworks and math setup. I’m happy to help if you want to work through these together!

best, Alessa :)

HI there,

seems like you are thinking quite mechanically about solving cases. 

Regarding your questions: 

Ad structure) Do not try to "find" the right framework. But start actively thinking and drawing a structure based on what was prompted. Then the pieces should fall into place and you can add sub-bullets based on the concepts you have learned before. 

Ad exhibits) Start by describing them top down: What do you see, which time frame, etc plus 2x key observations (e.g. outliers, etc.). Then state that you will take 20-30s to think about the exhibit and make clear, what you will think about, e.g. "I want to pick the best metric to compare those companies" 

Ad Maths) Again, start by describing what you want to achieve and what figure is a good proxy to assess / compare / analzye. Then dissect this figure into its components, e.g. say "to see the profitability decline over time I will need to subtract the revenue and costs over the last 5 years. To do so, I first need to multiply the same volumes with the prices for each respective year". 

Good luck!  

Hi there,

I'm going to be direct: this is not a good position to be in five days before a McKinsey interview. Proper preparation generally takes two to three months. If you've only done a few live cases and are still asking this level of beginner question about frameworks, exhibits, and math setup, you are behind. Solo cases do not count as live case practice.

You need professional help ASAP.

For frameworks, you need to think about the problem on its own, independent of rigid frameworks you've seen before. Try to approach the problem like it's a real project and you are creating the project plan, or like it's an essay and you're figuring out your key paragraphs.

Your framework needs to show good critical thinking ability, good structure, and a clear approach to solving the problem. It does not need to match the case!

You should aim for 1 to 2 minutes.

Now, you may be worried about not having enough depth, but here's a tip: the third or fourth layer doesn't matter as much as you think! Keep your skeleton in place and have the why and how of your framework, but voice over the rest. There's no need to write down every. Single. Word!

For exhibits:

1. Summarize the exhibit in your own words
2. Ask for a moment to interpret it if you need it
3. When you speak again, lead with the insights

Graph interpretation tips:

1. Read the title and understand it
2. Read the legends and understand them
3. Remind yourself of the objective or hypothesis in the case to see where this might fit
4. Find the differences. Where does the line graph plummet or spike? Which column is much smaller or bigger than the others? Where does change occur? The differences are what matter
5. Talk out loud while interpreting. First, it helps you think and process your thoughts. Second, it lets the interviewer provide guidance and course correct if needed

For math:

1. Have a separate math scrap sheet of paper
2. Grab a new sheet of paper every time you're entering a new phase of the case, then number and title it
3. Use tables to organize numbers
4. Write out the equation before doing the math
5. Never forget to write down units
6. Circle key numbers AND write down the “so what”

Based on what you've posted, I recommend two things.

First, book a coaching session immediately. You need someone to diagnose these issues in real time and give you targeted drills for the few days you have left.

Second, get the Full Interview Mastery Bundle so you have a comprehensive preparation system rather than trying to patch these problems through solo cases.

Good luck!

Let me take your questions 1 by 1:

• I don‘t know how to come up with frameworks from scratch adjusted to the case, it does not feel natural to me, are there some „cheat codes“ to be always MECE and come up with the right buckets?
  • There aren't really cheat codes. Some candidates learn frameworks by heart, but that's not something I recommend because it often tends to lead to a rather mediocre answer. Ideally you are able to structure things in a fresh way that is tailored for that specific problem. In the same way you would approach a client conversation.
• Additionally, you have only 1-2 minutes after the interviewer introduces the case, how should you be able to think so fast about the right framework and write it down in such a short amount of time?
  • It's a question of practice and skill development. Indeed, you should take about 2 minutes and then be able to present your approach.
• When they present me an Exhibit, should I ask for a minute to structure my thoughts or should I start to talk straight after they show me the Exhibit?
  • I recommend you read the exhibit with the interviewer to get a sense of the sort of data it contains, ask clarifying questions if necessary (e.g., data labels are missing), then ask for thinking time, and then come back with 2-3 insights
• When it comes to Math questions I totally know how to calculate and don’t make mistakes but it’s sometimes very difficult to come up with the right formula or approach to structure my calculation, are there any ways to approach this issue?
  • That's good to hear. It's useful if you focus only on developing the approach first and then align with the interviewer before moving on to the computations. That enables you to have more clarity but also to focus on one element of the calculation question at a time. 

You might also want to consider doing a coaching session before your interview to get a sense of where you are and what are the 2-3 things that would make the biggest difference in your interviewer performance. 

The other point is for you to consider postponing the interview. 

Best,
Cristian
 

With five days left, keep it simple.

Do not try hard frameworks. Just split every problem into two easy buckets, like inside the company versus outside, or money versus operations.

When you get a chart, ask for 30 seconds to look at it quietly before you talk.

For math, always write your formula in simple words first, then plug in the numbers.

Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss this further.