Additional Interview after Final Round of McKinsey

Hey there,

These extra rounds are common

• if you demonstrated a couple of spikes in several dimensions, for instance, idea generation, structuring, chart interpretation, PEI, etc. (strong hiring recommendation)
• but did not cover enough ground in another dimension, for instance, in your case the quant section of the case (rejection)

Now there is a huge discrepancy between the two. Most candidates do not show enough spikes besides their weaknesses which makes such decisions easier. In your case, you really impressed the interviewers so they want to give you another chance on the area they could not agree on.

They want to see if your weaker areas are outliers or rather the rule so the partner conducting the interview will definitely drill down into those.

Prepare the following way:

1. Figure out what your weaknesses are
2. Actively work on them, go through case books and work on all the related problems you can find
3. Create an error log to see what types of questions you are struggling with the most, drill deeper into those
4. Work with a coach to make this more efficient and focused

Have a look at my McKinsey specific tutorials on the case and PEI:

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian

Hi Ken, 

Congrats on getting this far!

Yes, this happens sometimes, though not that often. 

Most often it happens with borderline candidates where they feel like they cannot yet make a decision based on what they saw. So they create an ‘extra’ round. 

For this one, make sure you reflect on the feedback provided during the previous rounds, improve on it and display it at your best during the final round. 

Best of luck!
Cristian

Hi Ken,

This is not common but it's also certainly not unheard of.

You should continue to improve your casing/fit. If they have identified any weak areas, you need to address these.

Some reading for casing: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

Some reading for fit: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Good luck!

Hi Ken,

It is not common but could happen in two situations:

1. They are unsure about your performance in the final and they want you do an extra interview. In this case, you should expect the usual structure (PEI + Case)
2. For specific roles: they may want you to have a chat with the person leading the division. This may not involve a case

If they haven’t mentioned details on the person, most likely is 1).

To prepare: I would ask HR if they have any feedback on the last round. If there is any improvement area they should mention it. The rest should be good. Even if you are in case 1), you were very close to the offer already.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Extra reading:

▶ PEI Dimensions

▶ McKinsey Final Round Prep Tips

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello Ken 

As mentioned by Ian and Francesco, this is not uncommon and typically arises when all the interviewers were not 100% aligned about your candidature. 

The best thing to do is: make sure you understand and internalize the feedback from that round. Since they were on the fence about you, this means there must have been some developmental feedback that prevented you from scoring passing marks outright. Make sure to talk to your recruiter and/or the McKinsey colleague who gave you the feedback for that round and address it! They will pay special attention to just that dimension in your extra interview.

If you want to practice with someone who was a second round interviewer dozens of times for McKinsey, please do reach out to me.

Good luck for your final interview! 

Stan

Hello!

Don´t worry, this is a rather common happening. 

This means that they couldn´t reach an agreement: most likely you had people who were inclined and people who weren´t, so they want a 3rd opinion. 

Best course of action would be to ask them for feedback, to be able to focus on that piece. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara