Applying "4 commandments" to McKinsey interviewer led case

Question

Hi there,

An article on PrepLounge suggested the following way to tackle a case:

1) Listen & Clarify

2) Plan & hypothesise

3) Think & gather

4) Structure & Close

How do you do this if the interview is interviewer led (McKinsey?)

For example, see below case: a company in oil & gas has seen its profits decline.

Question 1: What factors may be contributing to the loss of profit? (brainstorming question)

Question 2: you're given two graphs (1 with oil price in market and 1 sales/cost of the departments) and are asked to analyse the causes of profit decline

Question 3: What can client to do increase profitability

These are different questions that are analysed at different moments in the “4 commandments” approach. How can I maintain structure in my analysis, evaluations and recommendations during an interviewer led case?

Answer 1

Hi there,

In McKinsey, the interviewer will guide you through these steps automatically.

1. Listen and clarify

That is the prompt. You deal with it like with a candidate led-case

2. Plan and hypothesize

The interviewer will ask you an initial question (usually to structure the case). You now create your initial framework that answers the interviewer's question.

3. Think and gather

This would refer to the different interviewer questions that might follow, i.e. exhibit interpretation, math, and brainstorming)

4. Structure and close

The recommendation is usually not part of a McKinsey interview. It just ends randomly.

To look at it from the perspective of your question, question 1 is the initial structuring question (plan and hypothesize), question 2 is an exhibit interpretation, and question 3 is a brainstorm (both would fall into the category of think and gather).

Don't worry so much about these steps as they are naturally occurring in an interviewer-led interview. Rather focus on the content you produce, the ideas you generate, and the clarity of your insights, analysis, and communication.

For more detail, read below:

McKinsey cases are a bit different and I would definitely stick to what you have seen in your mock interview with the firm. For more details, have a read https://preplounge.com/mckinsey-interview

Let's break it down below as well:

1. The difference between a McKinsey case and a non-McKinsey case first and foremost lies in the interviewer-led format as you are aware. Every case you have in this case book can be asked from an interviewer-led perspective.

In the McKinsey interview you will have to answer three different questions types - broadly speaking:

Structuring
Exhibit Interpretation
Math

While in candidate-led cases, they should arise naturally when you drill down into your structure, in McKinsey interviews, the interviewer will bring them up in succession.

2. The second big difference lies in the nature of questions asked at McKinsey. At the core, McKinsey wants to see creative ideas communicated in a structured manner, the more exhaustive the better.

As a result, McKinsey cases will usually be very creative in nature and not something that can be solved by looking at industry frameworks or industry trends.

Be aware that frameworks were applicable in the 2000 years, the era of Victor Cheng and Case in Point. McK has long caught up on this and the cases you will get during the interviews are tailored in a way to test your creativity and ability to generate insights, not remember specific frameworks.

3. The third big difference is how to answer the questions in a McKinsey interview. Since the interviewer guides you from question to question, you need to be in the driver's seat for each question and treat each almost like a mini case in itself.

Your goal should be to come up with a tailored and creative answer that fits the question. The framework should - broadly speaking - follow these three characteristics:

Broad
Deep
Insightful

The firm wants to see exhaustive and creative approaches to specific problems, which more often than not do not fit into the classic case interview frameworks (or can be derived from industry drivers and trends) that were en vogue 10 years ago...

Again, this only applies if everything you say

adds value to the problem analysis
is MECE
is well qualified
includes a detailed discussion of your hypotheses at the end

As a result, you can spend several minutes, guiding the interviewer through your structure!

Now for Structure and Exhibit Interpretation, there is also no right or wrong answer. Some answers are better than others because they are

deep
broad
insightful
hypothesis-driven
follow a strong communication (MECE, top-down, signposted)

That being said, there is no 100% that you can reach or the one-and-only solution/ answer. It is important that your answers display the characteristics specified above and supported well with arguments.

As for Math questions, usually, there are answers which are correct (not always 100% the same since some candidates simplify or round differently - which is ok), and others that are wrong, either due to the

calculation approach
calculation itself

The difference in format and way of answering a question is the reason why I recommend preparing differently for McK interviews vs. other consultancies.

Now that you know about

the different format
the different question types and case briefs
the ways to answer the questions

you can start using the cases you already have and approach them in a McKinsey-specific way.

Also, check out this answer I wrote on how the cases McKinsey posts online are comparable to the actual interviews: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/are-mckinsey-website-practice-cases-representative-for-what-will-come-10002

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi there,

the guidance is just a general path that can be used in all cases, but I sympathize with you, I also struggled to understand those guidance when preparing for interview.

What is the most important in the case is:

1. Listen the prompt: details and context are crucial here. Even 2 competitors with the same problem would have different solution given different context.

2. Understand what is the key question here (it is not the generic asked at the beginning, in you case profit) = what is the root cause you are fixing. Meaning oil and gas company has been declining profit, you need to understand if it is revenue (then price or volume, or specific account, etc.) or cost (which cost then) → 80% of candidate don't understand root cause, and they are in 99% suggesting completely off solution.

→ Trick here is you can ask: “Why client came to us TODAY?” Why they didn't come before? This usually open a lot of info for you

3. Once you have all the info and you know what are you solving for, take a moment and think how would you solve the case. You need to prioritize! you have 30 min for a case we solve in a few months with a team of people. Often candidates shoot a list of generic suggestion (often not understanding what is the real problem here). Focus on what is the problem (e.g. price has declined due to a new competitor → then address how you can grow price or increase volume, dont focus on cost etc.) .

4. Once you suggest your solution, you need to run numbers to convince the client = recruiter, that your solution could solve the problem (like a scenario)

5. once you have your analysis to back up you solution you are closing the case. In case your analysis doesn't back your solution, propose (briefly 30 sec) what would be the next steps

If you struggle feel free to reach out, I am BCG trainer and I teach new BCGers precisely consulting skills.

Good luck!

Lucie

Was this answer helpful?

Answer 3

Look, the above list of task is good and you can apply it to any question.

That list is just a reminder of what to do. In real cases it is important to identify the crux of the problem. That is what you should focus on.

Answer 4

The McKinsey / other firms which use interviewer led cases follow a different structure. You'll be asked a series of defined questions which you're expected to answer.

Generally the first question will be a structuring question; then you'll get questions on maths, brainstorming and sometimes chart reading - in any sort of order.

So I agree with the first part of the ‘commandment’ i.e., clarify the prompt. After that though I would just listen to the question and know how to structure, do the maths, read charts and do some brainstorming.

Good luck!

Answer 5

The main difference really is the risk at stake. Entrepreneurial Drive is more about having initiative and driving th... (read entire answer)

The main difference really is the risk at stake. Entrepreneurial Drive is more about having initiative and driving things forward, but Courageous Change is about making the hard... (read entire answer)