Does anyone have follow up questions I can practice with for my PEI stories?

hey there :)

Some typical PEI follow-ups you can practice with are: What was the most difficult moment in that situation? How did your team react to your approach? What specific actions did you take that made the biggest difference? What would you do differently if you faced the same situation again? How did you measure success? What feedback did you receive afterwards?

These kinds of probes are designed to test depth and consistency, so make sure you can drill one layer deeper for every point in your story. And feel free to reach out if you’d like to practice live, I’m an expert in PEI and can help you get fully comfortable with these.

best, Alessa :)

Hi there,

Great idea—most of the challenge in PEI isn’t the story itself, but handling the drill-down follow-ups. Here are some common ones you can practice against your stories:

On context & motivation:

• Why was this situation important to you personally?
• What made it particularly challenging?
• How did you decide this was the right approach?

On actions:

• Walk me through the exact steps you took—what did you do first, second, third?
• How did you convince others to follow your lead?
• What alternatives did you consider but not pursue?

On others:

• How did your teammates react initially?
• What conflicts came up, and how did you handle them?
• If I asked your manager/colleague, how would they describe your role in this?

On results & reflection:

• What was the final outcome, and how did you measure success?
• Looking back, what would you do differently?
• How has this experience shaped the way you approach challenges now?

Best way to practice: pick one of your stories, then have a friend or coach “interrupt” you every 30 seconds with one of these. It simulates the real PEI flow much more closely than just rehearsing uninterrupted.

Feel free to reach out - happy to help you prep!

Best,
Evelina

Hi there,

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

• First of all, contrary to what other coaches have said, there really is no standard set of follow-up questions.
• Moreover, the better you present your PEI situations, the fewer follow-up questions your McKinsey interviewers will have to ask. Please feel free to reach out to me directly to learn more about how to do so.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

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

Best,

Hagen

Well, that will depends on what won't be clear from your PEI stories. 

I may have a ton of follow up questions, because I am looking for very specific things and will keep asking until I understand what I need to... 

What you need here is not "generic follow up questions", but rather a strong coaching session where you can get real feedback and tailored advice based on your answers.

Hi,

Search for articles here regarding PEI, there are plenty examples. Also, consider McKinsey new dimensions (check them on the official website).

Best,

Mari