Fresh Graduate position

Hi Anonymous,

the key dimensions you will be tested are different in different parts of the interview:

Fit part

• Motivation, fit with the consulting industry and fit with the company (eg "Why McKinsey")
• Leadership (eg " Give me three examples of a time when you lead a group")
• Drive (eg "Tell me about a time you had to convince someone who was not agreeing with you")
• Impact (eg "Which has been your major accomplishment so far")
• Teamwork (eg "Tell me about a major contribution you provided to your team"

Case

• Structuring skills (eg your initial structure)
• Listening skills (eg did you answer to the right question/analyzed the right elements)
• Communication skills (eg the way you present your structure)
• Business acumen/creativity (eg brainstorming inside a structure)
• Analytical skills (eg math and graph interpretation)
• Synthesis skills (eg conclusion)

Besides this, you will be evaluated on your general presence (posture, reaction under pressure, ability to connect with the interviewer, etc.)

Compared to experienced candidates (4-5 years of experience or post MBA) the case part would be basically equivalent. There would be higher expectations though for a post MBA students/candidate with work experience in terms of business knowledge and business acumen.

The main differences will be in the fit part of the interview and communication skills, as mentioned by Elias. In particular:

• Fit part: there will be higher expectations on questions on leadership, impact and drive in an interview for post-MBA/experienced hire compared to new graduates.
• Communication: as post MBA/experienced hire, you will have more client interaction responsibilities than a new graduate; thus you will likely be tested on this side during the interview (checking how do you react to pressure, how clearly you communicate your thoughts and clarify information)

Best,

Francesco

Hi,

At the end of the interview, the interviewer will evaluate your performance along a grid where each dimension expected is broken down. this should give a good sense of where you need to perform.

General impression

• Presence
• Communication
• Problemn solving

Problem solving

• Structuring
• Numeracy
• Insights
• Creativity
• Synthesis

Hope this helps

Best
Benjamin

Hi,

Several points here:

1. I've seen many times a situation when BAs were overprepared (case clubs very popular among students), while experienced hires were underprepared (lack of time and information about consulting interviews). In this case, the competition among BAs applicants was much tougher than among associates.
2. MBA experienced hiring is different for different schools. For example, in Stanford and Harvard, you can meet many people with 2-3 MBB offers, while it's not the case in other business schools. I also can't say that people doing MBA have lots of time to prepare. I believe that brand matters and they hire more people in top schools in general. 

To sum up - you should never expect that your interview will be easier for any reason and you should do your best to prepare.

Best

For fresh graduates, you look for personality, talent, raw intelligence and a little bit of skill. Benjamin's grid describes it pretty well. 

For experienced hires (depending on the level), you look for a lot of additional things:

• Can this guy lead a team? Would I want to be managed by her? 
• Can this person present in a boardroom or take heat from an angry client?
• Can she manage the client? Will clients trust him?
• Can he or she sell?
• How does their experience or network help the firm?

You might hire an experienced hire who can hardly tie his shoelaces and can't spell Excel and his or her slides look like Jackson Pollock paintings. But if he or she brings in 10 million EUR a year in revenue, all is forgiven... (Think Richard Branson: A dyslexic, insubordinate, not formally educated, happy-go-lucky guy. But boy, if he would run my sales, I'd hire him, no further questions asked...) 

So yes, the criteria for fresh graduates and senior hires are very different.