How to prepare Mckinsey Code Pair Programming

Congrats!

The interview format is rather new and may differ between offices. 

My recommendation is to reach out to the recruiter and ask for more info about it. Ask how it will be structured and whether they can share any examples. 

The TEI + PEI is typically structured around stories that show your technical understanding. So, do prepare a few stories which show you at your best from the last couple of years and be prepared to go in-depth with them. 

I've built a course that's specifically targeted for the PEI here:

• • Video Course: Master the McKinsey PEI

Best,
Cristian

hey there :)

Code PP it’s much less about “knowing everything” and more about how you think and collaborate while coding, you’ll typically get a practical problem and work through it together with the interviewer, explaining your approach, writing clean code, and reacting to hints or feedback; expect things like data manipulation, simple algorithms, debugging or extending existing code rather than very hard leetcode style questions, so the key is to think out loud, structure before coding, and iterate with them instead of going silent, especially since relying on AI won’t help in the interview, I’d practice by solving medium level problems while verbalizing every step and maybe even doing mock pair sessions, that’s what really makes the difference

best,
Alessa :)

The Code Pair is not a hard algorithm test. It is a collaborative session where you and the interviewer code together in a shared environment.

Expect real-world problems like data manipulation, writing a small function, or fixing broken code. Python is standard. The problems are not that hard but they test how you think and communicate while coding.

Biggest mistake: going silent. Talk through everything as you go. Say what you are doing and why. They care as much about your thinking as your code.

On AI tools: ask your recruiter upfront if tools like Copilot are allowed. Do not assume.

To prep: practice medium Python problems on LeetCode while talking out loud. Focus on pandas, data cleaning, and clean readable code. Explaining your code as you write it is the one habit that will set you apart.

Hi there,

It does depend on what role you're coming in as. However, for a McKinsey Digital/Analytics role, they will generally give you both a traditional case AND a technical test (i.e. R, Python, SQL — work pulling, cleaning, manipulating, and analyzing data for insights).

As someone in this type of role you are very much expected to have both the commercial sense of a strategy consultant AND the technical skills of a data scientist.

So the test reflects this.

The technical skills are the table stakes — you have to know how to code. It's in the personal fit and case where you can truly shine. If the interview ends with the interviewer thinking "I could put this person in front of the client and I'd also enjoy working with them"... you're in.

For the fit/PEI component, preparation doesn't change much from standard consulting. Here's some reading: Pitfalls in case interview preparation | How to shift your mindset