I am a recent grad currently working at a top T2 firm in Western Europe. How should I prepare for a McK interview?

As someone who is already a management consultant, you have many advantages. 

• You should be good at structuring and incorporating more realistic issues into your issue tree
• You are able to speak about relevant work experience examples for PEI
• You have gone through the process once already so should be able to pick it up quicker the second time around

In terms of how to prepare

• Give yourself time - a consulting job is hectic, I imagine you dont have time to prepare regularly so make sure you have sufficient weeks before your first round
• Understand your strenghts and weaknesses - quickly narrow down what you need to focus on so that you can be targeted in how you focus your time. This is where a coach can be very helpful
• Do not neglect PEI. Especially at McKinsey there is a lot of emphasis on the quality of stories and the structure in how you communicate them

All the best,

Udayan

Hey there,

Many people I coach prepare for McKinsey while working long hours in a full-time job.

I think there are four key elements in your preparation.

1. Stretch out your preparation. While I usually recommend candidates to prepare for 1 month with a few hours every day and some off-days in-between, in your case you might want to take out 3-5 months to spend a few hours every weekend. No rush!
2. Establish a baseline quickly, prioritize and be effective with your prep. This is arguably the part where coaching can help the most. The quicker you have established an objective baseline on where you stand with cases, PEI, and the Imbellus, the quicker you can start preparing properly, tailor your schedule to train your weaknesses, and improve on your strengths. Also, it pays off big time to learn the key habits needed for McKinsey interviews early on.
3. Learn on the job. Don't underestimate how the exposure in your current job will help you with McKinsey interviews. You will learn more about the consultant's mind and the consultant's communication in your current role, which will benefit you in the coming interviews. Soak everything up in your new job and apply it in your case and fit interview prep and mock interviews!
4. Don''t burn out. It can be very stressful to prepare for McK interviews while working long hours in parallel. You want to make sure that you have enough off-time every now and then to relax, focus on your friends / family / hobbies, etc. Don't make the McK prep your only focus 

Let me know if you have specific questions re McK per DM!

Cheers,
Florian

Hi there,

You need to be prepared both the case portion of the interview and the fit/behavioral portion of the interview. The case portion takes longer and requires a longer runway, but don't underestimate the fit - it's evaluated just as heavily!

I recommend the following for you:

1) An initial planning session with a coach: 1 hour with a coach now will have a productivity multiplier effect on all your efforts moving forward. They will figure out what materials are best for you, guide you towards the best ways to learn, and come up with a preparation plan with you.

2) Leverage free resources first: PrepLounge Q&A and case library, Poets and Quants, SpencerTom, Google, etc.). Leverage these options, read-up, and over time you'll get a feel for what you really need and where you really need to invest your hard-earned $

3) Case with other PrepLoungers: Casing with other PrepLoungers is free. Not only do you get to practice casing, but you get direct feedback. Additionally, you learn a lot just from casing others. Finally, from other PrepLoungers you'll learn which materials/coaches are helpful.

In summary, while free options don't beat paid options, you can use them for a while to get a feel for what works for you. Have an initial coaching session to get you on the right track, then go the paid route when it's clear either 1) You are stuck or 2) It's clear the paid route will improve your productivity/progress