Imbellus & McKinsey Interview Process in Germany

Hi there,

Generally, the German McKinsey office is a bit warier of such tests and their predictive quality.

In 2014, I was in the last interview round that still took the PST. From late 2014 to 2020 when the Imbellus was introduced McKinsey Germany did not rely on any test but the case and PEI interviews.

It's hard to put a number on it but if your case and PEI interviews are excellent and the Imbellus result is average, you would definitely progress. On the other hand, if your Imbellus is excellent and the interviews average, you won't make the cut.

Hope this makes it a bit clearer!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

You're trying to understand something that:

1) Cannot truly be understood (how do we really define every single scenario/percent)

2) Has no value in being understood.

Your interview + Imbellus are used holistically. Fit matters. Case matters. Imbellus matters.

Stop trying to figure out what percent and split across each one! There are a million scenarios, so just know they're view holistically and you should aim to do your best across all 3.

Focus on what you can control :)

Hi there,

in countries / system like the German one, where hiring is not based against a quota but more vs min. expected quality standard, the way Imbellus is factored in, is typically minimum threshold score that needs to be exceeded to pass (same btw for the BCG online test). Means, as long as you hit that cut off score, interview performance will determine whether you pass the round. 

Having said that, I fully agree with Francesco and Ian, that you should not worry too much about the evaluation formula but focus on what you control. There is usually a quite strong correlation between how candidates do on the the test and in actual interviews (that's why they implemented it in the first place). Hence, I'd suggest you focus on what you can influence / control, i.e. your interview preparation and performance, and try to not spend too much time speculating about the outcome.  The later, if anything will only distract you in your final prep and may cause unnecessary anxiety.  

Hope this helps. Wish you all the best for your interviews!

Regards, Andi

Hi there,

Thanks for using my prep material. I actually know a candidate who did not move to interviews after the Imbellus in Germany, however this was for a specific practice, experienced hire and a few months ago, so they may have well changed the process in the meantime or keep a different process for generalists.

In terms of your direct question: it is very difficult to answer, unless you know some insiders. 

I agree with Ian that in any case that’s not under your control. What you can do now is to focus on the interviews and try to perform as best as possible regardless of the previous score – that’s the only thing you can control that can have an impact on the next steps.

For other questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

I don´t know the specifics in Germany, but in McK overall the decision is taking wholistically, taking into consideration all the pieces (case, FIT, overall impression, previous tests, CV, etc.)

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara