Is it bad to tell two different stories about the same experience for McKinsey?

Hello!

This is precisely one of the "frequently asked questions" that are responded in the  "Integrated FIT guide for MBB", that has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

Usually, it´s not best practice. At the end, you need to try to show as many sides of you as possible -same way as, when you are selling a house, you should try to show pictures of all rooms. If you only show the kitchen, even if the kitchen is amazing, people are going to wonder if the bedrooms are horrible-. 

You can find all the info about this in the guide: it provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Furthermore, you can find 2 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

• Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200
• Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!

Broadly speaking, no! More breadth is often "perceived" to be more beneficial but I feel it comes down to the merit of the experience and how applicable it is for your interviewer to get conviction that you will be a successful McKinsey consultant. The breadth is also something that has been assessed during your CV screening which you have already passed and so I wouldn't be too worried where there also isn't much you can do at this point. McKinsey can not penalise you for focusing on 2-3 experiences over the last 18-24 months which could have been much more meaningful than 8-10 experiences with less challenge and impact.

Specifically, what is most important is that your story is relevant to the specific PEI question and are also unique stories within the same experience. You should NOT be using the same "when I dealt with a difficult team member in a university club" as your leadership AND personal impact story. Instead, trying to convince the VP Finance that club should not accept donations from companies who are not promoting diversity and inclusion even if it means less money (i.e., personal impact), vs. stepping up to organise a club event when the lead organiser had to step down (i.e., inclusive leadership).

Good luck!

Half (3 of my 6) interview stories for McKinsey came from the same work experience. However, the task and goal was not the same for all of them. This means the "headline"/background that I was using to describe the situation was very distinct.

If you do talk about the same role you had, make sure that the actual events you're describing are distinct. This was one of the major reasons my colleague got rejected from the first round recently; they mentioned it in their call to him.

Hi Anonymous,

No problem - you can use the same underlying context for more than 1 PEI story without any worries. Especially in your case of longetivity of your last position this will also be obvious for your interviewers.

So the context can be the same, and you can focus on completely different aspects within one certain context, according to the respective PEI dimension.

(On the contrary, re-using the exact same PEI stories don't provide any value.)

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi A,

Do not worry, it is not bad having just a couple of experiences. That should be totally understandable for the interviewers regarding your position longevity. 

According to the specific question asked, you can definitely share different stories within just one experience. Try to clearly differentiate them, so they can be considered full-fledged, independent answers.

Do you need any further help?
GB

Repeating stories is OK if several of your interviewers asked for the same skill, but try to have sufficient stories to chose between several of them. Having 3-4 stories for each skill (they can overlap to a certain extend) gives you the comfort of not having to repeat one.

Hi there,

The best way to reconcile all of the feedback you're received is to do the following:

Absolutely have multiple stories from 1 experience BUT don't make it sound that way. So, when providing the context of each story, you don't need to provide the same context. What I mean is, don't start all 3 of those stories with "So, when I was in x role at x company". Rather, say 1) "I had a difficult both when completing x assignment" and 2) "I decided to take initiative on x project" and 3) "I had a lot of trouble on x topic"

You don't need to explicitly state that they're all from the same experience!