McK final round coming in three weeks, what's the best course of action?

Hi there, 

Congrats!

You have a sound plan. I really like it! 

Indeed if you passed the first round, it means you have what it takes and they want to see you doing it consistently. Make sure you work on the areas that you are least comfortable on and take the time to also relax and get into the right mindset. If you want to be bullet proof, consider getting some expert support, but aside from this it doesn't sound like you have any major areas to look at. 

What I'd make sure to focus on for round 2 are two things:

1. Communication - you'll be dealing with more senior consultants (i.e., Partners). They care a lot more about how structured and top-down you are. They don't care as much about your calculations and they might even skip past those parts. What they are asking themselves is whether they would be comfortable putting you in front of the client in a couple of weeks. Make sure they are able to answer ‘yes’ to themselves.

2. Unusual / ad-hoc cases - most Partners don't open the envelope with the case. They come up with one on the spot or just throw at you a challenging sizing question. Be prepared for this less ‘structured’ way of interviewing compared to the first round, just so that it doesn't take you by surprise. 

Good luck!
Best,

Cristian

Hey there,

Congrats! :-)

Fully agree with Ken.

Since you did not get any developmental feedback, it sounds like you covered all bases well and demonstrated spikes in certain areas.

My advice would be twofold:

1. Keep doing what you have done so far since it clearly worked, i.e. work on your strengths to get the spikes that support your offer decision.

2. If you feel like you have certain weaknesses, yet they were not spotted during your first-round interviews, also invest some time to cover those / become more comfortable in that area. You want to prove your strong round one results in round two and not create any deviations from the interviewers' perception here.

You could also have a quick glance at those two articles that I wrote as well as read my answer on McK round two interviews:

Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

McK round 2 interviews: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-2nd-round-interview-13133

Cheers,

Florian

Hello!

Congrats for moving to final round!

As it has been outlined, its very similar, but :

Cases you can expect are more "free riding" - less organized than the ones your found in the 1st round or most prep pages

Stronger emphasis in the FIT part, as outlined before by other coaches.

If you are interested in deepening your knowledge and preparation on the FIT part, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

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 3 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

- Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

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

Congrats on the call back! 

You have the three main things. 7TFH-3WBH-RNPX-HX437

1. Polish your stories and think about the all the layers of the story in depth. However, you have obviously done it well the first time around so do not make a lot of tweaks 
2. Indeed case to stay sharp. I would also practice back to back cases to simulate the interview as by the 2nd - 3rd interview the brain fatigue really kicks in 
3. Yes, relax, stay positive, repeat a couple of cases that you have crushed before. Get a hype man to remind you that you're a rockstar and you deserve and will get the job. 
4. I will add - do whatever makes you happy and destress. I used to play a lot of squash and workout and that helped calm me. For some friends it was a lot of cooking. For some running. Whatever puts you in the zone and calms you is good. 

Hi there,

It sounds like you're doing it about right!

If you'd really like to ensure success, it doesn't hurt to hire a coach.

Think about the ROI of $200-300…even if it improves your odds by 5% that's an added 5% chance on $160k in one year i.e. $8,000 in Expected Value

Here's some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

And some case reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

Hey there,

Great work - congratulations!

Agree with your approach on keeping the momentum going but not overdoing it. Most importantly, you need to be in the right head-space.

There can be a big difference between 1st and final round and it's because of a tendency to go increasingly off-script with increasing seniority. In practice, this means that Partners can chose to ask non-standard fit questions or do non-standard cases.

It's not a given that this happens but it happened to me and many others. And if it does happen, it's important that you don't get thrown off, let go off your preconception of what the interview should be like, and just run with it.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like to learn more on this topic. For now, I hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

It’s great that you seem to meet the bar across both case and PEI.  Instead of general practice, I would encourage you to double down on your strengths.  That is what will help you secure an offer!