McK Personal impact - help

Question

Hey,

will soon have my final round at McK. I am a bit unsure about the personal impact dimension. I read some post here, however, these have been quite old (5y ago).

I'm a University hire and my story would evolve around a situation in which I convinced somebody during an internship to use my approach for a modeling excercise. The person was really stubborn and wanted to use another approach just “because I have always done it like this” even though my approach fitted better to the solution.

Would this story go into the right direction?

Answer 1

Hi there,

The story would work based on the context, however, 5 years for a graduate hire is a bit old. Generally, more recent stories are preferred at this stage of your career. You do not need to specify which particular internship you were working on when this happened

As for the content:

For this dimension, you will be asked to tell a story in which you influenced or persuaded an individual. This can either be about them adopting a certain idea or plan of yours, helping you with achieving your own goals and driving something together, etc. Focus on stories that showcase how you

worked with challenging individuals, ideally more senior than your own role
needed to understand their concerns and reservations first
were able to convince them by using a mix of the right set of arguments and effective communication
created a sustainable way of working together or even a solution to a difficult problem

Besides showcasing the relevant traits for each dimension, other characteristics enhance every story. While you don’t need to be superhuman you still need to show peaks in certain traits.

In order to do so

Think about situations set in really challenging environments. You might have encountered several obstacles or problems, which you decided to overcome with persistence and hard work. Ideally, you have encountered some resistance. The odds were definitely not in your favor, but you came out as a winner in the end.
Provide brief but exhaustive context to each story and all characters that played an important role in it. For instance, if you describe how you had to influence a certain senior leader, first introduce them, and discuss their character for a bit.
Focus on your own actions all the time. The interviewer is almost exclusively interested in how your contributions and actions changed the outcome. Everything in the PEI needs to start and end with your own actions.
Add personal statements of people involved in the situations. Think about what was said during your interactions, how people reacted, etc.
Create a convincing headline or 3-sentence summary at the beginning of the story that conveys the core message of the story to instantly capture the attention of the interviewer and to make sure that the story won’t be rejected from the start (more on that below).

Pay special attention to what you did and why (as this will be the focus of your story).

Read more on the PEI here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mckinsey-pei

Florian

Answer 2

Hello!

That is great question, I find the wording of that very confusing too. Personal impact is, put simple, stakeholder managerment!

If you want to deep dive on the topic, 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 Expert Articles on PreLounge, in a sreies dedicated to preparing for the different parts of FIT:

1. https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/cv-interview-questions

2. https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/motivational-fit-interview-questions

3. https://www.preplounge.com/en/behavioral-interview-questions

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

Hope it helps!

Answer 3

Hi there,

Q: Would this story go in the right direction?

Yes, the baseline story you described could work. Be sure to explain clearly:

What was the situation you had to face
What would have happened if you would have not convinced the person
The actions you took to convince him
Any challenges you faced after those actions and how you overcome them (ideally to create a win-win situation)
Which were the results and your learnings

This should create a good structure.

For more information, you can check the following:

▶ 4 PEI Dimensions You Should Know

▶ 4 Ways McKinsey Interviews are Different

▶ How to Prepare for a McKinsey Final Round

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 4

Hi there,

In general, the dimensions haven't changed much over the last 5 years. You still need to demonstrate Personal Impact (1-on-1), Inclusive Leadership (1-on-x), and Entrepreneurial Drive (self-perseverance). Also, to really be ready the general advice is to have 2-3 experiences ready for each dimension (ideally one from uni, 1 from work/internships, 1 from extracurricular).

The example you're suggesting should work for Personal Impact. It would be good to point out the seniority of the person you convinced and how you convinced the person. Right now the depth is lacking - expect each question to last 15-20 min and the interviewer to drill down to understand why you did what and what you tried multiple times.

Answer 5

The story may be fine if your approach to convince this person is grounded on some skill you can transfer to consulting.

You should focus much more on explaining your way of thinking in crafting a strategy to convince this person, delivering the message, collaborating, teaching, and influencing.

Answer 6

That story sounds like a good one - but as others have said 5 years is quite long ago. The key is that it needs to have been a personally challenging situation - and would still be personally challenging for someone at your level now. While it probably felt challenging at the time it sounds a bit simple to need to convince someone to use your modeling approach. Do you have an example of something with you would still find challenging now? I’d recommend going with that.

Answer 7

Hi there,

This story indeed works! Just make sure you go into great depth about how they resisted and the actions you took to convince them.