I've just received an interview invite for the Business Analyst position at McKinsey (I'm graduating in 2027). The interview date hasn't been confirmed yet but from what I've heard, they typically give around 2–3 weeks to prepare; I'm really hoping I get as much time as possible so I would also really appreciate it if someone could confirm how much time McKinsey usually gives candidates to prepare.
The thing is, I applied with very little expectation of actually getting an interview. Now that I've received the invite, I'm obviously incredibly grateful, but at the same time I'm genuinely terrified.
I'm honestly pretty terrible at casing. I find the process extremely exhausting, tend to get nervous quite easily, and I'm also not particularly strong at mental math. On top of that, I have very little casing experience to begin with. In terms of behaviourals, I also tend to get nervous when giving spontaneous answers.
I'd really like to approach this as a clean slate and make the most of whatever preparation time I have. I'd really appreciate any advice on how I should prepare for the upcoming interviews and where I should focus my efforts. I keep hearing people say that they did 80–100+ cases before they started feeling confident, which is honestly pretty intimidating. I'll also be travelling for part of this period, so realistically I won't be able to get anywhere close to that number.
I would really appreciate any advice from experts familiar with McKinsey BA interviews, as well as anyone who has been in a similar position (especially if you started out with very little casing experience and didn't naturally find it easy).
I'd really appreciate any advice on how to prepare with limited time, what to focused on, and what makes the biggest difference. Any advice, tips, or resources on how to approach the next few weeks would be hugely appreciated! Thank you so much!
