McKinsey Final Round PEI--letting the Partner pick ?

Question

Dear community,

May I get your thought about whether you think it is a good idea to tell the partner that I have relevant episodes from both [professional] and [extracurricular] experience, and ask them which type they'd be more interested in hearing about?

I originally planned on prioritizing the extracurricular episode, but I was just informed that the background of my interviewer is similar to mine professionally (PhD research), so I'm starting to wonder if they would love to hear a professional experience more.

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, I think this is a great position to be in to have sufficient relevant stories to allow the interviewer to pick.

I would recommend that you pick one yourself and provide a pitch to the interviewer (e.g., professional). Then at the end of the pitch you can mention to the interviewer that you can provide an alternative if they would rather be interested in a more extracurricular type of story.

This way you show both that you are prepared and have lots of relevant experience, while also being decisive and showing leadership.

Best of luck with the interview!
Cristian

Answer 2

Hi there,

if possible I would go for both. Remember, you have demonstrated your analytical skills already in previous rounds, so fit part is all about motivation and inspiration. At least make sure you touch upon both and maybe combine them - i.e. “coming from a similar background than you […]”. The inspirational and motivational part will most likely not be covered by your CV, hence building on that is highly appreciated.

Answer 3

Hey there,

Congrats on making it to the final round!

My two cents to answer your question:

Always stay in control during the interview and do not offer the interviewer several stories to select. You want to decide where this is going.
Pick the story that you think is stronger rather than basing the decision on the context of each story.

To work on strong stories, have a look at my article on the PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/mckinsey-pei

All the best!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 4

Hi there,

Q: May I get your thought about whether you think it is a good idea to tell the partner that I have relevant episodes from both [professional] and [extracurricular] experience, and ask them which type they'd be more interested in hearing about?

I would use the story that matches better the question or anyway the one you believe is the best.

If you really want to ask, the way mentioned by Jorn (stating you have two and will use X out of the two if that’s fine, instead of asking) should work well.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 5

Hi there,

I completely agree with Jorn. Basically, say you have 2, but propose/suggest one. (And, I'd lean professional most of the time, unless the other story is much stronger).