McKinsey Final Round Semi-Disaster - Outcome?

Question

I am applying for the junior associate position at McKinsey. Had my final round interview and waiting for an outcome. Can any ex-McKinsey/MBBs help gauge my chances?

First round interview: 1x EM, 1x Partner. Both went pretty well. I needed some prodding during the EM case, but for the Partner case things went pretty smoothly. Partner also shared with me that my industry/expertise is lacking in their office, and asked when I could start. Received a call 2 hours later and given feedback (quant needed some minor work) + invited to the next round.

Second round interview: Less than 24 hours from first round. 1x AP, 1x Partner. AP case was a complete disaster. It was a public sector + social sciences topic and I completely lost my way. Structured it anyway but looking back it was horribly narrow, lacked second order, and was not MECE. AP interviewer was obviously unimpressed; and then I flunk my math - i did act on the feedback gotten in round 1, but this time i screwed up the final calculation (a lot of back and forth - ‘are you sure’? kind of situation for a decimal division question.

Partner case was very relaxed and casual - almost void of a typical McK structure and overall the interviewer seemed very happy with me.

Now:

I haven't heard back since (same day), and am beginning to really worry. My personal gut feeling is that i have three interviewers who think i am a hire to clear hire; and one who likely thinks i am a borderline to no (later more likely).

I know that all interviewers carry equal weightage, especially for the three senior level interviewers - in your experience, what can i expect?

Answer 1

Hey there,

It is important to show a consistent performance across all interviews, so your performance of all interviews will be taken into account and discussed.

From what you are saying here I tend to lean towards a rejection since you showed consistent weakness in a specific area (math) + had an issue with one case as a whole. However, no one of us was there and it is always a bit tricky to say from the distance (plus candidates often can't gauge their performance accurately).

I hope for the best outcome! Let us know.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi James,

Ian has said it best.

Please chill it a little and let go. You are coming across as insecure and desperate and am sure that's not the intention. As long as you gave your best and continue to give your best going forward, good things will happen! Don't fall for these mind games/speculation.

All the best.

Answer 3

Hi James, usually if one interviewer says yes and another interviewer says no, they will have a thorough discussion on whether you will get the offer. If they can't convince each other, they will do a further assessment (e.g. do another interview with you).

From what you said I believe you still have a good chance here, as seems like both partners are quite happy with your performance. Try to do things you enjoy while you wait to lessen the anxiety. All the best!

Answer 4

Hi there,

You can't expect anything.

I know this advice is easier to give than receive, but please stop thinking about it - there's literally no use!

I've seen people who think they're incredible casers (and think they nailed the interview) only to not get the invite. I've seen people who think they completely bombed, and get the invite.

You never know.

As you mentioned, it's the SAME day! Please try to distract yourself, move forward with other plans and push this out of your mind.

When the call comes, you'll know. Not a second sooner.

Answer 5

Hi James! Did you end up getting the offer?

Answer 6

Hello,

It is hard to say with any degree of certainty without having been in the room and observed you myself, but I would say that it is not uncommon to have an interview experience that goes much less smoothly than you anticipate - that is why you have multiple interviewers who can all assess you and deliberate! It also seems like you got along well with the more senior interviewers, the partners, which is a good sign. It seems like the slightly weak quant was a trend throughout a few of your interviews, which might be an issue, but again that is hard to assess without knowing more specifics about what the quant part was and how you solved everything else.

My advice to you would be to try not to worry too much about calculating your chances - fortunately or unfortunately at this stage there is not much you can do about the outcome. Wait a few more days, and if you still don't hear anything, you can follow up with your recruiter and/or the second round interviewers.

Best of luck, and keep us posted about the outcome!

Answer 7

AI and ChatGPT are definitely game-changers for consulting prep! They’re great for structuring case frameworks, gener... (read entire answer)

AI and ChatGPT are definitely game-changers for consulting prep! They’re great for structuring case frameworks, generating potential interview questions, and even simulating cas... (read entire answer)