McKinsey Final Round with Senior Partner

Hi there,

1) So I am not sure how the 30min will be allocated to personal experience interview and case interview. 

Given a standard interview is 45 mins to include both PEI and case, you may have any of the following:

• Case only
• PEI + short case
• PEI + other fit/motivational questions
• Other fit/motivational questions only

These are just educated guesses so as mentioned by Allen you can clarify with HR. If they don’t provide insights, I would prepare for all the above just in case.

2) And any specific question I need to prepare given this time is a “senior” partner.

If you mean questions from his/her side: I would prepare on the topics above + be ready to present your previous experience in terms of operational improvements.

Best,

Francesco  

Something similar happened to me once. Don´t be alarmed!

I was given a case by a Senior Partner, which went something like this: “Imagine you walk home and you find a dinosaur on the side of the road - what do you do?”

Now for the crazy part - someone actually asked me this very question in a prior mock interview and I asked them to change the case because it didn´t make any sense to me… Nonetheless, I was dwelling on this question afterwards and prepared an approach in my head as I was falling asleep one night. When the SP presented me the case a few weeks later I couldn´t believe it!

• Did I nail the interview? Yes
• Was it my confidence and humor that got me through? Yes
• Was I very, very lucky? Absolutely

Anything can happen and that´s what you should prepare for. So whatever they present you with, just run with it confidently and be a good sport about it!

And very best of luck :)

There are mainly 2 elements to any consulting case interview right? Case and PEI.

Since this is a final round and a Senior Partner, you can expect more focus on PEI. This seems probably also because the interview duration is 30min only. There may or may not be a case. If there is, then expect anything - just be fluid mentally. No need to pre-meditate a lot and then get surprised in the interview.

The qualities that a senior partner will look for will be much similar to that in case of a partner. You can't expect them to be looking for different types of people. One of the key parameters that partners generally evaluate is that “can I put this preson in front of the client with confidence?” - try to focus on that.

I doubt you will have a standard case. This will most likely be a conversation, and you will have a lot of non-standard questions. 

It is critical that you know what you want from your career, explain your motivations, but also be able to comment in an insightful way on current business topics. 

Good luck!

Hey there,

This is a bit of a black box, unfortunately. 

Senior partner interviews most of the time are purely fit-based, not even necessarily PEI-based or sometimes just a nice discussion about your motivation, the firm, their work, your work, etc.

Other times they do a standard case or focus on specific elements of the case.

In any case, attend the interview with an open mind, don't be shocked if the trajectory is different from what you expect, AND be confident (the biggest trait in my opinion that Sr. Partners are looking for).

All the best,

Florian

Hi there,

Congrats on making it this far!  

This feels less like a standard interview and more like a discussion to determine fit.  So a FIT interview and expect him or her to go off-script.

That being said, there's no reason to guess.  This is exactly the situation where you email the recruiter and ask what to expect.  No reason to be hesitant about that.

Hope this helps!

Allen (former Associate and EM in McKinsey Implementation)

Hi there,

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but, be ready for anything.

Genuinely, anything could happen so just go in with a flexible mindset! It might be all fit, or all case. The case could be a simple profitability or a topic/type you've never heard before. It might be all brainstorming without math, or it might be all charts/exhibits.

We just don't know!

Partners do tend to dive a bit more into fit and they do tend to be more “unconventional”. But don't go in expecting anything in particular or you're just shooting yourself in the foot when what happens isn't what you expected!