Mckinsey interview

Hi there,

The most likely question will be: SE Asia underdevelopped country having challenges with flooding, how do we help them?

Oh wait, maybe it's: We're setting up an F1 tournament in a country - assess impact on the economy

Oh shoot, actually, you'll definitely be asked: Help us setup a vaccine rollout plan for infants <5 years age in an African nation

^These are all REAL questions asked to my candidates by McKinsey recently.

Please don't try to play this prediction game. ANYTHING is what you can expect.

Feel free to reach out for help in HOW to answer any case type/prompt!

Here's some reading to help as well:

The Most Common Pitfalls in Case Interview Preparation
 

Dos and Don'ts in a Case Interview
 

How to Shift Your Mindset to Ace the Case
 

Candidate-Led Cases: What to Expect With Example Cases

Hey there,

You have a lot of work to do!

Here's some basic pointers:

• Interview type: Depends on firm and can be broken down into interviewer-led McKinsey and candidate-led (all other firms). They're fundamentally different and I encourage you to familiarize with each or the one that matches your situation.
• Case type: Impossible to tell beyond above distinction. It really doesn't matter whether you have a finance or forestry background. Also, there aren't really ‘case types’ in my view, at least in case of McKinsey. You will need to be able to tackle any case, irrespective of the label you'd like to assign.

If you have an interview coming up, I strongly suggest working with a coach. Happy to talk more, if needed.

Best of luck!

Moritz

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Hi there,

the cases you could encounter during your interviews can vary widely and span across different industries. The objective is to test the candidate's ability to think critically, logically and to derive a solution to the problem in a structured way. 

Unless you apply to a boutique firm that looks for specialists rather than generalists (or a dedicated functional practice within a bigger consuling firm), none of the cases you get will require you to have extensive background in or knowledge of any given industry of function. However, you should have a good understanding of a general business context.

Many interviewers develop their own cases they give to candidates in their interviews. They often draw inspiration from their personal project experience as basis for these cases. So if you end up being interviewed by someone from a Financial Services practice, the case you get might be rooted in the financial sector, but it will typically not require a finance background to properly solve it.

So in a nutshell, you need to prepare in a way that you can tackle all sorts of cases if you want to pass the interviews.

Hope that helps a bit

The cases that are given in interviews are not based on the background of the candidate.

They are often not even based on the background of the interviewer (interviewers sometimes choose a completely different industry than the one they're working in just so they can take a break / have fun). 

So you can expect anything, from any industry, unless you are applying for an expert role (in that case you should reach out to the recruiter to understand what will be the adjusted interview structure for that role). 

Sending you a few cases that are based on McKinsey interviews from this year (with interviewer notes):

• https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/interviewer-led-mckinsey-style/intermediate/element-mobile-expands-into-refurbished-phones-mbb-2nd-round-302
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/mbb-first-round-soy-technologies-303
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/advanced/mbb-second-round-codewave-employee-turnover-challenge-304

Best,
Cristian

Hi there, sorry but that doesn't exist ;-). Even with your background in finance, you cannot bet to receive such cases, quite the contrary, cases are designed in a way to be solved by anyone, regardless of their professional/educational background. Happy to share some finance heavy cases though over a DM. Just ping me, warm regards, Freddy 

Hi there,

McKinsey cases are not selected by candidate profile (unless you are applying for a specialist position in digital, operations, etc.). If you have applied as generalist, be ready for any case.

Happy to keep talking about this in private, just send me a message.

Best,

Alberto

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Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs