MCKINSEY PEI - How different stories should be between rounds? is it problem if there are different stories but same environment, manager etc?

Hi there,

This is a very common concern and an important one to get right for the PEI. It is not a problem to draw from the same environment or manager, as long as the stories showcase different skills and challenges. Diversity of experience is nice to have, but diversity of skills is what really matters.

How different should your stories be
McKinsey does not expect you to have a completely new environment, manager, or context for every interview. What they do expect is that you show a range of skills and situations. For example, if you use one story to demonstrate leadership, another should ideally demonstrate personal impact or entrepreneurial drive. The interviewer should feel that you have depth in more than one dimension.

Reusing the same environment
It is absolutely fine if more than one of your stories comes from the same workplace, project, or even the same manager. Consultants know that most candidates draw their strongest experiences from one or two roles. What matters more is that the situation, challenge, and actions are distinct. If one story is about leading a team under pressure and another is about convincing a senior stakeholder in the same project, that is perfectly acceptable.

What to avoid
The risk is when stories start to sound repetitive. If all of your examples are from one internship with the same context and very similar challenges, interviewers might wonder how broad your experience really is. To avoid this, frame each story differently and make sure the problem you highlight is clearly unique.

Best practice
Prepare at least two to three strong stories for each PEI dimension. Rotate them across rounds so that you do not repeat the exact same example. If multiple stories come from the same environment, emphasize different angles: in one case your leadership style, in another your problem-solving, in another your resilience.

If you want, I can help you stress test your PEI stories, refine the framing, and make sure you are not repeating yourself across rounds. 

Hi there,

You don’t need to come up with completely unrelated stories for every PEI round. What McKinsey is testing is depth of your impact, how you behaved in a high-stakes situation, and how you reflect on it. It’s perfectly fine if multiple stories come from the same environment (same employer, same manager, etc.) as long as each story is distinct, highlights a different dimension (e.g., leadership, conflict resolution, entrepreneurial drive), and you can go into real detail.

The risk comes only if your stories feel repetitive or superficial. For example, if all of them are about “leading a small workstream at your last job,” the interviewer may doubt the breadth of your experiences. Ideally, prepare at least 3–4 strong stories, each showing a different competency, and make sure they are not carbon copies of each other.

So in short: yes, it’s fine to draw from the same context, but make sure the actual challenges, your actions, and the outcomes are clearly different and give the interviewer new insight into you each time.

Happy to help you prep – feel free to reach out.
 

Best, 

Evelina

It’s not a problem if your stories come from the same environment or manager, as long as each one highlights a different dimension of your skills (leadership, conflict resolution, personal impact, etc.). What interviewers are testing is breadth of behavior, not breadth of settings.

That said, if all your stories come from the same context, make sure they don’t feel repetitive. Emphasize different challenges, decisions, situations, and outcomes so each story stands on its own. Ideally, have at least 5-6 polished stories ready to rotate, since it’s common for interviewers to probe deeper or ask for a second example on the spot.

Hey there :)

It’s not a problem if your stories come from the same environment or manager, as long as the core situations are clearly different and highlight distinct skills. McKinsey interviewers want to see breadth across leadership, impact, and personal drive, so ideally you should avoid repeating the exact same setup twice. But if you worked in one main place, it’s fine to draw multiple examples from there, just make sure each story feels like a new challenge with its own tension and resolution.

What matters more than variety of context is depth of reflection: what you did, why it mattered, and how you grew from it.

best, Alessa :)

Hi,

I’d add that what really makes stories stand out across rounds is how you frame them. Even if two examples come from the same project, you can make them feel different by zooming in on different decision points, trade-offs, or dynamics with stakeholders. Interviewers are listening for depth (what you did, why you did it, and what you learned,...) more than the specific setting. So yes, same environment is fine, but make sure the “angle” you choose in each story gives them something new to discover about you.

Best,
Lukas

You should not be repeating stories. It's perfectly fine to have stories on the same job. :)