Back to overview

McKinsey phone interview

Do associate roles get phone interviews instead of zoom interviews? I’ve only heard of this happening for PDP. 

5
1.3k
6
Be the first to answer!
Nobody has responded to this question yet.
Top answer
Profile picture of Florian
Florian
Coach
on Oct 20, 2021
1500 5-star reviews across platforms | 700+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

Some McKinsey offices for certain positions (e.g., North America for experienced hires) are using a phone screening interview either with

  • alumni
  • HR 

They are usually the first interview within the application to make sure that candidates have a rough understanding of cases before moving on in the application process (i.e. not wasting current consultants' interview time if the candidate is not ready at all).

The phone screening interviews are usually a bit easier than the actual consultant-led interviews and there are no exhibits, yet you still will go through

  1.  Structuring
  2. Case Math

If you want to learn more about that, check out the article I wrote here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

Cheers,

Florian

Profile picture of Cristian
on Oct 19, 2021
Ex-McKinsey | Verifiable 88% offer rate (annual report) | First-principles cases + PEI storylining

Hi there, 

Depending on the office this can happen, yes. It's basically like a zoom interview without having to worry about facial cues and body language. So in a way it can be easier. In fact, doing cases over PrepLounge is great training for that. 

There shouldn't be differences in the content however. 

Best of luck!

Profile picture of Ian
Ian
Coach
on Oct 19, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Yes they absolutely can. 

These can either be HR screenings or a phone case.

They don't “mean” anything other than that's just the process they've decided to take you through!

Good luck!

Profile picture of Pedro
Pedro
Coach
on Oct 19, 2021
BAIN | EY-P | Most Senior Coach @ Preplounge | Former Principal | FIT & PEI Expert

I've had a recent candidate at that rank going through a phone interview, yes.

Profile picture of Agrim
Agrim
Coach
on Oct 20, 2021
ELITE Prep | BCG Dubai Project Leader | Top Coach | 3hrs Case Mastery | 10y+ Consulting | Free Counselling

Most likely the interviews will be Zoom-based.

Phone calls are typically common for the HR calls - which are generally exploratory in nature.