Mckinsey Second Round

Hey there,

Congrats on the 2nd round - almost there :-)

The first thing that you should know is that you have what it takes and you can go confidently into the 2nd round. The 2nd round is just to confirm what has been noticed during the 1st, yet with a different set of eyes from more senior firm leaders.

Now to your questions:

McKinsey is trying really hard to create an objective and standardized interview experience for all candidates, across offices, practices, and interviewers. As a result, you should expect exactly the same interviewing format as in the first round

• 25 minutes PEI
• 25 minutes case
• 5 minutes for your questions at the end of the interview

You will be evaluated on the same criteria, and metrics, with the same types of cases and questions.

Now, that's the theory. :-)

Quick reality check!

That being said, partners still often employ their own way of doing interviews based on their personal preferences, which means that sometimes the final round with them can be less predictable.

Some focus on the case, others focus solely on the fit part (and deviate from the traditional PEI to ask other personal fit questions), and some stick to the standard format. I had a candidate recently who had to go through two cases and one of them was made up on the spot, which made it very tricky.

In general, the more senior the partner, the more likely are they to deviate from the standard interview format because they a. can b. have their own way of doing things. :-)

So now you know the practice.

What does this mean for you and your preparation?

Nothing much.

Continue with your preparation, meaning

• Rehearse and finetune your PEI answers with a coach or peers who know what they are talking about
• Hone your case interview skills that are relevant for McKinsey (structuring, math, exhibit interpretation) with coaches and drills
• Prepare for some traditional fit questions (Why consulting, why McKinsey, etc.)
• Pay special attention to the areas where you received negative feedback in the first round. Second-round interviewers are aware and will dig deeper into these specific areas

During the interview

• Stay cognitively flexible
• Do not be surprised if the format deviates from what you expect
• Stay calm and collected no matter what happens
• Stay enthusiastic, and engaged, and portray the impression that you are happy to be here (partners love that...)

If you managed to pass the first round, you should have it in you to pass the second round as well.

Fingers crossed and let me know if you need some help with McKinsey! 

Feel free to read some of the articles I wrote here about the process:

• Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mckinsey-interview
• PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

Try not to go in expecting anything! Interviews even within the 1st round can vary. “technically” everything will be the same, but at the end of the day no two interviews are the same. There a not major differences between round 1 and 2 other than there are generally Partners interviewing you (who may be a bit more “flexible” and off the cuff).

You do not need to do anything majorly different, but, ultimately, for all interviews you need to stay flexible/adaptable/agile. Keep testing yourself in unique situations. If there were identified weakness from the 1st round, make sure to address these.

Here's some general case prep reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

Some casing reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

And some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Hi there,

Q: What are the differences between McKinsey 1st and 2nd round? Are the interviews going to follow the same structure?

The 2nd/final round has the same structure as the first (fit + case+ your questions); however in a final round, partners may:

1. Spend more time on fit/PEI and your alignment with the company
2. Ask questions related to the areas of improvement you got feedback on after the first round
3. Not use a "standard" case. In some countries for example you may have market sizing questions, which are uncommon at McKinsey. Having said that, in most offices cases remain standard in finals as well

To prepare, you can work on the following:

1. Review your PEI stories. Be sure to have at least one backup for each dimension.
2. Work on the areas you got feedback on, if any (eg. structure, creativity, PEI)
3. Continue with your case prep. If you are tracking your performance, do drills for the areas where you are struggling the most / review cases where you made mistakes instead of doing just random cases

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Extra reading:

▶ 4 PEI Dimensions You Should Know

▶ 4 Ways McKinsey Interviews are Different

▶ How to Prepare for a Case Interview

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Bonus point: partners often give cases related to the industries they cover. If you know their sectors, it is a good idea to review those industries / read their research papers on that / do cases related to that sector.

Best,

Francesco

Upvotes

Yes, the structure of the interviews should be the same. However, you can expect more senior interviewers and their personal approach might reflect it to some extent. In my case, for example, the focus was somewhat shifted toward high-level/strategic discussion rather than performing many accurate calculations.

Hi there,

The structure of the case study should be more or less the same. The few differences however tend to be:

1- Seniority of the person (you would need to showcase maturity and confidence in the way you handle the comms)

2- Depth of the case (they might not go into detailed quant questions and might focus more on conceptual problem solving)

3- Fit part (they might focus more on getting to know you as a person as they would want to know if they would put you in front of clients or not)

Mario

If you get interviewed by partners, they might take the conversation into their area of expertise and might start a discussion around some industry / trend / strategic topics rather than giving a “standard” case.

The personal/cultural fit is usually also in focus because this is the final filter of whether or not you'd mesh well with the team and are deemed presentable towards clients