PSS interview + Case interview

Hi Rholane,

Given that you’re already in the second and final round and have no prior case experience, the most important thing is to start practicing with a coach as soon as possible. With limited time, coached practice will help you get the right direction early, avoid building bad habits, and focus only on what matters for the interview.

In the next one to two days before booking a coach, keep things very lightweight. Read a short overview of McKinsey case interview structure, familiarize yourself with basic concepts like issue trees and hypothesis driven thinking, and watch one or two example interviewer led cases, Victor Cheng’s online practice videos are a good reference to understand flow and expectations. Avoid deep drilling or trying to memorize frameworks at this stage.

After that, moving to a coach is the most efficient step. A coach can help you structure cases correctly from day one, practice under realistic conditions, and prioritize what will make the biggest difference in the limited time you have.

Happy to draft a plan on how to make sure you’re ready by then and put yourself in the best position to get the job.

Best,
Evelina

Hey Rholane, 

First of all: don’t panic. This situation is stressful, but it’s manageable, even with limited case experience.

A few steps I’d recommend:

1) Clarify scope with recruiting.
Since you’re applying for a Data Scientist / Expert role, reach out to the recruiting team and ask whether they can narrow down the case type (e.g., data-heavy, analytics-driven, expert-style case vs. classic generalist case). This can significantly focus your preparation.

2) Buy time if you can.
If the interview date isn’t fixed yet or if there’s flexibility, I’d reach out to recruiting asap to see whether you can push it back slightly. You don't want to go into the interview unprepared!

3) Practice as much as possible, but efficiently.
With limited time, prioritize quality over quantity:

• Targeted sessions with a coach can be very effective to quickly identify gaps, set a clear approach, and avoid practicing the wrong things.
• In parallel, practice with peers as much as you can to build basic structure, confidence, and flow.

4) Focus on making the most of the next few days.
You won’t master everything, and that’s okay. Focus on clear structuring, logical thinking, and communicating your reasoning, especially leveraging your data background where relevant.

Fingers crossed it all works out - let me know if you'd like to talk through how to make best use of your time :) 

Rholane, 

Go on youtube and search 'mckinsey consulting interview case'. Click one of them just so you get a sense of what to expect. 

In parallel, reach out to your recruiter to confirm whether for the DS role you'll be doing DS-focused cases or generic / any industry cases. That will help you prioritise the prep. 

Try a few cases from the case library here on PrepLounge. 

Then do get a coach. Why? Because instead of spending days / weeks / months trying to find your way, you'll get a clear idea of where you are now (innate strengths and areas of development), what is the gap to interview readiness, and what is the most effective way to close that gap. It's a bit like getting a swim coach at the start of your career, not one week before your swimming competition. 

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi Rholane :)

first of all congrats, making it to final round is already a strong signal. for data scientist roles at McKinsey the case is not a classic MBA style case, it is much more about structured thinking, problem decomposition and how you reason with data, so zero traditional case prep is not a deal breaker at all. the best use of your time now is to practice structuring simple business problems out loud, be very clear on assumptions, and get comfortable walking someone through your logic step by step rather than jumping to answers. also refresh basic business concepts like revenue, cost, profit and how analytics can inform decisions, but keep it high level. once you have that baseline, a coach can help you polish, but right now focus on clarity and structure over frameworks. happy to help you sanity check your approach anytime if you want.

best,
Alessa :)

Hi Rholane,

You should try to push back your interview date as much as possible by communicating with HR that you need more time to better prepare for the interviews. They generally are quite understanding with this.

You should read up on the basics of how a case interview is done, and try 2-3 yourself. Then, I highly recommend you have an initial session with a coach so the coach can direct you on which areas you should focus on most. Give it another 1-3 weeks preparation before meeting up with the coach again to track your progress.