Questions to be asked in PEI apart from PEI stories

Hi,

Yes. Apart from the PEI story itself, I would prepare a small set of general fit questions, rather than trying to build a huge question bank.

The main ones I would have ready are:

• Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your background
• Why consulting?
• Why McKinsey?
• Why this office / location?
• Why this role and why now?
• If you are an experienced hire: Why are you leaving your current role / why are you making this transition?
• A few natural follow-ups on your CV, studies or previous experience

The key is that these answers should connect with each other. Your background, motivation for consulting, motivation for McKinsey and career transition should feel like one coherent story rather than separate memorised answers.

Then comes the PEI itself. McKinsey will typically go deep on one of its core PEI dimensions, so the bigger risk is usually not being surprised by a new general question, but being probed very deeply on the story you prepared.

That is why I would focus more on:

• having a clear and convincing personal narrative,
• keeping the initial answers concise,
• and knowing your PEI stories well enough to handle multiple follow-up questions without sounding rehearsed.

If you want, feel free to reach out. McKinsey is quite specific in how it evaluates both the general fit part and the PEI, and there are a few practical things you can prepare in advance to make your answers much stronger.

Best,
Carlos

Here is a list of of the first 93 of 1 million questions they can ask. Good luck preparing by memorizing answers to every single one!

(If you don't understand the point of what I'm saying, take a step back...there's a lesson I'm trying to teach here).

1. How do you display your values in the workplace?
2. What classes are you taking, and why did you choose them?
3. Tell me about an unexpected change in a project that you responded to in a positive and courageous manner.
4. How would you explain nuclear energy to my seven-year-old daughter?
5. Tell me something about yourself that’s not on your CV.
6. What’s an opinion you’ve changed recently, and what changed your mind?
7. Why consulting?
8. If you could redesign one everyday product, what would you change and why?
9. Tell me about yourself.
10. What book, film, or podcast has changed how you think?
11. What are you passionate about?
12. How would you estimate how many cups of coffee are sold in your city each day?
13. What makes a good team?
14. If you had a year off with no financial constraints, how would you spend it?
15. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult colleague.
16. How would you explain inflation to someone who has never studied economics?
17. What is your least favourite part of working with a team? What would you do to make a team more effective?
18. What’s something you believe that most of your friends disagree with?
19. What are the characteristics of a successful consultant at [our company], and why would you be successful here?
20. If you could have dinner with any three people, who would you choose and why?
21. Tell me about an ambitious goal, the steps you took to achieve it, and what you learned.
22. How would you decide whether a city should build a new airport?
23. What is your proudest moment?
24. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned this week?
25. Why [our company]?
26. Teach me something useful in two minutes.
27. Tell me about your role model. This can be someone in your life, a historical figure, or a celebrity.
28. If you were given $100,000 to start a business tomorrow, what would you do?
29. Tell me about the best team experience you’ve had. Why was it your favourite?
30. Which university subject would you remove from your degree, and what would you replace it with?
31. What environment do you create for yourself in a work setting?
32. How would you explain cloud computing to your grandparents?
33. How do you measure success in a project or team?
34. What would you do if you realised halfway through a presentation that your main conclusion was wrong?
35. Tell me about a time you actively sought out diverse perspectives.
36. What’s a skill you have that people wouldn’t expect?
37. If a team member comes to you for help because they’re stressed about a very simple thing, how would you handle it? How would you measure success?
38. Why are some people willing to pay much more for branded products?
39. An intern is assigned to help you with a task in which you’re the subject matter expert. How do you handle this?
40. If you had to teach a university course, what would it be about?
41. Tell me about a time you overcame an obstacle. What kept you motivated?
42. How would you estimate the number of windows in a skyscraper?
43. You’re three months into a four-month project, and the client changes the objective and is now unclear on how to proceed. What do you do?
44. What’s a habit you’ve deliberately changed, and how did you change it?
45. If you were to join an exciting or challenging project, how would you set yourself and the team up for success?
46. How would you convince someone to try a food they think they dislike?
47. Tell me about an instance in which you developed a junior colleague. What made you proud?
48. If you could solve one problem in your local community, which would you choose?
49. Why [this office]?
50. What would you ask the CEO of a company before deciding whether to work there?
51. What’s your biggest professional achievement? What was your contribution to the final outcome?
52. Explain how the internet works without using technical jargon.
53. How do you navigate a difficult personality?
54. What’s the strongest argument against a belief you hold?
55. Tell me about a time when you had to explain a complex technology concept to someone with less technical knowledge, using plain language.
56. If you had to cut your weekly spending by 30%, how would you approach it?
57. Tell me about a technology concept you are passionate about.
58. What’s a business you think is underrated, and why?
59. How would you go about leading a team?
60. If you could introduce one new rule at your university or workplace, what would it be?
61. Are there times when it’s better to work alone?
62. How would you explain probability to a child using a game?
63. When you experienced problems working in a team, how did you mitigate them?
64. What would you do if two credible sources gave you conflicting information?
65. Tell me about a time when you persuaded someone.
66. What would your closest friend say is your most frustrating trait?
67. What would you do if a client asks you a question but there is no benchmark?
68. How would you determine whether a restaurant’s long queue indicates a good business?
69. What do you understand about the difficulties of working at [this office], including the hours?
70. If you could become an expert in something unrelated to your career, what would you choose?
71. What do you think would be the challenges of moving here?
72. What’s a decision you would make differently if you had to make it again?
73. Let’s say you start today. A year from now, how would you know if you have been successful?
74. How would you explain the difference between revenue, profit, and cash flow to a teenager?
75. When was the last time you had to use structured thinking?
76. If you were running a museum, how would you attract people who never visit museums?
77. Please introduce yourself, but make it fun—entertain me.
78. What’s something you’ve taught yourself, and how did you approach learning it?
79. What do you like to do outside of work?
80. If you had to choose between a fast decision and a well-informed decision, how would you decide?
81. How do you problem-solve when building a model?
82. Why do you think people procrastinate, and how would you help someone overcome it?
83. What are your overall career goals?
84. If you could ask every person in the world one question, what would you ask?
85. Walk me through your CV.
86. How would you explain artificial intelligence to someone who thinks computers can only follow fixed instructions?
87. What would you do if you were assigned to advise an industry you knew nothing about?
88. If your life so far had a chapter title, what would it be?
89. How would you test whether a new app idea solves a problem people actually care about?
90. What’s something people commonly measure that you think is a poor indicator of success?
91. You have one minute to persuade me to visit your hometown. What would you say?
92. If you could observe one historical event firsthand, which would you choose and why?
93. What question were you hoping I would ask, and how would you answer it?

Hi,

For the stories themselves I would work off the 4 themes McKinsey publishes on its own careers page, Connection, Drive, Leadership and Growth, with 2 examples prepared for each. That part you can do at home.

The real challenge is answering the follow up questions, not so much the story you walk in with. They can go in any direction: what pushed you to do that in the first place, how the other people reacted, what you should have done differently, what the result of your actions actually was, and so on. That is where these interviews are decided, so I would have someone interrogate you on a story you already know well rather than write a fifth one.

Beyond the PEI itself, expect the personal questions: tell me about yourself, why consulting and why McKinsey, where you see yourself in 5 years, strengths and weaknesses, and 1 or 2 questions of your own at the end.

One warning if you are interviewing elsewhere as well, because the behavioral part at the start is run very differently at other consulting firms, so do not carry the McKinsey format across.

If you think an external pair of eyes could be of help to structure your preparation, feel free to reach out.

Best,

Franco

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your questions:

• Contrary to what other coaches have said, at least for an entry-level role, the McKinsey interviewers will unlikely ask you any questions apart from "Tell me about yourself" which is more considered the opening to a conversation rather than a question.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming McKinsey PEIs and case study interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

hi! 

Beyond “Tell me about yourself” and “Why consulting?”, I’d prepare for “Why McKinsey?”, “Why this office?”, and questions about your CV, career choices and long term goals. Interviewers may also ask follow up questions about your PEI stories to understand exactly what you did, why you made certain decisions and what you learned.

Having interviewed candidates at McKinsey myself, my biggest advice is to know your stories inside out without memorising a script. Be specific about your own contribution, the challenges you faced and the impact you made. The follow up questions are often where the real evaluation happens.

Best, Alessa :)

Outside the PEI story itself, prepare a short personal story arc rather than a giant question bank. Have ready a crisp walk-through of your background, why consulting, why McKinsey, why that office, and, if you are switching careers, why now. Make those answers feel joined up so they do not contradict each other when the interviewer connects the dots.

CV follow-ups are common: a line on your resume, a choice you made, or a gap. Know the facts behind every claim so you can go one level deeper without inventing detail.

The larger risk is usually not a surprise warm-up question. It is being pressed hard on the PEI dimension they pick — what you decided, what resistance you faced, what you personally did, and what changed. Drill each story with follow-ups until that probing feels ordinary.

I can not recommend to fixate too much on a structure. Let the Interviewer lead the conversation and go with the flow of it. Listen carefully what they want from you and react to that, instead of thinking about a specific answer-framework. It is not helpful to squeeze your "perfect answer" into a setting where no one really asked for it. 

Prepare yourself to have a conversation about you as a person, your goals, where you see yourself in the future, why you want to work there.

They have your CV and they do not want to just hear it from you again. It is a chance to explain the hidden moments behind the different stations. Why you chose that, why you did that, a special achievement in between, what you are most proud of. So, have your priorities clear and you will get along.