Should I reach out to McKinsey and let them know I have an interview from Bain?

Hi there, 

Definitely. I know multiple cases of candidates who had their interviews re-scheduled for earlier. The reality is that firms get FOMO for good candidates, so if they know you are interviewing with competitors and are likely to get other offer before getting a chance to interview with them, they're going to do anything they can to accommodate your timeline. 

How to phrase it? Basically tell them that you are most excited about getting an offer with McKinsey but all the other firms have scheduled earlier interviews and thus are likely to make offers earlier. Then ask them nicely whether it would be possible to prioritize the review of your application so you could get a head start into the process. 

Hi there,

Short answer is yes, you should let McKinsey know!

• Background: Every candidate considering McKinsey is typically also considering Bain/BCG and it's very common for candidates to go through processes in parallel. This often results in these kinds of conversations, whereby dates have to be shuffled around based on which MBB candidates prioritize. If anything, the fact that one of the other MBB is keen to interview you will trigger positive reactions. It's absolutely a non-issue from that perspective.
• Next steps: You should email/call your HR contact at McKinsey be transparent about your process with Bain and share timelines. Follow immediately by saying that you prioritize McKinsey and would be grateful if they could accommodate this timeline, so you're not in the awkward position of having to turn down a Bain offer for a potential McKinsey offer.

It's really quite straight forward. Whether this will result in anything is not a given, but it's pretty likely and the right thing to do!

Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!

Hi there,

I think it would be fine to reach out to them, as it sounds like they have taken some interest in you.  Recruiters don't want to lose candidates with potential.

I would position it as: I would like to interview with you, it sounds like you were potentially interested in me, so please be aware that this in my timeline. Thank you for your consideration."

I don't think it would be a good idea to try and “force” them into it, with a “now or never” type of tone.  

Hope that helps,

Allen

Congrats on the interviews. 

I do not think this is a big issue at all, happens all the time. 

You could go through the Bain process and allow the McKinsey process to take it's natural course and in the event you do get an offer with Bain, you have oftentimes flexibility with respect to the start date. I would call Bain to double-check, but this is normally the case. 

If they offer no flexibility (which I doubt), I would let McKinsey know. 

 

Good morning,

Congrats on your career move! :-)

To answer your questions:

1. Should you reach out? You definitely should tell McKinsey about your timeline. MBB HR is very aware of such conflicts and if really interested in your profile will accommodate your needs. In general, my tip for the whole consulting application process is to be as transparent as possible with HR.
2. How should you phrase it? Keep it simple and don't overthink it. See a quick sample below and make it yours.

‘Dear XYZ,

Thank you for getting back to me re XYZ.

I wanted to notify you that I am currently in the process with another consulting firm as well and that their hiring decision will be made already by mid-May.

Since McKinsey is my first choice I was wondering if it is possible to expedite the interview process?

Happy to provide more details if needed.

Thank you for your time!

Kind regards,

XYZ

Check out the articles I wrote to prepare for McKinsey interviews:

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

PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

All the best!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there, 

I would recommend to reach to McK to let them know about the Bain option, I guess McK can find way around it to interview you earlier. 

The other option would be to delay Bain, which seems to be also possible.

Good luck

Lucie

Was this answer helpful?

Hi there,

Did you get confirmation you are going to interview with McK and just have to schedule the date after the 8th, or do they still have to confirm you have passed the Solve game? From the post that’s not clear.

Regardless, I would not recommend to reach out at the moment for the following reasons:

1. They normally adapt the interview schedule when you have competing offers, not competing interviews. That’s because:
   • Most candidates interview with multiple companies at the same time, so your situation is not unusual
   • If you have not received an invitation yet, there are even fewer reasons to inform them
2. The interview timeline could still align. From what you shared, you could be able to complete everything in May with both companies and make a decision
3. If you do get a Bain offer first, you can reach out at that stage to accelerate the process and possibly get an advantage (see bonus point below), so there is no real reason to do it now. They are usually very flexible to accommodate interviews if you got an offer from a competitor as that’s going to validate you

Bonus point: If you reach out when you have offers, sometimes they make the process faster (meaning fewer interviews – that’s what happened in my case). This is not going to happen if you reach out with interviews only.

If you still want to reach out, I would at least wait until you have a final round scheduled with Bain, which could create a minimal validation.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there, 

first of all, congrats to making it to interview round for both firms - that's testament to your strong profile.

1. Should I reach out to McK?

Agree with most other coaches - it's a good idea to reach out pro-actively in this case. 

• War for talent is real - typically, McK would try to accelerate in such case to not lose a strong candidate - all MBB are quite allergic to cross-offers, hence they do what they can to lock strong profiles in
• No harm - even if they don't accommodate at this point, there's no harm in letting them know - in the worst case, they say no and instead you ask for extension to decide on a potential Bain offer - there is typically some flexibility

Please also note that, even if you do nothing, the timeline may still work without any adjustments - MBB interview process can be quite quick (often all rounds within 1-2 weeks, if not in a single Super Day), esp when the interviewers become aware that you're interviewing with the other 2 as well.

2. How to phrase?

No need to over-think this - keep it simple and transparent (Florian's sample is a good starting point). Make sure you stress McK would be your employer of choice, to show respect and give them specifics on the expected timeframe you'd prefer. As simple as that.

Hope this helps!

Regards, Andi

Hi there,

Yes, absolutely reach out! Basically flag that you have interviews with other companies including MBB prior to that date and you're concerned about having to accept an offer with them prior to getting a shot with McKinsey.

Flag that McK is your top choice.

They should be able to move the interview slot up :)

You should definitely reach out to McK.  I would just simply let them know that you would “keen to also proceed with the McKinsey process in parallel if possible“.

Good luck!

Cristian nailed it - you need to be proactive about recruiting. If McKinsey is behind in their dates, they will lose the best candidates to other firms so by informing them that you are interested but their dates are much later it will incentivize them to interview you earlier.