Southeast Asia McKinsey

To be fair hearing about your reasoning as to why you don't need to do well “also, I'm not applying for associate position” really shows your mentality and drive you put into the interview. The company hires the best of the best and what makes you think issues with structure and maths in the simple first round would make you good enough?

Hi Sam,

I would personally be shocked if this sort of influence came into MBB - they work extremely hard to prevent this kind of bias.

That said, if you truly feel that this is the case, then you can try to flag it to HR/recruiting.

I also want to remind you that you can be a perfect caser and still be rejected. Your odds are never 100%. There are so many factors and just being a good caser doesn't automatically lock you in.

We are also rarely good judges of our own abilities. You might consider hiring a coach to do a full mock case assessment - they'll tell you if you're truly a 10/10 or if you're more of a 6, 7, etc. without knowing it. If you're a 10/10, ok, there's some evidence here that you are right! If you're a 5/10 then ok, maybe re-evaluate the reality of what happened.

I hope this helps, but, regardless, keep pushing! Keep networking and applying to other companies. I applied to 30 companies when I recruited…because I knew it's a numbers game. You have to keep interviewing!

Make sure to read the following to improve your odds for the next time as well:

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

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

Hi Sam,

Sorry to hear about the rejection. In terms of your question:

Q: The interviewer told me the feedback and he said few math problems. I need also to improve a little bit the structure to be more organized. Do you guys think this is enough for them to decline my application.

Yes, unfortunately that’s enough for a rejection. An interviewer could occasionally have some kind of bias (even unconsciously). However, if you did not perform well in math and structuring, it is very likely that’s the real reason for the rejection.

Best,

Francesco

I'm sorry to hear that you were not successful. Unfortunately those are good reasons for a rejection. MBB works really hard to stop any sort of bias coming into the interviews and so I would be shocked if racial differences had anything to do it, but you could ask the recruiting team if you're concerned.

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about your situation, it is not easy to get a rejection for something you worked so hard for. Unfortunately, it is possible to feel like you performed solidly in the interview and still get a rejection. There could be a multitude of reasons for why any particular candidate got a rejection: how other candidates performed, the specific fit the office you applied for is looking for, background/experience, and also a degree of luck and subjective perception of the people who evaluated you. From what you say about the feedback you got about math + organization, that could well have been enough for a rejection. Ethnic and racial bias are issues that McKinsey takes very seriously and I echo others here in saying I would be shocked if that was the reason for your outcome. I think your best bet would be to take their feedback on board and keep applying to other companies. However, if you are concerned, you could try asking HR for more detailed feedback about your performance.