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Third interview at McK- When will I hear back??!

Hi,

I have went to my third-interview for the first round on Tuesday. The interview went very well. The interviewer impressed me by my entrepreneurial, leadership, and math skills. I was so happy and eager to know when will I hear back for the result!

I expect that it could be faster than when I heard back after the two interviews which took around 7 business days. Plus, my scores would have already been put in their database, hence they could get back to me faster. Right?

My concern is, what took them SO LONG to get back? Is it true that they could let a candidate wait until they could find another candidate to compare? If this is true, then how long could this possibly take?  Moreover, will they get back to me if I got rejected? Is there anything between the line for this wait? 

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Top answer
Florian
Coach
on May 27, 2022
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

From what you are saying all sounds very promising! :-)

You are still well within the normal timeframe of getting the callback. Sometimes it can take a bit longer since

  • the interviewers (mostly partners) had no time to align
  • the person that is supposed to call you is busy
  • HR is slowing the process down

You will definitely hear from them, I would say latest by mid-next week!

All the best and fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Florian

Pedro
Coach
on May 27, 2022
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

This happens frequently. 

You have to understand that client work is intense, and gets in the way of recruiting focus. To be honest, consulting firms are actually great with they reply times (i.e., in most corporates you have a less intense day-to-day and still they take much longer to give you an answer). So 7 days is more that acceptable.

Is it true that they could let a candidate wait until they could find another candidate to compare?

No, this is completely false. That applies to β€œunique roles”, i.e. roles that will only be filled out by one person, and they try to find the best candidate available (i.e. it is about beating the other candidates), and this is much more common in corporate. 

Here, you will be one of hundreds performing a similar role, so if they find multiple people passing the bar, they will extend them an offer. There's a bar, and if you pass the bar you get an offer, if you don't you're out.

Ian
Coach
on May 28, 2022
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

It sounds very promising!

You just need to be patient here. The interview happened Tuesday - think about what has to happen in the background. The interviewers have to find a time to meet and discuss. They need to communicate decisions to HR. And HR has to track this in the system and reach out to you.

This is all happening across multiple candidates.

And, remember, you are not the priority of the interviewers (their clients, project teams, etc. are).

So, just be patient! It could be another week or two. If you have not heard back by the end of next week, then definitely reach out.

Fingers crossed for you!

Anonymous B
on May 27, 2022

I am in a similar situation as you with McKinsey, it is taking them longer to get back to me than it did for the first two interviews. I think this is normal, all the interviewers need to be debriefed again by HR not just the last interviewer. I guess this can explain the delay. You can always reach out to HR if you don't get any feedback by the end of next week.

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