Hello!
To the people here that have been an interviewer at MBB themselves; what happens usually after an interview? Is the performance being discussed with HR or is based on the notes etc. that the interviewer took? And is being benchmarked/ graded to other candidates that day? (R1, virtual)
Thanks a lot!
From the interviewer side at McKinsey, R1 is fairly systematic and less subjective than it looks from the outside.
During the interview, the interviewer takes structured notes against a fixed set of dimensions such as problem solving, structure, insight, communication, and overall presence. Right after the interview, they submit a clear vote. That vote is the primary input. The notes exist to support and justify it, not to replace judgment.
A few things that do not happen are worth clarifying:
Once interviews are completed, feedback is reviewed centrally. Interviewers submit independently.
Benchmarking is always against the firm’s bar. You are not compared to the people who interviewed the same day, but to past candidates who successfully entered the firm at that level.
One practical nuance most candidates underestimate:
As soon as your interview is over, the interviewer sits down and writes their notes about you. They rate how you did on the case, your fit answers, how clearly you communicated, and the overall impression you left. At McKinsey, the rating is simple. They mark you as strong yes, yes, borderline, or no.
Those notes go into a system. HR can see them. Other interviewers can too, but usually only after they've done their own interview with you. They don't want to be influenced before meeting you.
Are you compared to other candidates that day? Officially, no. You're judged against McKinsey's hiring bar, not against whoever came before or after you.
But interviewers are human. If they've seen five weak candidates and then meet you, and you're decent, you'll naturally look better. It's not how it's supposed to work. But sometimes it does.
After all first round interviews are done, there's a debrief. Interviewers and HR sit together and discuss. Clear YESes move forward. Clear NOs are out. The interesting part is the borderline cases.
If you got one yes and one uncertain, they'll talk about you. Sometimes an interviewer really pushes for you. Sometimes no one does.
Bottom line: your result mostly comes from your own performance. But for close calls, there's always some discussion behind closed doors.
That is a perfect question to ask—you're trying to figure out where the decision leverage actually sits.
Here is the reality of how the black box works immediately after your Round 1 interview, specifically at McKinsey. The power is almost entirely concentrated in the hands of the interviewer, not HR. Immediately after your 45-60 minute slot, the interviewer dedicates time (often 15-30 minutes) to completing a formal evaluation in the firm's internal system. This evaluation is comprehensive: numerical scores across the key categories (Case Problem Solving, Personal Experience/Fit, Leadership), and crucial qualitative feedback explaining why those scores were assigned.
The most important section is the final synthesis and recommendation. The interviewer is required to give a definitive Hire, No Hire, or Strong Hire vote. HR's role is purely administrative—they consolidate the logistics and communicate the outcome, but they do not weigh in on the substance of your performance. Your performance is benchmarked against the firm's established bar for that level, not necessarily against the three other people who interviewed that same morning. The decision is fundamentally driven by the interviewer's detailed notes and their final, formal recommendation.
For R1, your result often goes through a quick calibration session or secondary review (often by the recruiting lead or a Partner) to ensure fairness, but if the interviewer submits a clear "Hire," that write-up is 95% of the battle won toward getting the second round invite.
All the best with your results!
Hi there,
After a McKinsey R1 interview, the process is fairly structured and consistent, especially from the interviewer’s side.
Each interviewer writes up their own evaluation independently right after the interview. This is based on the notes they took during the case and fit portion and is scored against McKinsey’s standard criteria (problem solving, structuring, communication, personal impact, etc.). Interviewers do not usually discuss candidates with each other before submitting their feedback.
Once those evaluations are submitted, HR and the recruiting team review them together. They look at the overall signal across interviewers rather than any single comment, and they assess whether the candidate meets the bar for the next round. Candidates are evaluated against an absolute standard, not ranked or directly benchmarked against other candidates interviewed that day.
Only after the written feedback is in might there be a short calibration discussion if the signals are mixed or borderline. In clear pass or clear no cases, decisions are typically straightforward.
So in short: decisions are driven primarily by interviewer notes and scores, reviewed by recruiting, and not by informal discussions or same-day comparisons to other candidates.
Best,
Evelina
Hi there,
After R1 interviews, HR will take a look to see at the recommendations of both interviewers. If they are aligned, then there's no further discussion and HR will communicate results with you (i.e. pass / not pass). If it is not aligned, then the two interviewers would discuss, and the interviewer that believes you should move to the next round needs to defend your case on why. Depending on the discussion, you may or may not pass to the next round.
hi!
After R1 the interviewer writes a detailed scorecard with ratings and evidence which is then reviewed in a decision meeting with other interviewers and recruiting, it is not just notes but a structured evaluation, and you are benchmarked against the bar not directly against candidates that day, virtual does not change that, happy to explain more if useful.
best,
Alessa :)
Hi,
After the interview is over, the interviewer is asked to evaluate your performance against a pre-determined set of criteria. You're not compared againt peers. When giving the evaluation, the interviewer is also asked to provide notes with specific examples of why they think you are above or below bar.
After this, there's a calibration meeting with all your interviewers where the decision is made. If all 2 or 3 say the same thing, then there's no discussion. If there are different opinions, the discussion happens and interviewers are asked to present arguments with examples justifying their decision.
The HR plays more of an orchestrator role, but the interviewers are the decision-makers.
So your strategy should really be doing consistently well in each interview.
Hope this helps. Good luck with recruiting!
Kateryna
It's useful to think of the recruiter as the process manager of the interview process.
The consultants who conduct the interviews are those who actually decide on your interview outcome.
They take notes during your interview according to a set of dimensions and then forward their decision to HR.
Based on this, you are invited or not to the next round.
Regardless of how it goes, btw, make sure that you ask for feedback. Some of the notes that the interviewers will have taken during the interview will be gold for your upcoming interviews (if you actually implement the feedback).
Best,
Cristian
