Hi there,

1) How is the case usually different between Final/Partner Round with early round ?

In general, the structure of the rounds is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however in finals there is usually more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main differences you may find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. Spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. Check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. May not have a “proper” structured case to present – during one of my MBB finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because during the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on the following:

• Review in detail your fit stories – they will matter more than in the first round. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do almost exclusively in interviews with peers.
• Prepare cases as you did for the first round. If you got feedback on a specific area, focus more on that part.

2) How should I approach the FIT part ? Any particular emphasize

As you probably know, the standard fit questions you may expect in a consulting interview are:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why consulting
3. Why us
4. Give me an example of when you led a team
5. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone not agreeing with you
6. What has been your major achievement so far when you started something
7. Why should we hire you

Questions about experiences (4, 5 and 6) are standard at McKinsey, but other companies may ask them as well. To prepare those questions, I would recommend the following checklist:

1. Understand the difference between, leadership, impact and drive areas. You can find a link with their differences here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-pei-difference-drive-and-personal-impact-918
2. Identify good stories for each area. Ideally you want to have at least two stories for each area.
3. Use a structure for your story. A possible one is the STARR model (Situation, Task, Action, Rational for Action, Results)
4. Identify for each story one sentence clarifying what the story is about and start with it. Think of it as the title of a journal article.
5. Practice live, collect feedback from people listening to you, reiterate until when you get fluent and persuasive

3) Any general advice?

See answers 1 and 2 ;)

Best,

Francesco