MBB Fit Interviews

Hey Gia Han, 

Regarding your question: 

• It's not a requirement that your stories be consulting related nor always in a professional setting.
  • Most people actually will not have consulting experience, so it's not required that your stories be from that field.
  • The key is to show your skillset and abilities within each PEI dimension.
  • For example, your Courageous Change can be about actions you took in overcoming a setback in your personal life, or at school, etc. that wasn't in a professional setting.
• The goal is not necessarily to have diversity in each question
  • However, it's unlikely that the same setting (story) will be best suited to address each dimension.
  • You want to choose the best stories for each dimension, and if it so happens that they are diverse, great! If not, it's more important that they meet the requirements of the question
• In theory, the questions should be those on the website, but slight variations arise

The main object from the PEI is to see that you have the qualities and capabilities that can be applied within the consulting environment across various dimensions

The PEI is one of my specialties! I'd be more than happy to talk you through it more and help craft your stories! Remember, the PEI is a very strong lever that anchors the interviewers mind about you and your capabilities prior to the case interview! So use it strategically to your benefit

All the best

Hey Gia Han😊

Great questions — McKinsey PEI and MBB fit interviews can really set you apart! Here’s how to think about it:

🔹 Professional > Volunteering — If possible, choose professional experiences (more relevant context, higher stakes). But if your volunteering story is powerful (real leadership, conflict, results), it can absolutely work! ✅

🔹 Diversity helps — Aim for varied stories (e.g. leadership, team conflict, pressure situations). This shows range and adaptability 🌍

🔹 Don’t rely only on listed questions — McKinsey’s examples are great, but interviewers often go off-script or probe deeper. Be ready for variations like:
“Tell me about a time you influenced someone difficult” or “How did you recover from a failure?” 💬

Let me know if you want help shaping your stories — happy to coach you! 🚀

Best, Alessa

Hi Gia Han,

regarding your points:

1. Volunteering stories are fine
– McKinsey (and MBB in general) cares most about the skills demonstrated (leadership, resilience, influencing, etc.), not whether it’s a corporate story.
– That said, professional examples are usually easier to tie to consulting-relevant skills under pressure, so prioritize them when possible.

2. Diversity is helpful but not required
– If you have 2–3 strong, varied stories that you can flex across different questions, that’s enough. Don’t force diversity at the cost of impact.

3. Website questions are representative, not exhaustive
– Prepare deeply for the core: personal impact, entrepreneurial drive, inclusive leadership, and courageous change
– But also be ready for variants like:
 • “Tell me about a time you changed someone’s mind”
 • “A time you took a big risk”
 • “A time you had to motivate others”

Let me know if you want help pressure-testing one of your stories.

Best of luck!

Hi there!

I've actually developed a video course specifically for this which is available on PrepLounge: 

• Video Course: Master the McKinsey PEI

Now, specifically to your questions:

• Should the stories be consulting-related or professional-experiences in a way? ie. if I have a volunteering anecdote, completely unrelated to consulting/ professional experiences, is that fine? Or should we aim to have professional experiences anecdotes throughout
  • Ideally they should be professionally related but it doesn't have to exclusively so. They should be however from the last three years or so and prove that you have consultant-like skills
• Is the goal to have a diversity of experiences for each question?
  • No, I wouldn't say that's the goal. The goal is to have a story that is relevant for the question you were asked, which you are able to convey in a clear, persuasive and structured way, and which shows that you have consultant-like skills
• Are the McKinsey's questions listed on the website the only ones that will be asked? As in assume that questions there will be the only ones that I need to prepare for?
  • Not necessarily, though I understand in more and more cases they tend to ask exactly those questions. Depending on the office / role, they might ask variations of those. 

Best,
Cristian

1) Your stories can be professional, personal, or academic—just keep them fresh (ideally from the last 2–3 years). Don’t repeat stories across interviews; interviewers will share notes during the debrief.

2) McKinsey’s PEI looks for very specific markers in each story. Your goal is to provide clear evidence of those markers so they see the consulting skills in action.

3) The four classic PEI themes are still the core. The questions might be worded differently, but your story will still map to one of the four categories.

Check with your recruiting contact if the office you applied to is already using the new values and purpose PEI dimension—they’re rolling it out gradually.

Best,

Alberto

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