Hi there,

It's really important for us to know what region you're in (NA is the “worst”, UK 2nd worst, then Europe, but Middle East and Australia/NZ are still doing well!).

All that said, they would not be wasting valuable partner time in interviewing you if they were not intending to hire. So, in this aspect you are safe.

It's important to remember a few things here:

1. Every region is different
2. Things change quickly
3. Hiring “freezes” are often not blanket freezes (there are exceptions for certain roles AND recruiting channels…like an MBA)
4. They might delay your start date

Just perform your best. You absolutely have a chance if they are moving forward with the interview.

Good luck!

Hi there,

You're right about wasting Partner's time. If there's no role waiting for you, you won't be interviewed. McKinsey have no reason to pretend otherwise.

The fact that you are being interviewed means that there's a potential role waiting for you. So go get it and let me know if there's anything I can help with.

Best of luck!

Moritz

I really doubt MBBs will trully have a hiring freeze. Entry level consultants are not hired for what they deliver now, but for what they'll be able to deliver 2, 3, 5 years from now. If you don't hire now, you won't have enough talent to take advantage of the recession.

Of course they'll adjust their intake, and definitely will stop recruiting experienced people except for very well identified needs.

It is a bit tricky. What I have seen is that they are still hiring for the analyst and associate classes but outside of that hiring has stopped almost completely. That being said, if you have an interview then it means there is demand for your expertise.

What they tend to do for candidates they really like is to give a later start date as there is always natural churn at McKinsey and they would rather wait to have demand for you to join a project vs join sooner and be on the beach.

Hi there,

It's important to understand that the hiring freeze may impact different offices and practices differently, and it's difficult to say exactly how it will impact your particular situation. However, I think it's a good sign that you've already been invited to a second round interview, as this suggests that the firm is still actively considering candidates.

Rumors can often be unreliable, so I wouldn't put too much weight on what you've heard from prep partners. The best thing you can do is to prepare well for your interview and demonstrate your value to the firm. Ultimately, the firm will make their decision based on the overall health of the business and the demand for consultants in your particular area of expertise. So, my advice would be to focus on what you can control, which is your performance in the interview, and let the rest take care of itself.

Best,
Cristian

Hello,

Great question! I know it's nerve-wracking, but since you've been given a date for the interview, you should be safe to assume that there is a role there for you to fill. Otherwise they would not be wasting partners' time with interviewing, as others here have pointed out! Given that you are approaching round 2, my advice would be to not worry about how the hiring freeze might affect you at this stage, and just give it your best shot. I think at worst the effect would be something like they want to hire you, but ask you to start at a later date because hiring is slow. But in any case, these kinds of things are hard to predict, and are very region-dependent. Best of luck!