Hi there, 

you can definitely use personal stories if the key take away answer the questions, hence if you feel that this story is the best to use, then go for it.

Still I would recommend to push the thinking and for every question to have at least 2 stories you can leverage. 

Good luck,

Lucie

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Hey there,

First of all, my condolences. I am very sorry for your loss!
 

How I would approach it:

1. I believe the story will work since it sets the context. The content then needs to focus on what you did in this situation to overcome the different challenges. You would dive really deep into how you did that. Interviewers usually don't dive deeper into that context but rather focus on your actions and behaviors as you solved the different types of challenges. I will link an article below that gives you some content ideas. Nonetheless, always have a backup story ready!
2. No, but it adds to the story if you are able to engage other people to help you with your goal.

For more information on all PEI dimensions, how to draft your content and communication, check out the article I wrote on it here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-pei

All the best to you!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

Very sorry for your loss. 

Here my thoughts..

a. It's fair game to bring in a personal story, especially when it's that powerful. However, you're right, some interviewers may feel a bit uncomfortable asking follow ups, so either don't take the risk or at least be careful about how you position and don't emphasize the tragic event too much.

b. Not necessarily - would not worry too much about that dimension. That said, it's a matter of positioning, i.e. you can always embed in a more social context.

Cheers, Andi

Hi there,

I’m generally all about personal stories and getting creative with story telling. Hence, I really like your approach!

However, knowing the confidential scoring criteria of McKinsey, I wouldn’t exactly advise you to use this particular story.

Let me know if you’d like a session on PEI, where I can remove any doubts on which stories are the ”right” ones and help you with great story telling.

Best of luck!

Hi there,

Sorry for your loss. I agree with what most of the other coaches are saying in that:

1) Make sure to move past the incident quickly and really focus on the major initiatives taken.

2) Have a backup story just in case

I agree with the other ex-McK coaches where it's definitely an entrepreneurial drive story but one that some interviewers may try to avoid due to the sensitivity of the topic (especially if it's a recent story).

One of the best entrepreneurial drive stories I've heard as a final round interviewer was where a candidate started his own business in his early teens to fund his education and financially support his family after losing his father.  In reflection, I felt the candidate did a great job of framing the story less about his loss (i.e., context) and more around his entrepreneurial drive which made it easier for me as the interviewer to engage and ask questions.  Unlike the other two PEI dimensions, entrepreneurial drive does not need to have interactions with others.

Good luck!

(editiert)

Hi! Thanks for your braveness in sharing such a personal story, my condolence for your loss. 
 

While this story could work for drive, I‘d recommend you to prepare a backup question. Many interviewers intuitively shy away from too personal or emotionally challenging experiences. 
 

In case the interviewer goes ahead with this story please make sure to highlight why this was important to you to achieve and as Allen rightly points out how you responded to challenges along the way. 
 

If helpful for you happy to assist you in exploring also another fitting PEI story.

All the best

Freddy

Wow, what a story.

That's a very good question.  I think the answer is, yes, go ahead and tell it, but I'm not 100% sure.

Firstly, if you do tell the story, definitely  describe the emotions, get into the details, just without making the story too emotional.  That's very professional. 

Furthermore, make sure that it includes some measure of flexibility, adapting to changing circumstances, exercising good judgement to make tradeoffs AFTER you have set these goals for yourself.  These are the types of things that the interviewer is looking for because they are very transferrable to a client situation and therefore are very appropriate to ask about. 

No need to interact with others.

I'm happy to explain more about what they might push you on.

Best of luck,

Allen

(editiert)

My personal advice is to not have personal stories for PEI. You want to ideally showcase how you demonstrated your entrepreneurial drive abilities in a work setting so it is directly applicable to your time at McKinsey. 

What you describe is a story with great drive to overcome a tough personal situation which is worthy in life for sure. Personally I would look for similar examples in overcoming challenges at work. Also passing exams is not really entrepreneurial. For that you need to think about how you used innovative ideas to solve a challenging problem.