McKinsey SEA: Business Analyst R1 Interview

Hi! 

Firstly, congrats on making it through to the first round.

With only 2 weeks to prepare, your best bet is to focus on a few things:

1. Understand the particular format and flow of McKinsey interviews (i.e., what to expect from both a McKinsey case interview and a PEI interview, and what the interviewers are expecting to see)

2. Work on your structuring as a priority - a critical skill for both case solving and the PEI narrative. McK cases tend to be more interviewer-led, but interviewers will still expect you to be able to lay out a structured approach to a given business problem (e.g., systematically identifying the revenue and cost drivers of a business, and then working through the potential levers for improvement).

3. Get some reps in. While each case is different, there is some degree of pattern recognition when it comes to casing. If you can practice a couple of cases per day until your first round, you should have a great chance!

Regarding your point on insurance or investment topics - I wouldn’t worry too much. The cases are more about logic and structure than they are about deep industry knowledge. Interviewers aren’t expecting you to know a given sector in depth. In my first round I had a case on the Oil and Gas sector, which I knew absolutely nothing about at the time - but it was still accessible.

Give me a shout if you’d like some McK specific help on this, from an interviewer’s perspective.
 

Hi,

Congrats by securing the interview at McKinsey.

They only expect a basic industry knowledge, but not very detailed. The best way to tackle such cases is by asking relevant question you understand the product, customer and business model of the company.

Let me know if you would like to practice 1 technical case together.

If offer 50% discount for a first session.

Mattijs

Congrats on getting the interview call!

First, It would be helpful to get more perspective on your current preparation level - are starting from zero with 2 weeks to go? Or are you at a decent level and are just worried that you are not good enough? If you are early in your prep, then perhaps it would be a good idea to consider asking HR to push your interview date for preparing more - it should be ok to request so.

Now assuming that you are already at a decent level of prep:

• Are you worried about the detailed sectoral nuances? In which case, feel better in knowing that detailed sectoral knowledge is not expected from interview candidates unless you are interviewing for an expert-consultant role. You are only expected to know about elementary business concepts - and then are expected to ask more questions and build upon knowledge shared by the interviewer. That learning & synthesis ability also carries good weight in your performance.
• Instead, are you worried about overall case structuring for those sectors? In which case, you are probably not doing frameworks in the most efficient and/or correct way possible. We should relook and refine your approach to frameworks
• Or instead, are you worried about the math related aspects of these sector's cases? In which case, the best approach would be to collect all issues, hurdles, and problems so far and sit down with a coach to iron out those niggles
• Or finally, are you worried in general about your interview performance because you are being too hard on yourself? In which case, relax, refocus your prep, and follow a process to ensure you have complete coverage in your prep.

Would be helpful if you can share more specific details about your profile, your preparation, and your performance so far in case interviews.

Additionally, keep in mind that Fit also plays a very important role in your interview performance. Focussing too much on casing and too little on Fit is not going to do you any justice as well.

Hello there,

Adding to what was stated:

1. First of all: ask for a postponement. Most people do it and they won’t see you differently because of that. Say that you appreciate the opportunity and want to make the most of it, therefore one month to prepare would be better so you can delivery your top performance.

See that if you’re new to case interview prep, even one month may not be enough, but of course it is better than 2 weeks.

2. Hire a coach to check your main gaps and properly help you to address them. You don’t have a time to waste with multiple sub par peers, to eventually get where you should focus on. It is better to have a targeted study plan made by someone who was in the other side of the table.

I am a former McKinsey consultant, feel free to reach out if you have further questions or would like to talk about your situation over a free 20min call.

Best,

Mari

If you don't feel confident, then ask for more time. 

About 1/3 candidates postpone their interview, so as long as you're polite and contact them in advance it's perfectly fine. 

Consider also getting an expert assessment so you understand what it the gap that you need to close and what you need to do for it. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi,

Congrats on getting the interview!

Ask for a post-ponement. They're usually very flexiable and you should be able to ask for another 2 more weeks. 

So let's say you have a month left to prep now - This would be enough.

First of all, the case won't be too technical and you won't be asked technically deep questions - more if you understand the nature of the business model e.g. How does an insurance company make revenue, what kind of costs they might have etc. 

Second of all, hire a coach and get a baseline understanding of where your performance stands. You need to know where your weaknesses are so that you have a very targeted case prep.

Good luck!

Not ready for your interview? Here’s exactly what to do.

Call HR and ask to postpone. Simple as that. If you don’t feel ready, don’t burn the shot. They’ll usually accommodate if you give them a heads-up.

Also—if you’re applying for a Business Analyst role at McKinsey, they’re not testing your industry knowledge. They’re testing:

• Structure
• Math
• Chart interpretation
• Brainstorming
• Communication

That’s it. Don’t get distracted by case types or industries.

If you’re unsure where you really stand, get external help. You need someone who can call out blind spots and tell you exactly what to fix.

Best,

Alberto

—

Explore my latest case inspired by a real MBB interview: Sierra Sprints - New Product Launch

hey!

Don't worry too much about industry specifics—McKinsey mainly looks for clear thinking and structured problem solving. Focus on practicing case basics (profitability, market entry, etc.), get comfortable with the interviewer-led format, and do a few mock cases if you can. You’ve got this!

Alessa

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation from McKinsey!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

• First of all, if you are not feeling confident about the interviews, I would strongly advise you to consider asking for them to be postponed. With about two weeks' notice, the recruiter will most likely agree to this.
• Moreover, why would the case study be about insurance or technical investments? Is it because you found out about the industry focus of your interviewers? I would strongly advise against trying to trick the system. Instead, prepare broadly, as there is absolutely no guarantee that the case study will be in either of these industries.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming McKinsey interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen