Hi there,

Try not to go in expecting anything! Interviews even within the 1st round can vary. “technically” everything will be the same, but at the end of the day no two interviews are the same. There a not major differences between round 1 and 2 other than there are generally Partners interviewing you (who may be a bit more “flexible” and off the cuff).

You do not need to do anything majorly different, but, ultimately, for all interviews you need to stay flexible/adaptable/agile. Keep testing yourself in unique situations. If there were identified weakness from the 1st round, make sure to address these.

Here's some general case prep reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

Some casing reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

And some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Hi there,

Q: What are the differences between McKinsey 1st and 2nd round? Are the interviews going to follow the same structure?

The 2nd/final round has the same structure as the first (fit + case+ your questions); however in a final round, partners may:

1. Spend more time on fit/PEI and your alignment with the company
2. Ask questions related to the areas of improvement you got feedback on after the first round
3. Not use a "standard" case. In some countries for example you may have market sizing questions, which are uncommon at McKinsey. Having said that, in most offices cases remain standard in finals as well

To prepare, you can work on the following:

1. Review your PEI stories. Be sure to have at least one backup for each dimension.
2. Work on the areas you got feedback on, if any (eg. structure, creativity, PEI)
3. Continue with your case prep. If you are tracking your performance, do drills for the areas where you are struggling the most / review cases where you made mistakes instead of doing just random cases

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Extra reading:

▶ 4 PEI Dimensions You Should Know

▶ 4 Ways McKinsey Interviews are Different

▶ How to Prepare for a Case Interview

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Bonus point: partners often give cases related to the industries they cover. If you know their sectors, it is a good idea to review those industries / read their research papers on that / do cases related to that sector.

Best,

Francesco

Upvotes

Yes, the structure of the interviews should be the same. However, you can expect more senior interviewers and their personal approach might reflect it to some extent. In my case, for example, the focus was somewhat shifted toward high-level/strategic discussion rather than performing many accurate calculations.

Hi there,

The structure of the case study should be more or less the same. The few differences however tend to be:

1- Seniority of the person (you would need to showcase maturity and confidence in the way you handle the comms)

2- Depth of the case (they might not go into detailed quant questions and might focus more on conceptual problem solving)

3- Fit part (they might focus more on getting to know you as a person as they would want to know if they would put you in front of clients or not)

Mario

If you get interviewed by partners, they might take the conversation into their area of expertise and might start a discussion around some industry / trend / strategic topics rather than giving a “standard” case.

The personal/cultural fit is usually also in focus because this is the final filter of whether or not you'd mesh well with the team and are deemed presentable towards clients