Alle Fragen zum Tag McKinsey Final Round - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hi Tabitha,

I will give my input based on my experience giving final rounds at a tier 2 firm as well as my own experience moving to MBB.

First of all it's important to take official feedbacks with a grain of salt.

(1) For legal and marketing reasons firms are very careful regarding the feedback they provide. I've been part of final round discussions with partners were we discussed interviewee's attire, the fact they have spouses or not, age, ... for obvious reasons we won't say that we didnt hire someone because you wore the wrong sweater.

(2) Depending on the season/office/position you apply the demand for new hires will be different and that will impact the threshold for giving an offer. A common myth is to think MBB will always hire regardless of their needs. I've discuss with a MBB partner that putted very blunt "at this period in the year we have reach our target quota, anyone can still apply but they will only be hired if they are a superstart, otherwise waiting until January is better."

Now, this is not to say that you should disregard your feedback. You have mention a specific point that you could focus on.

If I was in your shoes I would do the following:

1) Status quo. What other firms are you currently in process, what firms could you potential still apply and what is the timeline to do so

2) Honest assessment. Get an unbiased opinion on where you currently stand today. This means, PEI, case, Q&A, ...you only know how much work do you need to do if you know where you stand

3) Develop a "work plan" for the remaining of your time taking into account the feedback you received

Happy to discuss this on a call if you would like

Hi,

Several points:

1. HRs do not participate at all.
2. Your feelings are very subjective. It might be the case that you'll get the opposite feedbacks from what you expect
3. If 2 partners support you and 1 is against you, it really depends on how strongly against you he is

To sum up, please keep calm and wait for a decision

Best

I agree with everything that Adi has said! You need to approach final round interviews in the same way as earlier ones. Make sure you do some final practice to further improve your case delivery. Take the feedback you got after the first round and actively work on it during a few final cases. After that, the offer is yours to lose!

I understand the desire to ask this question (peace of mind), but think about how little worrying/thinking about this matters!

Nothing we say will change how you prep/perform...no matter what you're going to (and should) try your best.

The real answer is: You don't have to be better to get in, but even if you are perfect you may not get it!

It depends on office demand, interviewer-candidate dynamic, what types of errors are made, how frequently, etc.

You can "ace the case" and not get in because you just didn't seem like someone they'd want to work with. You can make a couple mistake and get rave reviews because you took in feedback super well, were insightful, and were a pleasure to case.

It honestly depends.

In terms of your specific question though...yes you can make an arithmetic error or two. Yes you can miss a sub-bullet in the structure. Yes (maybe) you can not be especially fluent in fit.

Hello Shaan,

You are pointing a problem that most candidate are facing after a first round of preparation. Somehow you manage to sometime solve the case, but you haven't yet understood in details what make you succeed or not.

From now on, it is very important to identify each of the dimensions you need to improve, and on work it on individually.

1. Structure is the most common and impacting issue, since it will be very difficult to dive in the case if you don't cover the right topics or are not properly structured to do so. Forget about the pre-existing framework you can find in books. The one question you should keep in mind while building your structure is "Will each of the dimension of my approach bring insights to formulate a recommandation". I can provide with a very good exercice for this called structuring drills, contact me in pm if needed.

2. Drive and business sens come in second. You need to understand that you have the lead for the case resolution, and identifying insights from analysis you will conduct. So your attitude must be dynamic and always keep in mind that what you are looking for is insights not data.

3. Recommandation is not a conclusion ! Meaning that you are not closing the case by summarizing what you've just done. The first words you will prononce at this stage should directly answer to the question, and then bring the elements supporting this recommandation. Keep in mind, that in many cases this is not your recommandation itself that matter but the way you will structure your communication to deliver the message with a lasting impact.

I hope this help, don't hesitate to reach me if you need more details.

Best

Benjamin

Hi there,

There's definitely a big cull from R1 to R2. In R2 they're more "hoping you make it".

It's obviously impossible to say, but it's larger than 10% and less than 50%.

However, this depends on the company, office, recruiting channel, and time period. For example, in the boom years and coming from an MBA + going to a low demand office, all 3 guys I met on my interview day got offers alongside me.

Hi Alex,

First of all, let me take this chance to wish you good luck with your final round!

Secondly, for a final round interview, the most important points to pay particular attention to is the following:

1. Structure
2. Selling for the future: Since you will be having case discussions with a Partner or a Managing Director, their primary focus is on selling future services to their clients, to keep the pipeline running. If you can show this skill by advising for further analysis at the end of your recommendation, they would love you already!

Best wishes,

Gammal

Hi there,

In terms of what to expect in the final, the structure of the rounds is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however in finals there is usually more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main differences you may find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. Spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. Check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. May not have a “proper” structured case to present – during one of my finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because during the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company. Having said that, cases at McKinsey are quite standard in finals in many offices.

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on the following:

• Review in detail your fit stories. Be sure to review your PEI stories with experienced candidates or consultants and to have at least a backup for each dimension
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do almost exclusively in interviews with peers.
• Prepare cases as you did for the first round. If you got feedback on a specific area such as creativity, focus more on that part.

In terms of creativity, whenever you get a question on brainstorming in the case, I would recommend the following:

1. Ask for one minute of time to structure your thoughts
2. Present a first level of the structure with MECE buckets
   1. You can do that even if you have never seen that question before. If you have no idea on how to structure a first level, you can use a structure as X vs Non-X.
   2. Potential examples include: Long term vs short term; Current vs New; Financial vs Non-financial.
   3. The more you practice cases in the right way, the more you will be able to derive appropriate MECE buckets fitting a case.
3. Brainstorm options in each bucket
   1. Your creativity in this area is directly correlated with the number of cases you have done.
   2. If you are weak in creativity for one specific industry, the most effective strategy is to go through cases of a good consulting MBA casebook for that industry.
   3. There are many casebooks available for free online – although not all are good. Screen the list for the industries interesting for you and work on them. MBA casebooks are not good in terms of the structure of the case but can help to develop creativity.

Below you can find an example of how to brainstorm in a structured way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interviewer. So, generally speaking, how would you decrease the cost of raw materials?

► STEP 1: ASK FOR ONE MINUTE OF TIME

Interviewee. That’s an interesting question. Do you mind if I take 1 minute to think about it?

Interviewer. Please take your time.

► STEP 2: IDENTIFY MECE BUCKETS

Interviewee. Thanks; I believe there are two key areas to decrease the cost of raw material; we may decrease the cost of each unit, or we may decrease the number of units we buy. I would like now to go a bit deeper into these two components.

(Note that even if you are brainstorming, you are first presenting a list of the MECE areas. This is fundamental to brainstorm correctly)

► STEP 3: BRAINSTORM OPTIONS IN EACH BUCKET

Interviewee. Well, in order to decrease the cost per unit we may do a couple of things, keeping in mind we want to maintain revenues at the same level:

1. we may negotiate a lower price;
2. we may look for other suppliers.

In order to decrease the number of units, we may do the following:

1. we may start to use a more efficient technology for our raw material, so that we have less waste;
2. we may use a new kind of raw material for which there is less waste.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to learn how to brainstorm and structure all the major common questions, please feel free to PM me – I do a session exactly on that.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Indy,

Very broad question ;)

You want of course to show structuring skills, top-down communication, good math skills, ability to interpret graphs, ability to brainstorm in a structured way, synthesis and good answers for the standard PEI questions. However, I guess you are leaning more on tips on communication skills.

First of all, you may want to work on your body language and voice. Even if you are nervous, you don’t want to show that. You could work on the following:

1. Sound of your voice. Monotone voice is one of the major elements of poor communication. Speaking fast is also another element that can give an impression of lack of confidence. If you have issues on this area I would suggest to listen to podcasts with great speakers for 30min – 1h per day with headphones. After some days you will start to speak in a similar way, as you will absorb their communication style.
2. Smile. Smiling can be a powerful element to show you enjoy the interview (and interviewer) and are not afraid. You can force smiles (although not too much) in case you get feedback you are not doing that.
3. Eye contact. You should not always look the interviewer in the eyes. But you should not look away when he/she asks you something (in particular in case you get questions like “Why should I hire you”)
4. Ability to break the ice. Confident people are not afraid to start small talks with interviewers at the beginning. Keeping silence creates less connection and may be considered a sign of lack of confidence
5. Posture. Leaning too much towards the interviewer is also a sign of lack of confidence. You should keep a straight position most of the time.

You may also want to work on your mindset. The interview should be an opportunity to understand if you and the company are a mutually good fit and show the skills you practiced, not the only chance you have to change your career.

Finally, you may want to exercise with people that put you in a situation of pressure, so that there are no surprises the day of the interview.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

I would suggest the following:

1. Continue the process with Bain, BCG, OW, RB, ATK and equivalent top strategy companies first
2. If you are not successful go for the research path

I believe it would be easier to transit from a second tier consulting firm to MBB than from research McK to McK, as the job is pretty different. You can find some additional information on that at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/which-responsibilities-research-analyst-has-881#a1708

Best,

Francesco

Hi! Give them a call and ask. Don't make the world more complicated than it is. :)

Cheers, Sidi

Hey anonymous,

No, it's definitely not normal for any location to take so long to communicate the final results (it may take 1-2 days; in some exceptional situations a bit longer, but definitely not 2+ weeks). And, yes, regardless of the outcome, they will always communicate it!

Thus, I would recommend you to send them a very polite follow up email asking if they have a date on when they will communicate it to you (do not ask directly why didn't they say anything yet or if you have got an offer or not).

PS: despite not being a normal situation... this happened to me too. I just got an interview 2 or 3 weeks after the final interview, and at the time the interviewer told me that he had completely forgotten to call to tell me that I passed. 10 years latter this gives a funny story to tell :D

Best

Bruno

Hi V,

congrats on making it through the first round.

To answer your questions:

1. These calls are usually short, half an hour max.
2. No, no proactive things to prepare except maybe some questions you want to ask.
3. the call is very much interviewer-led, giving you feedback. Of course, you may ask questions - and maybe they will ask you how your experience was. But for you, it's mostly about listening and following up to understand better.
4. Yes, you can and should take the opportunity to ask about the interview ahead.
5. the usual ones: Be polite, friendly, appreciative, humble and mindful of their time. Don't waste the opportunity of receiving feedback by talking 80% of the time. Don't start to justify or explain things. Take the points as they're given, ask follow-up questions for clarification, but don't try to "change" any of the feedback.

Good luck for the final round!

Cheers

Elias

Hi,

What's the difference between the FIT and PEI?

Partners on the final round will ask the general PEI questions as well as whatever they like. Remember - they are partners and thus they are super experienced in asking the right and challenging questions. However, having multiple stories for each PEI questions will help you to adapt them quickly to any situation.

Best

Hi there,

You normally hear back from them on the following 2 business days, so in your case if would probably be Monday or Tuesday. There are some exeptions from time to time when of the interviewer is super busy and they have to delay your debrief session by one or two days, but in general they are very quick in giving feedback. I case you do not hear from HR for 1 week after your interview, then you can email him/her asking about updates.

As for your last question, when there is a profound disagreement between Partners (2 have positive feedback and 1 is not sure about it), they might invite you for a final interview with another Partner to make a final decision. This happens from time to time but it is not super common. In general, the decision is made after your final round with 3 Partners/Associate Partners!

I hope you get some good news soon!

Mehdi

Hi Anonymous,

First of all congratulations to reach final round interviews!

While first round interviews are highly standardized especially at McKinsey, in second-round interviewers bascially everything can happen.

The main idea of second/final round interviews is to ensure your performance in those areas in which you did not convince McKinsey in the first round interviews. This can be either the case interview or the McKinsey PEI, or both (in any case you need to have also some additional PEI examples prepared for that). Whatever it is, your weak points from first round interviews are where you can expect a strong focus in the second/final round interviews.

So in your case they will put a strong focus on structuring issues - so make sure to focus on that in your practice, ideally with a professional coach to ensure that you are really living up to the high McKinsey standards.

Hope that helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the upvote button!

Robert

I know this is the new twist to the leadership question for McKinsey this year around diversity and inclusion which is causing some uncertainty. I've discussed this with many candidates where I don't think you need to seek for special examples but focus on trying and pull out the inclusive elements from your existing leadership examples. For example, encouraging less active members in your team to contribute, picking up on how taking a 'conventional' approach to doing something would marginalise specific groups of people (e.g., gender, socioeconomic, racial), standing up against the non-inclusive status quo, etc.

Hi there,

When interviewers give a graph, the goal is to find an insight directly related to the objective of the case or to a sub-point related to it.

There may be several ways for them to present the graph, but the final goal is always the same – identify a piece of information that helps to answer that particular question.

In terms of the way to approach the graph, I would recommend the following:

1. Read the graph

• Ask for one minute of time to understand the graph
• Summarize what the graph is about. Read in particular the graph title (often forgotten), the axes and the legend

2. Analyze the graph

• Repeat the question you have to answer. Many people don’t spend time to clarify the question they have to answer; consequently, they answer the wrong question. Don’t be one of them and be sure to restate what is the main insight you have to derive
• Provide an analysis related to the question. Analyze how the graph can help to answer the question you just repeated

3. Provide a conclusion for the graph.

• Answer to the question asked. Again, very often people simply state what the graph is about, without providing any conclusion. A great candidate will provide a clear answer based on data
• Present the next steps to follow. As a last step, a great candidate will present what should be done next to help further the client

Best,

Francesco

To everyone who responded: many thanks! It was me who asked this question.

To everyone who may read this now or later: I confirm that all the above responses are essentially correct. They largely mirrored my experiences in my final round, and helped me direct my final preparation efforts.

I received an offer very shortly after posting this question, and reiterate my thanks to all who made that posible. :-)

Hi!

There are dozens of potential reasons. But let me try and compile the most frequent observations with candidates that did not receive an offer in the final round at McKinsey.

1. PEI

• Failure to cope with the extreme deep dives and follow-up questions related to their PEI stories --> final round interviewers often go to extreme depth in order to really understand the motives and reasons, WHY you did or said certain things. Many candidates did not understand that the core is not WHAT they did, but WHY they did it! Having no strong answers to these questions was a frequent source of doubt the oftentimes led to a rejection
• Failure to show empathy in the stories (especially in "Personal Impact") --> Very often, candidates' stories concentrated too much on analysis and how they provided evidence for the superiority of their ideas in order to convince others; however, what the Firm is really looking for are persons who are able to look at a problem through the eyes of others! So a good story of convincing others should show how the candidate tried to understand the REASONS why the other person was against the his/her ideas, and then how he/she addressed these concerns in order to get buy-in.

2. Case

• Failure to derive structural elements from a clear logic and missing link to the core question (weak conceptual thinking) --> Very often, candidates misunderstand that structuring a case does not just mean to come up with buckets and sub-aspects, but that they have to make clear how they will answer the question that has been asked. This is very important in order to avoid coming across as a "weak conceptual thinker"
• Failure to take the interviewer along --> candidates frequently made the mistake of expecting interviewers to read their mind, i.e., when doing some analysis, they just went silent, did the calculation, and then presented the result. This is a weak performeance, completely independent of whether the result is correct or not! The interviewer needs to be treated as a client. HEnce, you have to walk him through your logic an align on this logic. Then you perform the calculations while TAKING ALONG the interviewer. This is how you would also ensure buy in from a client (Walking him through the analytical steps instead of just presenting a result), and this is what interviewers are testing for!

3. General

• Faliure to show progress on first round feedback --> if a particular area was singled out as an impovement need after round one, then it is absolutely crucial to get this right for the final round! Interviewers will scrutinize this critically, and only if they see clear progress they will give the candidate the thumbs up.

I hope this is helpful!

Cheers, Sidi