Dear future consultant,

Congratulations and all the best luck for the final round. In my experience, a firm like Mckinsey does not forgive mistakes to any applicant, so you did a good job during the first round.

- For the fit part: interviewers will go deep in other examples for leadership, analytics, conflict, teamwork, etc. So have at least three (3) different answers for each potential fit question. Do not use the same examples that you provided during the first round

- For the case part: expect the same drill

WHAT IS IMPORTANT is that the structure and dynamics of the interview might change. So, I would recommend you to read the "Consulting Q&A" the questions "First round interview with a senior director" which will give you an idea what would you expect in the final round (have in mind that senior consultants hold the final interviews (e.g., Partners) in most cases.

In case you don't find it, I have copied my answer below:

""""""""""""""""""I hope this short message finds you well and helps you in your preparation. The more senior level the interviewers are, the more creative they become during the interviews. What does it mean? That they can take the conversation wherever they want and with no specific order (they can jump from a fit question to a numerical question, then return to the fit part and finish with a small case)

However, the mechanics and gist of the interview won't change. They have to answer the following critical questions:

1) Are you a good fit for the company? This is basically the fit part of the interview in which you probably can expect a) stress interview b) going very deep into specific examples c) multiple skills assessment from previous experience

2) Do you have the skills set to become a good consultant? This is basically the case part in which the interviewer can ask you a) out of the hood numerical questions b) short interview cases c) real cases that the interviewer is currently working d) cases that the interviewer is inventing while he is speaking to you.

One final recommendation is not to feel nervous if you feel that the interview is not "structured", this is how senior level professional approach their interviews.""""""""""""""""""

Regards,

Hugo

(editiert)

I want to share my experience as an ex-Mckinsey consultant and part of recruiting team, here is my perspective:

How do these interviews with the partners differ from the first round interviews?

Every partner discussion is different and the direction the conversation takes depends on role that you are interviewing for, feedback that the partner has got from earlier rounds and of course the Partner’s personality.

However, generally it is advisable to keep the following things in mind.

1) Are the cases delivered with the same style of precision and structure as the first round?

- A lot of times, the Partner round case discussions are less structured. Partners tend to give real life case from their experience or sometimes they can also pick a situation from the candidate’s CV, make a few changes and turn it into a case.

2) Is the Fit format consistent with the PEI, or do the partners take these conversations in different directions?

- Generally, Partners will hit fewer topics but will go much deeper. So they will ask you about something and then you should expect a lot of follow on questions. They really want to understand the full story

3) Generally, what portion of the hour-long session is dedicated to the case study?

- approx. 30-40 minutes

3) What personality traits are most important to demonstrate with the partners?

See the answer below.

Keep the following things in mind while preparing for the Partner interview:

Better synthesis – Your analytical mindset has already been tested in earlier rounds. Partners would like to test your client readiness. Partners pay more attention to how you draw your conclusions, communicate your conclusions, how you synthesis etc.

Comfort with less structured case discussion – Partners love to test your creativity, out of the box thinking. Multiple times in the discussion they can ask you your opinion on the data point/clarification that you had asked, to check your business acumen e.g. you asked, what is the growth rate of our client; partner responds what number would you want to assume? or open ended questions e.g. tell me more, is there anything else?

Consistent stories and deep dives – Partners would want to know your story. They want to see whether your decision to join McKinsey is consistent with your career story. Whether the achievements you have mentioned on the CV are consistent with your project stories. Partners will drill down into your experiences and achievements to the extreme. They want to understand how you react to challenges and how you think and communicate about your past work.

Feel free to get in touch with me in case of further clarification/advise on this topic.

All the best!

Hi,

It depends on the company:

Mckinsey is a bit more structured and demanding in its approach with the fit part that takes up to 30 minutes. They will ask all sets of questions including a story on 1 of 3 competencies: Leadership, Achievement, Personal Impact. The partners on the last round are more experienced and they will challenge every single detail of your story. So make sure that you have a couple of backup stories.

BCG interviews are a bit shorter, a bit less structured and detailed. They will also test competencies like leadership, Impact, Teamwork. Similar to McKinsey, the partners on the last round are more experienced and they will challenge every single detail of your story.

On the contrary, Bain consultants will be less concerned about your stories and will not have strict guidelines. They will mostly check your background and motivation.

For all the companies "your questions to the interviewer" is an important part. Basically, it is a chance to ask questions at the end of the interview after the case. The last impression is always important. It's a free chance to demonstrate your smartness and curiosity to the partner of the company. It is also an opportunity to express your interests and mention extra-curricular activities beyond the fit interview topics.

Good luck!

There is not much difference. At least in theory. In practice, the more senior interviewers in the later rounds are a bit more lax, but you should approach the interviews in exactly the same way.

Hi Anonymous,

Specifically, the main difference you will 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 MBB 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.

   Best,

   André

(editiert)

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes, since we still have some left from the launch!

Hope you find it useful!

Best,

Clara