Agree with Clara that this would be SUPER rare in an MBB interview. I wouldn't spend time on preparing this kind of quetions. Spend the time on preparing case and the proper FIT questions instead.

That said, if you indeed encounter such question, think for 1-2 seconds before you jump into the answer - "can I easily support my answer"? Using this particular question, it is easier to give example of being spontaneous, as you can cite a time when you did a last min travel etc. But harder to show you are humorous as that's a lot more subjective.

Also be mindful of whether you answer aligns with what is expected out of a consultant. Spontaneous can be lovely for personal life, but you surely don't want to come across as someone who has no plan, or someone who might surprise your client or parnter in unpleasant ways. So if the answer if yes, suggest to distinguish between how you behave in personal life vs profession life.

Hope it helps,

Emily

what is brown and sticky?

A stick

Hi,

I haven't been asked if I was spontaneous and humorous - I was asked, however, to tell a joke. Fortunately, I knew one from my childhood. That was an in-house consultancy.

So I would prepare a joke that is not offensive (obviously) and that you simply like :)

Why did the recruiter cross the road?
To recruit a chicken.

Hey there,

I agree with Clara that this seems like an oddball question. However, I have experienced similar 'funny' questions during my BCG interviews back in the day and also heard similar stories from my coachees.

In McKinsey, I can almost guarantee that you will not hear any such questions. :-)

That being said, this is not a deal-breaker question. If you have a joke, tell it. If not, tell the interviewer that you don't have it and move on.

The question is more about how you handle such situations, not about the actual content. The interviewer wants to see how you handle some curveballs. Stay calm, collected, don't let it through you off.

Cheers,

Florian

If i had my jokes memorized then they would not be spontaneous don't you think?

yes

No

Yes. Why did one farmer stop talking to the other? because they had some beef.

Yes, a bit too much for my own liking to be honest!

haha

Hi A,

I haven't heard about such situation, but in case this happens you can approach it with the common structure for questions:

1. Situation

2. Problem

3. Solution

4. Results

5. Your learnings.

Using this universal approach/ framework will help you to structure every uncommon, even sometimes difficult questions in a very good manner


Best,

André