Hey everyone,
I will soon have final round interviews and I am really interested in having more information/tips about the case questions/fit questions that are related to the pandemic. Has anyone heard any questions being asked like this or could anyone imagine having that?
Thank you for your responses in advance!
Hello,
You can very have fit questions related to COVID or a case relating to a recent project on the crisis or the exit from crisis.
1. On the fit, I would say that it is good to have an opinion of Covid-19 impacts for consulting
2. On cases, it obviously depends on the theme but there are several fairly recurring elements to think about
Preparing for a way out of the crisis with all restructuring / cost reduction levers in the foreground (acceleration of initiatives to digitize processes, organizational review with exploration of levers for near / off shoring or outsourcing and finally the rethinking of the ways of working with the review of the office strategy; rental costs can indeed be reduced leveraving on telework which has become more democratic during lock down periods)
Hope it helps.
David
Hi,
You may definitely get this kind of question during your final round interview.
You may get 2 types of questions:
So I suggest that you should improve your “COVID AWARNESS” prior to the interview.
I would suggest the following articles to improve general awareness:
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk/our-insights/covid-19-implications-for-business
https://media-publications.bcg.com/BCG-COVID-19-BCG-Perspectives-Version6.pdf
Hope this helps!
Anton
(edited)
Hello!
Preicsely, and since my coachees were asking me for one, I´ve created a COVID related case for PrepLounge (https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/covid-19-impact-on-heathrow-airport-197)
It is structured as a normal case but precisely deep-diving on the impacts of COVID in a detemined industry: arlines!
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hi there,
I haven't heard of recent applicants having direct COVID-related questions.
However, if it comes, it would be what is the impact of COVID on industry X....and you would just need to re-assess the consumption patterns pre vs. post COVID in that industry. (very similar to any other market sizing question)
Now regarding FIT questions, I wouldn't be bad if you are aware of some information regarding the economic impact of COVID - consulting companies have flooded the internet with their "analyses" and "forecasts" on COVID/economy relationship - Just go through them just so you aware of the key comments.
I hope this helps
Khaled
Hi there,
100%. I have already interacted with candidates who have received COVID-19 related questions.
You should be prepared to 1) Have considered the impact on your career, role, travel, etc. and 2) Understand the impact on business through Both a case directly related to COVID-19 and accounting for COVID-19 impacts in your framework, risks, etc.
I've created two cases that can help you prepare for this. Try them out here!
Hi,
Overall, I think the impact is quite limited because most interviewers will already have their favoured case(s) that they are using with candidates and no real reason that this will change in most instances.
However, I think there is a chance that for more open-ended cases, especially in a partner round there could be questions related to the corona situation and how it's impacting the economic situation. For example, I had a mentee applying for Strategy& who got a question around what industries he expects to get most impacted by the COVID-19 situation in his country and which ones would be fastest to recover.
With this in mind, it would make sense to stay up to date with news and reporting about the virus along with reading some reports that the MBB are publishing frequently.
Hope that's useful!
-A
Hi there,
I don't think COVID would change the interview questions fundamentally. That said, worth taking note of the following 2 points:
1) Be mindful of the assumptions you make during case, whether the assumptions could change drastically due to COVID, and use reasonable judgement or double check with interviewer whether you should adjust taking into consideration of COVID.
2) As Iman mentioned, would be good to take a quick look at the perspectives by the consulting firms (MBB have been sending out such reports quite frequently nowadays).
Best,
Emily
Hi,
I haven't heard and don't think the Covid-19 will influece of Covid-19 to a case questions significantly. I can only imagine that you might need to adjust assumptions in certain cases as appropriate (of course you should confirm if the case happen in a pandemic context or not).
For fit questions I see no harm in updating yourself with any percpective from the firm you are interviewing to understand their thinking. This might help you to have a good conversation with your interviewer.
Hi. I have received an offer from mckinsey this week. In both final round interviews we talked about the impact of covid on several industries. In the first Interview I told I had a lot of interest in aviation and we started talking about it until the partner asked me to estimate the size of the market before and after covid. What would be the biggest impacts on that industry. At the end he asked me what strategy I would adopt if I went for a project in that area (this was the case). The second interview had only one question related to the impact of covid on banking (mainly on credit models, which is something I was already working on). So I advise you to read a lot about the trends in the market.
Your response was very insightful. Can you shed more light on whether you are an experienced hire or from MBA? Curious if Mckinsey is having a hiring freeze for lateral hires. Thank you
I applied at the end of February. I was a "see you later" (I had already been at mckinsey's recruitment in 2016, but I didn't pass) and so I worked for the last 3 and a half years at deloitte in consulting. As I wanted to do my MBA I applied to become a business analyst (otherwise I could have eventually joined as a junior associate). I’m not sure if McKinsey froze the lateral hires, but I don’t think so, at least in my geography.
Dear A,
Yes, you can actually expect more specific questions about the pandemic. For example:
- What kind of impact it will have on the industry/ on consulting industry/ as well as industry of the clients.
- Also many assessment questions on how to calculate the impact.
Hope it helps you,
Wish you best of luck,
André
