Hello, I have a interview with McK. I am a non-target school and non-target gpa (3.4). However, I've worked for some of the most innovative companies in the world (unicorns / Elon Musk companies). When you're being compared to other candidates, do they only look at your case interviews by the final round, or do they still consider your work experience?
I know the immediate answer is "yes they do care", however I've heard that for referrals, they only care about how you did on the case.
At the interview stage does Mckinsey care about your work experience
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Hi,
Once your resume goes through - It's not about the actual brand of your company and not about your title. Think about it in the following way:
- Having work experience that may be relevant for McKinsey gives you an extra advantage. E.g. if you have background in tech and you are interviewing for McKinsey digital - it gives you extra points at the partner interviews since the partner's objective is to build a team of professionals. Each professional in a team is a selling point for a client
- Work experience is important for your personal stories. If you were doing spaceships launches or working on opening the new Tesla factory - your stories will differentiate you from the candidates with less interesting stories.
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Thanks so much for the feedback! How much is the PEI weighed against the case interviews? I was told 20/80, do you have other opinions?
Hi Emily,
Well, yes, they do care about your work experience BUT it is not a core issue.
However, you can use your previous work experience in PEI stories and it would definitely be an advantage among other candidates.
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I agree w/ Sidi and Vlad: In general, background/profile really only matters to decide whether to grant you an interview; HOWEVER, it can also help you get a more vivid story at part of the PEI => all else the same, you would have a leg up vs. another interviewee with more traditional profile but no cool work story
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At the interview stage, it is only about your interview performance. However, that might of course be a function of your work experience (since PEI stories are mostly drawn from a working context.
Cheers, Sidi
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