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.
Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!
Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!
At the interview stage does Mckinsey care about your work experience
Overview of answers
Upvotes
Best answer
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.
Best
Was this answer helpful?
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.
Best
Was this answer helpful?
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
Was this answer helpful?
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
Was this answer helpful?
Related Cases
Expert case by Francesco
Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US.The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadv
...
Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US.The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many stude
...
(Open whole case)
31.6k
Times solved
Advanced
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is a BlissOttica, an Eyewear Manufacturer that is looking to reach a 10% increase in profits. How would you help our client?
Our client is a BlissOttica, an Eyewear Manufacturer that is looking to reach a 10% increase in profits. How would you help our client?
(Open whole case)
13.6k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is a supermarket chain that is considering whether they should enter the emerging online grocery delivery business where consumers order their groceries online and have them delivered to their homes. Currently, two competitors have entered the online market in the client's area in San Fra
...
Our client is a supermarket chain that is considering whether they should enter the emerging online grocery delivery business where consumers order their groceries online and have them deliv
...
(Open whole case)
8.0k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Your client is the Performance Chemicals division (revenues of $500 million) of a Specialty Chemicals Company with total revenues of $14 billion. The CEO wants the company to become the fastest-growing specialty chemicals company and has therefore asked all the divisions to present growth strat
...
Your client is the Performance Chemicals division (revenues of $500 million) of a Specialty Chemicals Company with total revenues of $14 billion. The CEO wants the company to become the fast
...
(Open whole case)
8.0k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
Expert case by Francesco
Style:
Our client is a German-owned water provider company based in the southwest of the United States. As the biggest water provider in the region, they serve the majority of the southwest region.Profit growth has slowed down considerably in recent years, and the company is finding it difficult to co
...
Our client is a German-owned water provider company based in the southwest of the United States. As the biggest water provider in the region, they serve the majority of the southwest re
...
(Open whole case)
7.5k
Times solved
Intermediate
Difficulty
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?