Background check McKinsey - Offer withdrawal?

background check McKinsey
New answer on Mar 10, 2023
8 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Mar 09, 2023

Hi, 

I recently received an offer to intern at McKinsey. I realized that I made two mistakes as I did not check my contracts before writing my CV. 

1) I had some extracurricular experience in 2019. I stated it was from July - August but it was from June - July. 

2) And I guess this one is even worse: during high school, in 2017, I had a summer job and I indicated that I worked from July - August which is correct. I also indicated that I worked part time after that until October. This is not correct, as I only worked a few hours in December and April.  

Do you think this could lead to my offer to be withdrawn? 

Kind regards

 

(edited)

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Pedro
Expert
replied on Mar 09, 2023
30% off in March 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

None of the examples is of material significance. You worked in both places, I assume with the role you stated, and to be honest both are “low relevance” jobs. The “insight” one states from there is that you had work experience, and it makes zero difference whether you worked 2, 3 or 4 months in that specific role. 

In the first case, it has zero importance. You just stated the wrong month. Probably happens to THOUSANDS of candidates. The won't even blink. Regarding the second, its really minor - and once again, without any material significance.

Real problems come when one lies to get ahead in getting an interview. None of those mistakes is giving you an kind of real advantage. 

If one would lie, would they do any of those changes? Nope. One would state a higher rank, a company they didn't work for, or a role they clearly didn't have. And I am not referring to changing your role name for something more “appealing" (that is, in general, also fine, particularly if the original name doesn't convey what you were doing in reality). 

For example, I once met someone who had on their resume to had done an intership with Mckinsey. Reality: had a course that involved coursework done under supervision of a Mckinsey manager. THIS is meaningful.

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ALEXANDRE
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replied on Mar 09, 2023
FREE INTRO I exMcKinsey EM I exKearney consultant I High Success Rate I Official Coach for HEC (160 coachees in 2022/23)

Hi,

These are minor mistakes, it doesn't change anything frome my point of view.

Real mistakes (or fraud) would be naming a diploma you don't have or a job/internship that you never did.

Do not worry !

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Dennis
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 09, 2023
Ex-Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

That's really minor stuff. The fact that you actually worked at those places matters and that the general timeframe is true. Those are just things you can double-check in the future when you prepare your application documents. 

But this is not big enough to have an offer withdrawn. You did not intentionally deceive and neither one of those two extracurricular activities was likely the deciding factor that you got the offer in the first place.

So no need to panic

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Andi
Expert
replied on Mar 09, 2023
BCG 1st & Final Round interviewer | Personalized prep with >95% success rate | 7yrs coaching | #1 for Experienced Hires

Hi there,

Congrats to your offer! 

Rest assured, this is nothing to worry about. As Pedro mentioned, this is not material enough to matter. 

Regards, Andi

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Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 10, 2023
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the McKinsey offer!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

  • From my perspective, there is absolutely no need to worry since you did not maliciously falsify anything.
  • If anything, they will ask you to justify your actions, which you have already done very comprehensively here.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 09, 2023
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer!

And, you're going to be able tpo keep your offer. I'd be incredibly surprised if anything happened here. Minor date issues and, worst case scenario, they'll just reach out and ask.

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Emily
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 10, 2023
Ex McKinsey EM & interviewer (5 yrs) USA & UK| Coached / interviewed 300 +|Free 15 min intro| Stanford MBA|Non-trad

Honestly you’re fine, these are so very minor. Most they just want to check you worked where you said you did, they won’t go into this level of detail. Try not to worry! 

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Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 10, 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

No. It is highly unlikely that anything like this could lead to an offer withdrawal. 

They only withdraw the offer if it's obvious that you tried to mislead them in the recruitment process. 

Best,
Cristian

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Pedro gave the best answer

Pedro

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