Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Interview Partners to connect and practice with!
Back to overview

Experienced Professional contacted by McKinsey

Hi everyone

Looking for feedback. McKinsey and Company contacted me via an executive recruiter for an expert role in a new practice.

I have 11 years experience in the field and would be responsible for building the particular service line

My questions are as follows

1) Is the interview path typically the same for someone with my experience as it is for a fresh MBS

2) I have not done case studies since I was an undergrad. What are the best resources to prepare?

3) How long should I take to prepare? In my world, interviews are very fast turnarounds and at times first contact with a recruiter and starting the role can be as little as 6 weeks

4) How does an expert lifestyle/compensation/benefits/career path compare vs a typical consultant? 

Thank you for your help. Right now my resume is being reviewed by the team, so let's see what happens

1
6.6k
13
Be the first to answer!
Nobody has responded to this question yet.
Top answer
Deleted
Coach
on Oct 17, 2017
Only ex-Partner (McKinsey and Oliver Wyman) on PrepLounge

Syed,

As an ex-McKinsey Partner, I’ll try to shed some light on the process for you. There are a lot of variables at play here though (e.g., office, practice, role, etc..).

The experienced hire process takes on typically two different paths and has been constantly evolving as McKinsey has continued to specialize more and developed more specialized practices.

Typical experienced hires going into a generalist pool go through roughly the same interview process as a school (undergrad / grad / MBA) hire. However, there will be a higher likelihood that you will be interviewed by senior people that have similar backgrounds in the final round, but is not a high likelihood.

For “expert” experienced hires, the process is all over the map. True experts are usually only interviewed by practice firm members. Although, there may be some loosely affiliated senior associates / managers that do the first round (sometimes there’s not even a first round).

For practice, there are the lots of readily available materials: 

  • Books: Cheng’s “Case Interview Secrets, Cosention’s “Case in Point”, etc..
  • Sites: www.mconsultingprep.com, www.caseinterview.com, etc...
  • Case books: All of the major business schools produce these and you can download many from www.scribd.com

You should definitely do lots of live practice with other candidates (for cost effectiveness reasons) and experts on PrepLounge.

As for the practice length of time, you should think about your practice time as an investment in the next stage of your career and practice as much as possible. But, you are right that the interview turnaround is likely going to be quick. 

Finally, the lifestyle / compensation / benefits / career path question has an answer again of “it depends”.

  • Lifestyle: Most experts don’t travel as much (4 days a week) as they plug in on multiple projects. However, you may be staffed on dedicated engagements where you do travel the same as typical consultants, unless it is a local client.
  • Compensation / Career path: These two are linked. If you are on a partner path (and there is an expert partner path), you compensation will be no different than a typical consultant. If not, your compensation will be less as you will not share in the Associate Partner and Partner bonus pool.
  • Benefits: They will be the same (excellent, btw). However, if you were to become an Expert Partner, they would be enhanced.

Hope that helps!

on Oct 18, 2017
Thank you for the detailed feedback. This would be for an expert role in my field, as I do have 11 years experience in this particular niche that McKinsey is attempting to develop.
Similar Questions
Consulting
How should I explain a change in course at university? Will it be asked of me?
on Apr 14, 2025
Global
10
3.7k
Top answer by
Alessa
Coach
xMcKinsey & Company | xBCG | +200 individual & group coachings | feel free to schedule a 15 min intro call for free
81
10 Answers
3.7k Views
+7
Consulting
Just did the Mckinsey Solve Game (January 2025) - got some questions/insights
on Apr 24, 2025
Global
5
4.0k
Top answer by
Hagen
Coach
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience
42
5 Answers
4.0k Views
+2
Consulting
McKinsey final round interview
on Sep 06, 2024
Global
5
2.3k
Top answer by
Florian
Coach
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU
66
5 Answers
2.3k Views
+2
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or fellow student?
0 = Not likely
10 = Very likely
Thanks for your feedback! Your opinion helps us make PrepLounge even better.