Hello,
I just had my first interview for the final round at McKinsey.
For the first round, feedback was I needed to drive my structure further.
For the final round, interviewer gave off-hand feedback that structure was good. However, I could not finish the quant part and he had to guide me through it.
Does this mean an automatic fail? I still have one interview for the final round, should I still bother?
Thanks in advance
Hi there, and congrats for reaching that far already!
You should definitely bother and do the second interview, and I give you a few reasons:
- If you do well in the second, there are still good chances. Depending on how well you go there, and the official result of the first one you may: a) receive a direct offer; b) be demanded to do a third interview (this happens a lot, have seen it all the time)
- Our impression is usually worse than the actual performance (from experience, this is very often true)
- Is it not possible to say, based on the feedback, the final ranking you received. Although it is probably clear that it was not perfect, could still be a border line pass.
- It is better to finish the process vs. stop it in the middle. It may impact the way you are perceived for future interviews (might)
Dont give up now, get some rest to help you get over the first one, and go for it.
Good luck.
Hi there,
Look, we ultimately don't know.
That said, it's not particularly promising. If your feedback in round 1 was you didn't drive enough, and then in round 2 you needed help driving, then you displayed the same weakness twice!
That said, there are a lot of factor at play here. No one is going to be able to tell you what the outcome is. Ultimately, you just need to wait!
100% you should still bother. Assume you're on to the next round. What's the worst case scenario? You spent some extra hours/time on improving a skillset you're going to need anyway for the job and for future interviews?
Keep practicing and improving! Work on your case leadership - there's only benefit/upside to be had here.
Good luck and fingers crossed! If you'd like help with case leadership please do send me a message - I specialize in this sort of mindset shift.
Hello!
It´s very difficult to tell without having been there.
A priori, the fact that they needed to help you figure out the math part is not super promising. However, in my coaching and interviewing experience I have found out that some people can be extremly hard on themselves… and that what you define as “guide” was actually minor hints.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hi there,
No, it's not an automatic fail. I also struggled with maths in my final interview and still got the offer. It's more important to show that you recover after an issue / failure rather than appearing as being perfect. Try to practice more in the meantime and work on the feedback they provided, then go confident at the interview and do your best. Good luck!
Hi there,
One mistake or being slow in some parts of the case doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be rejected if you have a great performance in the rest of the interviews. As mentioned by Alfonso, in some cases at McKinsey you may also be asked to do an additional final round interview if they have doubts.
Definitely move forward with the other interview – there is no possible negative outcome if you do so and you could still receive an offer.
Best,
Francesco
Hi there,
I agree with my colleagues here - being slow or a single mistake, while not ideal, it does not automatically lead to a rejection. It happens quite often that candidates don't finish, for various reasons, but still deliver strong overall interview performance.
Having said that, there is no point in speculating too much - doesn't yield anything but grey hair. The interview is done and dusted, so it's no longer in your control anyway. Take it as it comes :).
For your final interview, yes, you should absolutely move forward take the opportunity. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to win, especially when you nail the case!
Wish you all the best!
Regards, Andi
Hi there,
It is always difficult from the outside to give an assessment. Many factors play a role.
You need to show a consistently high performance across all interviews.
If you received negative feedback in the first round on your structure and in the second now on math, I might gravitate towards a rejection but this is really just a guess.
Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!
Cheers,
Florian
