Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the progress in the application process with McKinsey thus far!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, it's important not to interpret the demeanor of the interviewer too closely. Different interviewers have different styles and you may have simply encountered one who is more reserved. It does not necessarily reflect on your performance.
• Moreover, while it's true that math is an essential part of the case interview, McKinsey places a strong emphasis on the holistic assessment of the candidate. This means that the firm evaluates a candidate's overall problem-solving abilities, business intuition, leadership potential, and personal impact, not just their mathematical skills.
• Lastly, the fact that the interviewer made positive comments throughout the interview and that the interview ended slightly early could also be interpreted positively. For instance, the interviewer might have gathered enough information to make an assessment and did not need the full time.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interview, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

(edited)

Truth is, you will never know how well you did until the result of the interview is out.

Emotions and expressions from interviewers during interviews are not always truthfully tied to your actual performance. A lot of times they are also meant to put you in a spot and see how well you can respond to various behaviour.

Never read much into it and never predict unnecessary outcomes.

Hi there, 

First of all, don't worry. Candidates usually assume that the interview went worse than it did. That's how it also worked for me. 

Based on your description, it went rather well. Some interviews just seem bored all the time, but that doesn't reflect badly on you. Others are just role-playing, acting the way a non-cooperative client would.   

Hope you hear back from them soon. 

In the meantime, to increase your chances of getting an offer and to put your nerves to rest, I would recommend you continue applying. Here's a guide on how to maximize your chances of getting at least one offer:

• Maximising your chances of getting a consulting job during an economic downturn

Best,
Cristian 

There are two things to keep in mind 

1. we are all usually not the best judge of how an interview went. We over analyze every word said and every mistake made and try to interpret the wrong things. No amount of feedback from anyone who didn’t interview you is relevant 

2. small mistakes are totally okay especially if you realize you made a mistake and then correct course to get to the right answer. 

Hi there,

Q: Do you think I did a bad performance based on similar experience? Can the math part changed his perception all together if all other aspects were positive?

It seems your performance was ok - from what you shared, in the math there were no mistakes, just some initial confusion and lack of a solid synthesis.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for anyone other than the interviewer to evaluate your particular case now.

Although I understand your desire to get a clear answer on your performance, the only thing you can do now is to act on what is in your control, that is (i) prepare for other interviews/ apply to other companies and/or (ii) wait for the results.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello,

Try not to read too much into the demeanor of the interviewer - different people have different interview styles, and this is usually not a reflection on your as a candidate. A couple of small math mistakes also can happen and are not the end of the world, particularly if you cleared up the confusion yourself. So from what you're saying here, it seems like you performed well. Fingers crossed for you!

Why are you surprised?

On this form we constantly talk about how you shouldn't expect anything!

If you expect a then b then c to occur, you're almost gaurenteed to be surprised!

This person got an offer at McKinsey