Getting a McK interview as entrepreneurial drive/achievement story

McKinsey McKinsey PEI
New answer on Jul 16, 2020
5 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Jan 08, 2019

Hi,

might seem trivial for some of you, but for me personally, it was quite an achievement to get an interview with McK after several rejections when applying for events. It took some strategic actions as well, and I assume it to be relatable for the interviewer.

Do you think this could make for a good drive story or would you advise to better not use this kind of example?

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Guennael
Expert
replied on Jan 08, 2019
Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews

I'm not very impressed with the idea either. I understand what you mean, getting an interview at MBB can seem like an achievement (and isn't easy by any means) - but you got it and are not interviewing it so basking in that glory isn't very constructive... and would even come off as brown nosing.

I'd be much more excited about your story if it applied to getting into a selective university program for example.

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Anonymous B replied on Jan 08, 2019

It could come off the wrong way to the interviewer. For example, if you said "I received offers from competing firms and leveraged that to get an interview at McKinsey", that will put doubt into the interviewer's mind about your committment to McKinsey.

Additionally, it may seem as though one of your biggest achievements in life is getting an interview with McKinsey. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a really big deal. The interviewer could interpret this as you lacking the accomplishments of him and his peers.

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Guennael
Expert
replied on Jan 10, 2019
Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews

I'll address Anomymous B's response for a second: Let's be clear, the only way to "leverage" one consulting interview into another at MBB is for that first interview to be at MBB as well. McK couldn't care less if you interview at ATK, Strategy&, Monitor... these guys aren't competition. The only thing McK may care about is if you have interviews at Bain & BCG. Actually, I'll be even more direct: they will only care if you receive an OFFER from Bain & BCG. Same goes in reverse for Bain (vis-a-vis BCG & McK) and BCG (for Bain & McK). And even then, having two offers from BB wouldn't guarantee an interview with M - nor should it.

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jul 16, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Jan 08, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Nope. How does it differentiate you from the other candidates?

Vlad

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Guennael gave the best answer

Guennael

Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews
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