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How does it usually work with the McK PE questions? How much time do I have to present the story?

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Vlad
Coach
on Mar 24, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

The length is related to your story and additional questions your interviewer may ask. 

I recommend using the STAR framework:

  • One Sentence summary of the story
  • In Situation, you should briefly provide the context, usually in 1 or 2 sentences
  • Task usually includes 2 or 3 sentences describing the problem and your objective.
  • Then you provide a list of specific actions you took to achieve the goal. It should take 1 or 2 sentences per action (Usually 3-4 actions). Note that the interviewer can stop you any minute and ask for more details.
  • The results part should have 1 or 2 sentences describing the outcomes. This part is finalizing your story - make sure it can impress the interviewer and stay in the memory.

It is important that the Interviewers will drill down into your story to understand the dynamics, your reactions and decisions and most of all the rationale behind them. They will follow up with other questions as you tell your story to make sure they understand it in enough detail. I recommend preparing for these additional questions in advance.

Best,

Vlad

Robert
Coach
on Mar 24, 2019
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi there!

Overall, the McKinsey PEI (Personal Experience Interview) lasts usually between 12-15 minutes (per interview session). A much more detailed breakdown of the PEI you can find on my McKinsey PEI blog directly at https://pei.consulting-case-interviews.com/blog/mckinsey-pei-length/.

Hope that helps!

Robert

Deleted user
on Sep 08, 2020

Hi A,

McKinsey PEI generally lasts about 15 minutes but is also might depend on interviewer's additional questions. I would also recommend you to use a structure for your answer to make it full and consistent.

Best, Andre

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