How often does this occur in Mck Final Round

MBB McKinsey
Recent activity on Oct 26, 2018
6 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Oct 24, 2018

Still rather confused by this.I began application for an associate position round about April this year.Everything went smoothly till today.I had a call with HR over the next steps and they outright tell me that they (assuming HR and leadership) had not planned well for the followings years pipeline of projects and that recruiting and extra associate would be a burden on them.They then proceeded to push my candidacy out till mid next year so as to do the last interview then.(That would make the whole process over 1.5 years)

My question is :

  1. what is happening here
  2. how often does this happen.
  3. Any nuggets of wisdom on how to proceed

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Anonymous updated the answer on Oct 24, 2018

Hi Anonymous,

I'm sorry to hear about this. Tough luck!

The only reasons I can come up with why this could be happening is that you applied to in relatively small office/country and they just lost a MAJOR part of their business there. Or they have a bunch of partners leaving that want to be paid out and are strapped for cash (this apparently happened to Roland Berger a few years back. from what I heard it got so bad that Mr Roland Berger himself had to inject cash to keep the company afloat.)

That being said, I believe this is highly unusual.

As for advice:

The only thing you could do is to tell them that you're obviously disappointed and that you hope that things will materialize sooner. But also tell them that you won't wait for them and if something else comes up you just might pursue your luck somewhere else.

Not much more you can really do...

best of luck,

Elias

(edited)

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Guennael
Expert
updated an answer on Oct 24, 2018
Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews

It's happened to me. Only major difference was I applied outside of the normal timeline since I was an experienced hier. Result was the same though, "we love you but can't bring you in this year; can you wait a year? Oh, and let us know if anything changes".

Next step:

- First, you thank them profusely, and you say that of course, you'll spend another year of your life in limbo just for the chance to work for them in the future

- Second, you try hard to get an offer with the other 2. This is what they mean by "let us know if anything changes". So if ATK, Strategy& or Deloitte offers you a position, they won't care - but if Bain or BCG does, then McK will be more likely to jump and extend you a firm offer faster than expected

In my case, they called me back ~6 months later with a firm (written) offer, for a starting time 3 months after that (but over a year after I had first applied). So I ended up waiting ~9 months vs. the 12 they had indicated at first.

For now, I think you can treat this verbal offer as nearly certain. Try to use the coming year as best you can, getting some new life and/or professional experiences. Congratulations; I can't wait to officially welcome you to the MBB family :)

PS: Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more, I remember how painful the wait was

(edited)

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Peter on Oct 24, 2018

Well the associate within this office is perceived as an experienced hire.Even with all the shock ( and a tonne of disappointment) was able to steady myself and thank them.Ill PM you soon enough.

(edited)

Anonymous B replied on Oct 24, 2018

what is your office, Anonymous A?

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Oct 24, 2018
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

  1. Exactly what they told you - they don't have enough projects
  2. Quite rare, but may happen in certain offices / companies
  3. Do what they tell you / apply for other MBB companies / apply to other countries where you can legally work

Best

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Michael replied on Oct 26, 2018
Looking for Pro & Advanced. MBB (Mck, BCG, Bain), EY, KPMG, Deloitte, & KS

Question - which office were you interviewing for?

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Anonymous C replied on Oct 24, 2018

Can you ask to apply/do the final round in a different office?

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