Do people really get weird cases during final rounds (I heard someone had a partner say I want to build a toll road, what should I do?)..I thought McK interviews were standardized.
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Hi there,
This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:
- Based on my own experience, the own of my coachees and my personal network, you might very well encounter “unusual" case studies, not just with McKinsey. The reasons for this are pretty straightforward: 1) you have already been thoroughly assessed for your hard skills and 2) (senior) partner seldomly seem to want to interview with standard case studies.
- While this type of case study might seem completely different to case studies you are used to solve, you may still be able to apply the same skills you practiced before. For instance, in this specific case, you might want to start by finding out why he/ she wants to build the road (i.e. what's the underlying rationale?) before diving into identifying the key success metrics (i.e. how does success look like and how do we measure it?) and quantifying them hereafter (i.e. is building the road the best option stand-alone and compared to other options?).
In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best approach “unusual” case studies, please feel free to contact me directly.
I hope this helps,
Hagen
(edited)
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It is not a weird case if you structure it properly. And yes, you may find such case prompts in final rounds.
Most people expect cases to follow a cookie cutter approach as found in college case books and online case libraries - and hence they get stumped by such questions because they don't understand how to proceed.
However, if you ask the right questions - you can make it easy.
For example, in this case - some questions you can ask:
- Who wants to build the toll road? (Government or someone else)
- Where do they want to build the road? (Country, city, area)
- What is the purpose to build the road? (Reduce travel distance, reduce travel time, reduce congestion, etc.)
- What is the success criteria? (Profit from the toll road, traffic reduced in city, press coverage, public image etc.)
And then to go about working on the decision making aspect by evaluating if the objectives would be achieved and the success criteria would be met.
Another similar question: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-are-some-partner-level-interview-cases-11809
(edited)
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Yes.
And they can get it in the first round too.
And it can be for any company out there.
You need to be prepared for anything in your interviews. That's why practicing and memorizing only classic case types is a recipe for failure!
Make sure you practice receiving unconventional cases so that you can be ready for this occuring in your interviews - this is not about memorization but rather about adaptability and thinking on your feet!
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Yes, they do. But there's nothing to worry about as long as you practice enough cases both standard and non-standard. Realistically speaking, most ‘weird’ cases are just disguised standard cases. So try to think of them that way. You just have to figure out what is the structured, logical approach to tackling it.
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Yes, this may happen, even though the interview process is standardised.
Why does it happen? The later in the interview process, the more senior your interviewers will be. And naturally they take their freedom in what they ask and tend to adhere less to standardised procedures.
As pointed out by others, keep calm and stay structured in such situations to present a reasonable and confident answer.
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Hi!
“Weird” cases might happen. However, you'll be tested on the same set of skills.
Good luck,
Anto
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Still standardised in the sense that you are being tested for the same things. In your specific question, the interviewer is looking for your ability to structure an ambiguous problem.
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Hi there,
Yes, sometimes you get “unusual" cases at McKinsey, from eradicating diseases to reduce global warming. They are not very common though.
If you need help with that please feel free to PM me, I know 100+ questions asked in finals at McKinsey and I do a session specifically on unusual cases.
Best,
Francesco
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You must be ready to tackle anything that comes your way. Everything you learnt during practice applies and you dont need to treat slightly unusual questions any differently.
All the best.
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Hey there,
McKinsey's first and second-round cases are often more of creative sorts, rather than straightforward business problems.
Hence, I always argue to forget about the classic case books (Cheng, Cosentino) when preparing for McKinsey, since the firm wants to see
- creative answers
- effectively communicated
to creative business and non-business problems.
If you want to read more about the typical McKinsey case, check out my insider article on the firm's interviews here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview
Cheers,
Florian
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