Hi, anyone out there is willing to share some of the out of box questions candidates were asked in the partner round with McKinsey? Much appreciated.
Mck final round questions
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Hi Anonymous,
First of all congratulations to reach final round interviews!
While first round interviews are highly standardized especially at McKinsey, in second-round interviewers bascially everything can happen.
The main idea of second/final round interviews is to ensure your performance in those areas in which you did not convince McKinsey in the first round interviews. This can be either the case interview or the McKinsey PEI, or both. Whatever it is, your weak points from first round interviews are where you can expect a strong focus in the second/final round interviews.
So instead of worrying or speculating about out-of-the-box questions, I would rather try to focus on the "standard" stuff instead - this is where you can have an influence, about potential out-of-the-box question is esentially poking around with a stick in the dark..
Hope that helps as a more general idea - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!
Robert
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Hi! The McKinsey final round is no different from the first round, i.e. you will have a case and a personal fit in each interview – out of the box questions are not being asked.
Best,
Daniel
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Hi, here some examples:
- Describe the last mistake you made on the job.
- What would you like me to know about you that is not on your resume?
- Tell me about a time that you misjudged a person.
Best,
Antonello
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Hello!
Overall, officially, should be similar. However, some details do change:
FIT
- Interviewers are senior profiles (junior partners, partners, etc.) with a lot of experience. Hence, interviewers may not follow the usual structure and:
- Ask instead ad-hoc questions regarding your CV
- Ask concrete follow-up questions, interrupting your initial pitch
- In most, cases, FIT will be longer than 15`
BUSINESS CASE
- Expect less structure and more follow-up questions
Hope it helps!
Clara
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Hi there,
an interesting one a candidate I coached received during his final at McKinsey is “How would you solve the unemployment problem in Europe”.
I have a good number of questions like this and corresponding solutions, please feel free to PM me for more information.
Best,
Francesco
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Hello,
Final rounds follow exactly the same structure of the other rounds: Fit interview, Business case and Q&A session. There are only some little but important differences that you have to consider for each part:
- Fit interview has a crucial role and it will be likely longer and more intensive than the previous ones. Partners want to know you and your personality, to understand if you can have a good fit with your role. It could also happen to have an interviewer challenging your answers to standard question (e.g. why McKinsey) or even to have a stress interview, be prepared for it
- Business case are usually less strucutred. Partners often take inspiration from past projects and the cases could sound a bit less "academic". You have to get used to these cases, without many data or exhibits and more focused on a brainstorming of ideas
- Brainstorming questions: where they want to see your approach to complex and actual situation. They don't want you to "solve" the case, but to hear an opinion well structured. An example could be "How would you try to minimize the Corona virus effect on your company?"
Feel free to text me if you have any further question.
Best,
Luca
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I have a slightly different perspective. Final rounds are conducted by partners and they typically are not the same structured cases you get in the earlier rounds as partners are trying to assess your fit and also any weaknesses that might have come up on previous rounds. For example, In one of my final round interviews I was asked "Why are you so tall?" as a way to see how I would handle awkward conversations. Three elements of final round interviews that you should prepare for
1. A LOT more emphasis on PEI - specific examples of where you have showcased leadership, impact and entrepreneurship skills and how you might respond to scenarios they lay out for you
2. Sepcific elements of casing - e.g., market sizing to test your analytical skills or structuring a seemingly random problem (e.g., what is the best strategy to find a cure for coronavirus in the shortest time)
3. Stress test - uncomfortable situations to test how you might react in a simulated scenario where things are not going well
All the best!
Udayan
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