Hi there, 

That's a great question and one that gets asked by many applicants. 

The 1-2 minute range is indeed right. 

However - and this is important - the real choice that you have to make is deciding how much time is actually sufficient so you can come up with an answer that is broad, deep, insightful and accurate. If it takes you longer than 1-2 minutes to come up with, my recommendation is always to take more time. Basically choose to be accurate and deep, rather than fast and wrong or superficial. Candidates are almost never rejected because they are slow, but they are often rejected because they are wrong. 

The more you practice, the more you'll develop a sense of what is too much time to take and the faster you'll become at structuring and coming up with good content. So my advice would be that you should focus on quality over speed for now, and speed will naturally increase with time. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

So, ultimately you need to take the time you need to give a structured, objective-driven answer.

1-2 minutes is a perfectly reasonable time. In general, you can have more time (3-4 minutes) for the framework.

For brainstorming, if you are able to provide a strong structured answered right off the bat, then you can certainly do so!

Here's some case reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

Here's some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Hi there,

Q: I have a doubt arising: how much time is it ‘fair’ to take after a question to answer?

There is no strict “exact” time constraint. 

The soft limit I would recommend before you present the structure is around 2 minutes for the initial structure and 1 minute for questions during the case. However it is not necessarily a problem if you take more time. 

What could happen is that, if you take more time than what the interviewer expects is fair, he/she may ask if you are ready and if you can present what you have. You may ask for a bit of extra time after that if needed (just phrase it correctly).

In any case, if the alternative you have is a weak structure, you should take the additional time. Better to spend a bit more time and have a better structure.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hey there,

McKinsey cases are a bit different and I would definitely stick to what you have seen in your mock interview with the firm. For more details, have a read here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview

Let's break it down below as well:

1. The difference between a McKinsey case and a non-McKinsey case first and foremost lies in the interviewer-led format as you are aware. Every case you have in this case book can be asked from an interviewer-led perspective.

In the McKinsey interview you will have to answer three different questions types - broadly speaking:

• Structuring
• Exhibit Interpretation
• Math

While in candidate-led cases, they should arise naturally when you drill down into your structure, in McKinsey interviews, the interviewer will bring them up in succession.

2. The second big difference lies in the nature of questions asked at McKinsey. At the core, McKinsey wants to see creative ideas communicated in a structured manner, the more exhaustive the better.

As a result, McKinsey cases will usually be very creative in nature and not something that can be solved by looking at industry frameworks or industry trends. 

Be aware that frameworks were applicable in the 2000 years, the era of Victor Cheng and Case in Point. McK has long caught up on this and the cases you will get during the interviews are tailored in a way to test your creativity and ability to generate insights, not remember specific frameworks.

3. The third big difference is how to answer the questions in a McKinsey interview. Since the interviewer guides you from question to question, you need to be in the driver's seat for each question and treat each almost like a mini case in itself.

Your goal should be to come up with a tailored and creative answer that fits the question. The framework should - broadly speaking - follow these three characteristics:

• Broad
• Deep
• Insightful

The firm wants to see exhaustive and creative approaches to specific problems, which more often than not do not fit into the classic case interview frameworks (or can be derived from industry drivers and trends) that were en vogue 10 years ago...

Again, this only applies if everything you say

• adds value to the problem analysis
• is MECE
• is well qualified
• includes a detailed discussion of your hypotheses at the end

As a result, you can spend several minutes, guiding the interviewer through your structure!

Now for Structure and Exhibit Interpretation, there is also no right or wrong answer. Some answers are better than others because they are

• deep
• broad
• insightful
• hypothesis-driven
• follow a strong communication (MECE, top-down, signposted)

That being said, there is no 100% that you can reach or the one-and-only solution/ answer. It is important that your answers display the characteristics specified above and supported well with arguments.

As for Math questions, usually, there are answers which are correct (not always 100% the same since some candidates simplify or round differently - which is ok), and others that are wrong, either due to the

• calculation approach
• calculation itself

The difference in format and way of answering a question is the reason why I recommend preparing very differently for McK interviews vs. other consultancies.

Now that you know about

• the different format
• the different question types and case briefs
• the ways to answer the questions

you can start using the cases you already have and approach them in a McKinsey-specific way. 

If you have any more questions, please feel free to reach out for some free guidance on how to come up with your own McKinsey-type cases on the spot.

Also, check out this answer I wrote on how the cases McKinsey posts online are comparable to the actual interviews: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/are-mckinsey-website-practice-cases-representative-for-what-will-come-10002

Cheers,

Florian

One to two minutes is absolutely fine! The interviewer would much rather you take time and give a considered response then blurt out an answer on the spot. This has three benefits: 1) it shows that you can structure your answers; 2) you're more likely to come up something insightful; 3) you're not wasting time in the interview by saying nonsense that's not going to give you any extra ‘points’. 

Also, in real life, McKinsey consultants don't just give answers to clients directly on questions - you always need time to think and consider!

1. You should take some time to think.

2. You should use the time to come up with a structured answer

3. One to two minutes is fine.

4. Practice doing it right and learning how to structure. Then practice doing it faster.

5. Slow and good gets offers. Fast and bad doesn't.

Hello,

Great question! 1-2 minutes is definitely fair to take for most questions. I would say generally candidates take a bit longer on structuring and quant questions, and a bit less on non-quant questions during the case. Brainstorming usually means that they want you to speak off the top of your head, but you can always double-check this with the interviewer.