McKinsey Additional Interview

Hi there, 

Congrats on getting this far!

Some offices do practice this 3rd sort of round of interviewing, where they bring the candidate together with the head of the office. In most cases, this interview is indeed a formality - i.e., you will be very likely be extended the offer, but they usually want to have the Senior Partner have one last look at you. 

In terms of what you can do:

1. Do exactly what you've been doing until now. They are confident that you are a very strong candidate if they passed you through two rounds. 
2. Relax and aim to connect as much as possible with the last interviewer. Be curious about their experience and seek their advice as to how to best start you career in the firm. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

Basically, expect more of the same! 

No need to psych yourself out here - this shouldn't be majorly different to your other interviews.

Of course, always be prepared for anything. So, be prepared for this to be all fit, or all brainstorming. And, of course, if you exhibited any weaknesses and/or had direct feedback on weaknesses, you need to resolve this!

But, in general, be ready for fit + case. Good luck!

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,

Congratulations on the progress so far. In terms of your question:

Q: Must have one more 30-min interview - a formal meeting with a senior partner - the head of the hub. Do you know what to expect from such meetings?

This could be basically two things:

1. You will have a chat with the partner, with no case, to discuss the offer. From how you phrase the question, that seems to be the case
2. You will have an extra interview covering parts where they have doubts. Usually at McKinsey they explicitly mention this is going to be the case, so doesn’t seem very likely given what you shared

In the second case, you can prepare as done for your previous interviews. You can find some tips below:

▶ PEI Dimensions

▶ McKinsey Final Round Prep Tips

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello,

I fully agree with Cristian's advice! This sort of interview tends to be more of a formality, and I think you would be well-advised on trying to develop a positive rapport with the partner during the interview: be curious and engaged, ask them questions about their work, etc. To cover your bases, I would also recommend continuing to prep case + PEI in the same way you have done so far, to make sure you are ready to go wherever the interviewer wants to take you in the interview.

I know it sounds stressful but it is much better than a rejection. It means that they want someone senior's opinion to decide whether you are a good fit for the role. Prepare like you would for any other interview and you will be good.

All the best!

Udayan

Congratulations on the offer! As others have said, they're likely either going to use this as a final fit interview, or they want to double-check an area where you were a bit weaker. Given that both interviewers told you that this would happen before you did the interview, I suspect it's a final fit round. So go in and enjoy it! 

It will likely be more informal, and part of it will be a conversation about your motivations, your life experience, etc. 

And another part will either be a mini case (unlikely to be market sizing at this state), or a conversation about a topic the partner brings (e.g. how would you solve XYZ, what do you think about XPTO?).

Please make sure you are on top of the recent news topics before going to the interview.