Cookie and Privacy Settings

This website uses cookies to enable essential functions like the user login and sessions. We also use cookies and third-party tools to improve your surfing experience on preplounge.com. You can choose to activate only essential cookies or all cookies. You can always change your preference in the cookie and privacy settings. This link can also be found in the footer of the site. If you need more information, please visit our privacy policy.

Data processing in the USA: By clicking on "I accept", you also consent, in accordance with article 49 paragraph 1 sentence 1 lit. GDPR, to your data being processed in the USA (by Google LLC, Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Inc., Stripe, Paypal).

Manage settings individually I accept
  1. Dashboard 1
  2. Consulting Q&A 2
  3. McKinsey BA in London - what is it really like? 3
expert
Expert with best answer

Vlad

98% Recommendation Rate

405 Meetings

11,353 Q&A Upvotes

USD 239 / Coaching

Book a coaching
View profile of Vlad
2

McKinsey BA in London - what is it really like?

business analyst McKinsey

Hello everyone,

I received an offer to join McKinsey as a BA in London next autumn and of course, I am very excited. However, I am hoping for someone to share some honest, raw experiences from their first months/year - everything I am told and can read online is generic (long hours, great projects etc.)

If someone could tell me details on the actual nature of the work, what they struggled with, nature of projects, are there a lot of office politics, were the hours bearable, do you really have weekends off etc - I would be immensely grateful!

Wishing everyone warm and Happy Holidays!

Many thanks!

Hello everyone,

I received an offer to join McKinsey as a BA in London next autumn and of course, I am very excited. However, I am hoping for someone to share some honest, raw experiences from their first months/year - everything I am told and can read online is generic (long hours, great projects etc.)

If someone could tell me details on the actual nature of the work, what they struggled with, nature of projects, are there a lot of office politics, were the hours bearable, do you really have weekends off etc - I would be immensely grateful!

Wishing everyone warm and Happy Holidays!

Many thanks!

 Recent activity on Dec 21, 2018
1.2 k Views
2 answers
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best Answer
Book a coaching with Vlad

98% Recommendation Rate

405 Meetings

11,353 Q&A Upvotes

USD 239 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Vlad

Hi,

To be honest you will hardly find any general information since everyone has his own McKinsey. It is really a matter of luck in your case. Politics, nature of work, hours - it all depends on the people you work with. And the best way to select the right people is asking the feedbacks on them from the other consultants.

Best

Hi,

To be honest you will hardly find any general information since everyone has his own McKinsey. It is really a matter of luck in your case. Politics, nature of work, hours - it all depends on the people you work with. And the best way to select the right people is asking the feedbacks on them from the other consultants.

Best

4 Book a coaching with Vlad
Book a coaching with Guennael

99% Recommendation Rate

284 Meetings

1,389 Q&A Upvotes

USD 319 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Guennael

I second Vlad. Much depends on luck at first: Are the guys who recruited you still around? Do you have a good (mentoring, caring) first AP? Is the case conducive to learning?

Make sure to get to know people and start building your network. You are safe on the very first project so mostly just focus on building the consulting toolkit. Oh, and enjoy the experience of course, it is like no other.

Congrats!

I second Vlad. Much depends on luck at first: Are the guys who recruited you still around? Do you have a good (mentoring, caring) first AP? Is the case conducive to learning?

Make sure to get to know people and start building your network. You are safe on the very first project so mostly just focus on building the consulting toolkit. Oh, and enjoy the experience of course, it is like no other.

Congrats!

2 Book a coaching with Guennael

Related BootCamp article(s)

Interviewer-Led vs Candidate-Led cases

Case Interviews can be led by the candidate or by the interviewer: In Candidate-led cases the main challenge is the structure. In Interviewer-led cases the main challenge is to adapt quickly

Related case(s)

McKinsey Questions

Solved 39.0k times
McKinsey Questions Tell me of a situation where you had an opinion and no one seemed to agree with you. What was your goal when you decided to join university / work / clubs / a sports team? Did you have a goal that you were not able to reach? What did you do? What do you want to be remembered for and how are you achieving it? What is your typical way of dealing with conflict?
4.5 5 862
| Rating: (4.5 / 5.0) |
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Fit Interview | Topics: Personal fit

Tell me of a situation where you had an opinion and no one seemed to agree with you. What was your goal when you decided to join university / work / clubs / a sports team? Did you have a goal that you were not able to reach? What did you do? What do you want to be remembered for and how are you ... Open whole case

MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education

Solved 15.4k times
MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvantaged areas. The client is considering starting operations for its services in the Chicago area. They hired us to understand if that makes sense. Due to the nonprofit regulation, SmartBridge should operate on its own in the market, without any partnership. How would you help our client?
4.6 5 530
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Market analysis, Market entry, New product

Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvant ... Open whole case

Motivational questions – FIT interview preparation

Solved 3.5k times
Motivational questions – FIT interview preparation During this exercise, we will deep-dive in 4 of the most common Motivational questions asked in FIT interviews:   Why Consulting? Why this particular company? (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, others) Why this particular location? *Particularly relevant to people re-locating or choosing an office not in their region Why this particular specialized business function *Only relevant when not applying for a general role (e.g., McKinsey Advanced Analytics, BCG Gamma, etc.) *box-open green* *See Graph 1 – Note: "Motivational" are one of the 4 types of questions you can find in FIT interviews. *box-close* ➥ Graphs from the Integrated FIT Guide for MBB
4.5 5 62
| Rating: (4.5 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Fit Interview | Topics: Personal fit

During this exercise, we will deep-dive in 4 of the most common Motivational questions asked in FIT interviews: Why Consulting? Why this particular company? (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, others) Why this particular location? *Particularly relevant to people re-locating or choosing an office not ... Open whole case

Introduction and CV questions – FIT interview preparation

Solved 3.0k times
Introduction and CV questions – FIT interview preparation During this exercise, we will deep-dive in 3 of the most common Intro & CV questions asked in FIT interviews:  1. Walk me through your CV 2. Tell me about yourself 3. Tell me about the thing that makes you most proud on your CV   *box-open green* *See Graph 1 – Note: "Intro & CV questions" are one of the 4 types of questions you can find in FIT interviews. *box-close* ➥ Graphs from the Integrated FIT Guide for MBB    
4.6 5 58
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Fit Interview | Topics: Personal fit

During this exercise, we will deep-dive in 3 of the most common Intro & CV questions asked in FIT interviews: 1. Walk me through your CV 2. Tell me about yourself 3. Tell me about the thing that makes you most proud on your CV *See Graph 1 – Note: "Intro & CV questions" are one of the 4 ty ... Open whole case

McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology

Solved 3.0k times
McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology [PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstream, and downstream divisions, they have recently been experiencing competitivity issues in the upstream gas division, which brings in $1B in profits annually. Our client’s upstream division has offices in Australia and Indonesia. Their work is highly dependent on their IT systems, as they have to constantly monitor wells and pipes (pressure, hydrocarbon count, fluid makeup, etc.) The upstream division has two large legacy IT systems that are primarily used for downstream operations but have been modified for upstream purposes. These systems are managed by a central team in the US which is responsible for all IT issues across the business. They triage issues/enhancements and then manage development teams in India and Finland who complete the work.
4.5 5 60
| Rating: (4.5 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Operations strategy, Organizational behavior

[PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstr ... Open whole case

Similar questions

I did McKinsey's Imbellus digital assessment recently. Ask me anything :)
Is there any one pls, who can tell me on how to prepare for first round interview of YLP at McKinsey
Your experience with McKinsey Imbellus digital assessment?
McKinsey Transformation Career Path
Did the introduction of online tests for MBB made the CV screening process less strict?
McKinsey- US- Final Round Result
How to learn from McKinsey final round PEI-based rejection?
McKinsey Rejection
Reapply to McKinsey?
McKinsey Implementation case interviews
Ask new question

Related companies

McKinsey & Company