McKinsey Final Round: what to watch out for?

As an ex-Mckinsey consultant and part of recruiting team, here is my perspective:

How do these interviews with the partners differ from the first round interviews?

Every partner discussion is different and the direction the conversation takes depends on role that you are interviewing for, feedback that the partner has got from earlier rounds and of course the Partner’s personality.

However, generally it is advisable to keep the following things in mind.

1) Are the cases delivered with the same style of precision and structure as the first round?

- A lot of times, the Partner round case discussions are less structured. Partners tend to give real life case from their experience or sometimes they can also pick a situation from the candidate’s CV, make a few changes and turn it into a case.

2) Is the Fit format consistent with the PEI, or do the partners take these conversations in different directions?

- Generally, Partners will hit fewer topics but will go much deeper. So they will ask you about something and then you should expect a lot of follow on questions. They really want to understand the full story

3) Generally, what portion of the hour-long session is dedicated to the case study?

- approx. 30-40 minutes

3) What personality traits are most important to demonstrate with the partners?

See the answer below.

Keep the following things in mind while preparing for the Partner interview:

Better synthesis – Your analytical mindset has already been tested in earlier rounds. Partners would like to test your client readiness. Partners pay more attention to how you draw your conclusions, communicate your conclusions, how you synthesis etc.

Comfort with less structured case discussion – Partners love to test your creativity, out of the box thinking. Multiple times in the discussion they can ask you your opinion on the data point/clarification that you had asked, to check your business acumen e.g. you asked, what is the growth rate of our client; partner responds what number would you want to assume? or open ended questions e.g. tell me more, is there anything else?

Consistent stories and deep dives – Partners would want to know your story. They want to see whether your decision to join McKinsey is consistent with your career story. Whether the achievements you have mentioned on the CV are consistent with your project stories. Partners will drill down into your experiences and achievements to the extreme. They want to understand how you react to challenges and how you think and communicate about your past work.

Feel free to get in touch with me in case of further clarification/advise on this topic.

All the best!

(edited)

Hi!

My view as a McK.

In McK we measure 2 parts of the interview: the personal story and the case. However always remember that before the PEI you spend 5 minutes introducing yourself (therefore creating a first impression). Then having said this:

Officially:

- The structure of the interview should be exactly the same and you should expect exactly the same

In reality:

- Partners give more imporance to the personal side. ie. the PEI (of course) but also the FIT, so the including the initial 5 minutes!

- The case can be a bit less structured as they can asked more opened questions (typical market entry tht you can have in first round, so may get a 'how big is the lipstick market for men?'. Of course I am giving the extreme example, but this is a real case...

So in summary - REMEMBER TO PREPARE THE PEI and BE YOURSELF

Cheers

Tomas

Final round interviews with Partners often differ dramatically than the first round interviews with Associates and Managers. This is especially true if the Partner has been with the firm 15+ years. Some of the key differences between the rounds are:

• Longer PEI time: The fit / PEI portion of the interview tends to be a bit longer (closer to 12-15 minutes) with more questions and a higher bar
• Less case structure: Partners tend to use cases from their real life consulting experience instead of standard cases developed by the Recruiting Group
• Partners love memorable: While first round interviewers are enamored by candidates who nail their case according to the case “stock” answer, Partners love candidates who stand out with memorable stories and anecdotes
• Staffability: Partners look for candidates that they can see staffing at their clients right away

My best advice is to loosen up more, be more conversational and try to stand out. Be memorable!

Thank you VERY much, Carlos!

[Original Poster of the questions]

Dear A,

the structure of the final is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however there is more emphasis on communication and fit to the company.

Specifically, the main difference you will find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company.

So prepare more carefully you fit stories on the questions: About yourself, Leadership story, Why consulting? Why this company? Questions to the interviewer.

Best,

André

(edited)

Dear A,

the structure of the final is the same (fit + case+ your questions); however there is more emphasis on communication and fit to the company.

Specifically, the main difference you will find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company - I am sending your attached FAQ for different companies

2. check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)

3. may not have a “proper” structured case to present – during one of my MBB finals I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because during the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on:

• Review in detail your personal fit stories – they will matter more than in the first two rounds. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions

• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure is extremely important, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can do with peers or with me.

• Prepare cases as you did for the first rounds. More market sizing practice may be useful to think out of the box if you get unusual questions.

In case you need help with unusual cases please feel free to PM me, I do a specific session on them (eg How would you estimate the effect of the Coronavirus on the economy in the Middle East)?

Best,

André

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, next week will be pusblished in PrepLounge´s Shop material related.

In concrete, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB". It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Here I leave you the link > https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes!

Hope you find it useful!

Best,

Clara