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McKinsey Fit Interview

Hello,

I guess the following question can only be answered by the German experts who are familiar with the German system of education. McKinsey invited me to an interview in one of their German offices. One of the three dimensions of the fit interview will be "Zielstrebigkeit" (Determination/(Entrepreneurial Drive)). I wanted to tell a story about my school education. In fact, I started from "Hauptschule" over "Realschule" all along the path of the second way of education up to a PhD. My story would basically start from the end of primary school. I would describe all the obstacles that I faced. I would then link it to consulting by mentioning that I discovered a passion for consulting during my studies. Do you think someone at McKinsey would be interesting to hear such a story, especially because it started a long time ago and lasted essentially up to now? Of course, I would structure my answer (as proposed in this forum). I thought the story could be interesting, especially because nothing of this is mentioned in my CV (due to space limitation of a one-page CV).

Advice would be appreciated.

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Deleted
Coach
edited on Jun 03, 2019
Approach: Convince in BOTH personal and case fit | 150+ real life interviews | Communications expert

Hi,

Indeed that is definitely a good story! You always also want to tell the interviewer what he/she cannot find in your resume - which is your motivation and why you took certain decisions over others.

Just a minor advice: Structure the story well enough so that the interviewer can easily attribute your success story to your character.

Congratulations for this awesome path!

Best regards

Anonymous A
on May 29, 2019
Thank you very much Jakob!
on May 29, 2019

As far as I know, only a small percentage of people manage to go from Hauptschule all the way to the Gymansium, let alone a PhD - Hut ab! I think that the story can serve well to demonstrate drive over a period of years/decades. Just be careful that the story does not get too long, that you don't get sidetracked while recounting it and that you never lose sight of the main message. Good luck!

1
Anonymous A
on May 29, 2019
Thank you very much Alexander!
Clara
Coach
on Jul 06, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

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.

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes, since we still have some left from the launch!

Anonymous B
on Nov 30, 2022
Hi Clara, do you agree that this is a strong story?
Deleted user
on Jul 09, 2020

Great story. 

Go for it. 

Best,

André

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