McKinsey Interview - Is it okay to ask for interview extension?

Hello,

Congrats on securing the interview - this is something that most applicant's don't manage to even achieve. 

Here's my take on this, but other coaches might have a different POV

• There is no official rule or guideline that will ‘mark’ you down if you reschedule 2x
• From an interviewer's POV, especially if you are not an industry hire for a specific practice area, I am always happy when interviews get cancelled, because it frees up my calendar (which is already packed as it is)
• The person most likely to get annoyed / irked would be the recruiter, who has to then try and find another time to schedule your interview. However, the recruiter is not the one evaluating your actual interview and so does not affect your chances of getting the offer, assuming you get the interview
• In general, I always believe its better to push back and prepare well, rather than rush and screw up a chance
  • I have interviewed and failed too many promising candidates that just did not prepare well enough
• However the current time now is not optimal for recruiting as firms are *on average* slowing down hiring
  • Read other posts on this forum and you will see stories of interviews being cancelled, offers being pushed back etc
  • This will be region dependent as some coaches have said that ME is still hiring strongly. But for others like SEA, hiring is definitely slowing down
• So, my take is the following
  • In ‘normal’ times → i would suggest pushing back the interview and preparing
  • In ‘current’ times → if you can network and identify whether the office you are applying for is still hiring strongly, or slowing down, that will make a big difference. But lets assume the office you are hiring for is following the general trend of slowdown. In this instance, it is really up to your risk appetite on whether you want to push the interview back. There is a chance that your interview might be cancelled if you delay too much, or the slot you were interviewing for gets taken up by someone else

As for tips on how to prepare well in a month, this is very difficult to do so quickly by yourself (although I have known people who have done this). The most common advice you will get from coaches on this is to get a coach - and the rationale for this is that in a time-crunched environment, you really don't have the time to muck around and prepare inefficiently, or worse, prepare wrongly.

All the best!

Hi there,

Q: I still feel unprepared and need more time but I've already asked to delay my interview once. Is it possible to ask to reschedule again or will this hurt my chances of getting in? 

If you don’t feel ready, it is better to ask to postpone. No reason to go for the interview if you don’t feel ready. 

I would call if possible rather than send an email - at worst, they will say it is not an option and you will have to keep the current schedule, but there is no harm in asking.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

Pushing your interview back is usually not a problem, especially at McKinsey.

Just tell your HR contact that you cannot prepare AND have the interview in the proposed timeframe due to

• other work commitments
• deadlines
• xyz personal reason

For your prep, check out these articles:

https://preplounge.com/mckinsey-interview

https://www.preplounge.com/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

If you can, I would try and postpone it. 

It doesn't hurt your chances because the actual interviewers know nothing about how many times you postponed the interview. This only stays at HR level.

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• In my opinion, it's okay to ask for an interview extension if you feel unprepared, but it's important to keep in mind that companies want to see that you are committed to the recruiting process and that you have made the effort to prepare. I would advise you to reach out to the recruiter right away and politely ask about rescheduling the interview to March. Most recruiters are lenient in such situations, but keep in mind that you have already asked to delay the interview once before.
• Moreover, to make the most of your month of preparation, I would highly advise you to work with a coach who can help guide you in an efficient manner, given that you have already spent a month studying case study frameworks.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Absolutely you can!

I recommend calling (if you can) and essentially sayign you'd like to make sure you have time to fully prepare and put your best foot forward). Email is fine as well.

As you get prepping, please make sure to remember the following!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation