Mckinsey london -final interview

Question

Hello ,

I got my final interview for mckinsey London for summer associate and I am worring if this is a fail.

1st interview with a manager :

I came in 5 minutes late because of a car accident. I called the recruiter (30 minutes in advance) and let her know before coming.
The interviewer seemed a bit tired. She passed 10 minutes talking about my resume. She said my resume was impressive but was asking about why the move to london . She made a philosophical comment about me transitioning from implementation to strategy while a lot of people at Mckinsey want to go to implementation d that we are always looking for something we do not have etc… Then afterward, she said : Now lets start the interview. She challenged me on the PEI but her questions were ok
The case was about a sector I have never worked in before (car racing and tourism). She asked me if i know anything about it and I said no. But overall when I gave my structuring, she said, You find almost everything, and move on to the graph. I honestly do not know if I drew all insight from the graph since she challenged me a bit. The math was good and I could easily draw insight from the results
At the end , we were joking and I asked did I do well , she answered ., of course you did good. You are now certified in car racing ( I am wondering if that is mockery, a way to say you did poorly)
The concersation was nice , a lot of laugh and jokes, but I am worry about her last comment

Second interview with a senior partner

It started late since my first interview finished late.
The partner said it was an impressive CV with a lot of impressive achievement
PEI :He then said this is a great exemple and linked it to the current reality at mckinsey
Case about healthcare ( I have never worked in the sector) . Framework used ( 1. Faisability ( Demande/supply), 2. Economics, 3.Other considerations). He stoped me at each bucket of framework to comment. However , I am worried about 2 comments : At the end , he said ‘you found almost everything except one point related to the demand but this is really teachnical so I didnt expect you to find that anyway’. For some point of my structure, He said ‘’ this was going to be my next question but it's good .etc..
Conceptual questions : i answered 2 conceptual questions giving examples of partnerships or how to increase the faisability. After my answer, he said ‘there are other examples such as etc… but you gave me a good list and you found the most importants’'
I was quite supprised that he tells me exactly the point i could add to my demand forecast or other examples for the conceptual question. The whole session felt like a brainstorming session
The Math was ok. Insight from the math about the faisability was ok. He made another comment about a second way of doing the math etc..
At the end, He said we only have 1 minutes for question since he has another interview. I asked how I did. Then He answer ‘you did fine but I have to check with my colleague first. But I really enjoy our conversation’'

I am really concerned about the word ‘’Fine''. Is this the british polite way to say ‘no’?

Answer 1

Hi PT,

First of all, congratulations on making it through the interviews with McKinsey!

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

It's natural to be concerned about how you did in an interview, especially for a highly sought-after position like a summer associate role at McKinsey. However, it's important to keep in mind that the interview process can be quite complex, and it's not always possible to know for certain how you did.
Based on your description, it seems that the interviewers had positive things to say about your resume and your performance during the case and PEI parts of the interview. They also made comments that indicate they found your answers to be thoughtful and well-reasoned. The partner even noted that you found almost everything in the case except one point related to the demand which he did not expect you to find because it was technical.
The interviewer's use of the word "fine" may not necessarily indicate that you did poorly. The partner also said he enjoyed the conversation and that he would have to check with his colleague first. So, it's difficult to know how to interpret his comment.
It's also worth noting that the final decision on hiring is usually made by a committee, so the isolated opinions of the two interviewers may not be the only factors considered. It's important to remember that the interview process is not always a clear yes or no; it's more of a probability game and you will not know the final outcome until an official offer is made.
It's best to keep your options open and continue to pursue other opportunities while you wait for a decision.

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

Answer 2

First of all, so sorry to hear you got into a car accident before the interview. Good job in getting there and not letting it shake you too much so already you can be proud of that, as well as making it so far with McKinsey!

Fine is more often that not good rather than bad. The Brits tend to not get very excited when expressing emotions in my experience. However, this is more of a non-answer, especially because it is quite odd to ask how one did at the end of the interview.

In any case, the partner will need to speak with the manager before making a decision. So just relax as the decision is out of your hands now. McKinsey are quite quick with their decision so you shouldn't be waiting too long!

Answer 3

We don't know.

We really don't.

The only people who know are them. And you'll find out when they decide to tell you.

Please just move forward. Keep networking, apply to other companies, keep case prepping.

This company is not your life and it is not the end-at-be-all.

If they give you the offer, awesome! If they don't, you'll forget about it in due course.

Sounds like you did fine and you're trying to overanlyze the situation (not helpful).

Fingers crossed for you and good luck!

Answer 4

Hi there,

This all reads very well and like 2 strong interview performances.

Sit tight and wait for the outcome, which based on what you wrote should be positive (not taking into account that we were not there and did not witness the interaction).

Fingers crossed!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 5

Hello!

Impossible to tell, but if they give you a positive word at the end, even if it's “fine”, I would totally interpret it positively.

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 6

Hi there,

Sounds much better than most people's experience with final round, including those who pass. You did well!

What I can't get over is that fact that you came late because of a car accident (very much hoping nobody was hurt) and get a case about car racing. I hope you cracked a joke about that, that's just unbelievable!

Keeping my fingers cross for you!

Best,
Moritz

Answer 7

It means you passed the interview. He won't say superb so he manages well expectations (as he said, needs to check with the colleague first).

From your description you did very well, but also lack confidence (at least when you look backwards and judge your performance).

I can't tell whether your getting an offer or not, but from your description you definitely have a pretty decent chance.

Answer 8

Hi there,

I know the anxiety of waiting for an answer is quite difficult to deal with. But sit tight and they'll get back to you soon enough.

Based on your description, the interviews went well. It's hard to tell however what they will decide.

My advice at this point would be to avoid asking ‘how did i do’ in interviews. It doesn't make you come across as confident and especially if you can only ask one questions you should come up with something more insightful.

Best,

Cristian