McKinsey offer

McKinsey
New answer on Dec 01, 2019
5 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Nov 27, 2019

Hi all,

I'm currently in the McKinsey recruitment process. HR said he will send 1st round interview invitation in a few weeks, but there is no fixed timeline.

At the same time I have received an offer from another firm this week. The job start date is 5 weeks later. The reason I'm accepting this offer is that I'm not confident about if I'll get offer from McKinsey, and this new firm is a much better choice than my current firm.

So my priority is McKinsey > the new firm I have signed >>>>>> my current firm

So my question is : does signing this new offer have a negative impact on my interview outcome with McKinsey, by which I mean that I'm a little concerned what to say in the interview with McKinsey a few weeks later if they know I have just joined the new firm a few weeks ago.

Say I get offer from McKinsey very luckily, I will definitely join, but what is the maximum length I can delay the start date with McKinsey? Because I want to work at this new firm for a few months. Will McKinsey allow to delay start date for 3-4 months?

Thanks

(edited)

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Nathaniel
Expert
updated an answer on Nov 27, 2019
McKinsey | BCG | CERN| University of Cambridge

Hello there,

First of all congratulations for your new role!

Regarding your question, 3-4 months delays should be reasonable for McKinsey. There are cases where prospective candidates have delayed their starting date with the Firm after getting an offer for 12-24 months. Conditions underlying this delays are varied, e.g. one was training for Olympic competitions while the other have some family commitments or travel plans. In general, the Firm is quite flexible regarding the starting date, given a sensible and strong reasons can be provided.

Thinking it from other perspectives, should you receive an offer, the Firm has identified you as a distinctive profiles. After spending significant expenses on arranging the interviews, there would be minimum cost in accepting the delay.

The only exception is, if you will join 12-24 months later, while working on a role with estimated trajectories which deemed not in par with a standard McKinsey consultants. They would like to ascertain that the individuals are still as sharp after the period as when they were first given the offer in this case.

Taking into account that McKinsey recruitment process timeline typically ranges from approximately between 4-10 weeks, there are only a few weeks to go to reach the 3-4 months mark from now (assuming this is the timeline that you are thinking of). It is completely fine to ask for several additional weeks to wind down before starting as the Firm would rather to have someone coming in fresh and ready to tackle the demanding work.

What you might want to contemplate more is how to break the news to your current firm should you obtain the offer and move in such a short period of time.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,

Nathan

(edited)

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 27, 2019
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi,
to push and accelerate Mck interview process you could call HR explaining the situation: it's very common and totally fine to have other offers and McK usually accelerates the process when possible. Do not worry about bothering HR: they are there to help

Regarding the willingness to start for a few months with the other company is fine as well. However, if it is a consulting company, I would recommend to directly start with McK in case of success (I do not see any advantage to start another experience, neither in terms of CV nor of consulting tools experience)

Hope it helps,
Antonello

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Deniz
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Content Creator
replied on Nov 27, 2019
5+ Years at BCG & Kearney Dubai & Istanbul | 400+ Trainees | Free 15-min Consultation Call

Hi,

While it is not ethical, it may be better if you don't mention that you have just started the company. They would not figure this out unless you update your linkedin profile.

McK may be willing to postpone your start date if you mention a good excuse.

Best,

Deniz

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Nov 27, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

I would do the following:

If you are prepared:

  • Tell the HR you have a competing offer and you need to speed up the process. However, it works best if you have another MBB offer. For non-MBB offers, it does not work that well

If you are not well prepared:

  • Don't tell McKinsey about the new job. Ther can't be any impact here
  • Postpone the start date and take the time to prepare. You can't start the new job and prepare for McKinsey at the same time

Best

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Dec 01, 2019
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Anonymous,

I agree with Vlad, the best strategy depends on the level of preparation. In terms of your questions:

  1. Assuming you are prepared, I would try to accelerate the process with McKinsey and if it is not possible, I would not mention you started a new job in the meantime unless explicitly asked (which is unlikely)
  2. There are usually no problem in delaying the start of the job by 3-4 months

Best,

Francesco

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Nathaniel gave the best answer

Nathaniel

McKinsey | BCG | CERN| University of Cambridge
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