Hi Olegs,
Generally speaking, work-related stories are easier to translate into the consulting world than non-work related stories. All other factors being equal I recommend going for the work-related story. In your situation however, assuming that this one non work-related story is much stronger than all other stories, I don't see an issue at all in using this private context.
That being said, you need to make sure that there is a strong underlying conflicting interest in the beginning and how to communicate this clearly to the interviewer. Without conflicting interest, there is no point in demonstrating how to convince somebody, since the other person doesn't have a contradictory opinion which makes him hard to convince (and your interviewer won't be interested in a situation in which it was easy to convince somebody).
Concerning your 2nd question: Yes, apart from the PEI, McKinsey interviewers typically want to understand much more about the candidate including his background. Here it's important to highlight how all your steps in your CV are connected to each other strategically, pointing into the direction of consulting.
Hope that helps as a first step! Occassionally I also have some slots for coaching sessions - ofc we can discuss your situation and how to the best structure and communicate your PEI stories in much more detail; just send me a message if required.
Robert
Hi Olegs,
Generally speaking, work-related stories are easier to translate into the consulting world than non-work related stories. All other factors being equal I recommend going for the work-related story. In your situation however, assuming that this one non work-related story is much stronger than all other stories, I don't see an issue at all in using this private context.
That being said, you need to make sure that there is a strong underlying conflicting interest in the beginning and how to communicate this clearly to the interviewer. Without conflicting interest, there is no point in demonstrating how to convince somebody, since the other person doesn't have a contradictory opinion which makes him hard to convince (and your interviewer won't be interested in a situation in which it was easy to convince somebody).
Concerning your 2nd question: Yes, apart from the PEI, McKinsey interviewers typically want to understand much more about the candidate including his background. Here it's important to highlight how all your steps in your CV are connected to each other strategically, pointing into the direction of consulting.
Hope that helps as a first step! Occassionally I also have some slots for coaching sessions - ofc we can discuss your situation and how to the best structure and communicate your PEI stories in much more detail; just send me a message if required.
Robert