Hi Everyone
I applied to McKinsey last year and unfortunately, after the second round, my application was refused. The partner mentioned applying again.
After the 1 year period, I applied again with a referral from an Associate for the same office.
It's been over a month since the associate shared the CV internally, and still I haven't received any update on my application.
Any idea what I can do to have more visibility?
Thank you in advance.
Hi there,
Sorry to hear!
I believe this is related to the current hiring freeze (for many offices) or slowdown (for a couple of offices).
I want to share three observations:
Personal experience
Impact on hiring
While for all firms fewer people make it through resume screening, only some firms adjust the bar for the interviews. The latter are happy to find enough people to make it through the selection process. In that case, they would extend offers, potentially with starting dates further in the future.
It seems that McKinsey is rejecting a lot more people at the resume screening stage at the moment.
Impact on engagements and job security
External advisor spending is usually one of the first expenses to be cut during an economic crisis.
Yes, recovery and transformation projects increase, but every other consulting vertical decreases by much more. I have been told stories from 2008/09, where new hires were not staffed for 6 months and then let go without ever having worked on an actual engagement.
It all depends on how bad the global economic situation is going to get. My hunch is we see a partial to full-hiring stop by early next year for a couple of months up to 1 year. Let's hope I am wrong :-)
On top of that, keep in mind that tech firms and other industries already started their lay-offs, which means that the potential supply of job seekers increases even more compared to now lower demand for them.
At this point, it makes sense to have valid backup options available, potentially for industries that are less affected by external events (e.g., pharmaceuticals)
All the best!
Cheers,
Florian
Hi there,
First of all, I am sorry to hear about the bad experience with McKinsey so far!
I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:
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,
When you mention that “after your second round, my application was refused” → do you mean second round of interviews?
If I were in your position, I would do the following:
Do note that depending on your office - some offices have been really slow/busy (esp in Asia) given New Years and Chinese New Year were very close together.
Hope this helps!
Hi there,
The fact that it took over a month doesn't mean your application was overlooked or that you were rejected.
There's also a backlog that they're working through now at the start of the year.
One thing you can try is to follow-up with HR on your application.
Best,
Cristian
Hi there,
You can reach out to the associate to see if they have any idea what is happening.
Afterwards, you can also try to reach out to HR. Try to not pester too much (1 email is sufficient).
Additionally network and apply to other firms - McKinsey is not the end-all-be-all!
Hello A,
Unfortunately, your referral is not exactly strong, so there is a big chance, you are not their priority right now:/
Let's wait and see what will happen. In the meantime, I advise you to apply to other firms as well.
Best of luck!
Victoria
