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McKinsey recruitment questions

McKinsey
New answer on Mar 22, 2024
4 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Mar 21, 2024

I applied for the Consulting Analyst role at McKinsey five months ago as part of a virtual coffee chat. Two months later, I was invited to do the Solve Game test. However, there has been no information about the results for about a month after that Solve test, and during that time, I also applied for the Business Analyst and Junior Associate positions. Today, I received an email from McKinsey stating that I have been rejected for the Business Analyst and Junior Associate positions, but there's still no information about the Consulting Analyst role. 

When I asked HR about this, they only told me to join the following McKinsey in-person information session in the following days. Can you please clarify what this means? Why was I asked to submit my CV five months ago, complete the Solve game, and now asked to join another information session that I believe will be the same as the virtual coffee chat I attended five months ago? Additionally, if they have rejected my business analyst and junior associate application, they should have read my CV, so why are they still keeping me in the loop?

I've read several Q&A in this forum, and some mention that McKinsey offices are currently taking the time to re-evaluate their hiring goals and that they're keeping great candidates in the loop. While I don't want to assume that I am a great candidate, is there any correlation with this situation?

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Florian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 21, 2024
Highest-rated McKinsey coach (ratings, offers, sessions) | 500+ offers | Author of The 1% & Consulting Career Secrets

Hi there,

Sorry to hear!

I believe there could be 2 main reasons:

1. As you pointed out, hiring goal re-evaluation.

2. McKinsey fired 2k support staff last year, many of them in HR. I see this across the board with my clients how this negatively impacts their recruiting experience, timelines, chaotic communication, etc.

All the best,

Florian

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Hagen
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replied on Mar 21, 2024
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your rejections from McKinsey!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

  • First of all, it is not surprising that you got rejected for the two roles you applied later since you are typically allowed to only apply for one role at a time.
  • Moreover, given the recent layoffs in backoffice functions at McKinsey, the information session could simply be a resource-effective way of communicating certain decision. But ultimately, no one knows, and I would highly advise you to follow the process, as frustrating as it may be given the long lead time.

You can find more on this topic here: How to deal with a rejection from a consulting company.

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

Best,

Hagen

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Ian
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replied on Mar 22, 2024
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Certainly confusing, but you have to remember how most organizations work.

They are large, imperfectly run entities.

Therefore there are different people running different lists.

It's most likely that you have been rejected (given what they've told you) and should wait another year to re-apply. Doesn't hurt to check, but, as always, remember that you should be networking with and applying to lots of different firms.

End-to-end case interview training – from beginner to advanced (preplounge.com)
 

Master Your Job Hunt with Proven Strategies (preplounge.com)

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Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 21, 2024
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Wow, this is really confusing. 

Theoretically, you can only interview for one role at a time. So I'm a bit surprised to hear that you had almost 3 ongoing applications. 

For now, I will follow the recommendations from HR, participate in the online session, and ask your questions there. Perhaps then they can give a clear answer. 

It's quite frustrating, I imagine, to be facing all this confusion as a candidate.

In the meantime, do apply for other roles as well. 

Best,
Cristian

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Florian gave the best answer

Florian

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