Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Interview Partners to connect and practice with!
Back to overview

McKinsey Rejection - Dubai Office

Hi all, 

I applied to McKinsey Middle East office, through an important referral, for a Business Analyst role a few weeks ago. 

I am confident I did very well in the Imbellus game (99% sure ALL of my animals survived + more than 25 moves for each of the three levels).

However, I received an automatic rejection email from McKinsey yesterday evening (I am assuming they sent it out to everyone since it was the deadline for them to get back to us?)

Any inside information about a hiring freeze? 

Or another way to formulate the question: anyone in Dubai/ME recently went through interviews post Imbellus?

Thanks

8
1.6k
18
Be the first to answer!
Nobody has responded to this question yet.
Top answer
Ian
Coach
on Feb 08, 2023
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear.

Remember, passing the Imbellus is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to be invited to interview.

In just the past 2 weeks 3 of my candidates have received McKinsey interviews/offers.

Also, take a look at the Q&As just this past week regarding MBB + ME offers:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-interview-is-it-okay-to-ask-for-interview-extension-15362

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/bcg-riyadh-or-bain-dubai-15341

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/bain-dubai-first-round-feedback-15390

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/is-bcg-dubai-worth-going-lifestyle-exit-15366

 

The other factors at play are:

  1. Overall strength of background/profile
  2. Strength of resume itself (how well it's done)
  3. Networking / referral
  4. Pipeline/demand
  5. # applicants/supply

Make sure to network extensively with Bain + BCG + other firms prior to applying in order to maximize your odds!

on Feb 08, 2023
#1 rated McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

Sorry to hear it didn't work out. 

I doesn't have to have anything to do with hiring freezes. I have candidates currently interviewing in the Middle East so this complete hiring freeze is a bit of a scare. They are downsizing, that's fair, but not stopping interviewing altogether. 

If you didn't pass this stage it might also have nothing to do with the test. Perhaps it was the rest of your application that wasn't convincing, or just the fact that they had even better profiles. 

Overall, sorry to hear. The only thing you can do is to continue applying to other firms. Go as broad as possible at this point. 

Best,

Cristian

Anonymous A
on Feb 08, 2023
Interviewing for what position if I may ask? Business Analysts or post MBAs?
Because I've heard from someone inside that they have drastically decreased the number of BAs intake this year (even the referral pipeline is full for 2023 already)!
on Feb 08, 2023
#1 rated McKinsey Coach
Specifically for my candidates it's post MBA.
Florian
Coach
on Feb 07, 2023
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hi there,

We are seeing a significant decrease in hiring across all firms at the moment, also in McKinsey.

Hence, it is likely that the average scores to move further in the process have increased as well unfortunately for the moment.

All the best,

Florian

Hagen
Coach
on Feb 07, 2023
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about the rejection from 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:

  • First of all, it's important to note that there may be a slowdown in recruiting among strategy consulting companies. While this might not be the case for your specific company and office, it is still worth mentioning. In the end, however, no one really knows.
  • Still, even if you performed well on the McKinsey Solve, there could have been other factors that influenced the decision not to move forward with your application such as your overall profile, the specific application files, a potential referral aso.

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

on Feb 08, 2023
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the rejection. In terms of your question:

Q: I received an automatic rejection email from McKinsey yesterday. Any inside information about a hiring freeze? 

McKinsey sent rejection emails in a few countries explicitly mentioning the possibility to apply again on September 2023 – this seems to indicate they are slowing down recruiting there due to lack of need rather than the performance of the candidate, as the usual ban is 12-18 months.

I haven’t seen that yet for the Middle East though, so it could well be that the rejection was due to the performance in the test / application material.

Best,

Francesco

Dennis
Coach
on Feb 07, 2023
Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

Sorry to hear about that.

The test scores are an additional parameter as the first stage filter. If one performs poorly on such tests, it is pretty much a rejection. If one does really well, it might be a slight bonus but your overall profile and CV still really matter, especially if others also performed well on the test. 

In an environment where hiring is slowing down, the competition among applicants is much greater and firms will truly cherry-pick candidates for the reduced number of openings they currently have. All you can do is fire on all cylinders to get out as many applications as possible because it becomes a numbers game.

Anonymous B
on Feb 07, 2023

I also received the same rejection email from McKinsey Dubai yesterday. I spoke to a friend of mine(recruiter at McK), even though I think I did well too, she says performance was around the median of all test takers. Thus the rejection. 

5
Anonymous A
on Feb 07, 2023
Super interesting - could you further elaborate please?
So you're saying most applications did well on the games - hence our CV/resume is the issue you think?
So some applicants did go through the next interview stage?
Thanks for your clarification
Pedro
Coach
on Feb 07, 2023
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

Unfortunately recruiting is slowing down, meaning that requirements (on both CV and game performance) are going higher.

Similar Questions
Consulting
Just did the Mckinsey Solve Game (January 2025) - got some questions/insights
on Apr 24, 2025
Global
5
4.1k
Top answer by
Hagen
Coach
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience
42
5 Answers
4.1k Views
+2
Consulting
McKinsey background check
on May 31, 2024
Global
10
3.0k
Top answer by
Ex-McKinsey |5y consulting experience | Specialization in Psychology | Proven holistic mentor
64
10 Answers
3.0k Views
+7
Consulting
McKinsey PEI - Same incident/story for Courageous Change and Inclusive Leadership
on May 28, 2024
Global
7
2.9k
Top answer by
Hagen
Coach
#1 recommended coach | >95% success rate | 8+ years consulting, 8+ years coaching and 7+ years interviewing experience
84
7 Answers
2.9k Views
+4
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or fellow student?
0 = Not likely
10 = Very likely
Thanks for your feedback! Your opinion helps us make PrepLounge even better.