McKinsey - Taking time for charts

Question

If you're writing down notes on the insights from the charts, so-what etc..and you take up to 2 minutes, as long as your answer hits all the points and captures reasons, next steps etc..is it fair to assume the additional time won't be penalized? I've heard a candidate who takes a little longer than usual but comes back with a great answer is viewed more positively than someone who may take the right time but didn't hit all the notes?

Plus with McK since there typically isn't a recommendation at the end and it's just 3 questions, the chances of not finishing the case because you took a minute longer than everyone else for charts.. is also relatively lesser?

Answer 1

It’s all about communication. As a McKinsey interviewer, I didn’t clock the time candidates took for anything. If you’re going to take a bit more time to analyze and formulate your insights, it’s good practice to simply say so.

Breaking the silence to buy yourself increments of additional time can be very useful and doesn’t leave the interviewer hanging. That being said, you should be able to demonstrate to your interviewer that it was worth the extra wait.

By the way, McKinsey cases do not have 3 questions. They have up to 6 or 7. It‘s just that most candidates never get that far and that’s OK.

Answer 2

Hi there,

Look, ultimately you need to solve the case correctly, in a timely manner, while properly/clearly articulating your thinking.

2 minutes is a long time in my personal view. But, if this leads to you choosing the more direct path and optimally driving the case (as in, saving time because you took time), I'm all for it! This is particularly true if you communicate this to interviewer.

However, if you take 2 mintues and then get wrong insights, talk for too long, and “dilly-dally” this obviously isn't good!

Ultimately, take the time you need to drive the case properly. But, when you do so, communicate that you are, and make sure you charge ahead!

Answer 3

Hi!

It's important that you extract all key information/do the right computation once provided with the chart.

This should be done in a time frame that is reasonable for the specific exhibit and that doesn't take too much time for completing the case in 30 minutes.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Anto

Answer 4

Your answer does not have to hit all the points, but the key / most relevant supporting points. And you have to be succint in your note taking.

It seems you feel the need to take note of everything, but you usually don't need more than 3-7 words per slide. This takes 10 seconds.

Answer 5

Absolutely not - barring exceptional cases where you take an unreasonably long amount of time you are never penalized for taking the requisite time to interpret data. In fact if you don't take sufficient time and end up with sub-par insights that is a bigger issue vs taking the time to create relevant insights.

Answer 6

Hey there,

You can take time and should if that improves your insights. However, 2 minutes are quite long for a chart and I'd personally aim more for around 30 seconds to 1 minute.

McKinsey interviews broadly have 3 question types that are part of the interview, not 3 questions in the interview but some question types might repeat. It is usually more depending on the performance of the candidate.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 7

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