McKinsey's Phone Screening Case

Hi there,

Are you sure it's a phone screening case? There should not be a case (unless they've explicity said in writing that there will be). If there is indeed a case, it will be a simplified one - however, all of the same elements of casing are tested here (judgement & insights, structured thinking, clear communication, etc.)

However, this should be much more behavioral (again, depends on the wording of the email). The recruiter is looking to see if you're professional, likeable, etc. and if you're genuinely interested in (and have the capabilities for) the role.

1. You need to be really clear on "Why consulting" as well as "why the company". You should also be ready with a resume walkthrough. More than that, you should be ready with questions of your own and be ready to talk through really any experience on your resume. Finally, be ready to play "tag"! I.e. try and get the recruiter to put you in touch with someone else at the company (reach out for more information on this
2. Generally FIT answers are shorter and less in depth. "Why consulting" would be 1 min in an interview and 20 seconds on a screening call. Additionally, you need to have personal stories prepared for the FIT interview but not for screening.
3. Be prepared to talk about your current job and any past work experiences

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-are-phone-screenings-with-recruiters-different-from-fit-interview-with-consultants-9147

Expect it to be not terribly challenging.  It's a screening case, meaning that its purpose is to screen out those who McKinsey does not want to interview.  Its not an actual interview.  

It will test similar skills as a regular case interview, just not test you particularly hard.

However, don't make the mistake of not preparing sufficiently.  If you do well, you'll have an interview soon enough, so might as well get a head-start on that!

Hope this helps,

Allen

Hi there,

The general advice for the screening interviews is to think about it as about a Fit interview. You'll need to present yourself, answer some questions like "Why consulting?" or "Why company X" or "Tell me about your weaknesses" etc. 

It is important to make a friendly impression, so be at ease, but get prepared to answer at least some of the most popular fit questions. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

GB

The McKinsey phone screen is a crucial step in the recruiting process - you will need to pass it to get to the first round. This is usually only for experienced hires. On campus recruits typically do not go through this step.

You can expect the following as part of this round

• The interview is typically conducted by an alumni or a junior person at McKinsey
• It consists ONLY of a 30 minute case end to end (there is no PEI or any other question)
• Usually you do not have time to ask them any questions afterwards
• You will be asked 3 - 4 questions in total
• You will usually get 2 structuring questions, 1 math question and maybe 1 creativity question
• You will not get a question that requires you to interpret a graph/table
• HR will get back to you within 2-3 days on next steps if you passed this round

Feel free to reach out to me to learn more, I have real examples that have been asked in this round.

Best,

Udayan

They are usually the same as the cases you will be asked in first round. My sense has been that these have more of a bias towards ticking boxes of a model answer as opposed to a more experienced interviewer (EM/AP) who will be more flexible and conversational.

Good luck!

Hi, is it conducted by a McK consultant, HR, or ex alumnus?

Best,
Antonello

Hey there,

The phone case will likely be done with a recruiter who then plays back your answers to a consultant for reference and feedback.

I have seen this become increasingly popular in the last couple of months with my McKinsey coachees across offices.

It is just another screening device, still, you need to perform well in the three question types, just as you would in the actual case interview:

• Structure
• Exhibit interpretation
• Math

See it as a practice for the real case interview that hopefully follows later on!

Cheers,

Florian