Dear candidate,

I would also say that postponing the start date is a better option. Many times the firm is very flexible and you should have this opportunity. Also do not forget that once you have joined the firm and established yourself you can likely make use of part-time options, which might help you handle your personal situation better.

Best regards

Hey there,

This may be less bad than you think. There's all sorts of things going on in people's lives that have a major impact on their careers - at McKinsey and elsewhere. At McKinsey, everyone is VERY aware of that because it's such an intense career path in many ways.

Have a frank talk with the recruiter and explain the situation. Make them understand so you can find a solution together. If it turns out that the only solution is to withdraw for the moment, so be it. However, by involving HR in this you won't be burning any bridges.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

Hey there,

Straight to your questions:

1. What will happen: A McKinsey offer is usually valid for one year. If it's due to personal reasons, I would definitely reach out to HR and discuss with them. They will likely be very understanding. No negative will come from it for sure!
2. Yes, if you join within the year, the offer is still valid. Sometimes this period is even extended to 18 months. If you want to join more than 1 year later, you will likely go through a shortened interview process (2 interviews with partners)
3. Bans are global, but this would not apply in this situation (see point 1)
4. I have seen people postpone their offer for more than one year, yes, and with a proper explanation, it was not an issue.

All the best for your future!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

It seems you are still interested in McKinsey. Rather than rejecting the offer, I would talk with them and ask if you can postpone the start day. I coached candidates who were able to postpone the start day to more than 1 year after the offer was extended.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Did you want to renege or change the start date? While it is not clear what your situation is, if there is a possibility that you can join much later (lets say 6 months to a year from now) that is an alternative you can explore and one they are open to for reasonable circumstances.

In general - as long as you are honest and are able to clearly communicate why you are not able to take up the offer they will understand. You can also ask what the consequences might be although I am not sure why you are worried about this if you are not going to be working for them. If there is a ban (unlikely) then yes it will be global. What is more likely is that when you apply next you will have to walk them through the whole situation again and you will need partner support to apply again.

All the best,

Udayan

Hi there,

#1 See if you can postpone. Plenty of people have postponed for even a year!

#2 Be honest and open. Explain that you aren't even taking an offer but have a serious personal matter that you can't ignore. They will understand

#3 Aim to do it “in person”. Instead of operating via writing try to have a call or videoconference. It'll go over better that way 9 times out of 10

Good luck!